I challenged ( or at least I tried to challenge) our quizzers Sunday night about what James says in chapter 2 about Faith and Deeds. The fact is that it challenged me as well, and made me think a lot. James says that "faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead" Have you ever really thought about that statement? James asks the question a few verses earlier about faith without deeds: "Can such faith save him?" Well the answer is right there quite clearly in those verses...the answer is a plain and simple NO!
Now the stress must be put at the right place in these verses. In my opinion that is on Faith and not just simply 'faith' but SUCH faith (a faith that does not produce deeds). James' point is this: If your "so called faith" does NOT produce fruit, then you have a DEAD faith.
These verses are NOT promoting a salvation of works. They are promoting FAITH; true faith, which means a relationship with Christ. Anyone who has that relationship with Christ cannot be in contact with Christ and NOT be changed; it is an impossibility.
I have been telling the quizzers that (despite popular belief that James is a book about deeds and works), rather in my opinion it is all about GRACE! The phrase I have come up with is this: "James is a book of the fruit of Grace"....
In other words, if you don't see fruit, if your faith is NOT accompanied by action, then the question has to be, do you have Grace, do you have a relationship with Christ? Grace WILL produce fruit.
it's hard to explain this all in a blog. But hope that gives you an idea of what I am getting at.
If you aren't seeing deeds in your life, it's not about you having to work harder to live up to something God has given you, you have to go back to the source--CHRIST, he is the one who produces the fruit in you.
posted by Kellen @ 1:21 PM
4 Comments:
I agree with Wade on this one.
So I have a freind who has accepted Christ as his saviour and professes Christ openly and publically. Due to life circumstance, he has been struggling with all that he has to simply survive. I have been trying to explain the importance of how he now needs to turn that faith into action. He is very sick. Am I to go back to him and tell him that the faith and blessed assurance he has aquired is dead or not true? I want to encourage that he move to servanthood, but am not prepared to tell him that the Faith in salvation he has received is not true unless he responds in further action.
God's grace is producing fruit in my freind, though it is not producing any deeds at this time. The fruit that I see is a growing Love for God and a growing peace with the circumstances he finds himself in.
I beleive that Gods grace and my freinds faith and personal profession of Jesus as Saviour IS sufficient. If God grants this man more time, I hope and pray that this faith will become more.
I am afraid that I need to respectfully disagree when you say:
"Can such faith save him?" Well the answer is right there quite clearly in those verses...the answer is a plain and simple NO!"
I envision reaching the promised land and saying "did I pass the test? and Christ say, Don, its good to see you.....what test?"
This is a very challenging subject/thought. I am glad you are thinking about this. I look forward to further study on the subject.
Keep up the great work!
dw
thanks for the comments...I just want to address a couple things here...then look at my next post to see deeper response to your concerns....first Wade--Read through your Bible and tell me that there isn't many things that SEEM like contradictions. How about when Jesus says in John 3:16 &18, "whoever believes" will be saved, will not be condemned...but yet Romans 9 and other places says that God chooses, and he hardens who he wants--It seems to me this would be a spot you would say Scripture contridicts itself. I didn't write James..the fact is that is says: "a person is justified by what he does, and not by faith alone" (2:24)....I agree that this seems to contridict, but Wade if you believe the Bible then you believe all of it, and it says on one hand we are saved by faith alone, but it also says, what we do is important...just as it says whosoever comes will be saved and it also says that God chooses. Is one right and the other wrong? NO..both are true. Don't let human logic determine how you read teh Bible...God is way way way beyond your logic.
Don...will God really say "it's good to see you ...what test?" What does the Bible say...as nice as that would be pastorally Don, the Bible doesn't support that. Sometimes I wish it did...it would make my life a lot easier when faced with these questions. But look for just one example at
1 Cor. 3:10-15....It says we WILL be tested. Once again...this is not me saying it...it's God's Word...and yes, Don, the Bible also says "my Grace is suffient" and I believe that wholeheartedly...but I believe and stand by what I say wholeheartedly as well because it's Biblical, and God, and his Word..and the way he works is more complex than we can ever imagine...but you will find...in what I previously wrote..my stress was always on the Grace and Faith....no doubt that's what it's all about, I'm with you there....but you can't dismiss what is written in James 2. read my next post to hear more of my babbling about this...thanks for your feed back...love to talk to you in person about stuff like this.
I envision reaching the promised land and saying "did I pass the test? and Christ say, Don, its good to see you.....what test?"
You caught me! Yes this is wishful thinking. Yes we are told of trials, refining and "tests" if you will.
I will read next blog.
Have a great day!
dw
in school today we learned that for Hebrews the word "faith" means "leap of action" or, doing. it's a physical reality. for the Greeks it means "leap of thought" which is how we often think...it's knowledge, or something we believe in our heads. I think in this passage James is saying faith is an action. I really like how you worded it though. Good stuff! And I agree: it's all about God's glory. Amen!
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