What is faith? Is it an abstract idea of believing in the unbelievable? Or is it something more than that?

What role does “works” play in faith?

I happen to believe faith and works are vital to one another.

Faith and works is one of the most misunderstood and mistaught issues in the modern American church. In the early church, it wasn’t a complicated matter. Thanks to scholasticism and the Enlightenment, faith and works has been presented as a philosophy instead of a way of life.

The other day, I received an email from my alma mater (Dallas Theological Seminary). Specifically, it was written by one of my former professors whom I had at both Lancaster Bible College and DTS. Dr. Gordon Johnston has a brilliant mind. He has degrees in Classical Greek, Biblical Hebrew, and Semitic languages. I sat under him for two years of Hermenutics in college and Hebrew in seminary.

In the email, Dr. Johnston explored the dichotomy between faith and practice.The remainder of this article is my attempt to summarize what He wrote and add my own perspective to it.

In the early 1900s, the modernist-fundamentalist controversy shook the foundations of Christianity. Christians continue to live with the consequences.

Modernists fell prey to the idea that it was best to follow the ethical teachings of Jesus. They highlighted the social implications of the Gospel. Yet, they declined to accept Jesus’ words in John 8:58 that we was God, or the creeds that declare He was 100% human and 100% God.

The backlash against this destructive philosophy, dare I say heresy, led Christian fundamentalists to focus exclusively on the Bible and certain spiritual aspects of the Gospel — forsaking the physical and social needs of people in society.

What the modernists and fundamentalists did was create a false dichotomy between faith and practice. There can be no denying that Scripture affirms that one feeds the other.

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word tsédeq (“righteousness”) deals with both faith and practice. 

Here’s why… The word “holy” means to be without sin. 

Tsédeq (righteousness) is not a theological, abstract term. Instead, it describes righteousness as practical actions and behaviors that meet God’s demands for how we live our lives. 

In Genesis 15:6, God counted Abraham’s faith as tsédeq. Additionally, God also called Abraham and all those who would follow after Him to walk in the path of God by “doing” tsédeq (righteousness).

There’s more… If the ancient Hebrew people would believe in and follow Yahweh, Moses noted that He would count theme as tsědāqāh (righteous). There was one catch — They had to BEHAVE according to the rules outlined in Torah (Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) as noted in Deuteronomy 6:25.

Despite many people’s claims, Moses stated in Deuteronomy 30:11-14 that this was not an impossible standard. It’s as practical as caring for the poor, the widows, orphans, and outcasts of society with compassion (Deuteronomy 24:13; Matthew 25:34-40).

The Old Testament emphasizes that tsédeq (righteousness) includes every area of our lives (moral, ethical, social, and personal). It informs how people in power treat those underneath them. It informs our finances. It dictates how we treat our families, friends, co-workers, and employees. 

To make difficult decisions about how we will live — that requires faith. 

You don’t always know the consequences of a choice. Other times, you may be fully aware of them. For righteousness sake, you may be confronted with ethical choices that could lead to losing a job, a friend, or even a family member.

Hebrews 11:1-2 says,

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval.

James 1:22 describes faith in action…

“But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”

So, tsédeq (“righteousness”) speaks to both faith and practice.

Why is this important?

We are in a spiritual battle. 

In Ephesians 6:10-15, we are told 3 times to “stand firm.” 

Against what?

The schemes of the devil. 

The armor of God is all about faith and practice, and engaging in a resistance against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

This requires faith and works. One doesn’t work without the other.

I hope you see holiness and righteousness work together to inform your faith in Jesus Christ as you humbly deny yourself, pick up your cross, and follow Him (Matthew 16:24)

Let us all walk in tsédeq together!

Father Don