The Bible tells us that we are saved by grace through faith alone. We cannot be saved through our works; we can only be saved through what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us.
Our faith, however, results in good works. The Bible tells us that while our salvation is by faith alone, our actions will show that we are saved. James 2:20-24 tells us of Abraham's faith,
"But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only."
This passage tells us that our faith in God will be accompanied by our actions. Our faith and belief in Him will determine our actions.
If we believe in God, we will obey Him. It's as simple as that.
Many Christians, however, are lazy. They want God to do everything for them. After all, they believe that it's all by faith, and so they don't do anything for Him anymore.
That's wrong.
In this article we'll take a look at a few people of faith who did some things because they had faith. Their faith caused them to move -- and I pray that their example will cause us to move by faith as well.
1) Abraham
In Genesis 12:1-6 we read God calling Abraham, then named Abram, out of his country and his family, into a land that He was going to show him. Verse 4 is what will blow us away:
"So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him..."
Abram, despite not knowing God from any church or small group or Bible study, simply obeyed Him when he heard Him. That's faith in action.
2) Joshua
Joshua, Moses' assistant and eventual successor, knew that God was giving the Promised Land to the Israelites. Did he just sit down and relax as he waited for God to give the land to them?
No. He fought hard and long to get it.
God promised to give them the Promised Land alright, but God's promise to them had a condition: they had to obey Him to get there. They had to trust Him to get there. They had to take what is rightfully theirs in God before they could enjoy it.
Joshua knew that, and he fought long and hard to get it for God's people.
3) The woman with the alabaster jar
Matthew 26:7, Mark 14:3, and Luke 7:37 all record for us an account where a woman came to Christ and poured upon Him very costly and fragrant oil of spikenard, coming from an alabaster jar.
This might not sound amazing to many, but that woman was known as a "sinner" where she lived. And as she heard that Jesus was in this place, she went to Him, broke her jar, and anointed the Lord with very costly perfume, which according to the Expositor's Greek Testament commentary was "a present for a king."
This woman, who was looked down upon by religious leaders at that time (see Luke 7:39), came to Christ weeping in repentance.
Her faith in Christ resulted in her giving up her precious and fragrant oil, the shedding of her tears, the kissing of Jesus' feet, the wiping of Christ's feet with her hair, and the way she approached the Lord even as the people around Him would likely treat her with contempt.
That's faith. We come to Christ no matter what people may say or think about us, so that we can give to Him all of ourselves in complete surrender.
That's faith.
