James 2:14-17 NASB What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.

I’ve been buying large amounts of hot dog buns for our upcoming Harvest Festival at church. When you have 20 or more packages of hot dog buns in your cart, people notice, and they feel like they need to say something: “Are you having a party?” “Someone’s making a lot of hot dogs!” However, no one has brought up the fact that I am buying so many hot dog buns, and no hot dogs! What good are hot dog buns without hot dogs?

What good is faith without works? James says it’s no good at all. Is he contradicting what Paul said, that we are saved by faith, and not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9)? No, but he is asking if our faith is sincere. Does our faith have any signs of life? Is there evidence that we have faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God? If we believe that Christ is “the way, and the truth, and the life” then it follows we will be doing our part to share His love and the Gospel message with others.

-Kevi

 

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