This morning I felt like I should read from James 2. That is an interesting chapter where James writes about faith and deeds. Scholars believe this was written sometime between 60-63AD, and James is confronting a heretical theme of faith and spirituality alone, with no outward manifestation of changed lives or of the new creation. The specific heresy isn't identified, but we still see this alive and well in the church today, those who are Christian in name and belief (alone), but whose lives are unchanged and whose actions and pursuits fly in the face of their "faith".
The verses I am reflecting on this morning are as follows - James 2:14-18,26 NIV:
[14] "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? [15] Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. [16] If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? [17] In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. [18] But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds."
[26] "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."
These verses have always been a significant encouragement, and at the same time a serious check for my daily walk. I have been challenged to look at these verses and realize that in essence, my actions or my deeds prove what I really believe. I might say I believe in God's faithfulness, but do I really entrust my life, major decisions, and especially finances into care and direction? Do I seek Him for guidance, or do I do what I want and then ask Him to bless it? I might say I believe in healings, but am I praying for people regularly? I might say I am a follower of Christ Jesus, but am I trying to align my life with the way He lived, is there any outward proof that I follow Him? I am commanded by Jesus to love as He loved, but am I limiting my actions towards those I love to those things that do not require me to lay down my life, my preferences, my desires and even sometimes my needs? Am I a words only type of Christian??
All these questions have been questions I have asked myself, and found myself lacking. Each time I press into these verses I find that I am given an opportunity to change my deeds to align with my stated faith and beliefs, and that is a good, although sometimes painful, thing. My desire is to become more like Christ Jesus, realising that I have much to change and that there are many areas where I can grow. We used to say don't talk the talk, if you can't walk the walk, and that communicates the basic idea of this whole section.
Jesus didn't come to earth just to release good teaching that people could agree with or not. He came to establish the Kingdom of God, to bring radical change and new creation to those that believe! He died to save us, shed his own blood on the cross, paying for our sins, and restoring relationship with the Father! He defeated the great enemy and has all authority and power. His presence in our lives, is internal but has external manifestations!
I was reminded of a section of one of the earliest Christian apologetic letters written to Diognetus in the early 2nd century, describing those who lived as Christians. Diognetus was not a Christian and the author is writing to him to describe the Christian's life and beliefs. Here is the excerpt from the Letter to Diognetus:
The Christians in the world
"Christians are indistinguishable from other men either by nationality, language or customs. They do not inhabit separate cities of their own, or speak a strange dialect, or follow some outlandish way of life. Their teaching is not based upon reveries inspired by the curiosity of men. Unlike some other people, they champion no purely human doctrine. With regard to dress, food and manner of life in general, they follow the customs of whatever city they happen to be living in, whether it is Greek or foreign.
And yet there is something extraordinary about their lives. They live in their own countries as though they were only passing through. They play their full role as citizens, but labor under all the disabilities of aliens. Any country can be their homeland, but for them their homeland, wherever it may be, is a foreign country. Like others, they marry and have children, but they do not expose them. They share their meals, but not their wives.
They live in the flesh, but they are not governed by the desires of the flesh. They pass their days upon earth, but they are citizens of heaven. Obedient to the laws, they yet live on a level that transcends the law. Christians love all men, but all men persecute them. Condemned because they are not understood, they are put to death, but raised to life again. They live in poverty, but enrich many; they are totally destitute, but possess an abundance of everything. They suffer dishonor, but that is their glory. They are defamed, but vindicated. A blessing is their answer to abuse, deference their response to insult. For the good they do they receive the punishment of malefactors, but even then they, rejoice, as though receiving the gift of life. They are attacked by the Jews as aliens, they are persecuted by the Greeks, yet no one can explain the reason for this hatred.
To speak in general terms, we may say that the Christian is to the world what the soul is to the body. As the soul is present in every part of the body, while remaining distinct from it, so Christians are found in all the cities of the world, but cannot be identified with the world. As the visible body contains the invisible soul, so Christians are seen living in the world, but their religious life remains unseen. The body hates the soul and wars against it, not because of any injury the soul has done it, but because of the restriction the soul places on its pleasures. Similarly, the world hates the Christians, not because they have done it any wrong, but because they are opposed to its enjoyments.
Christians love those who hate them just as the soul loves the body and all its members despite the body's hatred. It is by the soul, enclosed within the body, that the body is held together, and similarly, it is by the Christians, detained in the world as in a prison, that the world is held together. The soul, though immortal, has a mortal dwelling place; and Christians also live for a time amidst perishable things, while awaiting the freedom from change and decay that will be theirs in heaven. As the soul benefits from the deprivation of food and drink, so Christians flourish under persecution. Such is the Christian’s lofty and divinely appointed function, from which he is not permitted to excuse himself."
From a letter to Diognetus
This morning I am deeply encouraged to look again at my life and examine my thoughts and actions! Am I living a life that is an example of being faith-filled and active? Am I living so that my deeds and words are aligned with my faith and beliefs? Am I truly loving others as Jesus loves me?
All good questions that require answers!
Amen!
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