In James 2:14-25 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=james%202:14-25&version=NIV1984) James discussed the issue of faith without deeds that is dead. What did he mean by that? He used the example: “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
This could easily be misunderstood that doing good works equals exercising our faith, but is only an example to show that words are useless unless we do something about it. It doesn’t need faith to do good works, but only obedience. However, if we do not have the means to provide for say a group of poor people and asked the Lord to provide for us to help them, and He agreed, we have two choices. We can sit back and wait endlessly to see if the Lord will do something about it, which is dead faith without deeds, or we can start planning to get the people together, promising them that we will meet their needs. In the latter case we do not know yet where our supplies will come from, but we trust the Lord to provide – an active faith.
Jesus was just a man on earth who also had to depend on faith, just like us. The only difference between Him and us was that He had nothing that stood between Him and His Father – no unrepented sin, no idols, no materialism, and no self-centredness. When He fed the five thousand men He stood there with the five loaves and two fish in His hands. Well over five thousand eyes were expectantly fixed on Him. Early that particular morning He had spent time with His Father hearing from Him what He needed to do it, yet He had no evidence that the multiplication would happen. He probably looked at the bread in His hands and wondered how it would happen and then thanked His Father. He was probably tempted to doubt that the bread would multiply and was told that He would make a fool of Himself, for He was tempted in every way like we are tempted (Hebrews 4:15).
No matter how hard Jesus believed that day that the bread would multiply, nothing would have happened if He didn’t break it and started to hand it out. Faith requires courage and a trust that the Lord would honour His word and come through for us, once we have taken the first step – adding action to our faith. James mentioned Abraham in James 2:21-24: “Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.”
Abraham had a relationship with the Lord. Because he loved the Lord he did not matter to himself anymore, but only what the Lord required mattered. Isaac was very precious to Abraham and was long awaited, yet when the Lord required of him to act in faith, he did it. What was Abraham to believe? That God would make another plan once Isaac was dead? No, Abraham’s faith was based on what God had told Him. The Lord had said that He would multiply Abraham though Isaac and therefore Abraham believed that God would provide a lamb (Genesis 22:8). Yet again, in his heart he knew it by faith, but had no prove and could just as well have killed Isaac for all his sinful nature knew.
Proving our faith has to do with our relationship with the Lord, for without faith it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6), and just telling Him that we believe is useless, for He wants to see that we trust Him by what we do and He wants to work with us to change the world. Unless we are so devoted to Him that we will deny ourselves, getting rid of idols, materialism, fear, and self and are prepared to be fools for the sake of obeying God, we will not see His power in action.
To be continued.
Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.
Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.
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