We must not think all bible verses on faith are saving-faith, because faith in Jesus whose death, burial, resurrection, and abundant life, is the way we enter into a saving relationship with God; but after faith brings us into a saving relationship with God; then faith in Jesus is what enables us to daily live the Christian life, as members of Christ’s body, the church worldwide; thus saving-faith is result-faith, but Christian-living is a daily lifestyle-faith that excesses (gets us into) grace, and works through love, enabling the new person we have become in our new love-relationship with God, through faith and love for Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit—and it takes grace, accessed by faith, working through love (John 1:17; Romans 5:1-2; Galatians 5:6), to get into this love-relationship and then enable us to stay in it, for it is a daily growth-process.
The Apostle Paul, in Romans 10, explains the difference in “righteousness which is of the law” (verse 5), and “the righteousness of faith” (verse 6); thus, the result of saving-faith (that is not of works, verses 8-10), which is also what the Apostle John, in 1 John 5:1, 9-12, is saying, but verses 2-5 are about Christian-living as a daily-growth-lifestyle, so faith that changes us (changes our thinking; Romans 12:1-3), is overcoming-world-faith, based on John 16:33, where Jesus says He has already overcome the world for us, so lifestyle-faith has Christ Jesus, as our Peace in a world of anger, hate, and destruction (Ephesians 2:13-14; Philippians 4:6-9).
In both the daughter of the synagogue ruler, and the woman with the blood flow, in Mark 5, was result-faith that got results, but Jesus’ disciples in Acts 4:13-31, was lifestyle-faith, for their humble, submissive, united-prayer, caused God to show up and shake the building.
James 1:2-8 is lifestyle-faith, because he addresses Christian brothers, yet James warns about asking God for something, without any result-faith or lifestyle-faith to receive God’s answer.
James 2:1-13, is also not saving-faith, but warns against allowing our lifestyle-faith to become self-righteous pride and verses 14-26 is a strict warning that lifestyle-faith must work through love for needy Christian brothers or sisters, so our lifestyle-faith does what it takes to help them.
Some of us simply need to humble ourselves, ask God to get all of self out of us, so we can submit to God’s will, and receive His saving-faith (Hebrews 12:2), to become a newly-created (2 Corinthians 5:17), person in Christ Jesus; but some of us simply need to humble ourselves, ask God to empty us of self, submit to God’s will, and receive Holy Spirit-enablement, for a mind-attitude-change that completely changes our lifestyle for God’s glory, honor, and will.
Disunity because of no love among members of Christ’s body, the church, is obvious there is either a desperate need for saving-faith, lifestyle-faith, or both, for God never sends confusion to divide the members of Christ’s body, the church (1 Corinthians 14:33), so church members must faith-pray-in-the-Holy Spirit (Jude 1:20-21; Romans 8:24-30)), until Christian unity becomes lifestyle-grace, accessed by most holy faith, working through perfect love.
But God’s lifestyle-grace, faith, love, and peace, must operate in us daily, both in and out of church services (but not in disobedience or manipulative protests), because Jesus, in John 13:34-35, tells us He has given us a new commandment: love one another; as He has loved us; so we can then love one another (1 John 4:19). For by this lifestyle-faith, working through lifestyle-love, people will know we are Christ’s disciples, for we love one another. This is why living the Christian life on a daily basis is not only awesome joy, but essential, predictable evangelism.
(God does not complicate Christianity; people do (Ecclesiastes 12:9-14).
Jim Nabors
