July 30 - Faith Without Works.

James 2:14
“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not not works? can faith save him?”
 
We are saved by God’s grace when we see ourselves as a sinner in need of a Saviour, and place our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Plus nothing minus nothing. The Scripture tells us that it is “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us.”  We cannot earn our way to Heaven. There is not enough good works that we could do in order to get to Heaven. With these Truths in mind, our verse today can seem confusing when the context is not studied and applied.
 
James 2:14-26 will give you the context. If we see someone in need of clothing or food, and we have the means to help them and choose not to, what do we earn? Faith without works is dead.
James 2:17-18
“Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.”
 
Without works we cannot display our faith for others to see. We have no evidence of our faith if we have not works.
Hebrews 11:1
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
 
“We are justified by faith in the sight of God and by works in the sight of man.”
John Phillips
 
God sees our faith. But if faith is the evidence of things not seen, how can we show our faith to those around us if we do not have works? They cannot see our heart like God does.
 
Abraham believed God, and he demonstrated his faith in Him by being willing to sacrifice Isaac, believing He would raise him from the dead if He did not spare his life. This was the gospel being preached unto Abraham, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness. God provided Himself as the Lamb that was needed for both Abraham’s and our sin.
 
God may not ask us to take our firstborn up on a mountain to sacrifice, but He will ask us to do something out of our comfort zone. We must display our faith by the works we do for the cause of Christ, and not for our own glory or else we will lose our eternal reward.
 
Display your faith today. Allow those around you to see your faith by the works you do in Christ’s Name. He is worthy of our works, our love, and our lives…but it must start with faith in Him.
James 2:26
“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
 
Make your faith alive in the work that God has given you to do!
 
 
Bible Reading:
Ezra 9-10  |  Hebrews 7  |  Proverbs 31