The title of my message this morning is “Are You Living a Dead Faith”. We have been taught, and correctly so, that our salvation is dependent altogether on God’s grace. This is an underlying Christian principle that states we as human beings are saved from sin and its consequences not by our own actions or merits, but by God’s unmerited favor received through faith in Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Ephesians 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

We find this in scripture as Paul writes in the book of Ephesians, Chapter 2, verses 8 through 10. These verses tell us that “ For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast. But to take this one step further, verse 10 says that “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them”. Ah ha, so these verses in Ephesians Chapter 2 speak of both grace and good works.

James 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

James chapter 2, verses 17 and 18 also speaks of good works. James 2:17 and 18 tells us that “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say thou hast faith, and I have works, shew me thay faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. These verses are basically asking the question, What is the value of faith without action?

So, James is emphasizing that faith and works go hand in hand. We must not only say we believe but our actions must demonstrate our beliefs. James is challenging us to consider how deep our faith really is. Are we really practicing what we preach. Is a strong case for our faith being made through what we say we believe and the actions that we take to show forth our faith? Are our works for the Lord saying to the world, “ I not only want to talk the talk but I also want to walk the walk”.

We want our faith to be a vibrant faith, a practical living faith, not a lazy kind of faith that may say to an unbeliever that we are fully committed to God. Indeed, we want to be all in with our faith and we are so excited about it that we want to share our faith with others through Christ like works.

We have that deep desire to provide evidence of our relationship with Jesus. Indeed our faith needs to glorify our Lord through not only words but through action.Now, I would like to take just a few minutes to talk about how service at Riverview can help us to show forth a living faith and not a dead faith. It has been said that in most churches 20 percent of the people do 80 percent of the work.

So Riverview, if this is also true at our church, are out actions consistent with what we are telling people about our faith?

1Corinthians 12:12  For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

In First Corinthians Chapter 12:12, the Apostle Paul is very clear about something. He said that the body does not consist of just one member, but of many. This personally says to me that the work of the church cannot be accomplished with just a very small fraction of its membership.

1Peter 4:10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

The Apostle Peter took it even one step further when he said in First Peter Chapter 4 that each believer has received a gift, and we are to use it to serve one another. This is how God designed the church. And God calls each and everyone of us to serve this church by the gifts that God has given us. The church body is just that, a body. And a body needs all of its parts working in order to be healthy.

Now, lets look at some practical actions of faith.

Galatians 5:13  For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

1. Service to others. Galatians Chapter 5 Verse 13 tells us to serve one another humbly and with love.
2. Stewardship. This is the faithful giving of our resources that God has blessed us with. This includes our time, our talents, and our finances.

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

3. Daily Christlike living. Romans Chapter 12 Verse 2 tells us to “not be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. This type of lifestyle honors God and sets us apart from the unbelieving world.

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Matthew 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

4. Evangelism and Discipleship. Matthew Chapter 28 in Verses 19 and 20 tells us to go and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you.
5. Prayer and Worship. Both of these help us to sustain and demonstrate our faith.
6. Our church bulletin often lists out ministry needs here at Riverview. Are you willing to serve?

In conclusion, each one of us has a question to answer. Do I want my faith to be one that is actively demonstrated through obedience to God in both word and action, a living faith. Or, am I satisfied by just saying to other that I am a man or a woman of faith but not really committed to taking noticeable actions to not only tell others but to show others. I want to be all in with God in both speech and actions. How about you?

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Amen. Selah.