For so long, faith has been preached as an abstract topic in the Body of Christ. Some say it is a heavenly currency used to access the things God has made available for us from the realm of the Spirit. And undisputedly, that is true. But faith has a lot of areas in its operation. One of them is taking God at His Word. And we see this in use several times when Jesus was on Earth. One of them was how one Roman soldier told Jesus to speak a word so his daughter could be healed (see Matthew 8:8). And it worked! So faith has dynamics of operation. However, today, I want to focus on what is written in James 2:26 and break it down for you to understand! Before that, take a look at the scripture.
“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
James 2:26 (NKJV)
Faith comes with works
Every believer in Christ has faith. Why? Because the Spirit of Christ lives in each child of God (see Romans 8:9). And since Jesus is the author and finisher of faith in Christ (see Hebrews 12:2), He has given each believer a measure of faith (see Romans 12:3). So if you are born again, you have faith. However, just because you have it doesn’t mean you have used it the best way God wants you to. Right?
One of the ways faith has to be used is simply for work. So, James 2:26 confirms it by saying that faith without works is dead. That means a believer who doesn’t use his faith to work has a dormant faith in him. And once such a person’s faith status is dormant, many divine things won’t go on so properly in that person’s life.
God didn’t give you a dormant faith. He gave it to you to work it out. Use it effectively to advance His course in every facet of your life.
Obey God
The good news is that you can change your faith status anytime. If it has been dormant for a while, you can start using it now, but in the right way. How? By simply obeying God and what His Word says.
Take Abraham as an example. God told him to send his son away to sacrifice Isaac unto Him. Instead of questioning God about why He wanted to do that, Abraham obeyed the instruction without complaints. However, he hoped that even if God killed the boy, He–God, could raise Isaac back to life (see Hebrews 11:19). See, it’s not everything God tells you to do that will be so nice to you. But you have to obey Him anyway. Yes, God likes orderliness (see 1 Corinthians 14:40), but He can also be spontaneous when it comes to issuing commands to His children.
Notes from the study
Here are some key notes that will benefit you in your faith walk with Him.
- Faith must be active, not passive if you want to see the supernatural works of God in your life.
- God didn’t give you a dormant faith. He gave it to you to work it out. Use it effectively to advance His course in every facet of your life.
