The Theology of a Serve Day - James Ch.2 in Action
James 2: 14- 24
“What good is it dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing and you say, “Good bye and have a good day: stay warm and eat well” - but then you don't give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough.
Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith, others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don't have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can't you see that faith without good deeds is useless? Don't you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?
You see, his faith and his action work together. His action made his faith complete.
And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone”.
After reading this - especially when I first became a Christ follower - I would get so confused 🤔. Is it faith? Is it works? Is it faith and works?
There is an echoing theme that stands out every time I read this - Faith and Deeds work TOGETHER!! I think sometimes we can lean in and try to "earn" God's approval BUT also at the same time sometimes we try to make it not about "works/deeds" that we miss out on the impact of serving and putting our faith in action.
A few key thoughts from James 2 that stand out to me:
Faith and actions actually work TOGETHER - They are not mutually exclusive and they do not compete against each other. You can have sincere and deep faith but still have works in your life! The more you serve the more your faith can be put in action and the more you grow your faith the more you want to serve.
True faith changes our HEARTS, ACTIONS, and LIVES - Our faith should be so deep that it overflows into every part of our lives! How we view people and want to treat people should change. As we begin to see people as how God sees them - our perspective will change. We will be moved by compassion and want to give to help those around us.
Actions are an OUTWARD SIGN of INWARD HEART CHANGE - We believe change really is best inside out! Real heart change always starts internally but it had to eventually work its way outward. The change that God has done in our hearts should work its way out in the way we serve those around us.
Your faith in MOTION makes REAL CHANGE - When we put our faith in action we can see real change in people's lives. We have the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the world around us. We can see real change come to our neighborhood and communities as we show them the love of Christ in tangible ways.
We were SAVED to SERVE! Let us all go out and put our faith in action! Be living pictures of the Love of God!