As it is by God's grace alone that I receive His gift of faith, only through which am I able to know Him in Christ. This is how I am justified by God. This cannot be called a practical faith, since God creates it and parcels it out according to his needs. But practicable, perhaps...yes... God has blessed me with a "practicable faith", one to be put to work, so to speak, with the help of the Holy Spirit (sanctification), in my daily life... prac·ti·ca·ble (ˈpraktəkəb(ə)l/), adj.: able to be done or put into practice...
So back to this "practical faith" thing-- practical has a wide range of meanings, to wit (as borrowed from dictionary.com) :
1. of or relating to practice or action (practical mathematics)
2. consisting of, involving, or resulting from practice or action (a practical application of a rule)
3. of, relating to, or concerned with ordinary activities, business, or work (a habitual dreamer, who can't be bothered with practical affairs)
4. adapted or designed for actual use; useful (practical instructions)
5. engaged or experienced in actual practice or work (a practical politician credited with much legislation.
6. inclined toward or fitted for actual work or useful activities (looking for a practical person to fill this position)
7. mindful of the results, usefulness, advantages or disadvantages, etc., of action or procedure
I've met more than a few people in my wanderings who feel that they have no gifts (readily evident, such as music, art, sports, language, etc.), even among those calling themselves Christian. With every gift God bestows upon us, He is within His right (well, He is God) to expect a return on His investment; yet, in a near-ironic way, His gifts (like His love), are unconditional. This includes the gift of faith, this practicable faith, that's not meant to be kept in a box in the closet or in a frame on the shelf or taken out on special occasions. It's a gift meant to be put into...hmm...practice!
Our practicable faith is our empty hands, open before God. Our practical faith takes what is given-- enough for the entire world-- and at the urging of (and with help from) the Holy Spirit, endeavors to put it to good use. Not to curry favor with God, not to appear pious or churchy, not to achieve righteousness (Christ already took care of that for us on the Cross), but to make a difference in a broken and disordered world. To reach the lost and strengthen Christ's Kingdom here on earth.
Today's Sola devotion arrived in my in-box with these words (my boldfacing):
The doctrine of justification by faith is one for which people have given their lives. Luther himself, knowing that his life would be forfeit, declared that his conscience was captive to the Word of God, not to the doctrines of men. Today, we face a challenge of a similar sort, that may yet bring about a second reformation of the Church. In Luther’s day, the reformers protested a works righteousness. In today's Western world, though a righteousness of works persists, we face a cultural righteousness, in which our doctrine of the authority of Scripture would be abolished by any means. Indeed, as in the time of the Reformation, this threat comes from both government and parts of the established churches in our lands.
We too, know what sort of people confront the Church today. It may yet be that some of us will give their lives for the truth. Nevertheless, the victory is God’s, not culture’s. So, like the reformers, the apostles, our Lord himself, and those brothers and sisters who have gladly lived and died for the truth in our own time, let us “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord [our] labor is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV)
Practical faith, then, is not only meant to be applied in every aspect of our lives, but to be used in the work of Lord. Practical faith reminds us constantly that cultural righteousness comes from a desire to conform to what the world says is acceptable, rather than what God says is acceptable. Practical faith, powered by the Holy Spirit, diligently works the garden in which the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ grows...
To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (2 Peter 3:18 ESV)
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