Biblical Faith = Trust + Action

July 28

(Luke 17:11-14 NIV) ““Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. {12} As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance {13} and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" {14} When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed.””

(James 2:17, 20-22 NIV)  "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead… {20} You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?  Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did."

Jesus was approached by a group of lepers who had faith. We know they had faith because they trusted God enough to ask for mercy and healing, and then they acted on what Christ told them to do. As they obeyed Jesus and were on their way to show themselves to the priests, they were cleansed and healed. Biblical faith is a combination of trust and action. The faith of the lepers moved them to trust and obey. Faith led to action and obedience. If our faith does not move us to some kind of action, it is not the kind of faith found in Scripture. It is something else. It is a watered down, redacted version of faith. Faith and action must work together or faith is incomplete and impotent. Every great story of faith in Scripture involves someone trusting God enough to take some kind of action. Faith causes action, or it is dysfunctional faith. A faith without action is a dead faith. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day