Focus: How Real Is Your Faith?

Text: Isa.1:19

"If ye be WILLING and OBEDIENT, ye shall eat the good of the land."

Real faith is more than fun; it is a serious business. It does more than believe; it is willing and obedient.

Three things to note:

1. Willing faith

Faith is willing to do what God says. The word 'willing' is 'abah' in Hebrew, and it means, 'to breathe.' To be willing is to be passionate about something. It is readiness to do something. It is refusing to be passive when duty beckons. To do a thing willingly means that no one is forcing or coercing anyone. To do a thing willingly means being responsible and accountable for your own decision and action. You are not under duress. It is action by personal consent. Apostle John reports that the disciples "willingly received him into the ship…" (Jh.6:21), and Paul adds, "For if I do this thing WILLINGLY, I have a reward…" (1Cor.9:17). Peter instructs the shepherds to "feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but WILLINGLY; not for filthy lucre, but of a READY MIND" (1Pet.5:2). Unwilling faith is not real.

2. Obedient faith

Obedience is the proof of faith. Faith and obedience are like the two sides of a coin. Obedience is faith in action. Those who believe also obey. Concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, Paul tells us that he "became OBEDIENT UNTO DEATH, even the death of the cross" (Phil.2:8). To the church in Corinth, Paul writes, "For to this end also did I write, that I might know the PROOF of you, whether ye be OBEDIENT IN ALL THINGS" (2Cor.2:9). Faith obeys in all things. We prove our faith in Christ by being obedient to His commands. Non-compliant or disobedient faith is not real.

3. Rewarding faith

God honors and rewards our obedient faith. Faith is loyal to God's truth and God rewards obedient faith. The willing and obedient will eat the good of the land. The land on which you live and labor will yield its goods to you. The word 'good' means the 'best stuff' of the land. The willing and obedient will reap and enjoy the best of the land. They will not settle for less. Amen.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter