by Madison McKinzie | Sep 12, 2015 | James
James 2:21-24
When you think of the word faith or hear it, what are some of the first things that come to your mind? For most of us, we would immediately think of religion, trust, or believing in something you can’t see or feel sometimes. I doubt for any of us that the first words that come to mind would be good deeds, or even actions. In Romans, chapter 4, Paul writes that, “But people are righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God…” BUT in James, chapter 4, verse 21, James writes, “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 worked together. His actions made his faith complete.” There is a special correlation between these two verses. James and Paul are not contradicting each other; rather they are simply complimenting what each is saying. Paul, on one hand, is not saying that God’s law is unimportant but that it is impossible to be saved simply by just obeying it. Paul emphasizes faith. James, on the other hand, compliments what Paul is saying by stating, “…His faith and his actions worked together.” He does not say, however, that our good deeds justify us.
Let’s break it down:
In verse 21, Abraham’s faith caused him to DO something he knew he had to do.
In verse 22, it proves this by saying that, “his faith and his actions worked together.”
In verse 23, it says that, “Abraham believed God…” This goes to show that Abraham had faith in what God was doing in his life. Therefore, “God counted him as righteous because of his faith.
And in verse 24, “…we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.” — “Faith brings us salvation; active obedience demonstrates that our faith is genuine.”
Photography: @Klby
by Maddie Watson | Sep 11, 2015 | James
James 2: 14-17
Time and time again, I looked into those sad, sorrowful eyes as I drove by on my way to work. I made excuse after excuse, “Oh, I just don’t have (time, cash, food, etc.).” Each day leaving the homeless woman on the corner hungry and empty handed. Something inside me kept urging me to plan ahead so that I could stop and give her something, but I silenced that voice with excuses. The voice of the Holy Spirit continued to urge me to stop and help the woman, each time it got easier to make an excuse, and each time my heart became more distant from the Lord. I decided that I would just pray for the woman when I saw her, and that would be good enough, right?
Wrong. There was a reason that I continued to feel convicted after driving away from the woman each time. Yet I kept on choosing to walk in myown selfish ways. Finally, one day the Holy Spirit captivated my mind and heart once more and closed the distance between us through the lesson offered from James 2:14-17. If I truly love God, acts of service- like sacrificing time, cash, food, etc. should come out of an overflow of my heart. What good would simply praying for the woman on the corner do when the Lord has blessed me and given me opportunity to be an enabler and provider for that sister in Christ. That would be equivalent to holding an umbrella outside during a rainstorm and praying for the umbrella to open as rain pelted down on you, instead of using the capability you have been given to open the umbrella yourself. Our love for the Lord is to overflow from our lives into the lives of others through our actions. Without that overflow, are we truly walking in faith at all? The choice is ours. Will you open the umbrella?
Photography: shelbseab
by Macy Tiradoegas | Sep 10, 2015 | James
James 2:18-20
Here in James chapter two this so called, “paradox” of faith vs. works is fully revealed. This tension is something that every believer battles at one point or another, if not continually. In Ephesians 2:19, we read that salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, but that it is a gift of God through faith in Him alone. All throughout Romans, Paul makes the case for free grace, only found through Jesus’ work on the cross. So this makes it a little confusing when we read in James that we cannot have faith if we don’t have good deeds!
“But I thought I wasn’t saved by anything I could do, I thought it was only by God’s grace and that all I needed to do was believe.” I battled this for a long time. The “paradox” seems overwhelming.
But here is where we get it wrong. Paul is right. We are not saved by anything we can do. Our good deeds do not make us righteous in the sight of God, only Jesus, his death and resurrection. It is true that we are blameless before God because of Jesus. Our deeds do not save us BUT, our deeds REVEAL our faith. They are the evidence of a changed life.
“It is not enough to believe, even the demons believe!” That sentence should bring us to a shivering revelation! How many people are going about their life, ignorant to the fact that they are not saved by grace? Believing isn’t faith. Faith is putting your trust and your hope in something. When your trust and your hope are in something it produces a changed heart and actions that reflect that heart. It doesn’t mean that we will never mess up, it doesn’t mean that we don’t still stumble and sin, but it means we are pursuing a holy life. Jesus says in Matthew 7:16 that “you will know them by their fruit.” His disciples will show evidence in the way they live their life!
Jesus goes on to say in verse 21, “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.”
I ask you today, are you the one doing the will of the Father? Are you living a life surrendered? Not perfect, not a check list of things you do right. But a faith that has produced a changed heart that has produced a changed life. Walking in the direction of righteous, overflowing the fruits of the spirit. Is your faith backed up by your deeds? It’s not something we have to force. As true disciples of Jesus, the beautiful thing about it is, it will come naturally as you seek Him. The paradox, this tension that is seemingly overwhelming, is actually what makes our faith worth it. Our works prove our faith and they go hand in hand. May the world be able to tell a difference. May that be drawn to Jesus because of our faith that produces every kind of good work.
by Priscilla Bowin | Sep 9, 2015 | James
James 2: 8-13
In our culture today, much of what we hear or see screams favoritism, partiality or judgement calls. We can find ourselves getting caught up in the frenzy of the latest news clip, social media post, or even at times church drama, falling into the trap of favoritism and partiality. We begin to judge others without mercy. Little word bubbles floating over our heads with thoughts like, “My favorite pastor is not speaking today, I think I’ll stay home,” “I can only worship with that other worship group,” “Look at the way he is dressed, he must be poor,” “Look at that homeless guy, what a loser!” You get the idea. We most likely all have had these types of thoughts at different times in our lives. So we ask, “What is so bad about showing partiality?”
Well in James we read what God says about favoritism, “But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin.” Because His royal law is, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The Great King is love; He “is no respecter of persons.” So for us to show partiality is at a variance against God and His royal law, a law of love and liberty.
Mercy triumphs over judgement! We need to receive God’s mercy to the extent that we can demonstrate it to those around us: the less privileged, the stranger, the friend that “unfriended” you. God will show mercy to those that show mercy to others.
May today be a day we let mercy triumph in our lives, a day that we obey the royal law, “Love your neighbor as yourself!”
by Morgan Lunsford | Sep 8, 2015 | James
James 2: 5-7
It’s so easy for us as Christians to use our opinions to try and judge someone else. If we see someone living or acting in a way that is contrary to what we believe or what the bible says is the way to live or act, our first response is typically to judge them or to shame them. If we see someone who has less than us, sometimes we automatically assume they are worth less than us. But the bible says that, “God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith.” We were chosen by God to inherit his kingdom, despite anything we have done or anything we have said. This verse is simply pointing out that if we are all chosen to inherit his kingdom, what reason is there to judge someone else? We are all humans and we will all make mistakes. There is no one sin that is worse than another. Who are we to judge someone who makes mistakes differently than us? Above all, when we honor our neighbors and choose love over judgement, we honor God.
“If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13: 2
Photography: @brandon_nalley
by Dan A Thomas Jr | Sep 7, 2015 | James
James 2: 1-4
Prejudice. Discrimination. Favoritism. These are words that most of us wish didn’t exist in our culture. There are many who presuppose that these are realities of a bygone era buried beneath years of victorious struggle and sweeping legislation only to discover that branches were severed and roots left firmly intact.
Prejudice is something we all have to deal with. We all have ideas and opinions in our minds that have been formed independent of exposure to what we hold opinions about, yet there they are – the seedbed from which motivation springs forth.
True equality can only be realized in Christ as we give up our identity and discover our true uniqueness in Him. As we begin to see people as He sees them it forms our opinions and treatment of others and removes false barriers such as race and class and allows us to deal with people individually and not with the tainted spectacles of labels and stereotypes.
Jesus’ entire ministry was centered on removing false barriers that inhibited unity. In John chapter 4 he purposely sends his disciples away to buy meat because of an ensuing controversial encounter with a Samaritan woman. He expertly removed her boundaries on equality for women, ethnic superiority, and true worship.
James challenges us in similar fashion and places our biases under the vision-correcting scrutiny of true faith in Jesus. If you believe what Jesus taught and did, your faith does not include prejudice and does not provide room for favoritism due to a preferred demographic. Don’t think you can show favor to who you think God has favored and expect favor from God. Material blessings don’t necessarily represent the favor of God. It could be the exact opposite – independence from God.
Rich or poor? Equal.
Black or white? Equal.
Equal. Identical. Same.
Photography: @mattglenn
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