3) DOERS OF THE WORD

This is the third in a series of talks that I gave at SGA's Crossroads Summer Camp.

Holy Spirit guide us. May we think about these things long after this weekend. Teach us. Make your truths to dwell in our hearts and minds and help us to persevere in training ourselves. Move us to action.
This talk is called Doers of the Word. It only makes sense that after having first learned what faith is and some reasons for belief in Jesus, and after having learned about the importance and beauty of some of the core tenets of Christian belief, that we, along with James, talk about the importance of acting on that belief. In his letter in the New Testament, James was very concerned that his readers would not just hear the gospel and forget that it needs to impact their life. He urges Christians to act on their beliefs. James 1.22-24 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks at (NIV).”
If we look into the mirror in the morning and see that we really need to shave, that our hair is a mess, or that there is a gross red stain on our white t-shirt and then forget about it immediately, and if we go about through our day, we will be regarded as slobs, not get a date, not get the job you are interviewing for, etc. If we look at ourselves in the mirror again, later, we will probably be embarrassed of how we presented ourselves to the world.
God’s words to us are like a mirror, showing us what defects we have; showing us how much God loves us, revealing how we should be basing our life on Jesus’ life. If we think that our appearance is important, how much more important are our actions, our love, our anger, our snootiness? Our attitude, demeanor, and actions are supremely important, but how often do we try to line our lives up with what God reveals to us in the Bible, in sermons, in camp talks, or through the Holy Spirit teaching us something in prayer.
James says that faith without works is dead. The way we act, the way we talk, what we talk about, how we help others, etc. shows our faith. James writes: “Faith by itself, if it has no works is dead” (James 2.17); and again: ”Show me your faith without works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe – and shudder” (2.12,19).
How easily we can read or here these words inspired by God and pass them by, as if forgetting to comb our hair after seeing what a mess it is. It is written for us. It must be taken seriously. Even the demons believe in God, just as we do when we read the Bible and then do something counter to what God has taught us.
The question James is asking is this: “Does what you say you believe in actually affect your life?” Take some time to consider this seriously. Does what you say you believe in actually affect your life?
Do you believe that God is good? Then are you joyful, trusting that he takes care of you? Does your worry are anger or grumpiness show that you don’t always believe that God is good?
Do you believe that God is been merciful to all? Are you merciful and generous to others? Do you give even when it hurts? Do you show kindness and gentleness even when someone gets on your nerves? Do you show the same kind of patience that God has shown you?
Do you believe that God is powerful and answers prayers? Then do you ask Him to help you and to empower you to love others, to be kind, merciful, gentle, patient, joyful, self controlled, loving, and peaceful? These are the fruit of the Spirit and God will be faithful to grow these virtues into your life. Are we willing? Do we believe that God can do such a thing?
It is clear in the New Testament that the gospel is not just a personal opinion. It is not something that we can hold when it is convenient. Our faith in Jesus Christ is truth for the whole world to know.
How sad that we have relegated faith to personal opinion! Christians know and believe that Jesus is Lord. That is truth. If the gospel is true it has individual, communal, and universal implications. We all know that faith is not just for Sunday mornings, but is our faith so weak that we are not living out our faith or encouraging it in others? Are we being too timid too scared, or are we just uncertain of what our faith is and how true it is? It is my prayer and the wish of the Holy Spirit that you have grown in your knowledge and confidence that Jesus is Lord. The goal of the teachings on faith this weekend has been to move you to confidence in the gospel, so that you might live it out in your life with confidence, passion, and joy; and so that you will share it with others.

The gospel must be believed and lived by you as an individual. You must understand it. Of course, there will always be questions that we want to solve, and we cannot understand the gospel fully, but, if we claim to be Christians, we need to understand what we believe and we are to live it. If you are studying to be a doctor, an engineer, a pastor, or anything else, you will study hard, persevere, grow in understanding and act on what you have learned and have come to know. It is the same for Christians and their faith.
Christians should study God’s word, the Bible, to learn who God is and who God has called them to be. We must also pray, both talking to God and listening to the Holy Spirit. We must be intelligent, be unafraid to ask questions, to probe deeper and deeper into what it means to be a believer and to learn how great it is to be children of God, through Christ Jesus. This is done out of love, passion, and discipline, not out of trying to appease God. God wants your heart and your mind; your entire self.
A faith that is only intellectual will not impact your everyday life, instead your faith will stagnate and will become dead. Trust me, I have leaned this way before. I have also leaned the other way, where my faith has been a matter of the heart only, not intelligent, but very caring. This type of faith is better than a stagnating intellectual “faith,” but it is not as deep and meaningful.
We must learn to love God with our whole being, trusting God to aid us in understanding and making sure that we teach our hearts to act on His truth (we often have to teach our hearts, for they are stubborn; this requires self-control, will-power, discipline). We must act on what we know, not relying on emotion, but being committed to loving God.
If you believe that God’s love for you, as shown by Jesus, is true, then you must live your life accordingly, or else you are a liar.
Philippians 1.9-11: “And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you determine what is best, so that on the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.”
And again, faith is not only to be practiced on Sundays; instead, we are to be knowingly living in God’s presence all the time. 1 Thess. 5.17 (“Pray without ceasing.”).
If you don’t act on your belief in God, your faith is dead.

But we are not just individuals. As Christians, we are members of Christ’s body, the church. It is easy for us to forget in our day – when we have become so concerned with being “individuals”, when we have lost that communal closeness that has been alive in families and churches in the past – that the New Testament is most often not addressed to individuals, but to the churches as a whole. This means that our faith is corporate as well as individual.
Colossians 3.12-16: “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.”
Hebrews 10.24-25: “Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
This leads us to wonder: How does our church function as the body of Christ? Are we forgiving? Do we “bear” with one another when that is the best option? Do we encourage each other in the faith? Do we take time to talk about our spiritual lives with one another? Are we afraid of being spiritual, even in church? I’ve notice that you get mixed reactions from Christians when you say, “God bless” to them. Some are surprised that you would even say it. Others think you are uttering a cliché, and others really appreciate it. What about you? Are we good at encouraging each other in our walks with God, and in our communal walk with God? Does we act on our faith in church? Is our faith proven dead based on our acts in the church?
How do we encourage one another in the faith?

Our faith is also proven dead if we do not encourage others to believe the same. If we don’t think our faith is worth sharing, if we don’t really believe it ourselves, we will not share it, or make it public. Also, if we are timid about our faith, we will be timid about sharing it. Missionary Lesslie Newbigin, making the same point, once wrote: “Missions are the test of our faith that the gospel is true… The test of our real belief is our readiness to share it with all peoples.” This is true. An author would not publish a work of non-fiction unless he or she believed it to be true and accurate. When we are timid about our faith (either in deed or in word) we are showing that we are not too sure of what we believe.
I am not talking about evangelism, per se. I am talking about day-to-day life. In First Peter we see that our everyday conduct is essential: “Wives, in the same way, accept the authority of your husbands, so that, even if some of them do not obey the word, they may be won over without a word by their wives’ conduct” (1 Peter 3.1).
It is the same for us all. The way we act at work, how we respond to others when we are stressed, our attitudes, our quickness to ask for and to give forgiveness. All these and others, if we live them out consistently, by the power of God, will be evangelizing in the most excellent way.
Of course, we must share the gospel verbally too. It is now act rightly or present the gospel verbally; it is both. Our words will mean nothing if we are not living out our faith, and our acts will mean little if people think it is just because we are “good people,” not knowing why and for Whom we act the way we do.

Clearly, God wants us to act on our faith, else it will die. We must cultivate good habits in our personal, church, and public lives, in order to be faithful to Christ Jesus. This does not happen in an instant, but it will with God’s help, for He loves us and is supremely powerful.
Our first and most important question is this: Have I really put my faith in Jesus Christ, or am I just acting most of the time, with a few “high points”? Do we learn about the Faith and talk to God only on retreats, or is this daily, moment-by-moment, true to our lives?


(I am greatly indebted to my readings of Lesslie Newbigin’s The Gospel in a Pluralist Society. All praise to the Holy Spirit for leading us into truth.)


3) Discussion Questions: DOERS OF THE WORD

• Is there a disconnect between what you think, say, and act? Do you consistently live out your faith, or is your belief in God somehow peripheral?
• How can we input (encouraging ourselves in the faith)?
• How can we in/output (encouraging us as a community of believers in the faith)?
• How can we output (passing on the faith through deeds and words)?
• What good habits can we get into to cultivate faith in our personal, corporate, and public lives?
• Are you embarrassed of the faith, or timid? Or do you continually witness to the truth of the gospel through our actions, thoughts, and words?
• What does this mean to you: “Missions are the test of our faith that the gospel is true”?
• What can we do to move away from an individualistic mentality in your spiritual formation?