Live the Word

Doctrine and practice must not be separated by the believer. Our doctrine is to be put into practice as we live out our daily lives, and in fact, what we really believe will be how we live.

God's word has been implanted in the heart and mind of the one who has been born again. Then as the Word is received, it is to be welcomed by a humble spirit and lived out by doing what it says. Merely listening to the Word is not enough. The hearer must respond by making adjustments in obedience to what it says. This is the response by the child of God that will be blessed by God.

The faith that brings salvation to a person is the faith that thereafter produces works in that life. This living faith is a faith in what God has said and is demonstrated by a willingness to do what God has said. The works that saving faith produces are an evidence of its genuineness. The works being produced after the child of God has been born again have contributed nothing meritoriuous for the child in that relationship with God nor do they secure the relationship.

Abraham is cited as an example of an Old Testament saint who demonstrated he had been declared righteous by God, by his work, an act of obedience that called for great personal sacrifice. In conclusion, saving faith produces good works. A lack of obedience that produces good works is an evidence of a dead faith that will not save.