S1:E4 - Big Thoughts vs. Concrete Actions (Faith and Works)

City of Bridges Podcast - Theology Towards Unity

🎙️ Episode 4 - Big Thoughts vs. Concrete Actions

True faith always bears fruit—words alone are not enough.

Saint James puts it starkly: “Faith by itself, if it does not result in action, is dead” (James 2:17). Telling someone without clothes or food to “go in peace” without meeting their needs is empty.

Yet action alone can unleash chaos if it springs from unchecked beliefs. We must ensure our convictions are true and ordered—otherwise our deeds, however well-intentioned, can still cause harm.

Paul addresses this in Romans 12 when he says: “I urge you…on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:1-2). True worship reshapes both belief and behavior.

In the liturgy of the church—through prayer, song, Scripture, and sacrament—our bodies testify to our faith even as our actions form deeper convictions. We bear witness to the truth that all of creation, the highest parts, and the lowest parts, are sacred mysteries in themselves indelibly united with spiritual substance and held together by their creator, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Yahweh.

This week could be an invitation to notice a persistent thought or belief that you haven’t tested against God’s Word. You could offer it up to God in prayer and gently carry it with you into worship.

There you may find space to trust the Holy Spirit’s work in reshaping what feels out of alignment, knowing that deep transformation often unfolds over time, working itself out in your body and in your actions as well as in your heart and soul.

Even now, divisions endure. Churches cast stones at one another—sometimes in fiery sermons, sometimes in literal violent conflict.

And the old debate over faith versus works still flares up, as if trusting God and living faithfully could ever be truly separated—like imagining the Spirit could animate a body without flesh, or our convictions would matter unanchored from the finite particularity of our bodies.

Similarly, every church is populated by different temperaments, personalities, and styles of processing thoughts and sensory input; different neurology, to use the modern term.

How does the church reconcile these diversities within the unity of Christ’s body? How does Jesus invite us to practice hospitality so that the thinkers and the doers all feel at home, using their God-given gifts to build each other up?

Consider the ways you might unintentionally value so-called “thinkers” by constantly discussing intelligence, competence, concepts and philosophies. Or perhaps you’re one of the people who mocks the self-important-sounding intellectuals in your life, forgetting how much you have benefitted from such people.

Though we are prone to separating beliefs from behaviors, Paul’s words remind us that true faith is not passive—it’s kinetic. “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling,” he urges, not as a call to anxiety, but to awe-filled responsibility.

This is where abstract thinkers and practical doers converge. The mystery of divine will meets the grit of human obedience. God stirs both the desire and the strength to act, but it is we who must step forward—without grumbling—so that our lives become radiant testimonies in a dark and chaotic age.

Like stars against a night sky, we shine not by accident, but by intention, holding forth the word of life with clarity and conviction. And even when the journey feels like sacrifice, poured out drop by drop, there is joy. Not just for the thinker who sees the vision, but for the doer who builds it. In this, we rejoice together.

Faith begins in the heart but does not end there. It wrestles with pride, with illusion, with the subtle temptation to believe we are self-sufficient.

St. Isaac the Syrian warns us that: “…as soon as Grace sees that a little self-esteem has begun to steal into a man’s thoughts, and that he has begun to think great things of himself, she immediately permits the temptations opposing him to gain in strength and prevail, until he learns his weakness, and takes to flight, and clings to God in humility.”

Grace does not flatter. She humbles. She teaches us that strength is not found in self-exaltation, but in clinging to God with trembling hands.

To act rightly, we must first see rightly. And to see rightly, we must pray.

St. Ephrem the Syrian gives us the following prayer: ‘O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, meddling, lust of power, and idle talk.

But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Thy servant. Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own sins and not to judge my brother; for Thou art blessed unto ages of ages. Amen.”

This is not passive faith. This is the faith that pleads for transformation—that asks to be emptied of judgment and filled with love.

And it is a prayer like this that bears fruit in that it softens the heart, clears the eyes, and prepares the soul to act with mercy.

Mercy which is not the end of faith, but the beginning of its flowering. Faith must bear fruit.

St. Basil the Great reminds us that: “A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.”

Kindness, courtesy, love—these are not accessories to faith. They are its evidence.

And if our faith does not feed the hungry, clothe the naked, or comfort the poor—then what is it?

Again, St. Basil speaks with piercing clarity: “When someone steals another’s clothes, we call them a thief.

Should we not give the same name to one who could clothe the naked and does not? The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry; the coat unused in your closet belongs to the one who needs it; the shoes rotting in your closet belong to the one who has no shoes; the money which you hoard up belongs to the poor.”

The gospel is not just a message to be preached. It is a life to be given away.

Perhaps what we hoard, we steal. But then, what we share, we sanctify.

Faith without works is not just dead—it is silent. But faith that acts, that loves, that humbles itself and lifts others—This is faith that truly declares Christ’s victory and offers his salvation to the world!

The Orthodox concept of synergy—cooperation between divine grace and human freedom—is key.

• God initiates, sustains, and completes salvation.
• Humans respond freely, through faith and love, expressed in works.
• Works are not currency; they are communion.

So yes, the Orthodox tradition is deeply aware that works can become hollow if disconnected from faith. But it also insists that faith, if genuine, cannot remain fruitless.
📚Additional Resources:

Argument: Why Faith and Works Cannot Be Separated

1. Human beings are embodied creatures.

Belief is not merely an abstract mental state but is held by an embodied person who acts, chooses, and lives in the world.

2. Belief, by its nature, entails orientation.

To believe something is to hold it as true or trustworthy, and therefore to orient one’s perspective, values, and expectations accordingly. This orientation is never neutral—it always shapes how one perceives and responds to reality.

3. Orientation inevitably manifests in action.

Since one’s perception and values guide choices, even the smallest belief (e.g., “the stove is hot”) influences action (e.g., avoiding touching it). A belief with no influence on action is indistinguishable from a belief not actually held.

4. Action also retroactively discloses belief.

What a person actually does in the flow of life reveals the content and depth of what they truly believe. For example, someone who says they value honesty but consistently lies demonstrates that their real operative belief system is different from their stated belief.

5. Therefore, faith and works are inseparable in practice.

To analyze a person “holistically” is to consider both their beliefs and their actions together, since belief without action is unrealized, and action without belief is unintelligible. They are two aspects of a single reality: human life as lived.

6. Conclusion.

In any coherent account of real human existence, belief and action cannot be separated—they are mutually defining. Faith without works is empty abstraction; works without faith are directionless motion. Together, they form the whole truth of a person.

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Argument: Why Societies Require Both Thinkers and Doers

1. Societies are collective organisms.

Like individuals, societies are not abstract entities but living communities of embodied persons interacting. Therefore, the same logic that applies to individuals—belief and action being inseparable—scales upward to the social body.

2. Thought is orientation at the societal level.

Abstract, theoretical, and imaginative work (by philosophers, scientists, theologians, strategists, inventors, etc.) provides direction, meaning, and frameworks of understanding. These guide the collective perception of reality, much like belief guides an individual.

3. Action is implementation at the societal level.

Practical, hands-on work (by builders, craftsmen, farmers, administrators, caregivers, engineers, etc.) translates those ideas into lived reality—feeding people, building homes, running institutions, enforcing justice. This is society’s “muscle,” shaped by its “mind.”

4. Thought without action is sterile.

A society with thinkers but no doers would have plans, philosophies, or dreams but no food, shelter, or working institutions. Like a person who says “I believe in health” but never exercises, the society’s beliefs would remain unrealized.

5. Action without thought is chaotic.

A society of pure pragmatists with no abstract guidance would exhaust itself in endless, uncoordinated activity. It would lack direction, innovation, or shared meaning. Like an individual acting on impulse without principle, the society would become unsustainable.

6. Therefore, both are mutually dependent.

The “thinking” class and the “doing” class are not opposites but complements. The thinkers provide vision, principles, and design; the doers test, embody, and realize those visions. Each corrects the excesses of the other: thinkers prevent chaos, doers prevent abstraction from detaching from reality.

7. Conclusion.

Just as faith and works are inseparable in an individual, thought and action are inseparable in a society. A holistic society requires both abstract thinkers and pragmatic doers in dynamic balance—otherwise, it cannot function or endure.

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Individual Level (Faith and Works inseparable in real life)

1. James 2:14–17

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

— Here belief without embodied action is declared lifeless.

2. Matthew 7:16–20

“You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? … Every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit … Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”

— Jesus teaches that real inner reality (faith) is inseparable from outward evidence (works).

3. 1 John 3:18

“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

— Genuine belief is verified by embodied practice.

4. Hebrews 11 (entire chapter)
   — Often called the “Hall of Faith,” but every single example shows faith being expressed through action: Abraham went, Noah built, Moses chose, etc.

Societal/Communal Level (Thought and Action inseparable in a people)

5. 1 Corinthians 12:14–21

“For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ … that would not make it any less a part of the body. … The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you.’”

— Paul explains that the Church (a society) only works when different roles (thinking, speaking, doing, serving) are interdependent.

6. Ecclesiastes 4:9–12

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. … A threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

— Community action requires mutual dependence, balancing strengths.

7. Proverbs 29:18

“Where there is no vision, the people perish; but he that keeps the law, happy is he.”

— Societies need both vision (abstract orientation) and obedience (practical action).

8. Nehemiah 4:17

“Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other.”

— The rebuilding of Jerusalem required both planners and workers, vision and action together.

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Even John Calvin argued for the inseparability of Justification and Sanctification:

https://exegesisandtheology.com/2018/04/05/calvin-on-the-inseparability-of-justification-and-sanctification/

Even Martin Luther’s position can be summarized as: “We are justified by faith alone, but the faith that justifies is never alone.” Good works are the necessary fruit and evidence—not the cause—of salvation.

https://www.bluffton.edu/courses/tlc/nislyl/hum2/luther.htm

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💒Check out the Holy Covenant EOC web presence here: https://www.holycovenantchurch.net

🌳Check out the Evangelical Orthodox Church web presence here: https://www.evangelicalorthodox.org

Dig in! Live a beautiful life with Christ and His people!

Disclaimer: We share these conversations to encourage Spirit-filled ecumenical dialogue and deeper theological reflection. While our discussions partially draw from the teachings and life of the Evangelical Orthodox Church, our words are personal and not to be understood as formal positions of the EOC. Christian Faith should be embodied so join Christ’s One, Holy, Apostolic Church wherever His Body is found.