Trust (Part 6)

“'AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,' and he was called the friend of God." (James 2:22)

This is total reliance; fully persuaded; no reservations; no split decisions.  We must believe God.  It's not just a belief in, but a belief of, trust, being fully persuaded that He is and that He does what He says.  He is completely, 100% reliable.

If we can grasp this, we begin to understand other portions of scripture.

• Matthew 6:24 – Cannot serve God and Mammon. Mammon is money. Either you trust God, or you trust your own finances. Uh, hello?  In today's market?  You gonna trust money?
• Leviticus 19:4 – “Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods: I am the Lord your God.” (Trust ME!) An idol is something we make of our own hands. We are saying, “We want the control over our own lives through this thing we bow to." But, we don’t want to take responsibility for it so we blame the idol for our own failures. 
• Leviticus 20:6, 7 – “As for the person who turns to mediums and to spirits, to play the harlot after them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.” (Trust me! I will not lead you astray. Don’t suppose that you can begin to know the future without suffering the consequences of knowing the future. Trust me. If you trust me, the future will take care of itself.) 

Living in trust. Actively believing. Romans 4 does not contradict James 2. It is the same. Both are calling us to live in trust, being “fully persuaded” that God knows us, loves us, truly loves us, deeply loves us and wants what is best for us. Actually, let me say it this way – God loves me, truly loves me, deeply loves me and wants what is best for me and can accomplish it in me if I trust Him. Friends, that is the essence of holy living. That is being committed to holy living. Living in that trust in God’s personal love for me.

One writer said it this way.

Those whose hope is in God alone will be delivered from their enemies (Ps 22:4); their prayers will be answered (1 Chr 5:20); they will walk in straight paths (Pr 3:5); will be given joy and gladness (Ps 16:9; 33: 21); will know inner peace and absence of fear (Ps 4:8; Is 26:3). … The cause for hope is not in one’s merit with God or in some “tit-for-tat” arrangement, but only because of God’s … unswerving loyalty, His gracious kindness.

This is not blind faith.  Our past with Him has proven Him true to His word. Why do you think it wasn’t until later that God told Abram he was going to be a father through Sarah? God was busily preparing, proving, and building a rapport with Abram such that Abram would have accepted this bizarre announcement. When the call for trust came, Abram was able to respond with trust. Even when commanded to sacrifice this one son, Abraham responded as he knew God to be able to supply his needs, keeping His word. There is not “sacred formula” here. It is as simple and as difficult as that one simple word – trust. Being fully persuaded in God, in all that He is for all that we are.

Trust Him.

Trust (Part 5)

James 2:19-22 reflects this as well.

You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God.

Mere “belief in” doesn’t meet the call. The demons do that much. They know who God is and shake in the realization or the reality of that. It’s more than mere belief. It’s actively believing on God, fully persuaded, fully relying on Him. Trust.

Think of Abram. We are not told how the conversation went. All that we know is that somehow God communicates to him that he is to leave Ur and go somewhere.

“Where?”

“That doesn’t matter, just go.”

“Okay.”

“Next, Go south.”

“Hmmm, okay. Then, what.”

“Don’t worry about it, just go.”

“Okay, but I don’t understand.”

“That’s okay, just go.”

After some time of this kind of leadership, God promises Abraham not only the land but a whole nation proceeding from him. I think I would laugh, too.

“Are you kidding? I’m old. Sarah is old. I’m not even sure I want a child now. I certainly couldn’t keep up with him. We’re going to be parents? We have one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel.”

“Trust me.”

“AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God.

Trust (Part 4)

There is another passage of scripture that seems, on the surface, to contradict James. It is Romans 4:

What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.” Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

“BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN,
AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED.

“BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.”

Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, “FAITH WAS CREDITED TO ABRAHAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.” How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised;

And then, continuing down, Paul has a point about following the Law. But, don’t think that following the Law brings righteousness either. VS 16-25, Paul continues to focus on Abraham’s active faith.

For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, (as it is written, “A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE.” Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.Therefore IT WAS ALSO CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.

So, is this contradiction or support? Does James disagree with Paul or vice versa? Here, we swing the other way away from James 2. We say, “Paul says that we live by faith. We are saved by faith alone.” That is correct. But, we have to define what we mean by faith. Note the action words associated with faith and belief – Abraham “grew strong in faith”. He was “fully assured” that God could, would, keep His word. That’s what was “credited to him as righteousness”. He lived in that faith, that belief, that trust, that God would do as He said He would. See, it was more than a state of being, it was a perpetual act. I hear the centurion tell Jesus, “I believe! Help my unbelief.” Almost fully persuaded, but not quite.  And yet, this is what we are called to do; this is how we are called to live: to live "fully persuaded" in God, in all that He is, says, does, etc.

Trust (Part 3)

God calls us to trust Him. We’ll get here in just a minute but in Romans 4:21, we are called to be “fully persuaded” in Him. No reservations. Totally committed to relying on God come what may. Even as I say this, I feel the loss of the point. What I’m trying to convey is akin and perhaps is the same thing that is called for in holiness, sanctification – it is the point of fully relying on God. It requires constant action, constant work. It turns out that trust is more of a verb than a state of being.

James 2:14-26.

What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. (NASB)

James is talking about an active faith. We often miss the point of this passage, I believe. We tend to think James is talking about works as opposed to faith. I don’t think that’s the case. I believe James is talking about an active faith, an active trust, a life lived trusting God to do and be what He said He would do and be. We have been wrong to think we can work our way into Heaven. Folks, we can’t. We can’t live holy lives apart from God. We MUST live as Abraham. You’ll remember where this came from. Genesis 15:6 is the original proclamation that is quoted here and in other places. The proclamation came prior to the edict of circumcision.