Faith In Action

Today we begin reading in the Book of Acts, Acts chapter one. The complete title is "The Acts of the Apostles." The author is Dr. Luke (author of the Gospel According To Luke). Dr. Luke records, for us, the spread of Christianity through the Spirit-filled action of the apostles and other believers. Thus, this is a very appropriate title for the book. For you see, faith without action is not faith at all. James said, "Show me your faith without your works (action) and I'll show you my faith by my works (action)." (James 2:18) That is what the Book of Acts shows us. There are no "pew sitters" in this book. Their faith is alive and their actions prove it. Lots of people on our church rolls say they love Jesus, but there is no action to back up those words. Here's the bottom line: What you do is what you really believe. Everything else you say is really just a bunch of hogwash. Your actions speak so loud, the world can't hear what you're saying. And of course, in this book, that is true. The Apostle's and believer's actions speak for themselves. Notice the progression of Christianity. In chapters 1-7, the church was established in Jerusalem. In chapters 8-12, the church enlarged its territory to Judea and Samaria. Then in chapters 13-28, the church expanded to the ends of the earth. This explains how the Gospel got to Rome. This my friend is the outline of the book given to us in Acts 1:8. Go back and read that verse. That verse is our marching orders: To be witnesses unto Jesus before the whole world. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, it will be your actions that witness for Jesus. Remember, "faith without works (actions) is dead." (James 2:20)