September 11: Dead vs. living faith

Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead… You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe — and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?... For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.   (James 2:17-26 — Holman Christian Standard Bible)

Many people these days claim to have faith in God but see very little effect of that “faith” in their lives. Though Jesus said that “All things are possible to him who believes", all things are not possible for these people’s “faith”. It doesn’t change them or anything around them. What’s the problem? Do these people even know God? Are they His children?

This passage addresses this very problem. Evidently, just like today, the church during the time that the book of James was written was having the same problem. The problem was that these people claimed to be Christians but made no effort to follow Jesus or obey His Word. How can this type of faith please God? This faith is dead, as the passage states, and will do nothing for a person’s life. Faith has to be proven. Our actions, words, behavior, courage, and obedience have to prove to God and to the world that we are His. We don’t have to be perfect, but we have to be making a visible effort. Faith, by definition, is action; whenever there is inaction, faith is dead.

“Works” doesn’t mean empty talk, insincere church attendance and prayers, or an intellectual acknowledgement of doctrines and beliefs that don’t translate into real life. Faith is not philosophical ideas, empty words, and hypocritical behavior, it has to be a replay of the way Jesus lived His life on earth, or at least a good attempt at that ideal.

“You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe — and tremble!” What a powerful phrase! If our faith is only an acknowledgement of God’s existence, we are no better than demons. They know He’s alive; they know He is God, but that doesn’t save them. God wants us to sacrifice for our faith, to be sure that His promises will come true and act as if they were already a fact, and to die to ourselves and allow God’s nature to become our own. Anything less is dead faith.

A word of caution: we’re surrounded by dead faith. Our challenge is to fight so that our surroundings do not contaminate us, but rather that our genuine faith affects them.