Honourably and Faithfully

Honourably and Faithfully 

"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?" James 2:14-20

Faith without works is dead states James. 

Is your faith dead?

Now I know the Talmud is a Jewish book and not Christian. It however has good points to make. Here is one I can see happening. It reads,

"When a man appears before the Throne of Judgment, the first question he is asked is not, "Have you believed in God?"  Or "Have you prayed and observed the ritual?  "He is asked: "have you dealt honourably and faithfully in all your dealings with your fellow men?" The Talmud.

Jesus said,

"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 7:12.

If you came upon hard times would you not want help? As Christians we are called to love even our enemies. So it’s not a stretch by any means to believe that when we stand before God He would say,

 "have you dealt honourably and faithfully in all your dealings with your fellow men?" 

So have you dealt honourably and faithfully with your fellow man?

Please think about it.

Are you a new creation?

 Are you a new creation?

The apostle Paul writes,

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"  2 Corinthians 5:17.

If someone truly give their life to Christ I truly believe their life will change. The rate of change will vary from person to person but anyone who puts their trust wholly in God will inevitably change to exhibit the characteristics of God.

Those Characteristics called by the apostle Paul the fruit of the spirit being,

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”  Galatians 5:22,23.

That being said we are all human and slip from time to time.

The American evangelist, the late Billy Graham said,

“The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, 'O God, forgive me,' or 'Help me.'” Billy Graham.

All true Christians I believe experience what Billy Graham is saying from time to time. All who truly believe in Christ Jesus will have to from time to time go to God with tears in our eyes and say ‘O God forgive me’ ‘help me.’

Upon hearing those prayers I truly believe that God will answer them and give strength and comfort to those who say them sincerely.

Thus my question to you dear reader; have you placed your trust in Christ Jesus? Are you a new creation?

Are you showing the fruit of the spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control?

Please think about it.