Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Show People Your Faith

So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good deeds is not faith at all -- it is dead and useless. -- James 2:17

This passage of Scripture confuses many people. Mostly it just offers them an excuse. You’ve probably heard it. “I’m a good person so I’ll get in to heaven.” Wrong answer. And deadly deceptive.

The Bible is clear: Accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior is the only way to eternal life with God. The Apostle Paul said we accept this gift through faith, not by works, so that no man may boast. So faith that comes from the heart and inhabits the soul will get us where we want to go -- heaven.

But what about works? What exactly is James saying if it isn’t that works and faith aren’t one and the same? What this half-brother of Jesus is saying is that if your faith doesn’t result in good works, then you really don’t have faith at all.

When you accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to reside within you. It changes you. It changes everyone. We are made new in Him. That change makes us want to do good things. It opens our hearts to care about people we don’t know, to share our worldly possessions and our time, to volunteer. If that change isn’t seen by others, James says that person’s faith is dead. It doesn’t exist.

It comes back to how others can tell a person is a Christian. It shouldn’t just be because the person says he is a Christian. It should be evident in how he lives his life. It should be seen in how he conducts business, how he treats his family and friends, and how he spends his time.

One man I know sometimes comes to church with his wife and children. He would tell you quick that he’s a Christian. Maybe he is. Only God knows our hearts. But his language and meanness in his office tells me otherwise. Christians just don’t treat people that way. It goes against everything we believe about loving others as ourselves and doing good to our enemies.

Faith brings forth good works. Faith causes a person to smile and offer a kind word. Faith reaches out to the homeless, the desperate, the sick. Faith speaks kindly to a rejected child, a lonely wife, a overburdened father. Faith collects clothes for the needy, gives food to the hungry, does chores for the elderly.

Jesus didn’t just minister to others with his words. He reached out to them with His actions. He touched them with his compassion. He accepted the outcasts as friends. We’d do well to look to Jesus for a role model as to what a Christian should do.

Don’t just tell people you’re a Christian with your words. Show them your faith by how you live your life.