Transforming Faith or Mental Assent?

Those people in the wilderness heard God’s good news, just as we have heard it, but the message they heard didn’t do them any good since it wasn’t combined with faith. Hebrews 4:2 (The Voice, VOICE)

What do you do with the Word you receive? Do you receive it with faith, or do you simply give it mental assent? In other words, do you take it and apply it to your life or do you simply agree with what it is saying? Assent means to agree with something, which is good, but in order for the Word of God to work, simple mental assent is not enough- we must take it further.

For example, when you read a Scripture, devotional, or even a post like this one, do you read it, agree with it, and then walk away and forget about it? If so, it did not profit you because you didn’t mix faith with it.

Removing action from faith is like removing breath from a body. All you have left is a corpse. James 2:26 (The Voice, VOICE)

The King James Version renders this verse “faith without works is dead” but The Voice is so direct about it. Faith without a corresponding action is dead, ineffective and useless. It is like a corpse, which has no life and does nothing but rot. This is why some Christians are saved but have a life that is rotten. We cannot just read a verse or listen to a message and say, “that was good,” and do nothing with it.

We must first meditate on the Word we heard or read. We need to ponder it, letting the truth of it roll around in our spirits. We need to reread it and then look at other verses that relate to it. As we meditate on it throughout the day, it will become more real to us. In other words, we meditate on it until faith is born in us regarding that truth. Once faith is conceived, then we must act on it.

How we act on our faith is dependent on the specific truth it is tied to. For example, if we read in the Word that we are to tithe, then we must begin to tithe. If we hear that the power of life and death are in our tongues, then we must begin to guard our mouths and change how we talk. You get the idea.

Something important to consider is the fact that we are responsible for what we know. For example, if we read that we are to love the brethren but we don’t do it, we will have to one day answer to the Lord about why we didn’t apply the Word we were exposed to. Someone else who did not have access to as much of the Word will not be responsible for what they didn’t know and likely will not have to answer for the same things as someone who had more access. This is a sobering thought, especially for those of us who have ready access to various Bible translations, books, television ministries, Christian websites, apps, and so on.

As we read and hear the Word of God, let us be diligent to let the Word really get in us and then apply it as faithful doers of the Word.

Put the word into action. If you think hearing is what matters most, you are going to find you have been deceived. If some fail to do what God requires, it’s as if they forget the word as soon as they hear it. One minute they look in the mirror, and the next they forget who they are and what they look like. However, it is possible to open your eyes and take in the beautiful, perfect truth found in God’s law of liberty and live by it. If you pursue that path and actually do what God has commanded, then you will avoid the many distractions that lead to an amnesia of all true things and you will be blessed. James 1:22-25 (The Voice, VOICE)