Faith That Works

Scripture Reading

James 2:14-26

      What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him?

     If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?

    Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.

     But someone may say, "You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works."

     You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.

     But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?

     Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?

     You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected;  and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS." and he was called the friend of God.

     You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone.

     And in the same way was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works, when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?

     For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

What's the Big Idea??

"Show me your faith!...I will show you my faith by the things I do." James 2:18

Think of it this way:

When I am reading sometimes, I have to have a little more light to see what I am looking at. So I flip on a switch and I have light!  But what if that lamp wasn't plugged in? Well it needs to have electricity to make it work, doesn't it?

So let's see where I could find some electricity. How will I know when I find it? Can I see electricity? No. It's invisible; isn't it? But we'll know when we've found it because the lamp will light up. Ah!, electricity, the lamp lights up! That means I have found electricity there in the wall outlet.

     In a way, faith in God and in Jesus is like electricity. Our faith is invisible, too. But if it is there inside us, it will have certain effects that other people can see, just as electricity can be detected by the way it will cause a light bulb to glow.

    One of the most important effects real Christian faith has on us is that it changes the way we would normally act toward other people. Instead of being selfish and mean, we become more helpful and kind than we were before. We want to be nice to other people because we know how nice God is to us and how He loves people who are not very nice themselves.

     God wants us to do good things for anyone who needs help, even people who are mean to us. If our faith in Jesus is real, even though it is invisible and can not be seen. That is the test we can use to see whether we have faith in us, just as the lamp can be tested to see whether electricity is present in an electrical outlet.