faithWe read in Romans 1:5 that we have received grace and apostleship through Him to bring about the obedience of faith among all the nations, on behalf of His name. Here at Brigada, we’ve recently been tossing over the concept that the idea of “having faith,” though it might function like a possession in English, is actually more like an action verb in the original language. To make matters worse, faith is a word used in many contexts these days and, in fact, it seems to be used rather loosely. But the Greek for faith, pisteuo, is clearly “to have faith in, trust; particularly, to be firmly persuaded as to something.” A great example of faith in action is Hebrews 11. By faith:

• Noah built an ark;
• Abraham went out, not knowing where he was going;
• Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice;
• Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau
• The Israelites crossed the Red Sea.

In each of the instances above, a person’s faith leaped into action. This reminds us that faith, our belief in a God that is all powerful, demands behavior. It’s no longer ok for us just to sit in a pew (or an office chair). I must turn my own faith into action. True faith has to have an Action Focus!

So what kind of action focus will YOU tackle? If you have an opinion on faith (or any thought related to the above), just click “Comment” after the web version of this item. Thanks in advance for sharing your opinion!

(*Note: Some of the above ideas were spawned from “Word for the Day” by JD Watson. And thanks to the Brigada team for generating cool thoughts about faith in action!)