Faith is to the Christian life what walking is to be human.
Walking is the most common physical activity of the human species. It takes us to food, work and friends and contributes to physical fitness.
“Walking is so mechanically and energetically complicated that if we actually had to think our way through each element involved, we might never move again.”
Faith is the signature element of Christianity. It takes us where we are going. Faith works in us what God plans. We are saved by grace through faith. Faith is the mechanism where grace is accomplished.
Just as walking takes us where we need to go to live.
Faith takes us where we need to be in God.
Faith is the mechanism of motivation, locomotion, movement in Jesus Christ.
In him, we move, live, and have our being.
We are in Christ.
Our World, our Christian World is Jesus.
His Spirit,
His Leading,
His Plan,
His Kingdom….
We are in Him and He is in us.
There are SO many things that faith requires that if it we overthink it… we would just fall down.
Let me requite the statement of above and think of it in terms of faith.
“Walking is so mechanically and energetically complicated that if we actually had to think our way through each element involved, we might never move again.”
So it is with the faith discussion. People try to break all the parts down of what FAITH does and isolate those things away from and exclude in what faith is.
We are saved by grace through faith.
Faith believes
faith professes
faith repents
faith baptizes
faith obeys
faith prays
faith gives
faith forgives
the list of what faith … the spirit of faith… the fruit of the spirit produces…
It’s not a work. It’s not a discipline. It’s a natural by product of the faith filled spirit in the child of the believer.
People get lost in the long laundry list of what the Bible teaches, commands, requires and people think… I can never do that.
Of course YOU can’t. The spirit of Faith does that in us.
Philippians 2:12-14
12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
Let God do it.
Can anyone be saved was the question of the Disciples of Jesus when he told the story of the rich man.
“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 19:23-26
We hear it and see it today, the doubt the disciples expressed at the Words of Jesus.
Can anyone be saved?
Jesus said, with man it is impossible.
With God? Possible.
How? Faith.
Faith is how we do it.
Walk Right.
Talk Right.
Live Right.
Pray Right.
Stay Right.
Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
Whatsoever is faith…
Listen to/read this… drink this in.
1 John 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
The Study mentioned
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/19/well/move/faster-slower-how-we-walk-depends-on-who-we-walk-with-and-where-we-live.html?fbclid=IwAR04gnuNxuJa-E5N-tvKgv07Kqfsqa8lOB_V7kD1s4WnoUL709QZBWOdlKA
Story of the Study at link.