How
are we to understand the relationship between ‘faith’ and ‘practice’? When we
read the Gospel accounts we see that, for Jesus, faith is always expressed
through our attitudes and actions. Faith appears as a response to revelation
that leads to a spoken confession, an appropriation of healing, an act of
obedience, of compassion or of mercy. Above all, faith is focussed as a
response to the person and ministry of Jesus. In this, we might describe Christian
faith as ‘purposeful participation in the life, ministry and victory of Jesus
Christ’.
An
emphasis on ‘Jesus Christ as the sole and absolute authority in all matters pertaining
to faith and practice’, reminds us that the focus of our faith is to be Jesus
Christ and all that He conveys to us, in and through His life, death and
resurrection. The focus of faith is not introspective searching for surety. The
focus of faith is Jesus Christ Himself and all that He calls us into, in our
participation in His life. Our focus is to be on a faith that issues in practices
in our life that conform to Christ; and not simply statements of belief or
opinion.
Faith
This
distinction, between a Christ-centred faith and mere belief, is important.
Belief on any matter, in today’s culture, has become privatised and thereby made
socially impotent. Shrouded in a secular philosophy that can be both
relativistic and nihilistic, belief has become an opinion or perspective hidden
in the mind of each person. This fits well where, in the public sphere, acquiescence
to political correctness and conformity to the dictates of those in power is
demanded of all. Such an anodyne perspective on faith was not always the norm. The
earliest extra-biblical accounts of interaction between Christians and political
authorities show that it was the refusal of Christians to conform to societal
norms, when these norms demanded expression of allegiance that contradicted the
authority of Jesus Christ in their lives, that led to the persecution of early
Christians. It was seeing the distinctiveness in the lives of Christians,
however, that also led to the conversion of many to Christianity. Such was the
nature of faith. As the Apostle James states, ‘show me your faith without
deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do’ (James 2.8).
It
is necessary for us, in our day, to redeem the word ‘faith’ for its full,
Biblical usage. We need to separate it from the popular term, ‘belief’. Yes,
people may believe what they like; because belief, in the end of the day, is
whimsical and fanciful. But faith? Faith is a declaration of conviction and commitment
to action. The seeds of faith lead to the fruit of practices expressed in our
deeds. This was clear in the thinking of the first Christians where we see,
from the book of Acts, how their faith – as with that of the Lord Jesus
Christ Himself - caused them to speak and act in a way that brought them into
conflict with the dominating powers and principalities, the forces that exercised
spiritual, social and economic oppression over the culture and context in which
they lived.
Faith
in Jesus Christ is found in an offering of all that we are to God our Father,
to be empowered and enabled by the Holy Spirit, that we might be conformed (2
Corinthians 3.18) to the likeness of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Hebrews
1.2). Christian faith, as the Bible understands it, is captured in the
acronym, ‘Forsaking All I Take Him’. It is a self-conscious response to the
embrace of God our Father’s unfathomable, holy love. As He sweeps us up into
His arms, through the workings of the Holy Spirit, He prepares and positions us
for our deeper participation in the ministry of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ.
Practice
‘Practice’,
as our Declaration of Principle speaks of: what does it entail? Practice is what
is expressed out of our faith. Practice springs from convictions formed and
rooted within us, through the teaching and promptings of the Holy Spirit. It is
what is born in worship, not only in song, but in the expression of the Hebrew Shema
in the life of God’s people: that the One God is our God and that we ‘love the
Lord our God with all our heart, soul and strength’ (Deuteronomy 6.4). Such
a ‘practice’ is what arises out of our being engrafted into participation in
the life, ministry and victory of Jesus Christ (John 15).
It
is important, in all of this, that we distinguish between the necessary
evidencing of ‘practice’, as the fruit of faith, from what are termed, ‘works
of the Law’. As the Apostle Paul makes clear, when we focus on our own deeds rather
than upon Christ’s authority over our lives, we do not make ourselves acceptable
to God: works of the law, in terms of our conforming to our own, modified
interpretation of God’s will, are futile (Romans 3.27, 9.23; Galatians
2.16, 3.19). Faith that is rooted in Jesus Christ, on the other
hand, leads to our participation and fruitfulness in ministry (Galatians 3.5).
True faith is moulded in Christ as modelled by Abraham who, as our forefather
in faith, invested in God’s covenantal faithfulness. Abraham trusted in what
God declared, concerning what would be fulfilled in Jesus Christ (Romans 4).
Faith focusses on the fullness that comes in Jesus Christ.
In All Matters
What
of the expression, ‘In all matters’? This tells us that God is interested in
what we invest in, participate in and do with our lives. When it comes to the
development and exercise of our faith, in the manner of our living, there is no
area of our life that is to be outside the jurisdiction of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Here is the essence of our calling, as God’s children. God is moulding
and maturing within each one of us an identity that will carry us forward into
the New Heavens and New Earth, where we live and minister as the children of
God. We will serve Him, as He holds and fashions the Cosmos, in a way He
designed us for, as He intended for the first men and women (Genesis 1.26-27).
Moreover,
this expression reminds us that there are some matters essential to faith; and others
that can be viewed and treated as incidental to our living, within our culture
and context. God is interested in honing and cultivating our faith and life-practices
into conformity to Christ, whatever the particular culture or context that we
find ourselves in. Whether we catch a bus or drive a car, whether we are poor
or rich, God is interested in how we engage with our society.
God’s
primary interest lies neither in validating nor negating the structures of the
society you find yourself embedded in. God is interested in the spread of His
Kingdom rule, come in and through Jesus Christ (Mark 1.14-15). God wants
you to bring the presence and ministry of Jesus Christ to savour society around
you. This is why the Creator Spirit, the Holy Spirit, would comes to you in
intensified power, to enable (Luke 4.18-19) you to live in a way that
declares and demonstrates the glory of God (Acts 2.11).
Questions
for reflection:
·
Is there a difference, in your
understanding, between ‘faith’ and ‘belief’?
·
What practices are most important to you, in
your Christian life?
·
Which, of your practices, most need further
development?
