FAITH IN ACTION//James 2:15-17

FAITH IN ACTION

Review--  Last week: "There is a difference between saying you have faith in Jesus and actually having a living, active faith in Him. Saying you believe in Jesus is not just an intellectual agreement-- it's a belief that results in action."

"Works are done because of your faith in Jesus Christ not instead of your faith in Jesus Christ."

James 2: 15-16

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?

Let's break it down into phrases...

a brother or a sister	A fellow believer, a Christian; or someone you already know: friend/family
without clothes and lacks daily food.	Has a real need
Go in peace	Have a nice day or take care
keep warm and eat well	I hope you find clothes and food
You don't give	You do nothing
What the body needs	Basic human needs
What good is it	It is useless to say

 If you put this altogether it'll read: "Suppose a fellow believer has a real need and you say to them, 'Have a nice day. I hope you find clothes and food. Take care.' And you do nothing to help their basic human needs. It is useless to say."

While saying something may surely bless them, and this not entirely wrong, of course... doing something to help them is another.

**Think about your own life. Who are real people in your life who have real needs? Think of people at school, on a sports team with you, in your church, or at work.

As a believer, your belief should lead to an action. Why? because you model your Savior. 

Here are some examples of what Jesus said (left column).. Can you match it with what He did (right column)?

What Jesus said	What Jesus did
Matthew 5:6-7	Luke 23:34
Matthew 5:43-44	Matthew 14:23
Luke 4:18-21	John 9:1-7
Luke 5:31-32	Luke 19:1-10

Jesus Christ, our Savior, showed a great example when He himself spoke the words and did them. As a follower of Christ, we should do/be the same. 

James summed up his analogy by making a bold statement,

^{James 2:17} In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 

Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense? 

- The Message

The point? Faith without actions is useless. James wasn't saying that actions matter more than faith, but rather he was warning his readers (and us) that true belief in Jesus means that our lives should be marked by a demonstration of surrendering to His command to help others in need.

"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. Works of loving service are not substitute for, but rather a verification of our faith in Christ." - Life Application Study Bible

"There is nothing more dangerous than the repeated experiencing of  a fine emotion with no attempts to put it into action. It is a fact that everytime we feel a generous impulse without taking action, we become less likely ever to take action. In a sense, it is true to say that we have no right to feel sympathy unless we at least attempt to put that sympathy into action." --William Barclay, The Letters of James and Peter'

**Which statements stick out to you the most?

**What is God prompting you to do?

**What steps will you take to respond to God's prompting today?

"WHAT YOU DO 

SPEAKS SO LOUD 

that I cannot hear 

what you say."

- RALPH WALDO EMERSON