Skip to main content

April 19th 2017 / FAITH AND GOOD WORKS OR GOOD WORKS AND FAITH?

The age old argument that the letter of James presents is about our faith and good works. People have confused this issue with an idea that good works are a part of being saved. But it is not at all what James was talking about. James was explaining that faith is the root of our salvation and that good works are the fruit of having been saved or an outward expression of our salvation but not what saved us. Now James was also explaining that once you are saved by faith alone you should be led by the Holy Spirit to want to do good works for God and others. If you ignore the Holy Spirit urging you on to do good wholesome things then you will bear no fruit (no good works) on the tree of your faith. All you will have are the roots of faith with nothing to show for it.

James 2:20-26Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

20 Senseless person! Are you willing to learn that faith without works is useless? 21 Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by works in offering Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active together with his works, and by works, faith was made complete, 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works in receiving the messengers and sending them out by a different route? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

Prayer: Father, give us guidance and let us listen to the Holy Spirit to do good and reject evil that our faith will be the salt of the earth, in Jesus name, amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Be kind and gracious.

Popular posts from this blog

CATHOLIC TENDENCIES

  Ever since I was introduced to the Catholic Church I have been fascinated by this body of the Christian faith. One thing that has stuck with me that I admire is the unashamed strength to stand up for what they believe and back it up with The Three Pillars of the Church. Now for those who do not know The Three Pillars, they are number one, Sacred Scripture which comprises the Old Testament and New Testament in a total of seventy-three books. Next is the Apostolic Tradition which is the Living Tradition and the liturgies. Thirdly, The Living Magisterium which is the teaching authority of the Pope in Communion with the Bishops. So what brought this topic up for me is listening to a podcast by Fr. Mike Schmitz denouncing the opening in France of the Olympics when blasphemy was committed by mocking The Last Supper of Jesus Christ. I know some of you are thinking this is already old news. At the time, so many wrote and talked about it that I felt it would be overkill if I wrote about i...
Post a Comment
Read more

FAKE-FALSE-DECEPTIVE

  I have recently been thinking about what it is like to live in a time when you have to rethink or fact-check everything. It is tiring and outright exhausting not being able to trust things at face value. THE BIG PRINT GIVES IT and the little print takes it away!  Satan works this way in our lives: You are of the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44 It is no wonder we have to be constantly alert and on guard. Fake news is a big one but there are knock-off Air Jordan sneakers, Gucci handbags, Rolex watches, and the list goes on and on. Identity theft is another player on the block where a person steals another person's identity and then poses as them but they are just a cheap knock-off! I want the truth. I want authenticity. I do not want to waste my ...
Post a Comment
Read more

TRAVELING WITH ROMA TO ROME

  Throughout my years with Roma, I have dragged her through so many different church doors to either preach or play music for, or simply to explore. She has been a really good sport about it all. But last month she came to me and told me from the heart that before she dies she wants to be Catholic.  Channeling my inner Baptist long-windedness I will share with you a very tender and private story of faith.  Roma grew up going to St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church. She went to school there and worshipped there too. When she came of age she wanted to be Catholic and her mother would not allow it. She was heartbroken. She eventually went to the Episcopal Church as a compromise. But in our intimate talks recently she shared deep down she wants to be Catholic before she dies. This has been a lifelong buried desire of hers. I love her and so I have been working on seeing if I can make this happen for her through my contacts that I have. I would naturally join with her so she is not...
Post a Comment
Read more