faith works

James 2:18 ‘i will show you my faith by my works’

if you are an athlete, you train for the sport(s) you play. if you are a student, you do homework, you study. even if you do not train you are a still technically an athlete, just as if you do no homework and you do not study you are still considered a student.

faith is no different.

you can say you believe in God, even if you do not have any works, you still consider yourself having faith. though, this is the question James is asking, ‘what good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? can that faith save him?’. so, i ask you, what good is your faith? will it save you?

i am not saying that we have to earn our salvation or strive for God to love us. if we had to earn our salvation Jesus wouldn’t have been crucified for you and i, and we do not have to strive for God’s love because ‘nothing can separate us from the love of Christ’ (Romans 8:35, 37-39). but, what i am trying to say is that too many of us just think that believing is enough to maintain our faith. James 2:19 ‘you believe that God is one; you do well. even the demons believe – and shudder!’.

is just believing you should be a starter on your team enough to become you? or is believing you should have straight a’s enough to make it true? no! what you believe requires work! the same is true of faith.

faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is not alone

just as a straight a student has good works behind the grades, just as the star player on your team has good works behind their success, the person with a faith that saves has good works behind it also.

Ephesians 2:8-10 describes it perfectly, Paul says ‘for by grace you have been saved through faith. and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast…’ there is no amount of works that you could do in this lifetime or countless others that would be enough to save you from Hell. but, through our God’s grace and loving mercy we are saved for having faith in our God. ‘for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.’ (verse 10). Paul also notes the necessity of works in proving the character of our faith.

your faith is meant to drive you into action. your faith has a character of works because you are overwhelmed by the unending grace and mercy of Jesus. your works are not done from a heart of striving to be saved – that has already been done for you. your works should come from a heart of urgency, that is developed by your faith, to share Jesus and spread His message as He commissioned us to do. 
faith is layered with good works.

-n0tbychance