Faith and works are to go together

In your walk with the Lord Jesus, it is important to have faith. Because without faith it is impossible to please God. So one must nurture one’s faith in God. And yes this faith should be very clearly manifested in your actions. Don’t worry if people don’t see your good works but rather be concerned about all your works before the Lord God from whom nothing can be hidden at all.

 

And how can one grow one’s faith?

To grow your faith you need to hear the Word of God. And this includes the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17)

How can one come to know if one has faith?

Your actions which manifest after hearing the Word of God are the direct indicators that you have faith. Basically no action, means no faith. It is as simple as that. If there are no good works nor there is right conduct then you are not a genuine follower of the Lord. And so, you must repent of this and get to work for the Lord God. The following verses confirm this:

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? ¹⁷ So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. ¹⁹ You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! ²⁰ Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? ²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; ²³ and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. ²⁴ You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵ And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? ²⁶ For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. (James 2:14-26)

How to be sure if one is in the faith?

You can check firstly if you believe in the existence of God or your claim to be a Christian will fall flat both before God and the world. Then see if you honor Jesus Christ in your thoughts, words and deeds. That way you will know if you are still in the faith or not.

⁵ Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! ⁶ I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. ⁷ But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. (2 Corinthians 13:5-7)