“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? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”
~ James 2:14-26
We’ve discussed the topic of “faith” here before, back in 2015 with the post, “What is Faith?” But the fact is, so many people still don’t understand what it means to have faith.
On Friday, I saw this post on Instagram:
Now, it’s not that I felt this sentiment was totally wrong… just, well, incomplete. So I left the following comment:
We have faith that Jesus our Lord died on the cross for the salvation of mankind. But if James tells us that faith without action is dead, what does that mean? Do we have to… DO… something to be saved? Every church that I have ever set foot in said no, salvation is free! But is that true? Let’s see what the Bible says about salvation and faith.
In John 6:39, Jesus says, “And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that He has given me, but raise them up at the last day.” [So the will of God is that none be lost.]
John 3:16-18: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, [remember, Son means FORM, it’s Jesus taking off His immortality and putting on mortal flesh] that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
Romans 3:19-31: “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Him[self] as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood. He did this to demonstrate His justice, because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished– He did it to demonstrate His justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. Is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.”
Romans 10: “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: “The man who does these things will live by them.” But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?'” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?'” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile–the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says, “I will make you envious by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.”
And Isaiah boldly says, “I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.”
But concerning Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.”
Jesus died on the cross — for everyone who wishes to be saved. The sacrifice for sins was given freely by our Lord. BUT, consider all the other verses we’ve read today — there’s an action required in order to claim that salvation.
If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
Justified and saved are not the same thing. It’s not a blind belief that saves you, it’s your confession. And a confession is an action.
Our confession: I believe that God is Father Truth, His Spirit is unconditional Love, and the Form of God is JESUS, the Christ, the Messiah, God with us, the immortal God taking off His immortality, clothing Himself with mortality, come, crucified and risen from the dead, immortal once again. There is no other name under Heaven and Earth by which ye must be saved — that name is Jesus. John 17:11: “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name – the name you gave me – so that they may be one as we are one.”
We just finished reading Romans 10, where Paul says that some hear the message… but they reject it, and in so doing, give up their salvation. So there’s choice involved in salvation. A choice that each and every single one of us has to make for ourselves: Is Jesus the Lord God Almighty, or isn’t He? An action is required here.
Paul said how can someone believe in the one of whom they have not heard? How can they hear without someone preaching to them? So “faith” also goes beyond ourselves and our own personal confession — we’re also called on to share the Gospel of Jesus with others so that THEY too might understand the identity of God and His Christ, reach out and eat of the Tree of Life and be saved. No one can make their choice until they have heard the message and understood it.
We have faith that Jesus is the Creator of Heaven and Earth and all that is in them, and that His blood will cover our mountain of sins if we confess Him with our mouths. But it’s not just “believing” these things — it’s putting into practice that belief. It’s reading our Bible and asking the Lord for understanding: Remember, there are two sides to wisdom, James 3:15, and God’s wisdom is spiritual, not literal. It’s telling our friends, family, neighbours about Jesus — we don’t point at their sins because we are ALL sinners, we point TO Jesus and what He did for us. And your neighbour is not just the person who lives in the house next to yours, or the people that you like. No, our neighbour is anyone that we come in contact with. When Cain said to God, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” God was angry. Because YES, we are our brothers’ keepers! We do have a duty to share the Gospel with others. Consider the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30 — the servant who buried his talent and did nothing with it was called worthless by his master, and was thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Not the place we want to be!
So as we say good bye to 2022, a year that I personally found extremely difficult, and usher in the new year, let’s all take a leap of faith and pray that 2023 will be better. Just remember: Taking a leap of faith doesn’t mean sitting back and whining to God while we mope around like slugs. Taking a leap of faith means believing that with God all things are possible, and so when you see an opportunity? You take it. When you see someone that you can help? You help them. And when you face times of trials and tribulations, remind yourself that with Jesus, we are never alone, and so do the things you know to do, and trust God with the rest. But don’t expect Him to do all the work for you. He already went to the cross. What more do we want from Him?
Happy New Year!