Posted on 06/27/2016 7:14:45 PM PDT by metmom
"What use is it, my brethren, if a man 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" (James 2:14-17).
Dead faith is hypocritical, shallow, and useless.
Jesus said, "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 5:16). Your righteous deeds illuminate the path to God by reflecting His power and grace to others. That brings Him glory and proves your faith is genuine.
Your deeds also serve as the basis of divine judgment. If you practice righteousness, you will receive eternal life; if you practice unrighteousness, you will receive "wrath and indignation" (Rom. 2:6-8). God will judge you on the basis of your deeds because what you do reveals who you really are and what you really believe. That's why any so-called faith that doesn't produce good works is dead and utterly useless!
James illustrates that point in a practical way. If someone lacks the basic necessities of life and comes to you for help, what good does it do if you simply wish him well and send him away without meeting any of his needs? It does no good at all! Your pious words are hypocritical and without substance. If you really wished him well, you would do what you can to give him what he needs! Your unwillingness to do so betrays your true feelings. Similarly, dead faith is hypocritical, shallow, and useless because it doesn't put its claims into action—indeed, it has no divine capacity to do so.
I pray that your life will always manifest true faith and that others will glorify God because of your good works.
Suggestions for Prayer
Perhaps you know someone whose claim to Christianity is doubtful because his or her life doesn't evidence the fruit of righteousness. If so, pray for that person regularly and set an example by your own good works.
For Further Study
Read John 15:1-8.
What illustration did Jesus use for spiritual fruitfulness? What is the prerequisite for fruitfulness?
Studying God’s Word ping
Works are a fruit of the spirit. A good tree bears good fruit, etc. The works come of themselves, but you can’t be saved on works alone.
You can't be saved by works at all. Good works can come from faith, but good works do not give you a ticket to Heaven.
1 Corinthians 15 New King James Version (NKJV)
15 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11 Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
Not by works. The most righteous and noble deeds humans are able to do is nothing compared to the goodness of God. Evil always hides behind good appearances, and sometimes real goodness doesn’t look so good on the surface. You don’t do good things to be saved, you just want to as a fruit of the spirit.
Words of wisdom; as His Spirit raises us up in the way that we should go as family members, the works will reflect family values, eh?
Exactly. I couldn't have said it better myself. On a side note, most people fail to see that evil isn't always mean and good isn't always nice. Some things are not what they appear to be.
I think Jesus also said not to judge things by their appearance. So did Agent Smith in the Matrix, but it doesn’t matter who the messenger is, as long as the message is true.
Family values. What are family values? To me they’re just “be a decent human being and don’t display your depravity for the sake of depravity”. I don’t know what family values really are besides that.
I understood MHGinTN to be referring to the “family values” of the Kingdom of God, adopted children of the Father and adoptive brethren of Jesus Christ. Those are the “family values” we will manifest if we live through the Holy Spirit. A starter list can be found in Matthew 5:1-14.
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