But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works. (James 2:13-22 ESV)
I am convinced that faith and good works are not an either/or matter for a Christian. As James says, "You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works." James goes on to say, in verse 26, "For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead."
Martin Luther wanted to leave the book of James out of the first German translation of the Bible because of this emphasis on works accompanying faith and completing faith. His teaching was justification by faith alone. But James is right. What is faith if it is not accompanied by works? What is believing in Jesus if it does not transform our living and cause us to seek to work the works of God so the Kingdom of God is made real and alive in our world?
Faith without works is dead faith. And the opposite is also true. Works without faith is dead religion. We cannot be saved from sin and death by our own good works. Scripture is clear on this.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV)
We are redeemed by the grace of Jesus Christ through faith in Him. We can't work our way to heaven. However, the very next verse says:
"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10 ESV)
What faith creates in us is good works for the glory of Him who saved us by that faith (trust) in Him. Every believer in Jesus Christ is launched into ministry. We are called to fish for people, just like the call of Peter and Andrew and James and John. We are called to go into all the world and make disciples. We are called to be His witnesses in Jerusalem (our local community), in Judea and Samaria (beyond our own town) and to the ends of the earth.
I can hear the wheels turning in your head as you read that last paragraph, because the same thoughts bombard me. "But I'm not qualified to do all that." Perhaps the biggest calling story in the Bible was the call of Moses, who told God exactly that. "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh? What if the Israelites don't believe me? I am NOT a public speaker. Please just send somebody else." It is a cliche that rings true: God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called.
God's answer to Moses? "I will go with you." (Exodus 3:12) Essentially God's reply to Moses was, "I know you can't do what I'm calling you to do. But I can do it through you."
Setting our lives on honoring Jesus and living for His kingdom, seeking to make His Kingdom real in the world, is daunting. But He is with us. The Holy Spirit lives within us. And He is enough. The works of a life transformed by faith are powerfully effective in making Jesus real in the world. And every single Christian, empowered by the Holy Spirit, is called to and capable of such good works.
I like the picture I've included in the blog today. "God is in control, but He doesn't expect you to lean on a shovel and pray for a hole." Indeed, He does not. Let's get to work demonstrating our faith and see what God does!
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