"What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith, but does not have works? Can his faith save him?" - James 2:14 (HCSB)
I think James hits it out of the park in this verse. He's asking a legitimate question: can you have faith that saves you outside of deeds? Well? I'm not so sure. When we live our lives devoid of deeds, of doing things for others, we leave ourselves spiritually paralyzed. We've got nothing to do, thus, we've got nothing to say. Who wants to listen to someone who supposedly has the answers, yet lives a boring, self-obsessed, stationary life? Not me.
I struggle daily with small concepts about faith, but the one I can hold on to is this one from James: do. Just do. It's that old saying, "Fake it 'till you make it." "Deeds" equal "you getting completely out of yourself," and when you step up into another's life, you are fulfilling a law of Christ.
The Church must grab hold of what I'm talking about here. We must force ourselves to understand living beyond ourselves everyday. Deeds will connect us to one another and cement ourselves to God's will.
The world sees people who go to church, living fulfilling functioning lives, making money - having relationships, getting it done - and everyone has a big, toothy grin doing it. It does look good. However, what if what we really need to show the world is life-changing functionality? We need to mirror Jesus in all our activities. This doesn't mean we wear robes, travel with a bunch of ragtag crazies, speak differently and live poor. It means we come clean about the sin in our lives and live out our faith... faith that is "seeable".
Inaction is a big deal. James tells us to help widows and orphans (James 1:27). Translation: get up and out and help people. We have become consumed with what faith looks like instead of what it is doing. God says the religion He wants comes in the form of helping people, not playacting with flat, empty, good-looking smiles filled with selfish desire, wrapped around nothing to say or do. He needs us in the trenches, thinking about others and leading them to the Master.
Yesterday I spent some time talking with some widows and single mothers on the phone. Many of these precious women just cried as I described how our church community was planning to invade their homes this Sunday and practically help them. One lady is legally blind and has a large tree that has fallen in her backyard. Neighbors are complaining and she can't even see what to do to fix it. She's blind and in a bind. When I described how we were going to take care of her problem, she wept and wouldn't stop thanking and praising God. Another single mother of two has issues with her gutters. She doesn't know how to clean them. Last year she said her full gutters led to water running onto her front door and it totally froze. She was stuck in her house, because she was literally frozen in! She also can't mow her lawn, because her mower stopped working. The 'city' is complaining and she can't afford to get it trimmed. Another single mother described a hole in her ceiling that simply needs to be patched up, but she's been unable to figure out how to get it done.
Each of these ladies, and others this Sunday, are going to be the recipients of a mass-movement of God's gang simply "doing". Isn't that awesome? Isn't that what abundant LIFE is really all about? Isn't that fulfilling the law of Christ in a way that causes this world to see, and maybe even thank and praise HIM?
I kinda think so.
"We have become consumed with what faith LOOKS like instead of what it is DOING." "...what we really need to show the world is life-changing functionality". Well said! I LOVE this post & can't wait to be blessed by the joy that God so faithfully showers on us at every DCWOW - both on the recipients of our service & on those that share in the giving!
ReplyDeleteWith you, Pastor Michael^ It is such an awesome thing to be able to show others how a relationship with the Master manifests in practical ways^ And it is especially awesome that people think we are weird for helping the needy, rather than thinking we are weird for wearing matching purple Nike track suits and killing ourselves, for example, which is not nearly as cool^
ReplyDeleteFaith is hard to theologize, but so easy to live out. We all live out our faith. It just sucks that we have more faith in money, our jobs and programs. We only tithe 10% because we have to, we compromise the important stuff to please our boss or keep our jobs and everything from sports to TV shows takes precedence over reading the Bible, prayer and helping our neighbor.
ReplyDeleteSome take that we are saved by grace through faith and apply that to living in Christ as well. (I haven't really figured this all out.) They say that the new covenant is grace only. That living in Christ is also by grace through faith only, and there is no place for the law and obedience to God's (Jesus') commands. They call this "living in Christ", santification and salvation, justification, and say that both are only done by grace through faith. They are so scared to have anything to do with works, or obedience or the law.
I know Jesus did not condemn the woman caught in adultery and that when you are saved by grace through faith, you want to obey His commands. But doesn't faith include both believing and doing? What's the connection or is there any?
Jesus always had the people He interacted with doing something, rolling away the stone, stepping out onto the water, filling the jugs up with water, dipping in the Jordan seven times or not taking anything with you when you go preach the Kingdom of God and heal the sick.
Isn't doing, faith, and hasn't both grace and the law been a part of the Unchanging God's plan all along? The jews just took the law to the extreme and are we not now taking grace to the extreme? Isn't the new covenant the blood of Jesus? Wasn't Abraham saved by faith and his faith was evidenced by what he did? And isn't that the same way we are saved today?
Help Leader,
j