The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in 1 Thessalonians 1:3,
"We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith..."
Paul acknowledged the work of the Thessalonian believers was produced by faith. What does he mean by that?
Faith is an inner confidence, an assurance of things unseen. The writer of Hebrews tells us, "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for." Hebrews 11:1-2. This is a definition that clearly lacks any aspect of "maybe" or "I suppose" or "possibly". Certainty and utter confidence are hallmarks of the biblical understanding of faith.
Being wishy-washy won't do. James speaks of the lack of any value this kind of "faith" has when he speaks of prayer, "But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do." James 1:6-8.
Biblical faith, the kind Scripture speaks of has backbone, it is firm, it is strong. Our model of faith is that of Abraham as provided us by Paul in Romans 4. Of Abraham's faith, Paul said, "Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed... he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why 'it was credited to him as righteousness.'" Romans 4:18-22.
When it comes to work produced by faith, we know that faith prompts us, inspires us in what we do. Biblical faith, the kind of faith that brings us into God's family is the kind that impacts us in such a way that it finds its expression in the things we think, do and say. James provides us wonderful teaching on this, "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, 'Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." As I say, saving faith finds its expression in the things we think, do and say.
James goes on to say, "You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,' and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone." Why not by faith alone? Because faith that does not find its expression in our lives by the things we do is not biblical faith, saving faith. The kind of faith God looks for from each of us impacts our lives.
Likewise, things we do, if not from faith, do not engender God's acceptance, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." Just as faith, if not accompanied by action, is dead, so our good works, apart from faith are useless.
If we really believe that Jesus died for us to pay the penalty for our sins, if we believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, demonstrating God's acceptance of that payment, if we really believe we are heaven bound, if we really believe we have eternal life, a life of pleasures at the right hand of God, Psalm 16:11, it will influence us in the choices we make and the things we do.
Biblical faith produces good work in our lives.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
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