Show Your Faith

“But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” James 2:20

You can have all of the ingredients to make a delicious chocolate cake, but unless you take those ingredients and mix and bake them together you really don’t have a cake yet, do you? 

Let me explain a little bit further. In your kitchen you may have flour, sugar, cocoa, oil, eggs, butter, among many other things, and these ingredients are frequently used to make a cake. But only when they are taken and mixed together. By itself, flour is not a cake. By itself sugar and eggs do not make a cake. It is only when you perform the action of mixing everything together, pouring the batter into a pan and baking it does it then become a cake. It takes action.

If someone says that they have faith in God, but they don’t have any actions that show it, is it really faith?

If you claim to love each other in the church and you see someone of the congregation in need of basic needs, and you have the ability to help them, but you do not, how is that love? How is that showing your faith?

The parable of the good Samaritan greatly shows this. The first two men, a priest and a Levite, saw the wounded man on the side of the road, but they did nothing. Nothing at all, but instead passed him by and left him. 

Does that sound like love?

The first two men did nothing to help. Now look at how the actions of the Samaritan differed from them. Instead of walking on by, the Samaritan poured in oil and wine into the man’s wounds, and bound them up, and then took the man to an inn to have someone look over him until he got better. 

The Samaritan had love, and compassion. The priest and the Levite did not, as was shown by their actions. Unlike the first two, the Samaritan did something. 

If I say I am going to go fishing, the proof will be me sitting in my boat on the lake with a line into the water. 

Faith without works is dead.

“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 

If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 

And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 

Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 

Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” James 2:14-20

One need to look no further than our Lord Himself. He was active every day, healing, teaching, and performing miracles. Every single day He did something. We need to be the same way. We need to follow His example by being busy everyday studying the scriptures, spending time in prayer, helping others, and just overall loving each other. It is through these actions that we can show our faith in Christ.

Do you have faith in Jesus? What are your works? What are some things that others can see that show your faith? Faith, without works, is dead. Show your faith.

In Christ,

Andrew