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Faith without works is Dead

James 2:20 – But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? It’s pretty commonly understood in Christianity that performing “good works” apart from faith in Christ, is “dead” as far as eternal salvation is concerned. Salvation cannot be obtained by adherence to the Mosaic law, or any other level of good deeds or behavior, it is only through faith in Christ that salvation is granted unto mankind and obtained. That is the essence of Eph 2:8-9 – For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. But what seems to be much less understood, and even rejected in many Christian circles, is the other side of the coin, that Faith apart from works is also “dead” and just as unable to save. Works, apart from faith in Christ are “dead works”, but so also Faith, apart from the resulting fruit of good works is “dead faith”. The Apostle James went into great detail in his epistle to make sure believers...
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No “joy” from sin?

  Rom 6:2 - How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?  I’ve heard it said that the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian is that the Christian gets no “joy” when they sin. The idea is that the Christian is still a sinner, as they were before redemption, but now it bothers them and they feel a sense of remorse after they engage in it. Many take comfort in that feeling of remorse and take it as a sign that they are indeed saved, the children of God, and everything is fine.  This is a far cry from what the Apostle Paul said about what our conviction and attitude against sin should be in Romans 6 - How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? (Rom 6:2). Paul doesn’t address the remorse over sin as if it’s some kind of virtue, he addresses the continuing living in and engaging in sin as the real problem. In fact he states that really we are the slaves of whichever one we obey: Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves serv...
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The First and Greatest Commandment

  Matt 22:37-38 - Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. The title verse was Jesus’ response when one of the Pharisee’s asked Him which was the greatest commandment of the law. Not only that, Jesus went on to say that on that and the second commandment, to love thy neighbor as thyself, hang ALL of the law and the prophets. Everything is wrapped up in those two commandments and they, especially the first and greatest one, should be the Christian’s highest focus and pursuit, to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. Yet, with that clear call and exhortation before us, I can’t count how many times I’ve heard Christians talk, somewhat nonchalantly, about how badly they fail at it. It’s almost become a bragging right to proclaim how miserably we fail the first commandment, I guess to show how “humble” we are about it. It’s as if we ...
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The Deceivableness of Unrighteousness

  2 Thes 2:10 - And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. Whenever a Christian gives in to sin and unrighteousness, they become in some measure, deceived. There is a deceiving property that always comes with sin in which no one is immune to. The more a Christian gives in to any particular sin, the more deceived they become. This is why the writer of Hebrews said this: But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the *deceitfulness* of sin (Heb 3:13). Sin always has the effect of hardening the heart and deceiving the one who commits it, especially for a Christian when they knowingly and repeatedly violate their conscience. This is why we are told to not just “feel bad” about sin and unrighteousness, but to resist it, forsake it and no longer continue in it. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God...
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What about the thief on the cross?

  Jam 2:26 - For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. One of the common arguments that you will get against the teaching that when a person is redeemed by Christ in salvation, they must bear the fruit of that conversion in their lives going forward as the evidence of their faith, is the example of the thief on the cross in whom Christ redeemed. It is argued that his redemption is proof positive that there is absolutely nothing more required than a mental agreement with and a “trust” in Jesus' sacrifice on the cross for salvation. The idea is that since the thief wasn’t required to go and “do some good works” to prove his faith, then that shows that no amount of good fruit (works) would ever be required or necessary from a believer when it comes to eternal salvation. But what that argument fails to understand and appreciate is what happens when a person is truly redeemed, saved and born again. They are changed, transformed and made a new cr...
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Failing the Grace of God

Heb 12:14-15 - Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled. If Gods Grace is His “unmerited favor” and given to us unconditionally, as we are commonly told, then how is it possible for a Christian to “fail” the grace of God? If we as believers have no bearing on the dispensation and working of His Grace in our lives, then how can anything we do possibly have any effect on it, let alone cause it to fail in us….unless we can? Is it possible that we’ve totally missed the boat on what His Grace actually is, or at the least, we are only looking at part of the definition? Now it is absolutely true that Gods Grace is His unmerited favor and freely given to us when we believe and become followers of Christ, but it is so much more than that. It then becomes the power of God working in us enabling us to live a victor...
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Faith / Works and our Justification

James 2:24 - Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. There is a huge push in modern day Christianity to detach our behavior from our standing or justification before God. We are told that as Christians, our standing before God is always secure and fixed and never tied to our behavior or how we conduct our lives in the faith. It is said that while our behavior may affect the level or amount of rewards we will enjoy in eternity, it could never jeopardize our standing before God since our standing as Christians is not obtained by works but by faith. Basically the idea is that since we did not obtain salvation by works, then we could never jeopardize it as a result of our works, no matter how badly we behave or how much sin we might engage in. This may sound reasonable on the surface, but then the Apostle James comes along and states something pretty astounding in the face of that in James 2:24 - Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and NOT...
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These Things have I written unto you

  1 Jn 5:13 - *These things* have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. Towards the end of John’s first epistle he makes a statement of purpose as to why he wrote his letter addressed to true believers, that they may know that they have eternal life. The phrase “THESE THINGS have I written unto you” refers to the entirety of the letter (epistle) that he had just written to them. This verse cannot be properly understood or interpreted by itself without taking into full account the first two words: “These things”. He didn’t say “This verse” I have written unto you…. He said “These things”. Many make the mistake of isolating this verse and then misinterpret its meaning by trying to make it stand alone. I’ve heard many teach that this verse confirms that as long as you mentally “believe” or “trust in” what Jesus did for you, that nothing more is required and yo...
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