Billy Joe Daugherty - Faith With Corresponding Actions

Faith with Corresponding Actions

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Billy Joe Daugherty

"Faith, if not followed by actions, is, by itself, a lifeless thing."

James 2:17 TCNT

Contents

Faith Is ...

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1

Faith is now, which means it is alive and powerful. Faith is the realization or the title deed of that which is unseen. Though it is invisible, faith is something we believe and it is settled on the inside of us.

Do you have faith that God is your Father, even though you cannot see Him? Faith is the evidence, or the belief in what God's Word says, about things you have not seen.

Romans 10:17 says, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." So when you hear God's Word, your faith has the potential of increasing. If you are low on faith, increase your Word level.

The Word gives us a revelation of things that are not seen. It tells us who God is and who His Son Jesus Christ is. It tells us what Jesus did for us through His death, burial, and resurrection. This is why we need to increase our Word level and our meditation of it throughout each day.

The spirit of faith is defined by Paul in Second Corinthians 4:13: "I believed and therefore I spoke, we also believe and therefore speak."

James adds another dimension to our faiththe other side of the coinin the next chapter.

"For we walk by faithby believing, speaking, and acting upon the promises of Gods Wordnot by sight."

2 Corinthians 5:7

Faith Without Works Is Dead

James presents the other side of the faith coin in James 2:14-26. In addition to believing, receiving, and confessing the promises of God, there must be some works or corresponding actions. We could also call it a Spirit-led follow-through or obedience to what God has told you to do.

What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?

If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,

And one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?

James 2:14-16

In other words, to simply say, "Be warmed and filled," and not provide the practical needs so the person can be warmed and filled, is of no benefit. There needs to be practical works, a follow-through, or corresponding actions to what you are believing and speaking. This is why we started the Tulsa Dream Center to put feet to our faith and help the poor in our city in numerous ways. A few of these outreaches, to which we have put corresponding actions to our faith, are:

Food and Clothing Distribution

Dental Services

Medical Services

Legal Services

Educational Services (Includes after-school tutoring for children as well as a computer training program)

Recreational Opportunities

Spiritual Enrichment Opportunities

James goes on to say, "Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead" (James 2:17). "Works" as used here means corresponding actions, follow-through, or a Spirit-directed response. It is something you do that is in agreement with what you are believing and speaking.

In Galatians Paul says we are saved by faith, not works. James says you cannot be saved without works. James is not talking about the same works that Paul is talking about. Paul is talking about the works of the law. James is talking about the works that correspond with your faith in Jesus Christ, about obeying His voice and doing what He says.

Think about it! God didn't just save us for our lip service. He intended for us to give Him our whole heartevery part of our beingand develop a relationship with Him.

In verses 18 and 19 James says:

But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

"You believe that there is one God.

You do well. Even the demons believeand tremble!"

People say, "I believe in God," and James says, "So do the devils!" James is talking about hearing and doing the Word. In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus was talking about the same thing as James: not only hearing the Word, but becoming a doer of it.

But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?

James 2:20 ,21

James contends that God decreed righteousness into Abraham when he believed God and did what He told him to do. God told Abraham to take his son and offer him as a sacrifice. This was a Spirit-directed response to the word of the Lord. He put corresponding actions with his belief in God.

Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works [corresponding actions or a Spirit-led follow-through] faith was made perfect?

And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God. [Abraham demonstrates his belief in God by putting action to what God has spoken.]

You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

James 2:22-26

Years ago Sharon and I were youth directors in the church where Kenneth E. Hagin's Campmeetings began. One speaker, Fred Price, told a story about a starving man who had a plate of well-prepared food in front of him. His confession was, "I believe if I eat this food I will not die." There was nothing wrong with his belief system, but there were no works or corresponding actions to his belief. He never touched the food.

A fresh food tray was brought in the second day and the starving man's confession was the same: "I believe if I eat this food I will not die." There was no follow-through to what he believed. Again, he never touched the food.

The third day the scene was repeated. The man's confession was right, but he never touched the food. Death was eminent because he took no action to agree with what he believed.

You can say, "I believe" repeatedly, like this starving man, but if there is no follow-through or action, you will be defeated.

Biblical Examples of Faith with Corresponding Actions

Noah

Noah heard the word of the Lord: "I'm going to send a flood that will destroy all flesh, but I will save you and your family. I am commanding you to build an ark." Then God gave Noah the dimensions and instructions for building the ark (see Genesis, chapters 6, 7, and 8).

It took over a hundred years for Noah to complete the project. Mercy prevailed during those years as Noah worked on the ark and continued preaching the Word to all who would hear. Noah could have sat on the front porch of his little cabin and said, "When the flood comes, I believe my family will be saved."

Noah's grandfather was Methuselah, who lived longer than any other man. His name meant, "The flood will come when he dies." God put a time clock in the earth. In the year Methuselah was 969 years old, he died. Noah was 600 years old and the flood came.

When it started raining, Noah could have said, "I believe I will not drown." But because he put corresponding action with the word of the Lord, both he and his family were saved while every other living thing on the face of the earth was drowned.

Isaac

We find another illustration of faith that required works or corresponding actions in Genesis 26. In the midst of a famine, the Lord spoke to Isaac:

"Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you.