Faith VII · Ephesians 6 Ministry

Faith VII

Faith is PERSONAL. In Latin, the first word of the Creed is “CREDO” which is the verb, “to believe” in the first person singular. The first two words of the creed are “I believe.” Someone once said that if one cannot share their personal faith with Jesus and can only cite theological facts and figures, then they are not sharing their faith, but rather the faith of another. Faith is not meant to be a semblance of facts and figures, theological insights that can be delivered from a pulpit or at a round-table debate. Faith is a lived, personal encounter between God and His beloved, the believer.

This is why we each must profess the faith on our own. Faith is a relationship with God that needs to be nurtured by each believer through their own witness and life. That is why the act of faith is so potent: it binds that person to live according to those same tenants. A believer is only as good as their witness. Hypocrisy, remember, cuts to the core of the faith, because it shows an inconsistency between the believer and what they believe. It is no small thing to profess a creed, because of what that creed personally demands of the believer. That’s why St. Paul candidly says, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? IF a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

We also know that one can only be responsible for their own actions. That’s why it is up to each member of the community of believers to act in accordance with their faith, for faith is personal, and requires personal action.

But, we are not alone! Notice, too, that God calls believers together. We stand together as a community of witnesses who, each in our own way, provide perspective in the life of faith. In each, God has presented Himself, and the life of faith is utterly personal, while at the same time, we believe together, strengthened by our community of believers.

This points to another dimension of faith: faith is both utterly personal and it is shared — common. The faith we share binds us in community, for the community also helps to shape our personal faith. We are each Christians who have been loved by God and offered a personal relationship with Him, and we are also members of a larger body of the faithful, each a part of the body for the good of the whole.

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