Of Faith, Deeds & the Christian
James the half brother of Jesus and leader of the early church in Jerusalem wrote,
“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.
I’ve seen people look at this portion of scripture and say it’s salvation through works. Contradicting what the apostle Paul says when he states,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9.
This is not so. We are saved by faith. However our faith in Christ Jesus, our faith in God should spur us on to doing good works.
As believers in Christ Jesus the Spirit of God’s Love should show in our lives. The apostle Paul telling us,
“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.
Note kindness and love is very much a part of the Holy Spirits work in the life of a believer in Christ Jesus.
Jesus said,
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25:34-40.
As believers in Christ Jesus perhaps one of the best ways to show God’s love to people is through good works. I like what the American Evangelist Tony Campolo said,
“These issues are biblical issues: to care for the sick, to feed the hungry, to stand up for the oppressed. I contend that if the evangelical community became more biblical, everything would change.” Tony Campolo
Question: Do you do what you can to help those in need?
Do you present the Love of God in word and in deed?
Please think about it.
James the half brother of Jesus and leader of the early church in Jerusalem wrote,
“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.
I’ve seen people look at this portion of scripture and say it’s salvation through works. Contradicting what the apostle Paul says when he states,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9.
This is not so. We are saved by faith. However our faith in Christ Jesus, our faith in God should spur us on to doing good works.
As believers in Christ Jesus the Spirit of God’s Love should show in our lives. The apostle Paul telling us,
“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.
Note kindness and love is very much a part of the Holy Spirits work in the life of a believer in Christ Jesus.
Jesus said,
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25:34-40.
As believers in Christ Jesus perhaps one of the best ways to show God’s love to people is through good works. I like what the American Evangelist Tony Campolo said,
“These issues are biblical issues: to care for the sick, to feed the hungry, to stand up for the oppressed. I contend that if the evangelical community became more biblical, everything would change.” Tony Campolo
Question: Do you do what you can to help those in need?
Do you present the Love of God in word and in deed?
Please think about it.
