Friday, May 18 Just as the body without spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.​—Jas. 2:26.

[GrumpysWife]

Friday, May 18

Just as the body without spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.—Jas. 2:26.

 

The letter of James explains that true Christian faith is not just a matter of believing; action is involved. “Show me your faith without the works,” wrote James, “and I will show you my faith by my works.” (Jas. 2:18) James goes on to show the clear difference between mere belief and the exercising of one’s faith. The demons believe that God exists, but they have no true faith. Rather, they faithlessly work against the fulfillment of God’s purposes. (Jas. 2:19, 20) By contrast, referring to another ancient man of faith, James asks: “Was not Abraham our father declared righteous by works after he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that his faith was active along with his works and his faith was perfected by his works.” (Jas. 2:21-23) Then to drive home the point that faith must be shown by works, James adds the words of today’s text. w16.10 4:8

[Spechellekaye]

Even though works alone cannot save us, they are necessary. If we have real faith, it will move us to godly action. So we all can do a self examination and ask ourselves if our actions show we are doing our best to prove our faith in all we do. This question can be asked also in areas of our life not directly related to our meetings or the ministry. No matter how much we say we have faith in God, it's meaningless unless we demonstrate that faith by our actions.