Are We Moving Away From Belief to Just Behavior?

My concern is the move away from belief to just behavior. James said faith without works is dead.  But work without faith is deadly.  A church has to go, baptize and teach to obey.  You see going and baptizing in Acts 2:36-41,  People were also added to the church.  That is evangelism.  These folks believed and the Lord Jesus Christ and were saved.

Act 2:42 is edification.  “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” And they are both part of discipleship.  You need both.  Real faith will work, real love will labor and real hope will endure.  (I Thess 1:3)  It is very clear in I Thess 1:3 that faith, love and hope produce work, labor and endurance.  Paul puts the word in Greek in what is called subjective genitives.  The idea is that faith produces work.  We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father.”

Many decisions are not real.  Many disciples are not real as well.  Jesus said many will come to Him on the last days and He will say depart from me you worker of iniquity.

But that doesn’t keep us from asking people to make decisions (Acts 2:36-41 or making disciples (Acts 2:41).  You must do both.  I wish I could say more people do.  But churches and people seem to do one or the other.  We are call to go, baptize and teach.  And we are all to do it.

Our strength is in doing the work together.  But we do what we believe.  And if going isn’t taught, it’s not going to be believed or done.  It’s the same with the work of baptizing and teaching to obey.  There are churches who bring people to decisions and then just let them sink or swim.  There are pastors like that.

All through a person’s life it is belief that should be their goal.  Strong faith, love and hope will always produce strong work, labor and endurance.  I teach people to obey by teaching and living out the Bible.  As their belief grows (Rom 10-14-17) their behavior will be more like Christ’s.  If I make their behavior my goal and don’t teach them Christ, then I’ve wasted my time.

I know a particular pastor who is focusing on changing his church’s behavior.  A well behaved church will make his life so much better.  But he’s also short-circuiting belief.  People learn the what but not the why.  They learn principles and solutions to problems, but they don’t learn the person of Christ who is the problem solver.  Jesus saves.  It’s all about Him.  And it’s not just from hell he saves us.  What we are asked to do is believe in the one God has sent.

We are fooled many times thinking we believe in Him.  Almost everyone believes in giving.  What we don’t believe in is Jesus.  We don’t believe He will take care of us if we do give.  That’s why only 15% of the church give 90% of the offering.  It isn’t a behavior problem.  It’s a belief problem.

Our problems are always on the vertical.  They are with God.  Our problems lie in doubts and unbelief.  Not in behavior.  If there faith, love and hope are growing we are on the road of discipleship.  Love is sown like a seed when we make a true decision to believe.

What I fear in this movement of not asking Jesus into your heart is that eventually it will be a movement away from the decision to believe.  Real belief isn’t just an acknowledgment.  Paul said I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I’ve committed. Persuaded and committed are very strong words.  The word faith in Greek means to hold on as in hands and legs.

When your goal is faith, you are going to stick to the Bible.  Nothing else can produce it.  If your goal is behavior you can try almost anything.

Gal 2:20 is a perfect description of saving faith. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”