Hello again, let me first apologize
for the lack of a post last week. My fiance and I were busy moving
our things into our new apartment and I simply didn't have the time.
I did mean to post something in between but again, time escaped me.
Never the less here we are again and off we go!
James 2:17-18 “Thus
also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But
someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show
me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my
works.”
Ephesians
2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and
that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,”
One of
the central tenants of the Christian faith is salvation by grace
alone. That unholy man has the chance to be free through the
unmerited and free gift of holy God. It is a doctrine that smacks in
the face of every other world system as it allows no way for us to
'earn' our way into heaven. We cannot accrue karma over several
lives, we cannot follow a strict legal system and thus prove
ourselves righteous, we cannot find balance and become one with God
or the universe. We are given no other option but to admit the
obvious fact of our own sinfulness and depend on the grace of God!
This is
essentially the core of our belief; man is incapable of saving
himself. Our fall is historic and our guilt is seen every day in
virtually every aspect of our lives. We all lie, we all cheat, we
all seek ourselves, our sin cannot be denied! Yet still, the loving
God who created us all chose not to simply wipe the slate clean but
came down to our level. God the Son took on human flesh becoming
equally man and equally God so that He may live the life we struggle
through, teach us His ways, and ultimately to die so that we would
have a way of escape from a punishment richly deserved. Through His
death God can legally absolve us of all charges!
Hebrews
9:22 “And according to the law almost all things are purified
with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.”
Romans
6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
We could
never pay the price required for the remission of sin, ie. blood.
Once we pay the price of our lives it's too late! Christ died so
that His life may be credited to our account and so that we may live
through Him!
Ultimately
this brings us to an interesting little argument that some people
like to have regarding grace. Paul is often seen as teaching that
salvation comes through faith alone, faith in Christ Jesus, faith in
His redeeming work. But, some will say, what about James? You see,
James wrote that “faith without works is dead” so doesn't that
mean we have to work for our salvation? Those on the Paul side argue
that our faith inspires our works, that we are incapable of doing
good apart from it. The James camp calls that a cop-out from people
who don't wish to work for God, only to claim an “easy salvation.”
The classic argument against both camps -which I agree with- is that
both writers are correct! Paul is explaining things from one side of
the rope, and James from the other. Paul teaches us that we could
not, did not save ourselves. That God saved us and that faith alone
ties us to God, our works do not earn our salvation! When we get to
James we're not seeing an argument, we're seeing a someone explain
the rest of the story. James tells us that our works don't save us,
but they do show that we've been saved!
It's
here that I'd like to add my own thoughts. I don't JUST see this as
the same argument from different perspectives. It seems to me that
we have two teachers talking to two different groups of people with
the wrong idea. First we have Paul who emphasizes faith and
unmerited salvation. Clearly he's doing his best to convince people
against the idea that they must earn God's favor. We see this in
many groups today and especially in ancient Judaism. The Pharisees
and others taught that righteousness came from a strict adherence to
the law, but the law was never meant to save anyone!
Hebrews
10:1 “For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come,
and not the very image of the things, can never with these same
sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who
approach perfect.”
Paul
wanted to make sure that people understood that salvation cannot be
earned and that “not of yourselves; it is the gift from God.”
After
hearing such a definitive message from Paul it's safe to assume that
some people would think, “Hey great free grace! Guess I can just
sit around till heaven now!” This is where James comes in. He
counters that belief by showing us how our works provide a visible
representation of our faith. I'm not sure how these verses read to
you but to me they seem actually sarcastic.
James
2:18 “But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have
works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show
you my faith by my works.”
I can
imagine James sitting back, putting his feet on a table and saying,
“So you have faith, fantastic....prove it.” How else can you
prove your faith then by working it out in your life? Don't forget
what God promised elsewhere in the Bible:
Ephesians
2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for
good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in
them.”
It
stands to reason that if God prepared good works for us to do that we
should get about doing them at some point!
God has
shown us His great love by providing salvation, we cannot earn what
He has given freely. That being said we cannot sit idly by and do
nothing, how ungrateful to sit still and unproductive after so great
a gift has been given! Remember brothers and sisters that our gifts
and abilities were given to us that we would use them for God's
kingdom, love those around you, teach the truth, stand firm in the
face of sin,
1
Corinthians 10:31 “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or
whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
God
Bless.
