Faith and Works

The connection between faith and works is often blurred and misunderstood, especially as it relates to our understanding of our relationship to God. Because it is so easy to feel unworthy or undeserving, we can easily become consumed with the fear that our actions have completely eliminated our access to God. In the devotion for the fifth Sunday of Lent, Al Truesdale offers a reminder that “there is no greater favor from God than sending his Word.” Truesdale also follows the statement with a question, “what is this Word?” Almost anyone vaguely familiar with the Bible could respond with an almost endless tirade of scriptures from ‘In the beginning was the Word’ to ‘thy word is a lamp unto my feet.’ The apostle Paul notes that the Word of God is the gospel of God concerning his Son. More important than knowing the Word is knowing how to respond to the Word. The appropriate response to the Word is faith.

While many may assume the appropriate response to the Word is an act, the appropriate response is belief. If the focus is upon the act as a response to the Word, works are emphasized above belief. If our works are most important, the incarnation of the Word of God is of little consequence. Truesdale argues that not only is the Word of God sent in the person of Jesus Christ, the Word of God is also presented through preaching and reading. There is not any act (i.e., work) that can be performed to.

In Christ,
Jon McCoy