You Believe in God but Now Have Faith in Him

Reverend Leo H. McCrary II

There is a difference between belief and faith. Does God desire religion or does the Lord desire sincerity? This is a question we must answer.

Introduction

Many say they believe in God, but they don’t move acording to their profession.  This has been a common issue dating back to ancient times.  In his epistle, James focused a great deal on the notion of faith being alive and active (Jas. 2:17).  In our Sunday School commentary this week, we will discuss James 1:19-27, a word of encouragment to be doers of the word.

Belief vs. Faith 

Many think “believing” and “having faith” share the same meaning, being synonymous with each other.  However, believing and having faith don’t mean the same thing. 

Belief is accepting something as being true.  For example, some believe that a beautiful day is a sunny day with no clouds in the sky.  Others may believe a beautiful day is a partly cloudy day with fluffy clouds in the sky.  

However, what we believe can also change over time.  For example, as a child, I believed that a cheeseburger was good without pickles, onions, and tomatoes.  As an adult, I’ve stopped being so picky, and I can’t imagine eating a cheeseburger without pickles, lettuce, bacon, onion, and my homegrown tomatoes.  

Faith, on the other hand, speaks to having a deeper level of loyalty to what one believes.  The only change in faith is that it grows and matures in what one believes. Such growth in faith leads one to have a great level of confidence in what they believe so that they aren’t persuaded away from what they believe. 

So, faith must be active in order for it to grow – faith is living, breathing, and moving.

What Do We Believe In

The one who says they believe in God ought to also share in what He believes.  This is not to say that God believes in another deity.  However, God has a way.  In Exodus 34:6-7, when the Lord passed before Moses, He proclaimed that He is merciful and gracious, longsuffering (patient), and abounds in goodness and truth.  The Lord also proclaimed that He is forgiving and also just in His judgments.

God’s way has been ministered to mankind, first through the prophets.  Then, God gave His only begotten Son, again showing His way is a way of grace of mercy.  When we were sinners, God did not condemn us; He showed us mercy, giving us the opportunity of salvation.

 The one who says they believe in God, believe in grace, mercy, compassion, and forgiveness.   For the one who believes, each day is a day where one should grow in their love and in their compassion.  For the one who believes, they should be faithful (loyal), in moving in the love and compassion of Christ.  Faith puts forth a sincere effort.

Producing the Righteousness of God

The believer has a high calling from the Lord.  Jesus tasked the believer with sharing the good news of the gospel with all people, in the hopes that one will repent of sin (Matt. 28:19).  God’s will is that all will be saved from the penalty of sin and dwell with Him in His heavenly kingdom (John 6:39-40; 2 Pet. 3:9).

So, the goal of every believer ought to be to fulfill our calling and to bear good fruit.  By bearing the fruit of the Spirit, the believer will produce the righteousness of God (Gal. 5:22) – love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

To bear good fruit and produce the righteousness of God, James stated that one must be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath (Jas. 1:19-20).  Who must the believer be swift to listen to and not talk over?  The Holy Spirit.

The role of the Holy Spirit is to teach and declare the Word to the believer (John 14:26).  The Holy Spirit also guides us into all truth (John 16:13).  For one to be led by the Word, by the Spirit, one must be receptive of the Word.  It is hard to be receptive of the Spirit if our heart and mind are focused elsewhere.  

The reason why so many struggle to hear and comprehend God’s Word is that their heart and mind are elsewhere.  If you aren’t heeding the voice of the Spirit, it is impossible to bear good fruit.  A tree cannot bear fruit if it does not receive any water; it withers and dries up without water and nutrients.

Wrath, as James pointed out, also cannot produce the righteousness of God.  Wrath (anger) stands in complete opposition to the fruits of the Spirit.  Many are combative in their efforts to minister the gospel.  The Lord has not called on us to be combative defenders and preachers of the good news.

Anger and combativeness will push away those who should be drawing near to God.  Love and compassion, on the other hand, welcomes in those who desire to draw near to God – this is the righteousness of God.

Are You Being True to What You Believe?

It is at this point in his letter that James asks those who profess faith whether their faith is true or not.   

Lay aside the way of sin

In James 1:21-25, James holds up a mirror to one who professes to be of faith and asks, What do you see looking back at you?

The object that James uses as the mirror is the word of God.  Paul said that the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword; it pierces to the division of soul and spirit, and is a discerner of thoughts and intents of the heart (Heb. 4:12).

Oftentimes, when we think of the word of God, we think of the written word – Scripture.  The written word is so powerful because it comes from God and points to the living Word.  The living Word is the Word that was with God in the beginning and was God (John 1:1).  The living Word said that He is the way to the Father, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

When one looks into the word of God, as a mirror, the Word will reflect the truth.  Christ declared that all must repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matt. 4:17).  This was a declaration that all have sinned and must turn away from sin.  

So, if one believes in God, therefore believing the declaration of His Word, then one should faithfully repent.  As James said, one should lay aside all filthiness (Jas. 1:21).  Filthiness, we should understand, is sin – that which stands in opposition to God’s way.  So, conduct unbecoming of God, like anger, bitterness, and wrath should be laid aside.

Jesus taught, “Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).”  Those who believe in Christ are washed by His blood and born again, renewed and made alive in their soul (Rom. 12:2; Eph. 1:2; 2:1).

The lie of the professed believer

The Word of God separates, or sanctifies, those who are of true faith from those who aren’t of faith (1 Cor. 6:11).

When one who hears the word but does not do the word looks into the mirror, James said they see their natural face (Jas. 1:23).  Let’s be clear, the natural face of is that of a sinner.  They see the face of a sinner because they have not been faithful to the word.

For example, when you are preparing to go out and look into your mirror, if something is out of place, you’d make corrections.  If there are any blemishes, if there is any lint in your hair or on your face, you will remove it.  

The one who hears the word and does not do, saw things were out of place, but chose not to make any corrections.  If you say you believe in God, but you have not laid aside your filthiness, you have no faith.  Making matters worse is that such a one will go out and minister the word.

The word of God ought to make you correct some things in your soul.  Jesus taught that we must remove the plank (or speck) out of our eyes before we can minister to others what they ought to do (Matt. 7:3-5).  Ministering in such a way where we have made no correction would cause us to be self-righteous hypocrites.

The one who received the Word and moved to make corrections are a hearer and a doer of the Word.  The hearer and doer of the word is blessed (Jas. 1:25).  The doer is blessed because they moved to wash away their sins, and it was done for them.

The one who hears the word and doesn’t do it, James repeatedly spoke of how they deceive themselves (Jas. 1:22,26).  Truly, many have deceived themselves, thinking they are a child of God when they have not laid aside their sin.  In this self-deception, the world hurts, even to this day, by those who think they are moving according to God’s word.

God’s way, I remind you, is a way that is of grace and mercy, love and compassion for all.  As James said, sincere faith helps to uplift those who are in need (Jas. 1:27).  If you move in a manner that incites harm and inflicts pain and suffering, understand that your way is not of the Lord.

Whoever takes pleasure in the pain and suffering of their neighbor is not of the Lord.  In his epistle, John wrote that whoever hates his brother (his fellow man) is in darkness and walks in darkness because he is blinded by darkness (1 John 2:11).   Such words ought to be a wake up call for anyone who proclaims to believe in God, but does not put forth the effort of living according to His way.