The consistent teaching of Scripture is that faith in Jesus Christ is unto something. And while we all know that faith leads to eternal life, some of us may not realize that eternal life begins now and that it bears fruit and gives evidence of itself in how we live. We begin a series of readings from our book, The Disciplined Life. Today’s excerpt is from pages 7 and 8:
“It is the consistent teaching of the Scriptures that Christian faith is not genuine unless it comes to expression in good works.
“Jesus taught this, as did the apostles Paul, James, John, Peter, and the writer of the book of Hebrews. Good works, works expressive of the resurrection life of Jesus, works across the board into every area of life, good works of love—these are the hallmark of all who have truly come to saving faith in Jesus Christ.
“Merely confessing with our words that we believe in Jesus and hope to go to heaven when we die—and perhaps expressing that by church attendance or other Christian activities—may indicate some true inward change, wrought by the Spirit of God. But these may also indicate little more than outward conformity to familiar cultural practices or expectations—confessing Christ with our lips but having hearts far from Him.
“If all we can point to as validation of our salvation is some testimony of belief coupled with such minimal cultural requirements as attendance at or participation in a church, then we may have reason to doubt our own profession of faith, whether it is genuine and sincere.
“Thus Paul, seeing so many inconsistencies among the believers in Corinth, so little evidence of true and lively faith, challenged them to examine themselves: If there were no true works of obedience, holiness and charity, then the ‘believers’ there may well have been yet reprobate and without salvation.”
For reflection or discussion
1. Think back to last week: What fruit or evidence of “true and lively faith” in Jesus did you see?
2. What opportunities for expressing your faith are before you in the week ahead?
We’re not saved by good works; but we’re not saved without them. As the apostle James put it, “Faith without works is dead, being alone.” But which good works? And how can we do them? What disciplines do we need to help us live a true and lively faith in Jesus? These are important questions. Important enough for you to help your fellow Christians consider them as well. Share today’s podcast with a friend. Encourage your friend to listen to the podcast as well. Set up a time when you can get together to discuss what you’re learning from our book, The Disciplined Life. You can download a free copy of The Disciplined Life by going to The Ailbe Bookstore. Get yours, then share it with all your friends.
T. M. Moore
