Living by Faith: “The just shall live by faith.” Before we can understand living by faith, we must understand the nature of faith.
There are two aspects of faith. The first is intellectual assent. The second is committing my life, to that which I have assented. (Hebrews 11:1 is a description, not a definition of faith) Christian faith is believing what God has said and then conforming my actions to those beliefs. Dead faith is when these two aspects are separated. Faith is useless when I believe one thing but I am unwilling to live in conformity with that belief. (James 2)
The nature of living faith will never change but the specific object of this faith will change with the context.
What is the faith that will bring eternal salvation? First I must know and assent to certain truths. I must believe that God says I am a sinner. I must believe that Jesus Christ died to forgive my sins. I must believe there is nothing I can do to save myself other than asking for God’s forgiveness based on Jesus' death. But believing these things to be true does not in and of itself bring salvation. It is necessary to then act upon this belief by asking and accepting God’s forgiveness and to stop acting like I think I did or can do anything to save myself. I must also turn from whatever else I was previously trusting in to make me acceptable, to thanking God for His pardon.
Having faith in the basic gospel of eternal salvation does not mean that I am living by faith. It means that I was made alive by faith and therefore I am still alive by faith, but I am not necessarily living (walking) by faith. Every time I am confronted with a promise or command of God, I am confronted with a chance to exercise faith or not. For instance: God promises He is able to supply all my needs according to His riches in glory. I believe this. God commands that I should give. Each month when I look at my bills and I look at my money and find that the bills are greater than my money, I must see if my actions will conform to my belief. If I give, I act in faith. If I do not give, I do not act in faith. Even more, even if I have enough money but I am just too busy or preoccupied to give, my actions do not conform to my belief. Without faith it is impossible to please God. That part of my life dealing with stewardship does not please God.
So a person may be a man of faith in some areas of his life but not in others. The goal is to become a man of faith in all areas. Living by faith means increasing knowledge of what God desires from me and then changing my thoughts, actions and goals to conform to those desires.
What if someone is unaware of God’s promise about meeting needs or the command to give (or any promise)? It is always good to act according to God’s character. So, to give to help another is good even if done just to make yourself feel good. However, it does not please God in the sense that it will lead to reward (rewards are another subject to be addressed later) if it is not based upon at least a general awareness and desire to follow God’s character or command or promise. If dead faith is intellectual assent unaccompanied by appropriate action, I suggest that correct action unaccompanied by intellectual assent is faith that is not yet conceived (i.e. unborn). I would also suggest that correct action unaccompanied by intellectual assent is far preferable to correct belief unaccompanied by corresponding action. That which is unborn has great potential but that which is dead, stinks.
Faith is bold--not blind. Acting on what God has clearly said and/or in conformity with His character no matter the obstacles is bold. Acting on premonition or unfounded belief is not faith, it is foolishness. Acting on good intentions or altruistic desires apart from God's promises and expecting God to grant success is often presumptious.
