Visible Faith

       I recently watched a video of an fbi operative explaning how they can catch a fraud, and know if a person is lying about where they came from. He recounted an incident where a man was suspected of being a foreign spy, but they didnt have solid evidence to convict him. Then they found video footage of the man leaving a flower shop. And interestingly, he held the stalk and faced the flowers downward toward the ground. That would be odd thing for and American to do and the FBI agent instantly knew that the man was from Eastern Europe. They told him they knew who he really was and he gave a full confession. The FBI agent summed it up, “you can try to hide it (who you really are) but somewhere you will reveal yourself”. Its true, if we are a christian it is going to impact our lives. But I wouldnt want it to take an FBI investigation for someone to figure out that I am a Christian! 

       It brings to mind a question I heard long ago “if you were on trial for being a Christian, would the jury find clear enough evidence to convict you? I dont know about you, but I would want there to be buckets of evidence to convict me!

I have heard of people who want to live their faith quietly. They hold a sincere belief in God, but they arent one to talk about it. Depending on the personality type, that is sometimes very understandable. Some people are very shy, and are unlikely to even say hello. But I beleive that though true faith in God will show itself one way or another, God wants it to be something that is very obvious, so that we can be a light to the world around us. 

James addressed this when he wrote about the relationship that faith and works have in

James 2:15-20. “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

Belief alone is not enough. 

The last part of this scripture is very interesting to me, it says that the devils beleive, and tremble. There are many people today, who say that they beleive, but they dont tremble. They simply beleive that God is love, so He must approve of them and everything they do and He might not like sin very much; but he would surlely let them slip into heaven with just one or two bad ones that they like to indulge in everynow and then.- where is the trembling? Where is the realization that God is God? Even the apostle paul trembled at the thought of standing face to face with God. It is a reaction that we ought to have to the idea of standing before the great I AM.

Ive seen people wave a dismissive hand and say “oh I know all about God.”, or “I go to church.” But I dont think we would be so dismissive if we had a remotely clear idea of who God actually is. He is great, He is above all, He is the all powerful all knowing and yes, the all loving God. But do not forget that He is a God of righteousness, and a God of judgement who will not let evil go unpunished.   As AW Tozer put it “you have to beleive the right thing about the right one.” To just acknowledge that He is up there, and that He exists isn’t enough.  Our faith must be effective. It must change our lives. We must beleive that God sent His Son to die, to become our savior from sins. and therefore that means He is our Lord, our master, and our king. He has total authority over the manner on which I live my life. Thats very different than a mere acknowledgement that He exists. As James so clearly states, faith  unverified by our actions and deeds is not enough. 

lip service is not enough. 

How many times do we talk about doing good things, talk about the way things should be done and we never follow it up in concrete action. In the first part of this passage james talks about someone who says “be warmed and filled.” Yet never gives the one in need a coat, a blanket or a bite to eat. Helpful huh? Im afraid there are times I can look back on And safely say that I was this person. Willing to talk the talk, but not ready to walk the walk. I wasnt ready to put my money where my mouth was. In reality there are times we are simply unwilling to make the necessary sacrifice to live the faith that we had spoken about. Truly, living a Christlike life does take sacrifice. It might mean that we change the way we live, talk, dress and change the activities we engage in. But when we encounter Christ and have faith in His work on calvary, it will radically change the way we live our lives. 

Yet the Bible says that faith without works is dead. Meaning that our Faith MUST be backed up by our actions if it is going to mean anything at all. 

Faith that is effective is faith lived out! 

Reading Hebrews 11 which is possibly the greatest chapter on faith in the Bible, it strikes you that all of the people DID something as a result of their faith 

Able made a sacrifice

Noah built a boat

Abraham left his home 

Sarah had a baby 

Issaac blessed his sons 

Jacob worshiped, 

Joseph saw through eyes of faith a day that isreal would return to canaan.

Moses parents hid their son

Moses forsook egypt 

Rahab dropped a rope outside her window

The chapter goes on to speak of people “Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong,” wow. Your faith in God can be a powerful thing. 

The list goes on and talks about People whose actions spoke volumes about their faith. People willing to uproot their families and risk everything because they beleived in God! That is the kind of faith that is truly effective. Thats the faith that changes the world!

       I want to encourage you today, do not be afraid. Do not be afraid to live your faith out in front of the world! Faith can be a quiet thing, but it was designed to be loud thing. A world upending phenomenon. A wall shattering phenomenon. Something that would challenge everyone that came into co tact with it. So let your faith change you, then watch it change the world in which you live.