May 4, 2019 THE PROOF OF OUR FAITH
James 2:20-23: “But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son to the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,’ and he was called the friend of God.’ You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone.”
Let it be clear that salvation comes as a result of the grace of God, and not by works that one may do. We cannot earn our salvation-it is a gift of God. It also must be clear that genuine faith in God results in works. If one professes to have faith in God, but his ‘faith’ in God does not produce good works, then his faith is useless. For some time now, we have heard a lot about the grace of God, but have not heard a lot about the outworking of the grace of God in us. Some say that all that matters is that we are under the grace of God, that He loves us like we are, what we do does no matter. That sounds really good, and there is an element of truth in it; however, the misunderstanding of grace has devastating consequences. It’s good for us to remember what someone said: “A partial truth presented as THE truth is a lie.” From the verses above, we see that Abraham offered up his son to the altar because of his faith in God; his offering of his son was proof of his faith. Had Abraham not offered up his son as God had commanded, then his faith was useless. Our faith must go beyond our trusting God for our salvation; our faith must rest on all that God has said in His word. Do we believe all that God has said, including His commandments and instructions to us? It is only natural that if we do believe God, our actions will reflect it. For example, if we believe God when He says it is better to give than to receive, we will give. If we believe God when He says that He has poured out His love in our hearts, we will be expressions of His love. To say we have faith in God’s word is no small matter for sure. Throughout the New Testament, we learn of the grace of God, and we also find the commands and instructions that God gives to His followers. We are saved by the grace of God and given the Holy Spirit of God in order that we might be expressions of God in the earth. The expressions, or the ‘works’ of believers, are to be a testimony of God at work in us. If there is no expression, or work, on the part of the believer, then the faith they profess to have is useless. Our works is proof of our faith. There is a word of caution concerning works. One may attempt to do ‘works’ in his or her own strength, however that work is useless. It is only the works done through the direction and power of the Spirit within us that are effective and that pleases our Father. The works of God are not burdensome, but are life giving and produce a sense of fulfillment. What does quickly become burdensome is not doing the works that God has for us; living according to our flesh-who we use to be-robs us of the life that God has for us. Many wrongly believe that they know better than God what life they should live. Let us make sure we are proving our faith by the life we live.
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
Blessings,
Buddy
James 2:20-23: “But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son to the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,’ and he was called the friend of God.’ You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone.”
Let it be clear that salvation comes as a result of the grace of God, and not by works that one may do. We cannot earn our salvation-it is a gift of God. It also must be clear that genuine faith in God results in works. If one professes to have faith in God, but his ‘faith’ in God does not produce good works, then his faith is useless. For some time now, we have heard a lot about the grace of God, but have not heard a lot about the outworking of the grace of God in us. Some say that all that matters is that we are under the grace of God, that He loves us like we are, what we do does no matter. That sounds really good, and there is an element of truth in it; however, the misunderstanding of grace has devastating consequences. It’s good for us to remember what someone said: “A partial truth presented as THE truth is a lie.” From the verses above, we see that Abraham offered up his son to the altar because of his faith in God; his offering of his son was proof of his faith. Had Abraham not offered up his son as God had commanded, then his faith was useless. Our faith must go beyond our trusting God for our salvation; our faith must rest on all that God has said in His word. Do we believe all that God has said, including His commandments and instructions to us? It is only natural that if we do believe God, our actions will reflect it. For example, if we believe God when He says it is better to give than to receive, we will give. If we believe God when He says that He has poured out His love in our hearts, we will be expressions of His love. To say we have faith in God’s word is no small matter for sure. Throughout the New Testament, we learn of the grace of God, and we also find the commands and instructions that God gives to His followers. We are saved by the grace of God and given the Holy Spirit of God in order that we might be expressions of God in the earth. The expressions, or the ‘works’ of believers, are to be a testimony of God at work in us. If there is no expression, or work, on the part of the believer, then the faith they profess to have is useless. Our works is proof of our faith. There is a word of caution concerning works. One may attempt to do ‘works’ in his or her own strength, however that work is useless. It is only the works done through the direction and power of the Spirit within us that are effective and that pleases our Father. The works of God are not burdensome, but are life giving and produce a sense of fulfillment. What does quickly become burdensome is not doing the works that God has for us; living according to our flesh-who we use to be-robs us of the life that God has for us. Many wrongly believe that they know better than God what life they should live. Let us make sure we are proving our faith by the life we live.
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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