God’s kingdom is built on believing. It is also built on acting on what is believed. The two go hand in hand.
Many of us say we believe in God, but do we all act on God’s Word? Do we all confirm what we believe with our words, our actions, our interactions with others, our conduct, our attitude, our lifestyle?
Saved by grace
We are not saved by works, but we are saved onto good works. This means that if we are genuinely people of faith we will act on what we believe in the Word of God.
James tells us that ‘faith without works is dead (James 2:26).’ In other words, believing leads to corresponding action, and is confirmed by corresponding action, but it begins with faith in God and His Word to us.
Paul explains it beautifully:
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:8-10
Salvation comes first, then works, which is essentially corresponding action. This is because our own concept of works that could please God is flawed, so, until we’re saved and receive a new heart and new spirit we cannot discern the difference between what is right and what is wrong. We can’t do good works until we re saved.
Salvation is a gift. We cannot work for it, pay for it, nor earn it; nor do we even deserve it. It is given by God’s grace, which is His favour. If someone says, “I have a gift for you,” you don’t then have to say, “Oh, thanks, how much do I have to pay for it?” It is a gift. It is gratis. Jesus paid for it. It’s His gift.
A gift is not earned
So we need to understand that salvation is a gift. It was paid for by Jesus at the cross. We do not work for it. We cannot even pay some kind of penance in lieu of our former failures in order to earn God’s favour.
This is because we cannot make ourselves right with God by our own acts or deeds or works. Our righteousness without Him is completely inadequate. Isaiah likens it to filthy rags (Is.64:6).
God affords us righteousness because Jesus is righteous. Our new connection with Jesus through faith in Him and His cross brings us into His righteousness.
This right standing with God comes through salvation which is a free gift that we receive through believing and confessing that we acknowledge His offer of salvation through faith.
This new heart and spirit come through believing God’s Word as it is preached, and confessing what we know in our heart to be true as we receive it (Rom.10:10). We hear the gospel, believe the gospel and confess the gospel.
Doers of the Word
This is the underlying principle of kingdom living. We hear the Word, believe the Word, confess the Word and act on the Word. It applies to everything and is an essential part of being a follower of Christ. The just shall live by faith (Rom.1:17), and faith comes by the Word of God (Heb.11:17).
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
James 1:22-25
The more we do the Word the more we discover who we are in Christ. That is why we need to be constantly looking into the mirror of the Word, so that it reflects the image of His life onto us. We do not need statues, or icons or idols. All we need is the mirror of the Word. When we look into the Word we see Him and the image He reflects onto us.
When we see who He is and who He is to us, and what we are in Him, we will begin to become the people He has called us to be and we’ll know the works we are separated onto.
That is why the Word and faith in the Word are essential. There’s nothing we can do in the kingdom without faith, and faith comes by the Word.
If you’re unfamiliar with the journey of faith, you can find more about how it begins in this online booklet.
