Faithful Living / Graceful Giving

Dr. Lewis Gregory

th-13The following comments are all too common. “I just can’t see giving to their ministry since they make their needs known. Anyone who doesn’t ‘live by faith’ doesn’t get my money.”

What does it mean to “live by faith?” It simply means that an individual looks to God as his sole source of life and therefore lets Him direct and provide for every detail.

Christ is revealed as the source of life in Col. 1:16-17, . . . all things were created by Him . . . and by Him all things consist. Thus, we realize that Christ is all and in all. In Him we live and move and have our being, physically and spiritually. This is to be the norm for all Christians since the just shall live by faith (Rom. 1:17).

Because a person “living by faith” is under the Lord’s direction, what he does will depend on how God directs. Such directions may vary as is illustrated in I Kings 18. God sent Elijah out into the countryside where he waited for his food. The ravens brought him food there. Later, however, the Lord directed him to a widow woman who he asked for bread and water.

The real crux of the matter is not what we are doing, but the source of our living. Is Christ doing the living? “Living by faith” taps into the source of life and thus results in living. Are you living? You are, if it’s “by faith.” And what about giving? Well, giving is an act of GRACE, which is likewise a matter of FAITH!

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