LEARNING DAILY

James 2:20, But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

The New Living Translation writes this verse this way, “faith that does not result in good deeds is useless”.  There must be a relationship between what you say and what you do – they must match. It means really walking the narrow way, not just talking about it. Doing what you talk about is about personal holiness.

I encourage you to read the entire passage in James 2 beginning with verse 14. James writing that a saving faith results in a changed life where our life matches what we save. What is the purpose of the narrow way? It is to make those who speak with their mouth that Jesus is their Savior to be like God, so they act like God; its purpose is to make Jesus Christ the Lord of their life. It is a lifelong process which has been written about in this blog for a long time. Just saying that one’s faith is not a substitute for living the way the Lord demands he/she lives.

Faith in Christ does not stand alone; it is never meant to be a substitute for the way we live life. For example, we have a person who has a need and we tell them we will pray that it is met. We might have the ability to feed the person, buy some groceries, meet whatever the need is – but we tell them we will only pray for them. Is that enough? No. we must act and provide for the need. Is that not what James is getting at when he writes about putting faith into action? Is that not the obedience that has been written about in previous pages of the blog? Should we not obey God and act when we are able to do so?

I believe God planned from the beginning that those who chose to believe in His Son and desire to be changed by walking on a narrow way would do good works. I think too many believers think that attending church each weekend, giving money to the church and returning home is enough. Does this make them any better in their actions the rest of the week? This is not about salvation based on works; it is works based on our salvation; this is about faith that produces no evidence of a changed life. It is about yielding one’s life to The Lord Jesus Christ and being used for His glory.

Believer, be encouraged to yield your heart to God; as you do your heart begins to change to reflect His desires. That only helps you to move forward in your walk with Him and do the works He brings into your life. Jesus told His disciples in John 13:35 that others would know they were His disciples because of their love for one another. As your heart is being transformed into what God desires, your actions and deeds will benefit those in need. Your acts of kindness and helping others will be an opportunity to allow the light of Jesus Christ to shine brightly in a dark world, a world that desperately needs to see the compassion and good deeds of Believers. What greater way to share the love of Jesus Christ is there than being involved with works that reflect Him. By doing so, we can cause others to ask about why we care or about the hope we have, drawing those we help to the One who saves and changes people.