Imagine a teacher grading their students; it matters very little whether the student read the book or took the notes unless that student understands and can apply the information.
It matters very little whether we read through the Bible unless we understand and can apply the message.
Imagine a doctor who knows all about health and fitness, but won’t follow his own advice. All that knowledge is useless, unless he puts it into practice in his own life.
Imagine a congregation reading through the Bible without being changed in any way by what they’ve read. All that knowledge is useless unless we put it into practice in our own lives.
“…the real Jew is the person who is a Jew on the inside, that is, whose heart has been circumcised, and this is the work of God's Spirit, not of the written law. Such a person receives praise from God, not from human beings.”
¸ — Romans 2: 29 The Jew is not saved by circumcision nor the Gentile by baptism. For example, we’re not married because we wear a ring. All those things are merely symbols!
Jesus, in Matthew 21: 28-31 tells the story of two sons. One said yes to his father, but did nothing. The other said no to his father, but did what he was told.
Are we saved by words or actions?
You can wear a wedding ring in a terrible marriage or you can live without a wedding ring in a great marriage, but you won’t have any marriage without love for and commitment to your spouse.
The church is a combination of faith and religion, i.e. the trappings of faith. The Jews failed because the trappings of their faith became more important than their faith. Churches fail because the trappings of their faith becomes more important than their faith.
We all fail for the same reason.
The point is, in this evil world, our faith our trust, our listening and responding to God — our obedience to God’s message, not the trappings of our faith — saves us.
To put it more simply, our saying yes to everything God says to us saves us!
Charles “Buddy” Whatley is a retired United Methodist pastor serving Dawson Street Methodist Church in Thomasville, Ga.
