Effective Faith

Mea e 'ai e tatau ma le aso

"So now, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith in his promises, we can have real peace with him because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. (Romans 5:1)

Effective faith rests on what Jesus Christ has done for us.  As Paul states in  
1 Corinthians 13:13, faith, hope, and love are at the heart of the Christian life.

Our relationship with God must begin with faith, which helps us realize that we are delivered from our past by Christ’s death.  Our hope grows as we learn all that God has in mind for us; it gives us the promise of the future.  And God’s love fills our life and gives us hope and the ability to reach out to others.

"And those whose faith has made them good in God’s sight must live by faith, trusting him in everything..." (Hebrews 10:38)

Effective faith grows under pressure.  Hebrews encourages believers to persevere in their Christian faith when facing persecution and pressure. We don’t usually think of suffering as good for us, but it can build our character and our patience. (James 1:3)

During times of great stress, we feel God’s presence more clearly and find help and strength from praying Christians we never thought would care.  Knowing that Jesus is with us in our suffering and that he will return one day to put an end to all pain and sufferings, helps us grow in faith and our relationship with him (see Romans 5:3-5).

So then, effective faith becomes stronger through endurance.  The writer encourages his readers not to abandon their faith in times of suffering, but to show by their endurance that their faith is real.  Faith means resting in what Christ has done for us in the past, but it also means hoping for what he will do for us in the future.

Ia manuia,

failauga p. anoa'i