Faith That Works

Introduction — A Love That Moves You

A few months ago, a young man named Daniel was driving home from work late one evening when he saw smoke billowing from a house on the corner of his street. Most people would have slowed down, maybe called 911, and waited for someone else to handle it. But Daniel slammed the brakes, jumped out of his car, and ran toward the flames. Neighbors shouted, “Stay back! It could explode!” But he heard a faint cry inside. Without hesitation, he kicked the door open and pulled an elderly woman from the kitchen moments before the roof collapsed.

Later, reporters asked, “Weren’t you afraid?” He answered quietly, “Of course. But fear didn’t have the last word. Love did.”

That’s where our message begins today — with love that moves.

Because in the Christian life, faith is meant to move us.

Faith isn’t just believing in something; it’s responding to Someone.

Faith that doesn’t move your hands, your feet, your priorities — isn’t biblical faith.

James 2:17 says, “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

Paul adds in Galatians 5:6, “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”

And Jesus says in Matthew 5:41, “If anyone compels you to go one mile, go with him two.”

These three verses, taken together, form a complete picture:

Faith is the root.

Love is the motive.

Works are the fruit.

When any one of these is missing, the whole plant withers.

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The Tension Between Knowing and Doing

We have all heard a great deal about faith and works and how they operate in the Christian experience. It’s not hard to convince people about the truth — the gospel is logical, the Bible is reasonable. Most of us believe that God exists, that Jesus saves, that heaven is real.

The challenge is not belief; it’s obedience.

It’s not knowing what’s right; it’s doing what’s right.

A famous psychologist once said, “An emotion not expressed in action operates as a poison in the mind with a deadly effect upon character.” He explained that when we feel stirred — maybe by a movie, a sermon, a song — and then do nothing about it, that emotion curdles inside us. It’s like food left unrefrigerated: what should have given us energy now makes us sick.

That’s why it’s actually dangerous to keep hearing truth without acting on it.

Each time we feel convicted but do nothing, our hearts grow a little harder.

Our conscience builds scar tissue.

And before long, truth becomes just another sound we’ve learned to ignore.

So yes, it’s better never to hear truth than to hear it and refuse to act.

Because conviction without obedience leads to spiritual paralysis.

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Why Faith Must Act

Someone says, “Well, I just don’t have much faith.”

But everyone has faith in something.

Some trust in their bank accounts, others in science, others in relationships. But remember this: the object of your faith determines the quality of your faith.

If you trust fragile things, your faith will always be fragile.

If you trust the unshakable God, your faith will grow strong.

That’s why Paul says in Galatians 5:6 — it’s not the ritual that counts, not the outward label of “circumcision or uncircumcision,” but “faith which works by love.”

The Christian life was never meant to be a collection of creeds; it’s meant to be a chain reaction of love.

Faith ? Love ? Action.

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Faith That Works by Fear

Let’s be honest — there are different kinds of faith.

There’s a faith that works by fear, and a faith that works by love.

Let me illustrate.

You’re driving toward an intersection and see a red light. You stop. Why? Because you believe in the authority of that light — and you don’t want a ticket or a wreck. Your faith in the law is real, but it’s motivated by fear.

Or think of mid-April, when millions of people file taxes right before midnight. Why do they rush to the post office or the online portal? Because they have faith in the IRS! Not warm, affectionate faith — fear-based faith. They obey to avoid penalties, not because they admire the government.

Fear-based faith will get you to comply, but only just enough to avoid trouble.

It will never move you to generosity.

It will never make you joyful.

It will never take you the second mile.

That’s why so many religious people drag through their Christianity like it’s a duty chart — praying because they have to, giving because it’s expected, coming to church because someone will ask where they were. It’s faith that works by fear.

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Faith That Works by Love

Then there’s another kind of faith.

A mother once struggled to keep her three boys clean and presentable. Every morning it was a battle — “Comb your hair! Shine your shoes! Tuck in your shirt!” And every morning, resistance.