Living Faith, part 4

Without faith it is impossible to please God…Hebrews 11:6

The Bible is clear we are saved by grace through faith; not of works, Ephesians 2:8-9. Then there is verse 10: for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Clearly there is a connection between faith and works. Living faith has good works. Dead faith has no good works. Dead faith cannot produce good works; it is dead.

Salvation is always by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. No one earns salvation through good works. Salvation results in a transformed life—a new creation, which produces fruit of righteousness—good works. Works are the result of being saved, not the cause. The Bible addresses those who confuse the two; that is, reverse the two. Or, to put it another way, those who want to be accepted into the Church by simply claiming to be Christians. Sound familiar? More evidence the Bible is for all ages. Especially in the Book of James.

James confronts those who simply say they believe, but do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead (useless), James 2:20. James is confronting those today who say they believe, but do not believe. They are lost and do not know it. Many of these attend church all the time; faithfully. This is dead faith. Attending church does not make a person a Christian; genuine faith does.

The Bible is consistent. No one can fool God. God knows the heart. He knows what a person really believes. For this reason, God included letters like James, and doctrinal statements like Paul, to guide us to the truth. God inspired James to be blunt: faith without words is dead faith. God is challenging those who claim to believe Him but act like they do not believe. Jesus often confronted His followers on this very thing: why did you doubt, Jesus asks. Jesus also acknowledged faith evidenced by actions. He still does.