Dead Faith

There's a difference between something being Dead and something being Non-Existent. When a person dies, we call their body a corpse. Why? Because essentially their body is dead. But their body is still in physical, natural existence (until it decomposes of course). But the catch is that even though the body is dead, its presence is still there. This is my concern with the Body of Christ. There are more than a few believers who have faith in God. You can't be saved unless you have faith (Ephesians 2). The scripture says that God has given every person a "measure of faith" (Romans 12). So the absence of faith in the church is not the issue. The problem is that we have a lot of regenerated believers who have faith, but it's Dead Faith. Something would be extremely suspicious if you came to my house and I had a dead body in all of the bedrooms lying in the bed like it was normal (spooky isn't it). Such is the case in many of our congregations. Dead Faith is singing the hymns, praying the prayers, preaching the sermons. It's Faith, but it's Dead Faith.

Let's make something clear on the front end: just because something is active doesn't mean that it's not dead. I've seen several dead bodies that have alot of different movements and things going on internally. It doesn't last of course, but the point is that even though the body is dead, there's still physiological activity taking place. But no one would ever say that because the body moved that the person was alive. Such is the case with many of our churches. There's a lot of activity. But Ecclesiastical Activity does not dismiss the notion that Dead Faith is taking place. So be not deceived. Just because you see churches with thousands of members and numerous programs and ministries, doesn't mean that the Faith of the Membership still isn't dead.

So then, what constitutes Dead Faith, even in the midst of constant and even consistent church activity? The Bible says that Faith without Works is Dead (James 2). The Bible also says that faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10). When a person receives the Word of God (the spoken word or written word of God) but refuses to act on that Word according to the leading of the Holy Spirit, that's Dead Faith. As I stated earlier, the indictment on the church is not a lack of faith or the absence of faith; it's the operation of Dead Faith. Let us also understand that Activity and Works of Faith are not synonymous. Many of the things we do in church do not grow out of our Faith in God. Works of Faith produce the Works of God: healing the sick, raising the dead, giving sight to the blind, casting out demons, transforming regions for the Kingdom of God. The reason we're not seeing these types of Works is because many of our churches, in spite of their activity, are still subject to Dead Faith. For Faith, without the Works of God, is Dead.