December 3, 2022

James 1: 22; 2: 14-26 (NIV)

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. . . What good is it . . . if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? . . . faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. . . Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. . . a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. . . As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

True faith is actively obedient.*

James is very thorough in his coverage of the controversy between faith and works. He doesn’t leave much for me to say except to rearrange his words to make them sound like they’re mine! He makes it clear that faith and works are partners.

So what is so controversial about James’ presentation on faith and works? He doesn’t claim that we are saved by our works. He knows that it is impossible to work hard enough to pay off our debt. He doesn’t offer any other route to salvation other than through faith in Jesus Christ; but God alone knows the true status of a person’s faith. If you have faith and nothing in your life demonstrates it, it benefits no one but you. While it is possible for our behavior to falsely portray a life of faith, what would motivate a person to maintain that façade for a lifetime?

The world knows who we are by what we do. Aside from those who are severely disabled (and perhaps those in some other extreme circumstances), Christians are called to active duty. One source refers to our good deeds as “spiritual motion.”* I like that term and hope to add it to my holy vocabulary! 

Faith is not a mental assent to the existence of God; it is a way of life – or death.*