Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Day 51 - looking through James for faith and works

Extreme Faith Workout
www.gbcwestlake.org

Today, I am reading through the entire book of James and looking for connection to James 2:20-26,which emphasizes that true faith has works connected to it; otherwise that faith is dead. And James gives illustrations of that through Abraham and Sarah.

James 1: There is works in that we must endure the trials to have spiritual maturity, which is evidence of true faith. There is the work of prayer in faith for the wisdom we need. It is not just having the faith but putting the action of prayer to it. Proving ourselves to be doers of the Word and not just hearers is certainly faith put into action; and it is applied in the final verses by talking about helping the orphan and widows in their struggles.

James 2: Before this particular passage comes up, he talks about putting faith into action by how we treat those who are poor; and how showing partiality for external appearances or financial status is a dead faith. Instead, we are to demonstrate true faith through the work of the royal law: love your neighbor as yourself.

James 3: we show true faith through the work of controlling our tongues. True faith, true wisdom is demonstrated in the works of gentleness and peace.

James 4: True faith is seen in the work of humility. It is seen by including God in our plans. This idea of faith and works in this chapter is summed up by verse 17: "Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin."

James 5: you put faith into action by being patient for God to make all injustices right rather than taking matters into your own hands. Works and faith go together as we do not judge others but care for others needs. We work out our faith by confessing our sins to one another and helping those who have turned out of the way to get back on the right path.

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