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The Working of Faith

Within the various congregations of the Church of God, there is a focus on obedience to the law of God and many will quote a scripture such as John 14:15.

John 14:15
If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Many within the congregations interpret this verse to mean that obedience must come before love. A possible mathematical equation to this idea could look like this:

Commandment keeping = loving Jesus

Converting the above equation to a sentence, we would read that commandment keeping results in loving Jesus.

I respect all who see these above equations or similar to them from verses like this in the Bible and when I read the surrounding verses from John 14, I see a different equation that looks something like this:

Loving Jesus = Commandment Keeping

Converting this equation to a sentence, we would read that loving Jesus results in commandment keeping. With both of these equations, there is a direct correlation between loving Jesus and keeping the commandments. One is not valid without the other. You cannot keep the commands and hate Jesus and hope to have any benefit. On the other hand, one cannot love Jesus and not keep his commands. However a perverted benefit may arise from either of these thought processes, Satan is involved. Continuing in verse 16 of John 14:

John 14:16
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

When we are given the Holy Spirit we are not given the Holy Spirit because of our obedience. This is clear from Galatians.

Galatians 3:2-3
This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

When we are given the Holy Spirit it is because of faith, not obedience. Now what is tricky about this, is that faith, if alive, will manifest itself, and in this case faith manifests as obedience. Faith is more than a believe, faith results in action, or it is dead. This is why James wrote.

James 2:17-18
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

Obedience is a working of faith, but does not replace faith. Obedience is not the only working of faith. In the second chapter of James immediately prior to verses 17-18, we see examples of how faith might manifest itself in everyday life, and in these examples faith manifests itself by taking care of those in need.

John 14:17-24
Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.

In these verses, Jesus explained that faith manifests itself through obedience and results in Jesus and the Father manifesting themselves to only the faithful, those whose faith results in action. Jesus concludes by stating in verse 24 that those who do not keep the sayings of Jesus do not love Jesus, and in reality are rejecting the sayings of the Father. As Christians we do what we do not based on obedience to the law. We do not disregard the commandments or sayings of Jesus. Doing this is rejecting the commandments and sayings of the Father. As Christians, we do what we do based on faith, and that faith will manifest itself in many different ways. Obedience and taking care of those in need are just two examples of how faith might manifest itself. Christians, the faithful, are those whose faith is alive and results in action!

All verses are from the King James Version.
This site provided by Tom Laign. To all who may believe differently, I also extend peace and love.
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