brain faith vs. action faith
good news weekly 2.15.25
i got the long text below from a young woman who has been part of our church but recently moved out of state. i thought it warranted a full and thoughtful response.
You talked about how important it is to believe. I completely agree and my follow-up question is then “what does it mean to believe?”. This is something that’s been on my heart for a while now. Jesus taught what it means to follow him, but I wonder why we emphasize the importance of belief if it’s also not taught what it means to believe? Maybe it has to do with what you were saying about the two different sermons? The one where you preach about how God will destroy our enemies or how many blessings we will receive vs. the ones where you preach about our false idols and that we need to repent. I understand people don’t want to hear that they need to change, but that’s the true gospel, no? Also, I’m in no way trying to offend because I love how you preach the gospel. I’ve visited other churches in my travels and childhood and found this fan vs. follower dilemma to be true and I felt like you might be able to lend some insight as I really respect your perspective.
Back to what I was saying though, I don’t believe it’s just a matter of saying aloud or within our heart I believe and then going on with our life the same as before. Believing in Christ should change us, inside and out.
From my observations though, many people would rather be a fan of Jesus than a believer. They may want all the blessings of being saved but don’t want to give anything up/change anything in their life to do so. What do you think? You touched on it when you spoke at the end saying how Jesus doesn’t want a moderate answer to who he is. It sounds like he’s also asking what kind of follower you are? a “moderate” follower vs. an “all in” follower.
Let me know what you think?
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Dear Mia,
First of all, thank you for such a thoughtful and sincere question. It’s clear that this is something deeply on your heart, and I truly appreciate the way you’re wrestling with it. Your love for Jesus and desire for truth shine through in every word, and I’m grateful for the chance to walk through this with you.
You’re absolutely right—belief in Jesus isn’t just about acknowledging Him with our words or agreeing intellectually that He is Lord. True belief transforms us. In Scripture, belief isn’t just mental assent; it’s trust, surrender, and obedience. The Greek word for belief used often in the New Testament is pisteuo (πιστεύω), which carries the idea of placing full confidence in something—so much so that it alters how we live. When Jesus called people to believe in Him, He was inviting them into a relationship that would change everything about them.
James 2:19 reminds us, “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” This verse makes it clear that belief, in and of itself, isn’t just about acknowledging God’s existence. The difference is faith that leads to surrender—faith that causes us to turn from our own way and follow Christ wholeheartedly. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). That’s not the call of a fan—it’s the call of a disciple.
And you’re right, this is why the true gospel isn’t just about blessings, but about repentance. The gospel isn’t just, "Come to Jesus, and He will make your life better." It’s, "Come to Jesus, die to yourself, and find real life in Him." That’s the kind of belief Jesus is looking for.
It’s heartbreaking to see that many settle for being fans of Jesus rather than true followers. Fans admire from a distance, but disciples walk closely, even when it costs them. Jesus never softened the cost of following Him. In Luke 14:27, He said, "Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." True belief isn’t just a moment of saying “I believe”; it’s a lifelong surrender to Jesus as Lord.
So, I completely agree with you—believing in Christ should change us, inside and out. And it’s not about perfection, but transformation. We won’t always get it right, but true belief leads us into a life of repentance, obedience, and love for Jesus that goes beyond being a fan.
I love how you put it—Jesus isn’t looking for a “moderate” answer to who He is. He calls us to be all in. And that’s the beautiful, sometimes difficult, but always worth-it path of following Him.
I’m so grateful for you and Josh, and it was such a joy to be part of your wedding! Praying for you both as you continue this journey together.
Much love in Christ,
pastor luke
There is a popular worship song I’ve sung more times than I can count called ‘Never Lost a Battle.’ Read the first verse and chorus here:
Miracles when You move // Such an easy thing for You to do
Your hand is moving right now // You are still showing up
At the tomb of every Lazarus // Your voice is calling me out
Right now, I know You're able // My God, come through again
You can do all things // You can do all things but fail
'Cause You've never lost a battle / No, You've never lost a battle
And I know, I know You never will
But I have a confession, sometimes in my wondering, I question the chorus. If you’ve sung it before you know how you can find yourself singing these words, ‘you never lost a battle’ over and over again. Have you ever questioned if God has lost a/your battle? Our feelings can easily lead us to believe that the odds are against us. If someone was taking a ledger, with human eyes they may say that the opponent/enemy has already won the battle. At times, I have felt embarrassed to admit my doubt because it represents a lack of faith in an Almighty God. But, on the other hand God is more than capable of handling my doubt and maybe this chorus is there to stir my heart toward faith.
As I’m studying Exodus, I have a hunch Moses and the Israelites wondered the same thing. They had a clear promise from God of deliverance and yet the pathway to it was long and tumultuous. As I have read through the 10 plagues, I find myself thinking about how much they had to endure til the fulfillment of the promise. In the midst of the frogs, boils, flies, and beyond, were they wondering if God had lost the battle with Pharaoh? I imagine them thinking, ‘we know who you say you are and we have seen how powerful you are but this is a painstaking, wretched path.’
We get to read the whole story so we can see the intricate ways God comes through. His Almighty hand is at work the whole time and we can read from beginning to end not having to sit in the waiting. It’s often a lot easier to look at someone else’s situation and to say, ‘Well, God will bring the right husband or wife.’ When that person has to endure unfortunate date after date and then are left lonely once again. You may be out of the dating scene but in your particular situation you are wondering and honestly hoping that God will come through even in the heart-wrenching waiting.
Here’s what I know, waiting is hard. But in the midst of it, we can rest in two things : who God says he is because he is completely unchanging and his Word beautifully lays out his character. And we can rest in his promises. I believe God wants to come through in your situation but that He can see the totality of the picture and not simply the here and now. I want to encourage you, even when it may look like he’s lost the battle, He’s still at work.
Cup of Leadership
so i was talking to a friend i hadn’t chatted with for a while. to be honest i had kinda distanced myself from him because his online persona really started to grate on me. but something stirred to me to check-in on it and within 90 seconds of him answering my call, he started pouring his heart out about a deeply complex marital challenge he was facing.
all of the things he had been posting about online immediately made sense.
he couldn’t solve his problem directly, so he started waxing poetic about marriage issues in general online. he was frustrated by his lack of control, so feminism made for an easy target.
(i for sure did this quite a lot about mean christians in 2019-20)
….. when someone all of sudden gets very aggressive and loud trying to fight for morality in our country … they may be internally saddened by the moral collapse of a spouse or child.
….. when someone gets externally loud about unfair lending or corporate crony-ism or anti the 1% … they are probably some new personal economic pressure they didn’t foresee.
i’m advocating for something really simple. we don’t know much about what the people outside of our most direct circle are facing or fighting. so when their words annoy us, look a little deeper and you may be surprised what you find.
this is good news,
luke + kristen