Faith of a Believer

"Faith is having complete trust or confidence on someone or something". The fruits of a good faith is good works. In other words, faith is the root and good works are its fruits. People today have this in reverse. They think good works produces good faith, which is not true.

Jesus says:

"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." - Matthew 7:15-18

Many people call themselves Christians (who really are not Christians), by claiming to have a good faith. But when we try and observe the fruits of such people, which is their lifestyle, their language, their conduct, their habits, etc., we would be able to notice that it will not be based on Bible values and principles. Their language would have profanity, or their conduct would not be good, or they would have bad habits, and they would hardly know some of the common Bible verses.

Apostle James, in his book clarifies this very beautifully. Apostle James wrote his book mainly to the Jews. His book was not written directly to the churches, unlike Apostle Paul letters which were directly addressed to the different churches. Even though the target audience of Apostle James was not the churches, there are some Biblical truths which we as a church can derive. He says to his fellow Jews "faith without works is dead" in James 2:26. He gives an example of Abraham in James 2:21, and addresses Abraham as "our father" depicting that he is speaking this to the Jews (not to the churches), as the Jews are the descendants of Abraham. People of the church are not descendants (meaning direct bloodline) of Abraham, as churches are made up of the gentiles (non Jews), and the church is the many membered "Body of Christ" or "Bride of Christ".

We can say for sure, that Abraham was justified by the Lord due to his faith in the Lord because, the Bible says so in Genesis 15:6. Also we see his faith, to bear its fruits as good works, when he tried to sacrifice Issac on the altar in obedience to the Lord. James also gives an example of Rahab, who also had faith in the God of Israel. The fruits of her faith was her good works, which we see later when she helped the Israeli spies. James was explaining to the Jews how to determine whether a person has genuine faith in the Lord, and ultimately concludes by saying "faith without works is dead". The Lord knows the heart of a person, and therefore justifies a person when they hear the Gospel and put their faith in our Lord Jesus. But in order to witness their faith to other people, a believer needs to show the fruits of their good faith as good works. The Bible says:

"...Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever" - Jeremiah 25:5

The above verse says that your ways meaning what you believe, and your doings meaning your works should match. People today misinterpret James 2:26 of what Apostle James was saying to the Jews and conclude that a person is justified by works and not by faith. If that was the case, then James is contradicting Apostle Paul who said that a person is saved by "Grace through Faith and not by works" as stated in Ephesians 2:8. People fail to realize that James was talking about good works being the fruits of a good faith. James was explaining to the Jews how they can look up to people as an example, who have been justified by "Grace through Faith", and how good works can be seen in a believer's lifestyle as fruits due to their good faith.

To make it simple, how does a school or a college identify a good student? How does an organization identify a good employee? How does a person conclude that an individual will be a good life partner? It is all based on the fruits that they bear in the form of good works in their lifestyle, their language, their conduct, their habits, etc.

Apostle Paul's letters were directed to the various churches spread across Europe and Asia, which talks about justification of man by God. Whereas Apostle James wrote his letter to the Jews, speaking about how a person can showcase their justification by faith, by showing in their fruits which they bear, through good works. In other words, Apostle James was explaining about man bearing witness of their justification to other men or people, by showing in their good works. Apostle Paul and Apostle James do not contradict each other.

The reason Apostle James quoted so was because, the Jews seek after a sign, whereas the Greeks (the gentiles) seek after wisdom. The only way Apostle James could explain this to his fellow Jews was by giving them examples through various signs. The Bible says:

"For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom" - 1 Corinthians 1:22

Notice our Lord Jesus always had rebuked His disciples saying "you who of little faith". He always pointed His disciples to the root of the problem. Which is why He never said "you who of little prayer" or "you who of little works". By this our Lord Jesus was demonstrating the importance of faith.

The "Armor of God" explained in Ephesians 6:13 describes to use faith as a shield. It says use the "shield of faith" to quench the fiery darts of the wicked. The word "quench" is used in relation to water, as in "quench someone's thirst". How can the words "faith" and "quench" be related? The Bible says:

"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" - Romans 10:17

When the Holy Spirit was first introduced to us in the Bible, we see Him, moving upon the face of the waters as stated in Genesis 1:2. The Word of God is portrayed as water in the Bible.

"That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word" - Ephesians 5:26

When our Lord Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days, and then was tempted by satan, each time satan threw a fiery dart at our Lord Jesus, He used the Word of God to quench them.

When our faith is rooted in the Word of the Lord, whenever the enemy throws a fiery dart at us saying "unless you do something, your situation will not get better". We can use the Word to quench his darts by saying:

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not lack" - Psalm 23:1

When the enemy says that the doctors will not be able to cure your sickness as it is a unique case, we can reply by saying:

"by his stripes we are healed" - Isaiah 53:5

We can make it personal by saying "by his stripes I am healed". If the enemy tries to throw another fiery dart pointing at your children saying, a percentage of children in the world suffer this disease, or suffer from getting an opportunity in their career, we can use:

"...the seed of the righteous shall be delivered" - Proverbs 11:21

If the enemy says what makes you say you are righteous, we can reply by saying:

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" - 2 Corinthians 5:21

Or we can simply say "I am the righteousness of God in Christ". If the enemy randomly throws fiery darts over your finances, family, health, future, etc., we can use this verse which is like a trump card for all the enemy's darts:

"as he is, so are we in this world" - 1 John 4:17

Most of the times, the enemy, when he shoots the fiery darts, he shoots it in a way to make you feel as though you are thinking those thoughts. For example, instead of saying "unless you do something..." you will have a thought that says "unless I do something...". The Word of the Lord can quench any fiery darts of the enemy when our faith is rooted in God's Word. God's Word is none other than Jesus Christ, who is known as the Word made flesh, as stated in John 1:14. To have our faith rooted in God's Word is to have our faith rooted in Christ. Faith is very important to a believer in Christ. Without faith, based on Bible values and principles, it would be difficult for a believer to witness the Gospel of Grace to the people of the world. The Bible says:

"And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins." - 2 Peter 1:5-9

The faith of a baby is, when the father throws the baby up in the air, the baby laughs in joy because the baby knows that the father would catch. Likewise, as believers in Christ, if we ever fall, we would fall into the mighty and loving hands of our Lord Jesus. He would never let us fall to the ground.