Was not Abraham our father justified by works,
when he had offered Isaac his son upon
the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought
with his works, and by works was faith
made perfect? and the Scripture was
fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed
God, and it was imputed unto him for
righteousness: and he was called the Friend
of God. Ye see then how that by works a man
is justified, and not be faith only. likewise
also was not Rahab the harlot justified by
works, when she had received the messengers,
and had sent them out another way?
For as the body without the spirit is dead,
so faith without works is dead also.
James 2:21-26
Are you getting the point? Faith without works is dead! Period! Our faith is not in works, but in Jesus Christ and we from our faith in Him allow ourselves to be spent in the service of God. Not service as we want to have service to be, rather the service that God has given to us as outlined in Scripture. You, me, all Authentic Christians must become intentional and not to allow apathy, or laziness, or anything else to come before our responsibility. Yes, this will require a readjusting of your time and how you spend your time. If this is not done then is your faith a living faith or a dead faith?
We live in a "Modern" world, as though the past world was not "modern" to those living then, but we in this "Modern, or Postmodern" world have lost the ability to critically think and allowed the past to have less value than the present. By this loss the narratives of the Old Testament have lost some of their meaning, or have become nothing more than stories, shallow stories and from that shallowness comes superficial applications. The historical event surrounding the two sons of Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac, have a message about man's relationship with God. In this narrative we find faith in a dynamic form. God made two covenants, one with Ishmael, and one with Isaac. The Abrahamic Covenant in regards to Isaac was represented by Mount Moriah, and the covenant in regards to Ishmael was Mount Sinai. We must understand the difference between these convents for by these covenants we find unconditional illustration towards our salvation. The Mosaic Covenant is conditional and deals with our worship and by this covenant we come to understand our dual responsibilities toward God (salvation) and man (worship).
In Genesis we find that men are declared righteous by faith: "And he believed in the LORD; and He counted it to him for righteousness" (Genesis 15:6). Yes we are declared righteous by our faith but this faith is not the only thing that is required of us, there must be action, a working of your faith as it was for Abraham. The Abrahamic Covenant which is unconditional gave to Abraham this order, an order of works: "Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you" (Genesis 12:1). Abram could not just sit idly by and allow someone else to do what God had commanded, the command was for him to do what God required. This is true of us, we have a command of God, first to take the Gospel to the world, this means you cannot be apathetic and say someone else who is more qualified than you should do this, no, you are required, the command is for all Christians. Second, you have the responsibility to care for those you associate with in your congregations. Again, there is no room for apathy or laziness and say: "someone will care for them." Really? You know this for a fact?
It may be confusing to you when God calls you to action, to do works that may seem uncomfortable and this was true of Abraham even though he was a man of faith and believed God but his role was yet to unfold and this it did as he went forward in his responsibility toward the command of God. Abraham made mistakes as in his confusion or desire to do what only God could do and by this Ishmael was born but this was not what God had said to him. God would provide and keep His promise to Abraham. God did not need Abraham to do what only He could do. Yet, Abraham needed to do something even though it was confusing to him. Ishmael represents the futility of works outside of what God has commanded. It is not well-intentioned efforts outside of God command complicated Abraham's life, and even to this day complicates our lives and the lives of many others.
Abraham did not know God would work out His covenant to Abraham but in time all this was revealed to him. For us, we have this example to follow. Listen to God, and allow God to do what we cannot do: in this case of taking the Gospel to the world we do so not knowing who will listen, who will be led by the Holy Spirit to believe in Jesus Christ, but in time all this will become evident. We do not save anyone, this is God's work, our work is to take the Gospel to the world.
The choice is ours, to either trust God, or to trust our ingenuity. This does not mean that we do not plan, do not make room for training, but it does mean that all we do has the stamp of God's word upon it so that what we do is in the will of God. We must then, each day trust God. There is victory in this faith, a faith that is a faith from which works, God requirement as to our responsibility is pragmatically done each day. It is this faith that brings forth victory that will overcome all your doubts and fears, your confusion, and even your shortcomings.
The choice is yours!
Wash you, make you clean;
put away the evil of your
doings from before mine eyes;
cease to do evil; learn to do
well; seek judgment, relieve the
oppressed, judge the fatherless,
plead for the widow.
Isaiah 1:16-17
Choose to be a servant of God
Richard L. Crumb
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