Living Faith Works

Living faith takes action to do God's will. Faith works through us. God can do anything that He chooses to do without us. However, God has chosen to work through us. Living faith confesses, prays, and does the the will of God. "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also"(James 2:26).

Living faith says, "I will do the word of God. He has put it in my heart. He is working through me to the praise of his glory. I am a doer of the word." The Bible says,"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves"(James 1:22).

Some may think that faith does nothing, and depends upon God to do everything. However, the Bible teaches that we are laborers together with God (1 Corinthians 3:9). It is God's will for living faith to work through us. Let me illustrate. Put a glove on your hand to do the work before you. The glove does not do the work alone, neither can it. The hand works through the glove. So, God works through us (Philippians 2:13).

Maybe you are in a situation where you are asking God to do something about it. If so, pray like this, "God, what would you have me to do?" Living faith is a doer of the word. It rises up to do something about it. Living faith is doing God's will.

Will God Show Partiality?

The apostle Peter learned through divine revelation that God is not partial. He was a Jew sent by God to preach to Gentiles. "Then Peter opened his mouth and said, 'In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality"(Acts 10:34).

God shows no partiality, because of His love for the world (John 3:16). The good news is that God loves sinners, and He proved it at the cross of Jesus. Jesus did not die for good people, because there are none (Romans 3:10, 23). We have all sinned and come short of God's glory. Jesus died for sinners (Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Once and for all, God proved His love for us at the cross of Jesus.

God shows no partiality, because His mercy and grace is toward all nations. The Bible declares: "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men" (Titus 2:11). There's abundant mercy in God for all nations (Revelation 5:9). 

God's mercy is for all nations. Jesus sent the apostles into all nations to preach the gospel and make disciples (Matthew 28:19). The invitation of God the Father, through Jesus Christ, is offered to all people with no partiality. "Whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins" (Acts 10:43).

How to Walk with God

Every believer may walk with God. Yes, we walk with God daily by faith. The walk of faith is our walk with God. He welcomes us to walk with him. Believers can walk with God daily. "For we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7).

You may say, "I don't feel worthy to walk with God." Neither do I. We don't feel worthy because we are not worthy. Yet, faith in Jesus Christ enables us to walk with God. He died for all our sins upon the cross. He forgives our sins. In Christ alone, we become worthy to walk with God. Walking with God is by faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.

You may say, "I don't know how to begin the walk with God." The Holy Spirit initiates the walk in our hearts. He gives us the faith to walk with God. He sustains our faith day by day. Walking with God is walking in the Spirit. "I say then: Walk in the Spirit" (Galatians 5:16). His gift of faith enables believers to walk with God today.

All believers walk with God, as we walk in love. The love of God is the constant companion of all who walk with God. Love will lead you each step of the way. Love will walk with you on the right path. Love will walk with you through every valley. Love will keep you all along the way. "And walk in love as Christ has also loved us" (Ephesians 5:2). 

Concurrent Sovereignty

Sovereignty without human responsibility leads to fatalism. On the other hand, teaching human responsibility while neglecting God's sovereignty leads to deism, where God is simply not ruling in our world. Then, God is nothing more than a spectator. Neither can ever be acceptable according to Holy Scripture.

Concurrence is God's sovereignty plus our responsibility. The Bible teaches both. Consider this illustration. The farmer plows the soil, sows the seed, and continues to cultivate the field. Yet, only God can give the increase. This was the illustration given by the apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 3:5-9). Here we understand the sovereignty of God concurrent with our responsibility.

God is sovereign over all. He is the Almighty, beside whom there is no other. He is the Creator, sustaining and ruling over all. Yet, God has given us choice that makes us responsible and accountable to Him. Therein, we find the basis of God's judgment. Therefore, God speaks to us in the Bible with exhortations and commands.

Concurrence is God's sovereignty including our responsibility. Theological systems that teach God's sovereignty without our responsibility will lead to the error of fatalism. God's sovereignty and our responsibility are always concurrent.

How God Leads You

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God (Romans 8:14). Each and every believer may be led by the Holy Spirit. He lives in the heart of every true believer in Jesus Christ (Romans 8:9). God will lead you on the right path day after day. The Bible teaches clearly how God will lead you. 

God leads you by the fruit of the Holy Spirit. The fruit includes love, joy, and peace. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace (Galatians 5:22). God will lead us with love, joy and peace. Such fruit proves that God is leading us.

God leads you by love. When we follow the Lord, then we love God and others. The Spirit of God leads us with joy. When you refuse to follow, joy evades you. God will lead us with peace. It is the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7).

God leads you daily. He will not force you to follow. However, there are only two choices. One is to follow the Holy Spirit. The other one is to go astray. Even when you go astray, the Holy Spirit is there to lead you back into the right way.

When you follow the Holy Spirit, we discover love, joy, and peace. When you don't follow, then you doubt God's love, forfeit real joy, and replace peace with confusion. The choice is clear. The results are predictable, when God leads you.

How We Are Blessed

We are blessed in Christ "to the praise of the glory of His grace"(Ephesians 1:6). Grace means that every blessing comes to us as the gift of God in Christ. A gift cannot be bought nor earned. Every blessing of God is received by grace through faith in Christ.

We are blessed "with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3). By faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, all the blessings of God are ours. We need not beg God to bless us. We need not struggle nor strive to receive God's blessings. They are all ours by grace through faith in Christ.

We are blessed us in so many ways. In the first chapter of Ephesians several of those blessings are mentioned. We are blessed with God's love, grace, peace, truth, forgiveness, and wisdom, through the Holy Spirit. There are countless more blessings "not only in this age, but also in the age to come"(Ephesians 1:21). All these blessings are ours by grace through faith in Christ.

You may ask, how can I thank God for all of these blessings in Christ? Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Praise is the expression of a grateful heart to God for all of His blessings in Christ. Worship is giving thanks and praise to God through our prayers and songs. Praise God, because you are blessed in Christ.

God Foreknows Us

God's attributes include foreknowledge. God foreknows us in Christ. God foreknows all things. His foreknowledge has to do with all His people in Christ. God has foreknown His people in Christ. God foreknows His relationship with each one of us. We are foreknown as justified and glorified in Christ (Romans 8:28-30).

Augustine taught that God's people are foreknown in Christ. "Since only One foreknows, only One knows that number and can already name them by name, not because this is already decreed by universal foreordination, but because God's knowing is contemporary with every moment in time, including future moments with all their contingencies."

God foreknows us in Christ, yet that does not remove the command for all people to repent (Acts 17:30). God foreknows us in Christ through a personal relationship, yet that does not dismiss our responsibility. We are responsible for our choices. We must repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, according to the gospel (1 Peter 1:2; 2 Peter 1:10).

God foreknows us in a personal relationship through Christ. All of us are foreknown through the eternal covenant with Christ, the great Shepherd (Hebrews 13:20-21). God's foreknowledge includes all things to the least detail. God foreknows us in Christ as his people. That includes our calling, gifting, and service (Ephesians 1:4-6; 2:10).