Legalism and Faith (24)
Keeping Faith
(Bible Study - December 2000)

A young man emerged from a cold pond on a Sunday morning, a new brother in Christ. Later that day, after the evening lecture, an older brother, at least thirty years his senior in the faith, said this to him: "If the kingdom were to come right now, you’d be the person most likely to get in, because you haven’t had time to sin yet." Unlearned and inexperienced, the young man didn’t know what to say, but it stuck in his mind. Years later, the theological naivete of the statement began to bother him. Was this just an idle, encouraging remark, or did it represent conventional Christadelphian thinking?

During his pondering, he heard this account from a woman who spoke about growing up Catholic. As a child she went to confession Saturday evening, came home and went straight to bed before she could sin! Then, at Sunday mass she could take communion undefiled. The elder brother in Christ expressed the same theological understanding as the little Catholic girl. They could both join with the pious Pharisee, biding away his Sabbath in inertness, waiting for sunset so he could enter another mark of pseudo-righteousness into his resume. All three made the same fundamental error about the nature of sin: that it is something we can avoid, and having so avoided, we can stand "clean" before God. The Truth says that sin dwells in us. We cannot avoid it. God offers us thorough cleansing in Christ, and our good works of faith show our understanding of His grace. We can’t do good works while we’re sleeping, or while we’re hiding from ritual defilement. Nor can we do one great work, and call it a career.

God has called us to grow in faith. We grow in faith by doing faithful things. By now we know well what faith isn’t; it’s time to talk about what faith is. Doing faith will take a different course for each disciple, so we have no specific prescription. We will offer many examples, but none of these may be your gift and calling in Christ.

Determinants of Faith

We know that we must show, or prove, our faith through our works (Jas. 2:20-24). How do we know when we have done a work of faith rather than a dead work of the law? We can use six criteria to help establish a work of faith: (1) risk-taking, (2) utility, (3) motive, (4) spirituality, (5) delayed reward, (6) personal hardship. If an activity meets all six criteria, we’re probably safe to call it a work of faith. Unfortunately, due to our self-deception (Jer. 17:9) and limited perspective (I Cor. 4:4), we can never judge our attitudes perfectly. Only the perfect judge can truly know our hearts, but our limitation doesn’t mitigate our need to strive always to see ourselves more clearly.

Risk taking
The first criterion, or test of faith, we call risk-taking. Faith isn’t faith unless it involves that element of the unknown. We must go beyond the comfort zone into that scary area called "out of control" or "uncertainty."

We know that ultimately God is in control, but we don’t know the extent to which He will let us falter and suffer before He steps in. Abraham went beyond the comfort zone and into the faith zone when he left Ur. Jesus went there on Calvary. The faithful servants went there when they invested their money (Mt. 25:16). Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego went there in the furnace (Dan. 3:18). Ananias went there when he went to lay hands on Paul (Acts 9:13-17). We go there when we undertake any venture that will stretch our personal resources. People of faith don’t lack fear and anxiety; they move ahead despite their fears and anxieties. They put their hand into God’s invisible hand, and go forward.

Utility
Secondly we have the utility test, which requires that someone benefit from the activity. Much of ritual religion lacks utility as well as the element of risk-taking. We could be talking about fingering rosary beads or sacrificing animals. However, when you visit the widow in her affliction (James 1:27), you both benefit. You grow; she receives comfort. Maybe you didn’t want to visit her because you thought you would feel uncomfortable and have nothing to say. Nevertheless, you took the risk anyway, and did something of significant value for someone.

Usually, what benefits the recipient also benefits the giver, but differently. You teach Sunday school; you and your students both benefit. You give money or time in prayer to help others, and they benefit from your kindness. You get that intangible feeling of knowing that you have stretched yourself, and thus you can move to a higher level of faith. Benefit results from the loving application of faith. The giver and the receiver both gain from the works of faith.

Motive for works
Next comes the motive test. Who can say he has a pure motive of love and service and devotion when he does works of faith? None of us, of course; we all lack the perfect pureness of heart. However, we can nurture correct motive. Motivation to do good, as we have said many times in this series, comes not from a desire to earn credit with God, but from a desire to show God that we appreciate what He has already done for us. We don’t do works to earn salvation, we do works because God has already given us salvation in Christ. We work because of the grace already given us (Eph. 2:9). Therefore, right motive comes from a right understanding of grace.

Here we have a clear connection between academic theology and living faith. To the extent we perceive the true character of our Father and our Lord Jesus, and likewise understand the desperately enfeebled nature we possess, we grow in our understanding of what reconciliation of these two opposites really means. Thus, as our understanding of God, Jesus, and human nature grows, our understanding of the atonement grows. With that comes our appreciation of grace, and from that springs the heartfelt thanksgiving, gratitude, and honor through which we can offer works of faith.

The motive for works of faith develops straight from the depth of our knowledge of God’s grace. Superficial belief in grace will only yield minimal works of faith, but it will leave plenty of room for legalistic ritual and vain attempts at self-justification.

The spirituality test
The spirituality test comes fourth on our checklist of components of faith. By this we mean that works of faith must be congruent with the principles of the Kingdom of God. We can take risks in many ways and offer useful services to people -- and remain entirely materialistic and earth-bound in our thinking. Volunteering to coach the soccer team at work might fall into this category, even if pure motive and benefit to others all came into play. When we say others must benefit from our works, we mean spiritual benefits. How do we help ourselves and others grow in the fruit of the spirit? How do we help each other grow in the eternal values of the kingdom? To this end we focus our works on spiritual matters, not on the purely material, temporal, or ritual.

However, material needs of the needy constitute a significant portion of spiritual acts of faith. "Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘I wish you well, keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way faith by itself, if action does not accompany it, is dead" (Jas. 2:15-17, NIV). "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has not pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?" (I John 3:17 NIV). The material becomes spiritual when faith and love impel the giver.

Spiritual benefit doesn’t mean we only teach Bible school classes. The loving kitchen service of every Martha can be just as spiritual as the lessons the audience has just heard. Also, just dealing in spiritual matters doesn’t automatically qualify them as spiritual. The exhortation given with political intent has lost its spirituality.

Delayed reward
The fifth test of works of faith deals with a principle stated in Hebrews 11:39, "These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what was promised." Resurrection, judgment, and the Kingdom of God all lie in the future. Countless others also belong on the list of those who died never having received the reward of their faith. At its psychological core, faith puts us in an entirely different realm than legalism. Legalism, a behaviorist structure, has the immediate reward of righteousness, as we explored in the article on Job (March, 2000). Faith raises us from animal-level immediate gratification to spiritual-level delayed gratification. We may never have any tangible evidence in this life of God’s recognition of our faith. If we do, it’s still a long, hard journey to the end of life with only the mind of faith maintaining the hope of the resurrection. We can - and should - be ready to live our whole lives devoted to the service and calling of Him who saves us by grace without any "positive reinforcement" along the way. You can’t train an animal this way. "Keep rolling over, you’ll get your doggie treat later," wouldn’t get many tricks out of Rex. The natural in us wants immediate reward to know we have done right. Faith dispenses with immediate, tangible rewards entirely.

So we expect nothing immediate in return for our works of faith, knowing that we "will be repaid at the resurrection of the just" (Lk. 14:14), provided we don’t do our works for the sake of receiving recompense, which would violate the motive of grace.

Personal hardship
Pointing this out seems almost obvious, but we must include this test for the sake of completeness. A work of faith will put the doer at some personal discomfort. Whether it’s emotional, financial, physical, or logistical hardship, you know you’re on the right track when you don’t want to do something, but you do it anyway because it’s the right thing to do. "If it feels good, do it" might suffice as the motto for the Epicurean; the faithist looks at life oppositely.

Thus, we can take our six criteria for assessing whether or not any particular activity we do really involves faith. Many of our spiritual activities would fail to meet all, or even most, of the criteria (hymn singing, for example). However, we shouldn’t confuse those activities which help build our faith with those activities which show our faith. Sometimes they’re the same, sometimes not.

What we should look for is whether any of what we do as believers meets the criteria for real acts of faith. If you come up lacking in this department, read to the end of the article for a few suggestions. Let’s start our item-by-item assessment by looking at our standard structures of worship and service.

What Requires Faith?

Let’s start with the basics. We have the domain of knowledge of the Truth, but does it really take much faith to accept Bible teaching as true? If the Truth is as reasonable as we proclaim, then the answer is no. Believing, per se, doesn’t take much faith. The Truth attracts many because of its plain reasonableness. Accepting the Truth at its academic roots requires two steps. First, we accept the authority of Scripture, then we let Scripture teach us.

History, science, archaeology, and many fields of humanities all testify to the veracity of the Bible. We also have the internal evidences: structure and harmony of scripture, prophecy, the moral teachings. Given all this, accepting the Bible as the true word of God doesn’t take any great act of faith. It might take some faith to thoroughly investigate scripture, but only a hardened skeptic would reject its inspiration and authority.

Once we accept the inspiration and authority of Scripture, letting the Bible teach us on its own terms leads us to what we call "The Truth." Believing the Truth is a matter of simple, logical, and basic intellect, but hardly a matter of faith.

While we assert that believing per se takes little faith, we seldom come to belief in a social vacuum. The implications of believing may take great faith. Believing has cost many their very lives and many their family ties. It has cost many people their world views and belief systems. They had to start over, making drastic changes in their thinking. That takes faith. It has cost some their jobs or careers. It should cost all of us our whole worldly ambition in life. Faith enters when we consider the social implications of believing.

Morality
Morality could require faith for some, but for most of us morality should come as easily and plausibly as the facts of the Truth itself.

Having said that, however, immorality can have an enormous sensual pull to it; it can take great faith for someone hooked on a vice to quit. It can take great faith for someone to remain in a sorrowful marriage. It can take great faith for a young brother or sister to remain chaste until marriage. Given societal norms and pressures, combined with our inherent lust, to stand ground as a virgin can take a conviction of true faith.

Service
With so much work to do in a lay, volunteer, non-heirarchical organization, opportunities and responsibilities for service abound. We can see service; it is an observable behavior. We don’t see all service, though, and we often overemphasize the starring roles - teachers. Many other forms of service go entirely unnoticed, at least to humans, but not to God. Perhaps those acts of service which gain the least public notice most represent the true works of faith. At least they eliminate polluting our motives with the pride of human recognition.

We ask this question: Do acts of service manifest faith? We can only answer "maybe." Sometimes yes, sometimes not necessarily, and, alas, certainly not always. For some people, stepping up to take an ecclesial function might be a great stretch for them, a true act of faith. For others, it

could be the deceptive moment of self-exaltation and exercise of power and control. For some, not doing something might be a greater act of faith, like refusing an arranging board position when you know you don’t belong there. Doing something that only God sees could represent an exercise in faith.

Service is a behavior. The attitude behind it makes it either a work of faith or a work of the flesh. We cannot make this judgment about others. We may not even be able to evaluate our own motives. Ideally, devoted service comes as an outgrowth of faith.

Character
The character ethic refers to the putting on of true Christian virtue. Those who achieve this level have probably -- but not necessarily -- made considerable deposits into their faith account. Do we maintain true humility after a significant accomplishment, keep patience during a crushing trial, exhibit goodwill in the face of enmity, pursue peace when consumed by strife, and persevere in zeal when surrounded by apathy? How do we get to that level? Even to desire such outcomes displays a mind of faith. To achieve them requires diligent application of spiritual resources, often without any gain or progress for some time.

However, the full manifestation of faith requires more than developing a lovely and virtuous character. The only character trait that fully answers to the demands of faith is that process the Bible calls "self-sacrifice," or the sacrifice of self. The Bible has many ways of describing this, "living sacrifice" (Rom. 12:1), "losing your life" (Mt. 16:25), "dying with Christ" (Rom. 6:8), "put off the old self" (Eph. 4:22), and "crucified with Christ" (Gal. 2:20), to name a handful. These phrases describe a complete renunciation of will and a complete devotion to a new way of life. Utter disregard for what seems so naturally comfortable for no tangible reward at all in this life doubtless meets the conditions of faith. This means a complete trust in the Kingdom, and all for the glory of God (not self) and the benefit of others (not self).

What Can We Do?

Faith without works is dead. Our lay organization of active members gives a structure in which no one need die for lack of works. We haven’t a sit-in-the-pew-on-Sunday religion. We have an active relationship with an abundantly kind and merciful God. He wants to know - and wants us to know - how much we really appreciate and understand His gracious offer of forgiveness and eternal life. A developing, active faith answers the question.

What can we do that meets the criteria described above? What can we do that might in some way put us alongside the exemplars of Hebrews 11? "By faith, Arnie attended meeting on Sunday." "By faith, the CYC went bowling together." Something sounds a bit hollow there, doesn’t it? If a review of your life comes up with nothing more substantial than perfunctory attendance at ecclesial activities, perhaps it’s time to reassess your commitment. The few suggestions below should help recharge your faith.

Giving
We have no legalistic rule about tithing, no set percentage or amount. If we have wealth and give abundantly, but it doesn’t affect our standard of living, then that’s not enough. Give enough to lower your standard of living. Only when you give enough to put a dent into your materialistic lifestyle, have you given in faith. Jesus has asked much more, you know! (Mt. 19:21).

Spiritual Support
The outcasts from our ecclesial life need more support than the regulars. Sometimes shunned for their checkered lifestyles, and often difficult to reach and motivate, this segment of believers, family members of believers, ex-believers, struggling believers, and wayward believers, needs much outreach. Yet to do so can invite criticism, and involvement with some in this group can drain you emotionally. This is a formidable challenge and a true work of faith.

Openness and Honesty
We usually communicate with each other at a superficial level of niceties. We probably have a small circle of brothers and sisters with whom we discuss the tough issues of life. Even smaller - often zero - is the group to whom we confess our sins and struggles and fears. This takes real faith, as it’s one of the riskiest activities we can do. Opening the soul qualifies as risk-taking of the highest order. We miss such a rich part of our discipleship when we masquerade as healthy and strong brothers and sisters when inside we might have hearts full of anger, sorrow, and fear. We need to share our humanity and support each other with love and without judgment. It’s risky to reveal and confide because so few of us know how to provide support. Broken confidences, judgmental condemnation, and misguided attempts to "heal" all await the unfortunate brother or sister who is probably already nearing the breaking point. If we knew how to support one another, we could add immensely to the quality of our pastoral work, and save many from disillusionment and pariahship. This aspect of faith requires no money, no travel, no physical danger - but it can take the most internal strength.

Preaching Work
You needn’t seek out a third-world country to preach. Talking to friends, classmates, coworkers, and neighbors can take more faith than preaching to strangers in a strange land. You will see foreigners for a while and then leave their country, but you live and work with locals. Do you have close friends who don’t know what really moves your soul? Will you risk letting them know? If not, what is the value of their friendship?

Care of the Elderly
Here’s a low-recognition job with no benefits, no pay, hard hours, and often ungrateful clients: caring for the elderly. They don’t have to be your own kin. If someone in your ecclesia has an elderly parent or relative in the house, they have a huge burden. Help them out. Some old folks are cranky and difficult to deal with. The caregivers themselves also need respite and support.

Overlook something
This is an example of not doing something, and it can take us to the limit of our faith. We see a problem, and we wait, with patience and prayer, trusting God. We act when we need to, but we also learn to let God deal with issues we can’t fix, or have no business trying to fix. We might think we are the only person in the world who can fix a certain problem, or the only one who can set everyone right on some issue. "The graveyards are full of indispensable people," said Churchill. If we think that we have the only solution to a problem, we’re deep into pride as well as lack of faith.

Do Something New and Different
Every good function we have now had a beginning. Someone started the first Bible school. Someone planned the first gathering, first study weekend, first service project, first orphanage, and so on. We haven’t yet exhausted all the possibilities of doing good. While we can find many venues to express our faith in our already existing structures and programs, perhaps the greatest faith comes from those creative and visionary minds. They not only apply themselves to doing good, they also take the risks and increased investment of resources necessary to promote a new idea.

The Faithful Body

To remain a faithful body, we must do the works of faith. We cannot rely on our accurate knowledge of Scripture; that doesn’t take faith. We can stay moral and busy, and still not have faith. We can develop lovely characters, and still fall short. The true faith that stands opposite of legalistic righteousness encompasses our entire being.

Thus, only self-sacrifice fully answers the criteria of faith. This does not mean going without this or that in our lives. It means the slaying of self, the purposeful, deliberate, willful sacrifice of the self of the flesh. This must take faith, for it counters every desire and impulse and human thought. When flesh dies, the spiritual person grows in Christ. A body of such people is the holy temple of righteousness. Of all things law can’t engender in us, self-sacrifice stands at the acme. Self-sacrifice means spiritual life. A body of spiritually alive brothers and sisters will know faith, do faith, and keep faith.

Series concluded

David Levin

Return to Top