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An Act of Faith

Jiving Effort and Faith

One of our burka-wearing friends recently asked us to write an article about how to "jive grace and law, effort and faith." I thought this was a very good idea, especially since the melding of faith and works is something I've been thinking about as I learn more about what it means to hold a biblical worldview.

In the Old Testament and in Orthodox Judaism today, works are crucial to the faith. The book of Deuteronomy is filled with words from the Lord about what the Israelites could or could not eat, wear and so on. The rabbis later interpreted those laws, creating a list of rules that Orthodox Jews must follow in order to correctly obey the Law of God.

In the New Testament, the yoke of the Law is taken away through Christ's death on the cross, and Paul tells us that it is by grace we are saved. Our salvation is not found in the Law or in works done by men.

Now, because of this, I think that in some Christian circles, "works" has become a four-letter word … umm … plus one other letter. We associate works with the idea of earning eternal life, with not trusting that God's gift of salvation is just that — a gift. The Bible tells us that we receive salvation, not because of anything we've done, but because God is merciful to us.

I believe these things to be very true and beautiful. Our pitiful attempts at righteousness are hopelessly tainted by our sin. God's holiness is far beyond our grasp, and it is only through His Son that we have been rescued from the darkness that our sin has created. Thanks be to God — through Jesus Christ our Lord!

In recognizing that there is nothing we can do to earn salvation, we often rejoice in God's grace. We sing about how amazing it is; we rest in the beauty of knowing that without the grace given to us by God, we would be very much hopeless. Most of us know that "it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV).

But take a look at that verse again. It says that we have been saved by grace, through faith. And this is where I begin to wonder what, exactly, is faith?

Defining Faith

I believe that many of us often think of faith as something we do with our minds. We believe with our hearts and minds that God is good, holy and just. We know these things to be true, and because of that belief, we are considered faithful. We often hear the term, "people of faith," and in most contexts, it is used to describe those who believe in a God or believe the words of a holy book.

I don't think that looking at faith that way is completely incorrect. I agree that you must believe in order to have faith. However, I sometimes wonder if the biblical writers didn't have a fuller picture of what faith was supposed to be.

In his book, Our Father Abraham, Marvin R. Wilson tells us that "many Christians, particularly those ignorant of the Hebraic background of this word, understand faith mainly as an activity of the mind. For these Christians, to 'believe' or 'have faith' is largely a matter of intellectual assent to some proposition. The Hebrews, however looked at faith differently."¹

Wilson points out that, to the Hebrew, the word faith meant "firmness" or "steadfastness." God is often described as faithful because He remained trustworthy to the Israelites throughout many circumstances — He was dependable and true.

So, Wilson says:

To the Hebrew mind, therefore, faith meant confidence. It was the capacity to "enter life with courageous expectation." The person of faith did more than believe in his heart or develop an attitude of trust. He stepped out into life to act on that belief. His mental assurances and convictions were transformed into action. For the Hebrew, faith was more than a theory; it was wed to a life of service. … This is the Hebraic and biblical model of faith. As Abraham Heschel has pithily stated, it requires "a leap of action rather than a leap of thought."²

It seems as though, to the biblical writers, faith was more than something you just believed in — it was something that you did.

Hall of Faith

I was very homesick my freshmen year of college. During the first few weeks, most of my days were spent clutching a Kleenex™ box, sitting on the phone with my parents, and wistfully remembering the days when I didn't have to wash my dishes in the bathroom sink. I was pretty sure that life after high school was not worth living. (I'm really not sure what my problem was; I literally went to college about 15 minutes from home. There was no good reason for such distress.)

Anyway, one day while I was busy trying to figure out how I would make it through the next four years, I received a postcard in the mail from my aunt. On the front was the verse, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1, NIV). I put the postcard next to my computer and stared at it woefully for several days, unsure of how to be certain of what I did not see. My faith seemed to be failing me in the reality of my situation.

Luckily, my homesickness faded away after a few months and my Kleenex bill was drastically reduced. I still have that postcard, and I've thought often about the meaning in those words. That verse is a typical answer for Christians who are asked about the meaning of faith. Unfortunately, we often seem to forget to read beyond that verse in order to get a full picture of what faith looks (and acts) like.

Hebrews 11 is often deemed the "Hall of Faith." In it, we see biblical characters who are listed as prime examples of faithful people. What is interesting to me is that when listing these faithful people, the author gives an example of their faithfulness through what they did. Action verbs jump around all over this chapter. Look (emphases mine):

• "By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did" (v. 4).
• "By faith Noah … built an ark to save his family" (v. 7).
• "By faith Abraham … obeyed" (v.8).
• "By faith Isaac blessed" (v.20).
• "By faith the people passed through the Red Sea" (v. 29).

The list goes on. All of these people named in this chapter were considered faithful because of how they acted. Their faith compelled them to do things the Lord asked of them. Verse 13 says that, "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance" (emphasis mine).

Uniting Effort and Faith

Now, I don't believe I have fully answered the question of how we are to jive grace and law, effort and faith. However, I think it is important for us to recognize that the biblical writers probably did not separate effort and faith. Faith was an action word to the Hebrews. So when James tells us to "[s]how me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do" (James 2:18b), he is reaffirming the point that the two work together.

This kind of faith — a belief that includes action — does not involve legalistic things we do in order to earn our salvation. This faith comes from a desire to live out what we say we believe. And if we are not willing to at least try to practice our beliefs, then perhaps our faith should be questioned. First John states it pretty clearly:

We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. (2:3-6)

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How can we successfully meld what we believe with what we do?

Join the discussion!

There is a distinct difference between thinking we can earn our salvation and acting out our faith through good works. One of them puts the power to earn salvation into our own hands; the other is a grateful and obedient reaction to the grace given us. Like we've said here at TrueU before, holding to a biblical worldview requires much more than a set of beliefs. It requires us to practice those beliefs. It requires faith.