“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” James 1:22
“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2:17
Yesterday I had the privilege of preaching at my church. We have more than one pastor on staff, so we rotate who preaches when. So, Yesterday I was on the schedule. It was also the Sunday before VBS, so my sermon was on an expanded version of the passages in James about our faith being dead if we don’t have works. Many people think James is teaching something that contradicts what Paul teaches, that we are saved by faith alone. Here’s the thing: they are not contracting each other. We are saved by faith alone. But if, like James says, our faith inspires us to do nothing, then do we really have faith? I think not.
I love how the message version puts the entire passage I used which is James 2:14 – 17:
“Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup – where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?”
Outrageous nonsense! That is exactly what it is when we say we have faith and DO nothing. Our faith, when we have a deep and abiding faith, demands, pushes, and sends us out to do good in the world. And our deeds do not have to be huge. Some are called to do great things. Some are called to hold a door open, give larger tips, or act when moments of injustice rear their ugly heads. We are mandated by God to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly. When you read that sentence did you notice the verbs are all action words. God doesn’t want us to sit but go and do.
Take some time to think about your life. What are you doing? How are you helping? Our lives, how we live in the world are the sermon we preach every day. If we say we are a Christian and act selfishly and treat people with disrespect…they probably will have nothing to do with the god you profess. Because that is not God. God calls us to act lovingly in this world. We are to walk lightly…loving all people and not leaving a mess behind for someone else to clean up. That is true for how we treat people to how we use the earth’s resources.
As James says in 2:26: “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” May your day be filled with good deeds.
Peace,
Pastor Beth
Beth's Blog 