The Faith Life

Ministry Wednesday: The Faith Life

To the minister of the gospel, living the life of faith is part of the job description. Though we are called and sent to preach the word so that people can believe and have faith in God, we are also sent to be examples of the faith we preach through the lives of faith we live daily under whatever conditions.

Romans 10
14. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

17. So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Hebrews 13
7. Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.

We are called to live the faith life. It is a life that breathes God's Word like the natural life breathes in oxygen. A life sustained by God's word consistently will eventually form a culture that unconsciously run on faith. It's like an electronic device perpetually connected to an electricity power source. This is actually what could be called a life of a follower of Christ.

A preacher, teacher or any other who speaks the word of God to people must understand how his or her life too should be lived by faith. When there is a disparity between the faith we preach and the life of faith we live, we become spiritually fraudulent telling people to rely on things we won't rely upon ourselves.

On the other hand, if we don't have a faith life that's rooted in God's word, our speeches will lack the confidence and the power of conviction and may eventually slip into vain jangling and philosophies of men that propagate unbelief in God's word and erodes people reliance on the supernatural, many times under such conditions, the supernatural is replaced by nonsense superstitions that have no impact either in the physical or in the supernatural except to hold people in the bondage of fear for cheap control and manipulation.

One basic foundation and requirement of the faith life is crucifixion with Christ. Apostle Paul gave his own personal experience in Galatians 2:20&21.

Galatians 2
20. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
21. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

Faith is choosing to live by the provisions, power, wisdom and the grace and mercy of God communicated and confirmed by the Word of God with an unwavering personal conviction of God's unconditional love, good intentions and His faithfulness.

Faith is a choice over self help. If self help or other alternatives could cause divine effects that are well pleasing to God, there wouldn't be any reason for Christ to have died. To the faith life, Christ is both power and wisdom for life and its challenges. To the faith life, except it is approved of Christ, it isn't reliable or wise. To the faith life, to live is Christ and to die is gain. To the faith life, nothing in this world matters but Christ.

To a minister already crucified to the self help and to the wisdom of this world, nothing is worth knowing except Christ and Him alone crucified.

1 Corinthians 2
2. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

The death of Christ is the pillar that upholds the faith life. Telling us that we can depend on God through Christ for life and all its demands and challenges. And in that death, we too must die so we can live with Him supernaturally through faith in Him.

Sometimes we want to put life in departments when bringing in Christ. And so we think certain parts of our lives aren't relevant to Christ and Him crucified. We think Christ's crucified has no importance to certain areas of life, and we think we are left to go find solutions in those areas outside of Christ. And when we want to sound spiritual, we say religiously that only our eternal salvation matters to Christ's crucifixion and so only our morality can come under the covering of the death of Christ.

But its obvious that the apostles didn't share that opinion. Apostle Paul said, the life he lived, he lived by the faith of the Son of God...he didn't say 'the spiritual life he lived', neither did he say 'the future eternal life he would live', rather, the life he lived, which should comprise of all he was involved in, in his being and in all his deeds including all his comfort, sufferings, and matters around his sustenance.

The faith life loses confidence in the flesh, either in his own or of others, Philippians 3:3&4, but puts absolute faith in God, His power and wisdom, 1Corinthians 1:24.

Grace and mercy are the life wires of the faith life. They bring the effects that please God. The faith life brings functionality to the believer's life bringing life, just as the TV is dead without electricity.

Any result, either in morality, health, finance, relationship or in any other sector of life that didn't come via the dependence on the faith life is like a filthy rag to God and an illegality to the Kingdom. Such is a frustration of grace and making vain the death of Christ. Whatever is done not with faith is sin.

Romans 14
23. And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

Because when faith becomes vain, sin persists!

1 Corinthians 15
17. And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

We are in a world of do-it-yourself, DIY, and faith in Christ is under an enormous attack. We don't mind deriving power and result from any other source outside of Christ forgetting that the fake is always cheaper. Many in the church have been sifted of their faith as wheat and their faith failed, and God is waiting for a reconversion, for strength. Luke 22:31&32. Many result seen as proof aren't with the background of absolute dependence on God's power and wisdom but on manipulations and other worldly wisdom and tact.

The return to the path of faith must be led by those who have been sent to preach and not only those acclaimed to be faith preachers, every preacher of God's Word is meant to bring faith. We all have to check again if what we preach is encouraging faith in self, in the world's system or in God and His Christ, and then move a notch forward by living such a life of total obedience and dependence on Christ and on His death and resurrection. That's what we covenanted to live by when we got saved!

May we be bold enough to take the lead in the restoration of true faith in the body.

More grace to you!
It's a great day

Photo Credit: AnneroseWalz