James 2 (view this passage)

nathan made this entry on May 28th, 2008
Topic(s): Faith

"Thus also faith, by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."

Faith is an interesting subject. Many people claim to have it, yet sometimes we all define it differently. At first glance it may seem that James is contradicting the rest of the Bible when he says that faith without works is dead. He says, "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."

If works must be present in order to give any substance to faith, does this mean that we are saved by works? No, that's not what James is saying here, I believe.

So just what are we really saying when we claim to have faith in God? Are we saying that we believe God exists? Are we saying that we believe Jesus came and paid the penalty for our sins? Are we saying that we believe we will go to heaven when we die? Our faith consists of all of those things, but much more as well. If we have faith that Jesus was who He said He was, then we also must believe that all the words He has spoken are true.

Some of the words Jesus spoke are directly parallel to James' words. In John 14:12 Jesus says that "he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do". So even Jesus Himself ties faith and works together. Whoever has faith in God will also do the works of God.

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