LEARNING DAILY

James 2:26, For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Paul wrote this after he wrote, “salvation is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”  Believers are saved to do good works. These two writers are clear that faith without works is fatal. If you go back in the second chapter of James you will read that he calls the person “foolish” who has faith without works. In other words, the person who talks about their faith must be living it by being obedient.

Let’s be clear. “The works that God approves in a Christian’s life are those motivated by faith (obedience). A Christian does not do them to earn salvation but to fulfill the goal of salvation – being a steward of God on earth, using His gifts and resources to accomplish His will.” (David Jeremiah Study Bible). James continues in his writing by using Abraham and Rahab as examples to illustrate the obedience that accompanies one’s salvation.

The Lord Jesus Christ will judge the works of every Believer. 1 Corinthians 3:12-13, “Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw — each one 's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.” The fire will test each person’s work; what endures will be rewarded. That which is burned suffers a loss. This is not about one’s salvation; it is about the words and deeds that bring honor and glory to Jesus. It is about how Believers used their gifts and talents to build on the foundation of Christ. The quality of one’s work is so important it will be tested by fire. What remains of the tested works will result in a reward for the individual; Paul does not write what that reward will be. Let me add a comment in the DJSB, “Everything a godly steward does that displays the glory of the Lord is considered a good work in God’s sight.”

“Faith apart from works is dead.” One who professes to have faith in Jesus but has no outward signs of faith has “faith without works” – a dead faith. The lack of good deeds reveals an unchanged heart. Merely claiming to believe without living out that faith is meaningless. The Believer’s devotion to the Lord will show through loving, compassionate, and righteous deeds. The Lord’s power to save is the power to change their life. Warren Weirsbe describes such faith as “dynamic faith,” or faith that “is not intellectual contemplation or emotional consternation; it leads to obedience on the part of the will. And this obedience is not an isolated event: it continues throughout the whole life. It leads to works.”

Again, James is not saving one’s works will save him/her. Instead, he is writing that one’s actions are the result of or the evidence of salvation. James wanted his readers to understand the importance of putting their faith into practice.