"FAITH ONLY"

"You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith only" (James 2:24). As a result of James' teaching about faith, Martin Luther called the book of James, "an epistle of straw."

The truth is that we all live by faith; the big question is, faith in what? We all have our beliefs. Sometimes our belief is, for example, that, "I must be liked." As a result, we will do what it takes to be liked. We will over-spend and over-do to impress other people. This kind of thing isn't all bad, it is what causes us to brush our teeth and put on deodorant in the morning. It becomes bad when it causes personal and family problems. Many people are in counseling because of living by their belief in the need to be liked. True beliefs always work themselves out in our lives--it is impossible for that not to be the case! One whole school of psychotherapy is dedicated to the proposition that there are irrational beliefs that motivate people to feel and act in ways that cause problems.

Faith in Christ that has no effect on our outward life is not faith; it is only intellectual assent, if that. There was a school of thought in James' time that suggested that the body was evil and thus, works done in the body were not that important. The only thing that mattered was that one believed in God. If one only believed right, the works done in the body made no difference because God would show more grace. That is not Christian faith! A faith that doesn't result in reliance upon God, an affection for Jesus and a desire to be like him, and a compassion for others is not real faith in Christ!

What you believe in always reveals itself in your life! What does your life say about what you believe?

Grace&Peace;
Tom