I want to begin this article with my thanks to this paper in allowing me to continue to submit this column each week. It is a privilege to be able to do so. I also want to thank each of you that read this article. I would appreciate any comments or questions that you might have.
Today we will be looking at Romans 1:8, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.” Faith is more than just making a declaration of your faith. Faith is when what you believe motivates you to obedience to God. How else would anyone know of their faith? Read Hebrews 11 which is called the Faith
Read Hebrews 11 which is called the Faith Chapter of the Bible again. Notice what it says over and over again: “By faith” somebody did something. Jesus tells us in Mathew 7:2123 that when we claim to believe in Him, it must be shown by our obedience. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many miracles in your name?’ And then I will say to them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!’”
James puts it this way in James 2:17, “faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.” James 4:17 says, “Therefore, to the one who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”
What kind of faith do you have? Is it one that moves you to obedience, or is it one that you keep hidden from everyone around you?