A FAITH THAT WORKS

James 2:14 - 26     

Wednesday, 28 August 2024

“… faith without works is dead.”          – James 2: 26

The book of James is rightly a manual for Christian living with many practical guidelines.  In the book of Romans, Apostle Paul established the foundation of Christian faith—justification by faith, refuting justification by good works. Now reading James about faith and works, one may get confused whether the Bible is contradicting! So that doubt has to be cleared.

When the Book of Romans highlights that “a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (Romans 3:28), we need to keep in mind that Paul was addressing a group of people who put their trust in the works of the Law. They believed that strict adherence to the various works given in the Law would give them a right standing before God. But no one could perfectly follow the Law except Jesus Christ who said He came to fulfil the Law (Matt.5:17). Those who tried to follow the Law exemplified with its outward actions while missing the real intent of it, were referred to as “hypocrites” by Jesus!

That kind of religiosity will only take people away from God, since they trust in their works to be accepted by God. In John 14:1 – Jesus said “believe in God and believe also in Me.” Faith is the starting point of Christian life. Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). However, the group that James addresses in his epistle relied only on faith and were advocating that there is no need for good deeds since they have faith. The reality is that if you have faith, good works are a natural product. True faith and righteous works go hand in hand.

Works will not lead us to salvation, but only faith in Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:10 explains the connection of works with faith. We are created for good works, which God prepared beforehand.

Good works are inseparable from faith for a born-again Christian. In the book of James a few areas to heed, where effective works will endorse/complement our faith are listed:  

1.    Impartiality to be practised (James 2: 1-8)

It is showing favour to people who are wealthy in the congregation-honoring them by giving them special seats in the worship services and ignoring the poor man. True faith will manifest when we treat both the wealthy and the poor alike.

2.    Compassion (James 2:14-17)

A person professing faith in Jesus Christ must have a heart to cater to the needs of the deprived brethren.  Great acts of compassionate works carried out by Christian Missionaries are still serving humanity for centuries. All around us are people in need— orphans, widows, elderly, terminally ill, mentally sick people. The Christian is challenged to a great responsibility to take care of them.

3.    Controlling the Tongue (James 3:1-18)

A controlled tongue will always show forth the maturity of a true believer of Jesus Christ. If one has faith, but does not bridle his/her tongue, that faith is of no effect!

4.    Worldliness (James 4:1-4)

If a person known to be a believer indulges in worldly passions and are lured to the many attractions of the world, people will reject his faith. May our faith be manifested through the effective work of abstaining from worldly attractions.

5.    Pride (James 4:5-17)

A boastful person, always proud of himself brings disgrace to our Lord who was humble while he lived on this earth. Servanthood is what our Master taught us – and we need to demonstrate this through our lives.

6.    Passion towards wealth (James 5:1-6)

A believer’s faith has to be seen in his attitude towards wealth-Jesus said it clearly that one cannot serve God and money together. Love of money is a root cause of evil!

Can we take effective steps (works) that will go hand in hand with the faith that we profess, so that people will see a faith that works?

THE CHALLENGE: The call to a FAITH THAT WORKS!