Faith And Works!

March 13, 2025

Faith And Works!

Like the Apostle Paul, we are grateful that our new life with Jesus, our new love for Jesus, and our new salvation through Jesus are by faith alone.  We do our best to focus upon our trust and acceptance and belief as a response to God’s grace and the gift of His love.  We find great peace and deep joy in living this life of holiness with Jesus. 

And yet, when it comes to living a life of holiness with faith in Jesus, our lives don’t always look a lot like the faith we proclaim in Jesus.  Sometimes we don’t find the time or don’t take advantage of the opportunities or simply lack enough conviction to live a life of holiness. 

The result is that our life does not always look a lot different than those who proclaim to have no faith in God.  We have real faith in Jesus, but we do not always live a life of holiness that helps us and others to grow in our relationship with Jesus.

The Apostle James observed the challenge that many of us face in our spiritual life.  For most of us, the greatest challenge is working out the relationship of my faith and the kind of life I am living (i.e., my works!).

In James 2:14-18 the Apostle James says; “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works?  Surely that faith cannot save, can it?  If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,’ and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?  So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.  But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’  Show me your faith apart from works, and I by my works will show you faith.” 

In the early Church, there were some who believed that being saved by God’s grace through faith alone was all that was needed.  In other words, once we experienced God’s forgiveness and the gift of salvation through Jesus, there was nothing more that was important or needed in the life of a Christ-follower.

These Christ-followers focused on the letters of the Apostle Paul.  For instance in Romans 3:28 Paul writes; “For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.”  For many Christ-followers today, confessing one’s faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord is both the beginning and the end of the Christian life.

At the same time, there were others who sincerely believed that what brought God’s favor (and even salvation!) was our good works.  They were convinced the quantity of our good works as well as the magnitude of our good works will secure us a place in the Kingdom of God.

The Apostle James argues that living a life of holiness engages both our deep faith and our good works.  James claims, “So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.”  James did not believe we earn our salvation through our good works.  Rather, he believed our good works are evidence that our faith in Jesus is real and is growing.   

We are made holy through God’s grace and love.  Our response is one of faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord and a commitment to live a life of holiness.  This life of holiness involves the spiritual disciplines that help our relationship with Jesus to continue to grow.  There are spiritual disciplines like worship, prayer, and reading the Bible as well as participating in Holy Communion, a small group, and devotional reading. 

But, there are another group of spiritual disciplines that also help us live the life of holiness to which we are called.  There are spiritual disciplines like serving the poor, sharing our faith, and tithing (giving 10% of our income to the church) as well as participating in mission trips, volunteering in our church, and praying over people for healing.

I invite you to engage in a week of self-reflection in which you honestly discern the depth of your faith in Jesus and the frequency and volume of your good works.  In other words, take some time to reflect upon how you are living a life of holiness that engages both your faith and your good works.

When we trust Jesus with all of our heart, mind, soul, and life as well as live a life of holiness after Jesus’ example, our hearts will overflow with delight in the Lord. 

Take Delight In The Lord!

Doug