James 2:20 “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?”
First things first, let me be very clear, we are not saved by works. You can’t get “good enough” for God to love you more. As a matter of fact, the scriptures declare that He loved us while we were yet sinners. Christ’s love for us is NOT based on what we do, but it is based on His incredible mercy and grace which is His unmerited favor.
Here is what Paul told the church at Ephesus.
Ephesians 2:8-9 “ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Boasting is NOT of God. That is why we are saved by grace and not by works. So where does works come into play? Simply this, because we are saved, we want to produce works through our FAITH.
Let’s look at the book of James as he makes a case for works.
James 2:14-18 NLT, “What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”
As a Christian, your actions speaks louder than words. Many people can talk a good “game” until it is game time, and then they are nowhere to be found. It is amazing to me how much those people (the talkers) seem to know, but they “do” nothing.
James 1:22 “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.”
If you are just a “hearer” and not a “doer” …. you are NOT fooling others, you are ONLY fooling yourself. Others can plainly see you are just full of hot air.
James 2:19-23 NLT, “You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?
Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?
You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God.
It would have been easier for Abraham just to talk the spiritual lingo then to take his son to be offered up as a sacrifice. But his actions worked together with His FAITH.
Because FAITH without WORKS is USELESS!
Every step, every move, and every word Abraham made was backed up by his works.
James 2:24-26 NLT, “So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone. Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.
God will not do what we can do. We do the possible. He does the impossible.
You will find it ALL through scripture as man moved, God moved. As man responded, God responded.
THE GOSPEL
- You have to repent and God forgives
- You have to get baptized and God forgets
- You have to open your mouth and worship and God will fill you.
