Simple Faith Is Faith a Noun or a Verb?

Simple Faith

Is Faith a Noun or a Verb?

God does not want your faith to be complicated

He wants you to see how your noun faith works as a verb faith

 Simple faith sees how to live each day

Simple faith solves complex problems

Simple faith is an acting faith

Simple faith uses what you got

Faith is better understood as a verb than as a noun

As a process than as a possession.

Is Faith a Noun or a Verb?

Is faith a noun or a verb?

The answer is both.

Faith is a noun.

Faith is the cognitive understanding of theology.

It is the wisdom, knowledge,

and understanding in our minds.

It is important that we know what

we believe and why we believe it.

Faith as a noun focuses on

getting our theology in order.

I love faith as a noun.

 I love to study the scriptures

and talk about theological things,

but faith as a noun will not save us.

Faith also is a verb.

This is where the rubber meets the road.

When faith is a verb it works out the

cognitive theological understanding

in practical life experiences.

James drives this point

home in James, chapter 2…

 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have

faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 

James 2:14

The noun form of faith is

dead without the verb form…

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is

not accompanied by action, is dead.

James 2:17

The noun form of faith is

useless without the verb form… 

You foolish man, do you want evidence

that faith without deeds is useless?

James 2:20

Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend.

James 2:21-24

Only the verb form of faith

makes us right with God…

You see that a person is justified by

what he does and not by faith alone.

James 2:24

Simple faith is not how much you know,

it is not how complex your

theological understanding is.

Simple faith is a verb.

Simple faith is using what you know.

It is better to know little and do something  

with it, than know a lot and do nothing with it.

Simple faith is developed.

Simple faith takes our knowledge of

God and works it out in simple ways.

One of the things that helps to

develop simple faith is trials.

The challenges of life cause

us to search for answers.

It is in these times we find out if our

experiences line up with our noun form of faith.

The testing of our noun faith develops perseverance.

It takes time for us to understand how the

noun form of faith becomes the verb form.

If we allow this process to finish its work in us, we will…

Perseverance must finish its work so that you

may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:4

Simple faith is wisdom.

The person who has wisdom has

the ability to make sense of life.

This is where God wants all of us

to be, where we all have wisdom.

Because when you and I have

wisdom, we have simplicity.

This is where our faith gets simple.

Too often our minds are in conflict.

  

James calls it being “double-minded”.

When we are double –minded

we are unstable in all we do.

This is not simple faith, but confusion.

When we find ourselves in this state

we are told to ask God for wisdom…

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God,

 who gives generously to all without finding

fault, and it will be given to him.

James 1:5

God does not want your faith to be complicated.

He wants you to see how your

noun faith works as a verb faith.

 Simple faith sees how to live each day.

Simple faith solves complex problems.

Simple faith is an acting faith.

There is a song we used to sing that said…

Faith, Faith, Faith

Just a little bit of Faith

You don’t need a lot

Just use what you got

Simple faith uses what you got.

Faith is better understood

as a verb than as a noun…

As a process than as a possession.

Scripture Reading

James 2:14-26 NIV

14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

18 But someone will say, "You have faith ; I have deeds."

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that — and shudder.

20 You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. 24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

James 1:2-8 NIV

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.