Thoughts on James 2:18-26

I have done a lot of thinking and reading lately about James 2 and the relationship between faith and works as well and thought I would offer up some thoughts regading Danny's question below. My post is too long for the comments page so I am opening a new post but it's just a reply to Danny's post "Faith without Works is Dead" below.

The lines between works resulting from living faith and works resulting from legalism (dead faith) become blurred because people generally are looking at the wrong "line". I don't even like using the word line because it's so much more than that!!! James is calling us to be honest with ourselves about is whether what we are doing is being done from a desire to make much of God or to make much of ourselves. To simply say "well, this is biblical" is not enough. Just because I mimic something that was done in the Bible does not make it God-centered.

This is where living faith comes into play.

First, we know that living faith is a gift from God (Eph 2:8-9) and that's how we know it's alive. It's not the same kind of faith as me saying "I have faith that Danny will be a good husband to my sister". I know good and well that there will be times when Danny does something that ticks me off royally and my faith in him will wax and wane during the years to come. This happens because any faith that I generate is dead in the corruption of my sinfulness and in the process of being made alive (sanctification). Only the faith that comes from God is living and can produce righteous works.

Second, living faith ALWAYS results in righteous works. Pay close attention here. Notice I did not say that someone who has living faith ALWAYS does righteous works. Those who have authentic faith still fail. We still have the warts of our old nature on us. When we fail, it is always a result of acting out of self-centeredness rather than God-centeredness. But we have been given the ability to do works solely for the purpose of glorifying God and magnifying His name (the unsaved man does not have any desire or ability to do this). Therefore for anyone to expect a Christian brother or sister to live a legally sinless life in the eyes of the law represents a misunderstanding of what our justification is all about.

So from James' perspective (3:18), when an arrogant, legalistic Pharisee challenges him by saying "show me your faith without works", he responds by showing his faith BY his works.

James 2:18-26 is a wonderful description of the relationship between justification and sanctification. It can also be a dangerous minefield for the uninitiated. Paul had a lot to say about this too. I recommend comparing James 2:18-26 with Romans 4:1-16 and Galatians 3:1-9. You can throw Hebrews 11:8 and 11:17 in for good measure. This might give you a more "rounded" picture of what the Bible has to say on the topic.

Bottom line, as Ergun Caner once said "the difference between holiness and legalism is that legalism says 'you should be more like me', but holiness says 'you should be more like Christ'"

God calls us to holiness, not legalism.

I hope this helps.

GUESS WHO?!?!?!? (CLICK ON PICTURE!)

Our Next Visit To TRM

Lets start getting the news out! Sept. 1 is our next missions trip to the mission field! I went to a one year celebration for the Women's and Children's center of TRM. My deepest question in my heart is, "Does this make a difference?". The testimony of two women who's lives were transformed by the power of Christ through the TRM validates our work with a resounding "YES!". It does matter to the people there, when we show up. It does. Praise, God.

Faith Without Works Is Dead

I recently had a friend, who I do not believe is saved, tell me "You know, my favorite person in the Bible is James...he puts his money where his mouth is." Lately, I have been wrestling with two ideas (if you have any input on this I would appreciate it). On one side I hate legalism. There are few things I honestly hate, legalism may top that list.
Simply, legalism is a list of DO's and DONT's Christians create. It is a list by which we determine our value as a Christian or by which we judge our level of spirituality. It breeds, by nature, self-righteousness and spiritual pride. It can also breed a false sense of humility. It becomes a basis by which we judge one another. It takes sanctification out of God's hands and we fool ourselves into believing we are "good Christians". Legalism divides churches into the super spiritual ones and those who "really need to work on that". It hinders people from serving the church simply because they do not share the same "convictions". It makes us think we are obtaining a "higher position" as a Christian because we don't, say, go to movies. I believe it is one of the most horible things we can participate as Christians. It creates and makes Judges and Pharisees out of us.

That said, here is my other issue....faith without works is dead.
I do believe and live by that verse. I believe that God has enabled me and required me to do good works. I don't care what the work looks like, as long as it is Biblical. It is one of the reasons, including compassion, that I am involved with the Trinity Rescue Mission. I believe it is the perogative and a requirement of Christianity. If we don't show the world what love is in action, how can we tell them what it is in words? It would be like saying,"I have met God Himself, now leave me alone while I sit at home." If we claim to have met God Almighty, if we claim to know Perfect Love, if we claim to be "temples of the Holy Spirit" Who is love, how on earth can we not act on it?
But, of course, we can decide to not act on it. I believe it is a reason God commands us to love our neighbor (the fallen man in the Good Samaritan story). We don't get a choice in the matter. We are fallen and if left to our own devices would sit complacently while the hurting world dies around us.
But then, am I begining to live out of duty or a sense of legalism? Am I becoming a legalist in demanding of myself good works? THAT'S IT! That is my struggle today!
I think the simple answer is no. Working out of a heart of compassion and obeying God is not legalism. But it seems so close it bothers me sometimes....that's all...

Pictures Worth a Thousand Words! A Day at Trinity Rescue Mission