Show The World We Are His

James 2:14-26 (NIV)

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that — and shudder.

You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.


When someone claims to have faith, what he or she may have is intellectual assent—agreement with a set of Christian teachings—and as such it would be incomplete faith. True faith transforms our conduct as well as our thoughts. If our lives remain unchanged, we don’t truly believe the truths we claim to believe.

We cannot earn our salvation by serving and obeying God. But such actions show that our commitment to God is real. Deeds of loving service are not a substitute for, but rather a verification of, our faith in Christ.

James says that Abraham was “considered righteous” for what he did. Paul says he was justified because he believed God (Romans 4:1-5). James and Paul are not contradicting but complementing each other. Let’s not conclude that the truth is a blending of these two statements. We are not justified by what we do in any way. True faith always results in deeds, but the deeds do not justify us. Faith brings us salvation; active obedience demonstrates that our faith is genuine.

The long and short of it is, way back in (Luke 3:8) John the baptist says:
Prove by the way you live that you have really turned from your sins and turned to God. Don't just say, 'We're safe—we're the descendants of Abraham.' That proves nothing. God can change these stones here into children of Abraham.
And in Luke 3:11 (NLT)
John replied, "If you have two coats, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry."

How many times have we missed this? I know I have plenty. You know, the people on the corner asking for money? You hear God telling you that you have money in your pocket you should give it to them. The light turns red and there's that awkward few moments as you feel them staring at you while you anxiously wait for the light to turn green.

Its not for us to determine what that person will do with that money,(that's where I get stuck) God will work that out.
What did you do when you heard God? I know Ive missed this a bunch and God is faithful where I am not and He gives me a truckload of second chances to show how Great He is.

Remember, God will always provide for you, if you feel Him telling you to let go of something, know that He will take care of it.
Its how we show the world that we are His!