Goodboy
Just waiting for the Rapture at this point!
Faith & Works
(Christian Student) In the Bible James states that faith without works is dead. Do you agree?
(Me) Yes I agree that faith (meaning belief) is in fact dead without works (meaning action).
(Christian Student) But wait a minute; didn’t you state that salvation was a free gift and that there was nothing else you need to do?
(Me) Yes I did and I strongly believe that also.
(Christian Student) Well then aren’t you contradicting yourself?
(Me) I can see how that would seem to be the case. The problem is with language and how the meaning is not always exact and can be used in different ways. The “work” that James is referring to is better understood as “action”. When we think of work today, we equate it with either something that is hard to do or something we don’t like to do. If it is not hard to do, we don’t call it work. If it is something we like to do, we do not call it work either. As an example, I like to play basketball which takes more energy than my job, but because it is something I like to do, it is not considered to be work. So you can see that if it is easy to do or if we like to do it, we do not call it work.
(Me) James is defining work in his use of the term as anything that requires action. So then true faith does indeed require action. You cannot say that you have true faith in helping the poor, if you ignore everyone in need. What you do shows that you have faith. This however is “walking faith” an ongoing process which is really the main point that James is trying to make in order to stir up the church into action.
(Me) It does also apply to “Salvation faith” a one time event, but it is a little different. There is a work required meaning action, but it is so simple that we (including me) just don’t normally consider it to be a work. A better word for this action that we would use today is “acceptance”. Now this “acceptance” can be shown in many different ways with different levels of effort. It could be from something as simple as saying a silent prayer, to walking down an isle, to getting baptized. It really doesn’t matter so much what the action is, just that there is some action confirming that you have accepted Jesus as your savior.
(Me) As an example let’s take a couple who is married. That decision (belief) happened at some point after they were attracted to each other. Even though each of them believed in marriage to one another, they were not married until they took some action. The action required varies in different cultures, but there needs to be some sort of action (acceptance) before you can claim to be married. This is the “work” that James is talking about when he asks the question is belief alone enough. Assuming the pastor or whoever performed the ceremony did not charge the couple; the marriage was indeed free, but did require the action of acceptance (work) on their part.
More information…
Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
In Romans 10:9 there are two steps stated for salvation which are believe and confess.
Belief is internally what you think, confess is the action (or work) you then need to do to exercise your volition or choice. It also proves the true belief that is in your heart. True belief will always cause some type of action. If you truly want to live you would keep eating correct? If you stopped eating that would prove that you don’t want to live.
John 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
Judas is an example of someone who did not believe that Jesus was God’s son as his works showed what he truly believed. Jesus knew Judas’ heart and what he would do, but we cannot see anyone’s heart. So we really don’t know for sure what anyone truly believes. Our expectation however is that if they confess with their mouth or some other confirming action, that they are saved.
John 6:70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?
John 6:71 He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.
One more example…
When I use to go sharing the Gospel on the street sometimes someone would say that they believe what I have shared about God and Jesus. I would then ask them to pray a short prayer for salvation and they would refuse with some excuse. This just proved that they did not truly believe, as of yet anyway. My hope is that they were half way there and would make the choice to accept Jesus as their Savior sometime in the future.
Goodboy
(Christian Student) In the Bible James states that faith without works is dead. Do you agree?
(Me) Yes I agree that faith (meaning belief) is in fact dead without works (meaning action).
(Christian Student) But wait a minute; didn’t you state that salvation was a free gift and that there was nothing else you need to do?
(Me) Yes I did and I strongly believe that also.
(Christian Student) Well then aren’t you contradicting yourself?
(Me) I can see how that would seem to be the case. The problem is with language and how the meaning is not always exact and can be used in different ways. The “work” that James is referring to is better understood as “action”. When we think of work today, we equate it with either something that is hard to do or something we don’t like to do. If it is not hard to do, we don’t call it work. If it is something we like to do, we do not call it work either. As an example, I like to play basketball which takes more energy than my job, but because it is something I like to do, it is not considered to be work. So you can see that if it is easy to do or if we like to do it, we do not call it work.
(Me) James is defining work in his use of the term as anything that requires action. So then true faith does indeed require action. You cannot say that you have true faith in helping the poor, if you ignore everyone in need. What you do shows that you have faith. This however is “walking faith” an ongoing process which is really the main point that James is trying to make in order to stir up the church into action.
(Me) It does also apply to “Salvation faith” a one time event, but it is a little different. There is a work required meaning action, but it is so simple that we (including me) just don’t normally consider it to be a work. A better word for this action that we would use today is “acceptance”. Now this “acceptance” can be shown in many different ways with different levels of effort. It could be from something as simple as saying a silent prayer, to walking down an isle, to getting baptized. It really doesn’t matter so much what the action is, just that there is some action confirming that you have accepted Jesus as your savior.
(Me) As an example let’s take a couple who is married. That decision (belief) happened at some point after they were attracted to each other. Even though each of them believed in marriage to one another, they were not married until they took some action. The action required varies in different cultures, but there needs to be some sort of action (acceptance) before you can claim to be married. This is the “work” that James is talking about when he asks the question is belief alone enough. Assuming the pastor or whoever performed the ceremony did not charge the couple; the marriage was indeed free, but did require the action of acceptance (work) on their part.
More information…
Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
In Romans 10:9 there are two steps stated for salvation which are believe and confess.
Belief is internally what you think, confess is the action (or work) you then need to do to exercise your volition or choice. It also proves the true belief that is in your heart. True belief will always cause some type of action. If you truly want to live you would keep eating correct? If you stopped eating that would prove that you don’t want to live.
John 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
Judas is an example of someone who did not believe that Jesus was God’s son as his works showed what he truly believed. Jesus knew Judas’ heart and what he would do, but we cannot see anyone’s heart. So we really don’t know for sure what anyone truly believes. Our expectation however is that if they confess with their mouth or some other confirming action, that they are saved.
John 6:70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?
John 6:71 He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.
One more example…
When I use to go sharing the Gospel on the street sometimes someone would say that they believe what I have shared about God and Jesus. I would then ask them to pray a short prayer for salvation and they would refuse with some excuse. This just proved that they did not truly believe, as of yet anyway. My hope is that they were half way there and would make the choice to accept Jesus as their Savior sometime in the future.
Goodboy
