Faithbase

If I were to ask you to name a book of wisdom in the Bible, what would be the first thing that comes to mind? Maybe Proverbs? Maybe the first one? Ecclesiastes is definitely up there. You might not know this unless you've really dug into the Bible, but Job is a book of wisdom, specifically in the Old Testament. But you might not realize that James is a book of wisdom. In fact, this is the whole thrust of the book, and he does not mince words when it comes to the topic of faith. He goes hard at the very end of this chapter, chapter 2, we looked at yesterday. We're gonna look at it again today. And I'm gonna read the whole thing because it's rich and it's challenging. So let's dig in. How foolish. This is verse 20. 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 actions work together. His actions 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. Hold on, we're gonna come back to this. Verse 25, Rahab, the prostitute, is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works. Okay, I want you to remember that what James is fundamentally doing is redefining, or I would say clarifying, the true definition of faith. He says if we're defining faith from A to Z, what we believe only gets us halfway to the definition, the true definition. What we do and the way we respond gets us all the way to the full definition of real faith. His actions made his faith complete. He's talking about Abraham offering his son on the altar. Now, he didn't obviously do it, but it says that Abraham believed God and God counted him as righteous. That's actually a reference to Genesis 15. I'll put it down below. You can read it, and this is a conversation between Abraham and God. God says, I'll make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and Abraham believed him and God credited him as righteous. Okay, so belief is critical and active response. Okay, Rahab, a prostitute. Really, James? This is your example of faith in action? Yes, yes it is. She hid the spies and she kept them safe and sent them away by a different road. Rahab was counted as faithful and righteous because she believed what was true about God, and then she acted accordingly. As the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works. It's not really faith unless there's active response. Jesus came to make us alive. Ephesians 2, I'm gonna put it down below. It says we went from death to life, and Jesus made that happen. That means that response is critical. Friends, I've been asking you to reflect on what God is speaking to you about faith in your life. I'm gonna continue to ask. Maybe he hasn't spoken to you, maybe he has, but this is critical faith and response. Trust demonstrated. This is a critical part of our relationship with God. Any relationship would ask this of us, and why not our relationship with the Lord? Go to prayer. I hope that the Holy Spirit is gentle and convicting and challenging and full of grace and mercy. God bless you.