WHAT IS LIVING FAITH? BIBLICALLY, WHAT IS FAITH ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE?
What is living faith according to the Bible, biblical faith
Living faith is the kind of faith that God wants us to have. What is living faith? How do we receive faith and how do we demonstrate and grow in living faith? How do we avoid having a dead faith?
In the midst of trials, many people wonder if they have enough faith or feel that their faith is failing. Our world seems designed to undermine faith and promote doubt. Can your faith withstand this attack? It can if it is a living faith, but what is living faith?
What is living faith according to the Bible? The one that grows and is active, the faith biblically
The Bible describes both a dead faith and a living faith. What is living faith?… Living faith can grow and be active in good times and bad.
Do you have enough faith? Do you have the right kind of faith? How can you know what faith is, and how do you show it and increase it? What is living faith?
WHAT IS BIBLICAL FAITH, WHAT IS LIVING FAITH ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE?
The book of Hebrews gives us a vital background about what living faith is according to the Bible.
What is faith biblically? faith according to the bible
What is the faith? What does faith mean? Faith means acknowledging God’s faithfulness and believing him. “But without faith it is impossible to please God; for he who draws near to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him ”(Hebrews 11: 6).
We grow in faith by studying the Bible and seeing what God has done in the past and what he promises for the future. It also requires that we “seek diligently” and strive to be like Him.
But can we develop faith or do we want to have faith? Where does faith come from first according to the Bible? How does it save us?
WHAT IS LIVING FAITH ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE? SAVING FAITH, BIBLICAL FAITH
What is living faith? It is a saving faith according to the Bible
The apostle Paul wrote about the wonderful gifts that God has given to those who follow in the footsteps of Jesus:
“I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me; and what I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
Even the seed of faith is a gift from God. Paul wrote: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). However, the next verse has caused some confusion: “not by works, so that no one can boast” (verse 9).
Biblically faith also produces works
Consider verse 10: “For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” God works through Christians, producing a life full of good works. Jesus emphasized the importance of staying connected to Him in order to bear good fruit and obey His commandments:
James also emphasized this point, making clear the close symbiotic relationship between a living faith and works.
DEAD FAITH VERSUS WHAT IS LIVING FAITH ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE
Faith without works is dead according to the Bible
The book of James includes an extended section that compares what James calls a dead faith with a living faith. He wanted to clear up any misunderstanding on the subject:
“My brethren, what good is it if someone says he has faith and does not have works? Can faith save you? And if a brother or a sister are naked, and need daily maintenance, and one of you says to them: Go in peace, get warm and be satisfied, but you do not give them the things that are necessary for the body, of what use? take advantage of? So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead in itself. But someone will say: You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
Biblically, faith is dead without works, since faith is perfected by works
You believe that God is one; well you do Even the demons believe and tremble. But do you want to know, vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? Do you not see that faith worked together with his works, and that faith was made perfect by works? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says: Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness, and he was called a friend of God.
A LIVING FAITH, ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE, IS AN ACTIVE FAITH
Biblically an active faith
A living faith is an active faith. We show our belief in God and his way of life by striving to live like our loving God and follow the laws and wise principles He gives us in the Bible.
How do you demonstrate faith according to the Bible? That biblical faith, that living and active faith
As we saw in James 2, we are to show faith by caring for those in need (verses 15-16). James also addressed the importance of caring for orphans and widows in the previous chapter:
“Religion that is pure and spotless before God the Father is this: To visit orphans and widows in their afflictions, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27).
Faith biblically compels us to obey God
James also gives instructions on the attitude with which we should do these good works. “Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by good behavior his deeds in wise meekness” (3:13).
HOW TO LIVE BY FAITH ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE?
In order to live by faith according to the Bible, we must first avoid pride.
Paul quotes “the just shall live by faith” again in Galatians 3:11 to point out that future obedience can never pay for past sins. Only the sacrifice of Jesus Christ can justify us: wipe the slate clean of our sins and give us a fresh start.
But then what does God want us to do with that clean slate? He definitely does not want us to go back to sin (Romans 6:1-2).
Living faith allows us to see God’s faithfulness.
He is love and always acts according to his laws that help define love (Romans 13:9-10). And so faith motivates us to also be faithful and obedient. Living the faith means striving to live as Jesus lived. This means diligently doing what the Apostle John wrote:
“Whoever says that he abides in him, must walk as he walked” (1 John 2:6) “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments; and the commandments of him are not burdensome ”(1 John 5: 3).
Living by faith also means continually and faithfully enduring to the end.
“But the just shall live by faith; and if he turns back, he will not please my soul ”(Hebrews 10:38). That’s a scary thought when we’re tempted to back off or give up. But the author of Hebrews in the last verse of chapter 10 encouraged his readers: “But we are not of those who turn back to perdition, but of those who have faith for the preservation of the soul” (verse 39). This leads to Hebrews 11, the faith chapter.
IN SUMMARY, LIVING FAITH LEADS US TO:
Live like Jesus Christ.
Obey God’s laws.
Caring for our families, Church members, and others in need.
Trust God in good times and in trials by fire.
Resist Satan.
Resist until the end and receive the gift of eternal life.
There is much more to the vital subject of living faith in the Bible.