| Faith and Works |
Faith and Works
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
— James 1:22
A flurry of research recently has found that in spite of the secularism of
popular culture, many people believe in God and identify themselves as
being strongly religious. This is not only true of adults, but also of
teenagers. However, analysts said that this so-called spirituality may be
only skin deep. I think there are many people who believe they are
Christians, but they really are not.
The apostle James, the brother of Jesus, identified for us what true
religion really is, what it means to be a real Christian, what it means to
be a truly spiritual person, and what real faith is. He said we have a
tendency to deceive ourselves (see James 1:22) or to deceive our
hearts (see verse 26). We can be deceived and think we are
automatically Christians because we are in church or because we have
gone through religious rituals. But James showed us the balance
between faith and works and how they work together.
Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the
kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven"
(Matthew 7:21). The key is not only saying certain things, but also living
a certain way as a result of our beliefs. James 2:26 says, "For as the
body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also" (see
also verses 17, 20).
Let's understand what James was saying. He was not teaching that we
are justified by works alone. Rather, he was saying that having genuine
faith, true spirituality, will impact a Christian's lifestyle. If someone's so-
called faith does not produce this change, then it is not real faith at all.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
— James 1:22
A flurry of research recently has found that in spite of the secularism of
popular culture, many people believe in God and identify themselves as
being strongly religious. This is not only true of adults, but also of
teenagers. However, analysts said that this so-called spirituality may be
only skin deep. I think there are many people who believe they are
Christians, but they really are not.
The apostle James, the brother of Jesus, identified for us what true
religion really is, what it means to be a real Christian, what it means to
be a truly spiritual person, and what real faith is. He said we have a
tendency to deceive ourselves (see James 1:22) or to deceive our
hearts (see verse 26). We can be deceived and think we are
automatically Christians because we are in church or because we have
gone through religious rituals. But James showed us the balance
between faith and works and how they work together.
Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the
kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven"
(Matthew 7:21). The key is not only saying certain things, but also living
a certain way as a result of our beliefs. James 2:26 says, "For as the
body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also" (see
also verses 17, 20).
Let's understand what James was saying. He was not teaching that we
are justified by works alone. Rather, he was saying that having genuine
faith, true spirituality, will impact a Christian's lifestyle. If someone's so-
called faith does not produce this change, then it is not real faith at all.
| C4W Devotions are used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie P.O. Box 4000 Riverside , CA 92514 |