Join us as we read the scriptures and a daily devotion written by Don Crisp. We pray these messages will bless us all at this time.
Thurs 18th June – James 2:14-17
Categories: Don’s Daily Devotions
Thurs 18th June – Read James 2:14-17
V14: James is not saying, as Luther thought, that someone can be saved by their works, but that true faith will always show itself by works – by a life of obedience and service, the evidence that we are indeed Christ’s. James is saying that professed faith which is barren of such works is surely not real, not saving faith at all.
V15-16: Again, he gives a vivid example. Imagine a Christian who is poor and needy, and another Christian bestows on them a pious blessing – and nothing else! No practical help, no outworking of Christian love. As James says, what good is that? Let us be sure that we don’t only “talk the talk”, but by God’s grace truly “walk the walk” too.
V17: So, James is emphatic that ” faith without works is dead”. It is not a true, living faith at all. This is in no way at odds with what Paul teaches in Ephesians 2:8-9, for he is not saying that these works can earn salvation, but that they are evidence of our being saved.