(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)
“When Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house (now his windows were open in his room toward Jerusalem) and he kneeled on his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did before. Then these men assembled together, and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God. Then they came near, and spoke before the king concerning the king’s decree: “Haven’t you signed a decree that every man who makes a petition to any god or man within thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered, “This thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which doesn’t alter.””
(Daniel 6:10-12)
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can faith save him? And if a brother or sister is naked and in lack of daily food, and one of you tells them, “Go in peace. Be warmed and filled;” yet you didn’t give them the things the body needs, what good is it? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself. Yes, a man will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe—and shudder. But do you want to know, vain man, that faith apart from works is dead?”
(James 2:14-20)
When Daniel was called before Belshazzar he could have lied. He could have made him feel good. Daniel didn’t. He spoke the truth. He didn’t mock the king. He wasn’t rude. But he spoke the truth, even though it was uncomfortable and Belshazzar could have responded badly. When Daniel knew there was a mortal cost in not worshipping God, he chose to worship God anyway. Being true to the Lord was more important than saving himself. And Daniel never begged or complained. He was willing to be lowered into the lion’s den. He was willing to take the punishment for his actions. He was willing to pay the price. Daniel worshipped the Lord, trusted in the Lord, and nothing changed his determination to be true to the Lord. He backed up his belief and his trust with his actions.
True trust in the Lord produces fruit. It must. There are no exceptions. We can fake actions. We can do good and trust that the doing good will be enough to buy us brownie points. Both of those are a fool’s game. That is trusting in works and hoping that they will be enough to save us. That’s saying that someone is such a good person, God would never keep them out of heaven. That’s not how we get saved. When we truly trust in God, we can’t help but act. When we love Him, we can’t help but obey His commandments. It is part and parcel of trusting. If you say you trust, but don’t do what God says, you do not really trust. You might realize. You might acknowledge, but you do not trust. Demons know who God is. They acknowledge Him. But they do NOT do what He says. We are the same way. When we truly trust, we obey. When we truly trust, there is fruit in our lives. We can’t help it. True trust ALWAYS produces fruit. It ALWAYS produces action.
Summary
If you were arrested for being a believer in Jesus, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Are you a disciple of Jesus, or do you just have the appearance of a disciple of Jesus? Think of Judas. He was one of the Twelve. A close and intimate associate of Jesus. He went out with the others preaching the message, performing miracles, and casting out evil spirits. Yet when it came down to it, his heart did not truly trust in Jesus. He went through the motions, but he had no real fruit. We are in the same position. What fruit are we producing? If we love Him, we will obey Him. We can’t help it. When we trust Him from our hearts, we will behave like it. It will be noticeable. There will be something different about us. We will be light in the darkness. Salt in the bland. There will be evidence in how we live our lives – even when no one else is watching. Do you wonder if you truly trust? Look for the fruit. Do you want to truly trust? Renew your mind to His thinking. Learn His character. Deepen your relationship. Choose to believe and let the trust you develop in God grow fruit in your heart. Don’t just HEAR the Word. DO the Word. Live out what you believe. Take Jesus’ hand and walk with Him. Start personally, expand to your family, and then to everyone you meet everywhere you go. Be like Him. Share the fruit.
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