13th
deadFAITH
So as James states in chapter 2 verse 26, “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.”
What does that mean?
Does it mean that if I claim to have faith in Jesus but continually struggle through sin, that my faith is not real and that it is dead?
Does it mean that, if I have a faith that takes me to church every week but I fail the read my Bible or pray regularly, that the faith that I have is dead and useless and possible not real?
Faith is, as Hebrews 11 states it to be, “The assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen.”
So if faith apart from works is dead, then how is it or when is it ALIVE?
Faith is like a sea…
Whether that sea is the so called Sea of Galilee or The Dead Sea.
The Dead Sea is a body of water, this sea has an inlet, so it is constantly full, full of salt. There is so much salinity that it prevents any kind of life form on or around it. So the issue here is that it stays full, doesn’t have an outlet. Water has to continually evaporate from it.
So it is called The Dead Sea.
A lot like Dead Faith.
Dead faith is still faith, it is a faith that still has the essence of salt (Matt 5:13) but the water (John 4:10) isn’t living and is continually evaporated. Dead faith is when we get filled up with the truth(s) of God but when we turn around we forget that truth, a lot like when we look at ourselves in the mirror and once we walk away, we forget what we look like, or the essence of who we are (James 1:22-25).
On the other hand ALIVE faith can be resembled like the Sea of Galilee, it not only has an inlet but it has an outlet. It is constantly being pour into but it also constantly pouring it self out. Which is makes it ALIVE and well.
A lot like our faith.
Faith that is ALIVE is not just about getting it’s 2 cents in, it is not just about going to church, reading the bible, or praying to be filled. There must be an outlet!!!
Alive Faith is a faith that is self-less and not selfish. It’s not about personal growth but kingdom growth. It doesn’t hold on to it’s salt like its loosing something (like this parable) but gives the world a taste (Psalm 34:8).
DEAD vs ALIVE faith isn’t about sin or not sinning but about giving and receiving the most abundant fullest life you could ever give or receive.
It’s about Jesus!!! He came not to be served but to serve. (Matt. 20:28)
