Faith Without Faith

I've noticed a very interesting phenomenon in the church. I've actually fallen prey to it myself. One day, I was shocked to discover that I had faith without faith. Isn't that an oxymoron? Absolutely, but many Christians live out their belief in Jesus as Lord without faith in Him and His word.

How does this happen? Very subtly. One moment at a time, one choice at a time. Christianity is an interactive and active religion and its tenets require attention and intentionality. Faith must be exercised in order for it to be sustained. When we don’t, we end up with a faithless faith. 

How can I tell if I have faith without faith? A good indicator is when you hear about something great that God has done in the life of another and you think to yourself, "That's nice, but I'm not ____ and that could never happen in my life." Or you read the scriptures and think, "God did so many great things during the time of the Bible. He doesn't do things like that any more since we have Jesus." 

Well, how do we avoid that? Supernaturally. 2 Peter 1:3-4 ESV says, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” God Himself drives our faith as we have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. When we partake of the divine nature (an action), we are able to live out the faith we declare by His divine power.

James 1 and 2 elaborate on this further. We cannot hear the word of God (which produces faith Romans 10:17) and then do nothing with it. The result of that is forgetfulness (James 1:24). Instead, we are to combine action with our faith so that both our faith and the actions performed by it are infused with life (James 2:14-26).

Faith without faith happens. Thankfully, it can be corrected by acknowledging that it's happened and taking action to reactivate your faith.