Faith Without Works

Good Morning,

James 2:14-26 (NIV)
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

When I read the Book of James, and specifically these verses from Chapter 2, I believe that James must have been maybe a little bit angry at what he was observing among his brothers and sisters in the Church. It's obvious that he was seeing people who were speaking about what great faith in the Lord they had, but then didn't do anything to show their faith and belief. There must have been many who professed their faith in God and even were active in reading and speaking Scripture, but once they were outside the temple, well, that faith they professed to have didn't produce anything in a practical and helpful way. I would think that James saw obvious needs of some people which weren't being met, perhaps not even addressed, by those capable of filling those needs.

Now, thoughts like these make me realize that nothing much has changed in over 2,000 years. We still have many who will speak loudly and proclaim unwavering faith and belief, but then, once away from their listeners, don't actually DO anything about their faith. It is possible for many of these people to see someone struggling and simply pass by as if there was no need at all exhibited. Maybe even not giving as much as a thought to what they've seen. There are those among us who are very well off in a financial way and yet don't really do very much, sometimes nothing at all, to help feed or clothe those who are without even the basic necessities of life. I ask you, as James asked millennia ago, what kind of faith is this that we observe?

I have to agree, totally and completely, in what we read here today. "Faith without deeds is dead."

It's as basic as that. I'm sure that James must have angered many by being as outspoken as he was about this subject. I'm sure that I've probably angered some folks, as well, by seeming to "harp" about this particular subject...that is, helping the needy and down trodden among us with real, physical and meaningful help. I guess that I need to be like James and simply not much care about those who are angered by being reminded that they might need to actually DO SOMETHING about the faith they profess. James spoke his heart and mind about this...and other things as well. I don't claim to be as righteous or holy as James, but I do know that God has laid these things on my heart to speak out to His people.

Let's not get anything wrong here. We're NOT saying that it might be by deeds or works that one achieves salvation. That, of course, is not true. Salvation comes, simply, by putting one's faith, hope and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in his or her life. Salvation comes, as Paul wrote, "But what does it say? 'The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,' that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." (Rom. 10:8-10) So, let's not mistake that salvation comes from anything that you or I could possibly do. No, certainly not. Salvation comes only because of what Jesus did. Just wanted to make sure that there were no mistakes about this, so forgive the little bit of preaching there.

Who do you know that might need to read these verses of Scripture that we read today? Is there someone who might benefit from more fully understanding that their faith in the Lord needs to be expressed with more than just words? I'm sure we all know people who should take a long, hard look inside to see if their deeds are truly speaking loudly enough to show their faith. We, that is you and I, might even need to take that difficult look.

You see, there are many who don't need to say a word about their faith, but merely go about their daily lives showing their faith for all to see. I hope to be one of them.

Love, peace, and blessings,

David