I have a new perspective of James 2:14-26. James talks about faith without works being dead. I have always believed this to mean that you should labor in the faith. You must work hard at what you do for God; whether it is in the Children’s ministry (God knows those of you who work with the little kids labor) or in the sound-booth, or in pastoral ministry.
If you really think about what James said, he is not talking about laboring out of your own ability, but he is talking about putting faith into action. He is talking about not only believing that Jesus is lord, but he is talking about doing what Jesus told you to do by faith. And He says, the more you step out in faith and do what I told you to do, outside your natural ability, the more your faith will be perfected.
James 2:14 starts off with a perfect illustration of this. You see someone that is hungry and cold without warm cloths. Your heart burns for them but you only say to them, “Go in peace, be warm, and be filled”. You did not help them very much. You have your faith in God but you did not do what your spirit was calling out to do. You are the hands of God here on Earth. The Spirit of God lives inside you not just to give you warm fuzzies during Praise and Worship but to empower you to fulfill God’s will and your commission.
Additional illustrations? You see someone that is lost and searching and you feel led in your spirit to share the Gospel and lead them to salvation, but instead, you listen to them and tell them things will get better. You see someone that is sick and you know the Bible says to be an imitator of Christ, and Jesus says that we are to lay hands on the sick and they shall be healed. Your spirit leads you to believe the Word and lay hands on them, but instead, you still want to show your faith, so you only say, “I’ll pray for you”. Your faith without works is dead. You have these seeds of doubt in your heart that tell you, “What will they think of me”, “I might loose this sale if I say anything that offends them”, “What if I lay hands on them and they are not healed”, “What if”, “What if”.
We are set apart and justified not by our faith, but by what we do with our faith. Abraham believed in God. But, it wasn’t until he laid his son on the alter, and was prepared to sacrifice his son for God that he was justified (made righteous in the Lord). It was his works (or faith in action) that set the stage for us to be blessed through Abraham. It wasn’t that he was a good man, helped his people out, worked hard, it was that he believed God at His word and put his faith in action.
As Christians, we all believe in God. However, James says that’s not enough. He says even the demons believe in God and shutter. We need to step beyond believing in God and step into His calling. We need to be mindful of the Spirit (that voice inside you that tells you to do the right thing), even when it is uncomfortable. His calling is to continue the Ministry of Jesus. His calling is for us to be the hands and mouths of Jesus.
Whether we believe it or not, when we became born again, we became a new creation. In that new creation, the Spirit of God came to live within us. This is very different than pre-Pentecost where the spirit walked beside man. Now, if you are a born again believer, you have the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, dwelling inside of you. He didn’t come to do that for the heck of it. He indwells in you to empower you to be an imitator of Christ. It is such a shame that the full gospel has been watered down over the years. Can you imagine a world where every Christian walked in the full knowledge of who we are in Christ like Paul, James, Phillip, etc?
The only thing stopping us from living up to the fullness of God’s expectations for us is our selfishness. It is us giving into our doubt and being more concerned about “what-if” than helping our brothers and sisters.
I don’t know about your church, but at my church there are some amazing men and women of God called into the pastoral ministry. They touch lives everywhere they go. They will be in line at the grocery store and share the Gospel with a stranger. They will be visiting a friend in the hospital and lay hands on the sick they don’t even know. They have faith and selflessness that blows me away. They move into a new apartment complex and immediately start bringing their neighbors to a saving knowledge of Jesus. What kind of super-heroes are they? Well, they are just like me. They are just like you. I have the same calling and commission on my life as they do. The only difference is they have been justified, like Abraham, by mixing their faith with action. Their faith has been intermingled with their works, and as a result of the works, they are perfecting their faith.
I desire to be more of the man God has called me to be. I desire not be plagued and constantly succumb to doubt. I desire to see the manifestation of God’s power and glory on a daily basis. I desire my children not to be as ineffectual in faith as I have been and am. I desire to love people more than I have. I desire to have an answer to God when he asks me, “What have you done with what I have given you?”; will I hear, “Well done” or will I be ashamed when I see what could have been if I would have only put my faith into action.
