{"id":5828,"date":"2014-11-13T02:10:39","date_gmt":"2014-11-13T02:10:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=5828"},"modified":"2014-11-19T01:46:08","modified_gmt":"2014-11-19T01:46:08","slug":"james-218-show-me-your-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=5828","title":{"rendered":"James 2:18\u2014Show me your faith"},"content":{"rendered":"

But someone may well say, \u201cYou have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>James 2:18<\/p>\n

No two believers are exactly alike. Gifts, talents, interests, and personalities vary from person to person within the Church. Paul wrote that there are varieties of gifts, ministries, and effects within the body of Christ, and each member is to move in the manifestation of the Holy Spirit for the common good (see 1 Corinthians 12:4-7).<\/p>\n

However, despite the huge diversity of gifts, callings, and godly talents within the Church, each<\/em> member is to live by faith\u2014no exceptions. Likewise, each member is accountable to the Lord for the deeds done in the body, whether good or bad (see 2 Corinthians 5:10).\u00a0 Therefore, you are responsible to walk by faith and<\/em> you are accountable for all the things you do\u2014your works.<\/p>\n

You and I may have different functions within the Church, but I can\u2019t say, \u201cI am called to works; you are called to faith.\u201d You and I are both called to works and <\/em>faith.<\/p>\n

James challenged those who said they had genuine faith without works. He wrote, \u201c\u2026show me your faith without <\/strong>the works, and I will show you my faith by <\/strong>my works<\/em>\u201d (emphasis added). He knew that no one\u2019s faith could be proven without corresponding actions or deeds of kindness and charity.<\/p>\n

Confusion sneaks in the door whenever you emphasize one side of the faith\/works spectrum to the exclusion of the other. Many cults are built around the belief that human works are the basis of salvation; however, the Word of God is clear\u2014you are saved by grace<\/em> through faith<\/em>, and that is not of your own manufacturing; it is a gift from God (see Ephesians 2:8). Whether you are good, bad, or somewhere in between\u2014you must<\/em> be born again through faith in Jesus Christ if you hope to make Heaven your eternal home. It is impossible to be saved any other way.<\/p>\n

Why, then, did James emphasize works? Do we, as some cults suggest, receive partial salvation through Christ and then bridge the gap by our own good deeds? Can we save ourselves by our works? Absolutely not.<\/p>\n

James pointed out very directly that if you live a life of faith and consecration to Christ, then you will demonstrate it by the way you treat others. Your genuine faith life will be accompanied by a trail of good fruit and kind deeds. If your personal history is not littered with such occurrences, then very possibly you need an overhaul by the One you say you serve.<\/p>\n

You do not <\/em>work your way into Heaven. However, if your faith lacks any external indication that the Lord lives in you, it is at best useless (see James 2:16 and 20), and is very likely dead.<\/p>\n

I believe James\u2019 motive in writing this was to stir believers to authentic expression of faith, especially toward those less fortunate than themselves. His goal was neither to douse the grace message of Paul nor to push the Church into legalism. His objective, I believe, was simply to offer his brethren an opportunity to examine whether or not their actions lined up with their words of faith.<\/p>\n

The apostle Paul wrote, \u201cTest yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you\u2014unless indeed you fail the test?<\/em>\u201d (2 Corinthians 13:5)<\/p>\n

Being a recipient of the loving grace of God will never<\/em> exempt you from examining your life to determine if your actions demonstrate the Lord you proclaim. And if you do <\/em>find that you have a deficit of works that declare your faith (and there\u2019s a good chance you will<\/em> from time to time), God\u2019s grace is the very place<\/em> to which you should run. His grace will lift you up and put you back on track to live out your faith\u2014full of the gracious works of Jesus.<\/p>\n

May you, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, live by faith and let it blossom into wonderful good works!<\/p>\n

Dorothy<\/p>\n

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;<\/em> not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.<\/em> For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. <\/em>Ephesians 2:8-10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

But someone may well say, \u201cYou have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.\u201d\u00a0 James 2:18 No two believers are exactly alike. Gifts, talents, interests, and personalities vary from person to person within the Church. Paul wrote that there are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-james-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5828"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5829,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5828\/revisions\/5829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}