Fatih Grows Out of Actions

Saving Faith - that by which we are justified, made right with G0d - is a gift of God; and, yes it involes a rational process as well since it comes from hearing the Word of God... "All right," the struggling Christian may say, "but practically speaking, how does my faith become real? How do I get that vibrant, strong faith of Christian maturity?"

That's where obedience comes in. For maturing faith - faith which deepens and grows as we live our Christian life - is not just knwoledge, but knowledge acted upon. It is not just belief, but belief lived out- praciced. James said we are to be doers of the Word, not just hearers. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor martyred in a Nazi concentration camp, succinctly stated this crucial interrelationship: " Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believe."

This may sound like a circular proposition, but many things are - in truth and in practice. Think of learning how to swim. We are told what to do. We gingerly enter the water, launch out, and promptly forget everything we've been told. We flail about, splashing frantically, gasping and sinking. Finally, usually at the point of utter despair, we capture for a moment the sensation of staying afloat. Realizing it is possible, we remember our instructions and begin to follow them. They work. Like learning to balance a bicycle or mastering a foreign language, faith is a state of mind that grows out of our actions, just as it also governs them.

- Loving God by Charles Colson