It’s so exciting when the Lord reveals a much deeper meaning, if not even a totally different meaning for a familiar passage in the Bible than what we’ve heard most of our lives. And one such passage the Lord spoke to me about a while back is James 2:14-18, which says What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, 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 it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

Even though I’ve never quite understood why, this passage usually leads to a debate about whether we are saved by grace or by works; perhaps because other translations say “Faith without works is dead.” Yet, by reading this passage in context, it’s difficult to understand what that’s based on, so it’s a little like the age old question, which came first, the chicken or the egg.. But by reading James 2 in its entirety, it’s obvious that the meaning of this passage is that if we say we have faith and our actions and words don’t line up with what we profess to believe, then we really don’t believe it, and our faith is dead; or as the old saying goes, “actions speak louder than words!”

So as men and women standing on the power and promise of God’s Word for the restoration of our marriages and families, it’s important to examine our actions, the things we say and do, to make sure that our actions line up with our words; that we’re actually walking the talk instead of just talking the talk. And according to Hebrews 11:6, it’s really important to fully understand faith, what it is and what it isn’t, because it says And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. And it’s pretty hard to think of “coming to Jesus” without considering what He said in Matthew 19:14, which says Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” As I thought of that in this context, I was reminded of children believing and expecting that Christmas is coming on December 25th and wholeheartedly and eagerly anticipating the gifts they will receive; just as we should expect to receive everything God has promised to give us when we trust and obey Him. It NEVER even occurs to most children that there’s any other possibility than complete joy and excitement when the long awaited day arrives, so they just mark time as they eagerly and joyfully wait for it. Sadly, poor children are often the exception; just as those without faith are the exception and not able to eagerly and joyfully wait for the full and complete restoration of their marriages, even though God promises that our marriages will be better than what we had before and so much better than anything we could ever ask or imagine! So what’s the difference? Nothing but belief and unbelief; a lack of faith and that’s all. One believes and one doesn’t. Yet, the following passages of scripture make the danger of unbelief and faith without action very clear:

Hebrews 10:38 – But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.”

Matthew 13:58 – And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

Matthew 9:29 – Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”;

Unfortunately, we’re all too familiar with fear and doubt because they are definite faith killers and keep us from walking in the victory Jesus came to give us. And the more time spent fearing and dreading everything so contrary to the power and promise of God’s Word, the more likely we are to confirm the powerful truth of Job 3:25, where Job said What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. So instead of living with fear and dread, we need to remember and claim God’s awesome promise in Isaiah 41:10-11, which says So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. “All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. And there’s no way to read James 1:2-8 without realizing the danger of doubt and failure to persevere in faith as we stand for our marriages, because it says Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

Obviously, none of us can afford to let lack of faith and unbelief keep us from what God is so ready to give us if only we would trust and obey. But the only way to persevere in the faith needed to stand effectively for the full and complete restoration of our marriages and families is to get serious about God’s Word, which we know based on Romans 10:17, which says Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. And the vital necessity of God’s Word is made abundantly clear in Matthew 4:4, which says Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'” And that’s particularly important to understand since 2 Corinthians 5:7 says We live by faith, not by sight. So when we live by sight, we are NOT living by faith and we should not be surprised that our actions and everything we say and do just expose our lack of faith and unbelief. But God expects us to “believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” and when we have a hunger for His Word, that’s really easy and we will indeed be blessed and encouraged as we persevere in faith and lack nothing, including the marriages of our hearts’ desire!

Posted Friday, September 19th, 2008 at 5:35 pm in Seeds Of Faith.