Living by Faith — Part Three of Three
Loving, Giving & Serving
“Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good.” — Romans 12:9
What Does Faith Look Like?
Imagine visiting a church for the first time. The building is attractive. The music is pleasant. The sermon is thoughtful, and the congregation clearly knows its Bible. Everyone seems friendly enough, but after the service, people gather into familiar little groups. They talk with old friends, exchange family news, and make plans for the coming week.
You stand near the door for a few minutes, waiting for someone to notice you. Eventually, you leave. Now imagine visiting another church. The building is smaller, the music less polished, and the congregation considerably less impressive by conventional standards. But someone greets you by name. Another person introduces you to a few others. Someone asks about your family, and when you mention a difficulty you're facing, the conversation becomes genuine. Before leaving, someone invites you to return. Which church would you remember?
That question brings us to the final part of our series on living by faith. In Part One, we considered how faith brings us into a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ. In Part Two, we explored how that faith changes us through the renewing of our minds and the work of the Holy Spirit. Now we come to the natural conclusion: Living faith eventually becomes visible through the way we treat other people.
Paul's Remarkably Practical Instructions
Romans contains some of the most profound theological teaching in the New Testament. Paul discusses
sin, grace, justification, redemption, the law, Israel, and God's purposes in salvation history. However,
when we reach Romans 12, something interesting happens. Paul begins applying those truths to
ordinary Christian life. He tells believers to use their gifts faithfully, love genuinely, honor one another,
persevere in prayer, contribute to the needs of others, and practice hospitality. He instructs them to
rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.
Then he becomes even more demanding. Christians are to bless those who persecute them, avoid
repaying evil for evil, seek peace whenever possible, and overcome evil with good. These are not
abstract theological principles. They are instructions for living among other people. Paul understood that
the Gospel creates a new kind of community. Christians are not simply individuals who happen to
believe the same doctrines. They belong to one another as members of the Body of Christ. In Romans
12:5, he writes that although we are many, we are one body in Christ and individually members of one
another. That means our faith has a communal dimension.
How we treat one another matters because we belong to one another in Christ.
Faith and Good Works: An Old Question
The relationship between faith and good works became one of the most significant theological questions of the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther emphasized that sinners are justified by faith apart from works of the law, drawing especially upon Romans and Galatians. Yet Luther also insisted that genuine faith is living and active, producing love and good works as its fruit.
This distinction is important because Christians sometimes misunderstand the Reformation's teaching on justification by faith. The Reformers did not generally argue that good works were unimportant. Rather, they distinguished between the basis of salvation and the evidence of a transformed life. We are not saved because we have accumulated enough good deeds to earn God's approval. But the faith through which we receive God's grace should increasingly produce a life characterized by love and obedience.
James makes a closely related point when he writes that faith without works is dead (James 2:17). James is confronting an empty profession of faith that produces no meaningful change, while Paul emphasizes that salvation cannot
be earned through human accomplishment. These teachings address different issues. Paul warns us against trying to earn salvation. James warns us against claiming faith while refusing to live it.
The People Who Carried the Gospel
One of the most interesting things about early Christianity is that its growth depended upon far more than the public preaching of famous apostles. Ordinary Christians played an indispensable role. They opened their homes to fellow believers. They provided hospitality to travelers. They supported missionaries. They shared food and resources with those in need. They cared for vulnerable members of their communities and formed relationships with
neighbors who had never heard the Gospel.
In the second century, the Christian writer Justin Martyr described how believers contributed resources during worship to support orphans, widows, the sick, prisoners, strangers, and others experiencing hardship.
Later, during periods of epidemic disease in the third century, Christian leaders such as Dionysius of Alexandria described believers who cared for the sick, sometimes at considerable personal risk. These Christians did not possess enormous institutions, sophisticated communication systems, or large financial resources. However, they had something powerful.
They believed that following Jesus should change the way they treated people. The surrounding world sometimes noticed.
From the Church Archives
Justin Martyr and the Generosity of the Early Church (A.D. 100–165)
Justin Martyr was a second-century Christian philosopher and apologist who defended Christianity before Roman authorities. In his First Apology, he described Christian worship and explained that believers voluntarily contributed resources to support orphans, widows, the sick, prisoners, travelers, and others in need.
Why it matters: The earliest Christians understood that faith involved more than correct beliefs or participation in worship. Their shared life included practical generosity, hospitality, and care for vulnerable people—visible expressions of their commitment to
Christ.
Living It Today: What Makes a Small Church Beautiful?
We have discussed this theme before, but it is worth revisiting as we conclude our series.
A small church has limitations. We cannot operate every ministry, meet every community need, or offer the same programs as a congregation with hundreds of members. But we have opportunities that larger organizations sometimes struggle to preserve. We can know one another. We can notice when someone is missing. We can recognize when a familiar face seems troubled. We can celebrate birthdays, share meals, offer rides, visit people who are lonely, and welcome newcomers into genuine relationships. We can also learn to disagree without becoming divided, forgive without keeping score, and encourage people whose gifts might otherwise go unnoticed. None of these things requires a large budget. They require Christians willing to live what they believe.
As we consider ways to grow our church and reach our community, perhaps we should remember that outreach does not begin and end with advertising, programs, or special events. Those things can help people discover that our church exists.
The way we love one another helps people discover what kind of church we are.
A personal invitation brings someone through the door; Christian love may help that person find a spiritual home.
For Further Reading
In Scripture: Romans 12:3–21; Romans 13:8–10; Romans 15:1–7; James 2:14–26; John 13:34–35; 1 John 3:16–18.
From Church History: Justin Martyr, First Apology, Chapters 65–67; Dionysius of Alexandria's account
of Christian care during an epidemic, preserved in Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, Book VII, Chapter 22.
Recommended Books: Henry Chadwick, The Early Church; Robert Louis Wilken, The First Thousand
Years; Justo L. González, The Story of Christianity, Volume 1.
Faith Through the Ages Timeline
Historical focus: Ante-Nicene Church (A.D. 150–325)
Justin Martyr's description of Christian generosity provides an important glimpse into the life of the second-century Church. His writings illustrate how early Christians understood practical compassion, hospitality, and care for vulnerable people as expressions of their faith.
- Apostolic Church (A.D. 30–100)
- Apostolic Fathers (A.D. 70–150)
- Ante-Nicene Church (A.D. 150–325)
- Imperial Church (A.D. 325–590)
- Early Medieval Church (A.D. 590–1054)
- High Middle Ages (A.D. 1054–1517)
- Reformaon (A.D. 1517–1648)
- Evangelical Awakenings (A.D. 1648–1900)
- Modern Church (A.D. 1900–Present)
Reflection: From Believing to Becoming
We began this three-part series with a simple question: What does it mean to live by faith?
Paul's letter to the Romans gives us an answer that is both wonderfully reassuring and deeply challenging. We begin by trusting Jesus Christ rather than our own accomplishments. We continue by allowing the Holy Spirit to renew our minds and reshape our lives. And as that transformation progresses, our faith becomes increasingly visible through love, generosity, humility, forgiveness, and service.
Perhaps we can summarize the journey this way:
Faith brings us to Christ. Christ changes us. And a changed life helps others see Him.
That doesn't mean we become perfect. It means that the direction of our lives increasingly reflects the One we follow.
As our church family considers its future, its ministries, and its opportunities to serve the community, perhaps this is one of the most important things we can remember. We want people to know that our church exists. We want to welcome new families and strengthen our congregation. We want to share the Gospel and make a meaningful difference in the lives of our neighbors.
Perhaps the greatest testimony we can offer is a community of ordinary Christians who are genuinely learning to live by faith.
People who trust God's grace. People who are willing to change. People who love one another. People who serve. People who forgive. People who notice when someone is missing.
And people who are always willing to make room for one more.
That is not a complicated outreach strategy. It is the life of faith that Paul describes in Romans; it may be
one of the most beautiful things a small church can offer the world
Our Commitment to Faithful Adherence to God's Word
We seek to present Scripture as the final authority for faith and practice while drawing upon the best available historical scholarship to help readers understand how Christians have interpreted and lived out biblical truth throughout the centuries. Historical sources illuminate the Church's witness but never supersede the authority of God's Word.