Read the
passage here.
Faith in
Christ is what saves us, nothing else.
Our faith produces in us the desire, ability and opportunities to do
good works. If our faith does not
produce good work or a practical change in us for the good, then is it real
faith? James says no; if our faith doesn’t
produce what faith should produce, it’s not faith. An apple tree that doesn’t grow apples isn’t
truly an apple tree.
We can’t
separate our faith from our lives or our lives from our faith. There is no point filling our heads with
knowledge about theology and doctrine if we are not prepared to let that impact
how we live. However just as faith
without works is dead so works without faith is nothing. Without a relationship with a God who we know
and love we have no life. We have to be
careful not to let our service replace our relationship.
Possible
areas of discussion
Is it easier
to ‘have faith’ or ‘do work’?
Is it possible
to be ‘so heavenly minded that we’re of no earthly use’?
What are the
dangers of a ‘works gospel’?
Feel free to
talk about these or anything else you like.
I think the more heavenly minded we are, the more use we are on earth. As we begin to see the world as God sees it we develop his heart for others and demonstrate his love to others.
ReplyDeleteAnother thought - surely a works gospel is no gospel at all? What good news is in a religion that depends on my effort? Cos I'm rubbish at being good!
ReplyDeleteExactly Jeff. Good news is that Jesus changes us. He changes our eternal destination and He changes our heart. To often we accept the first and reject the second which really is to our disadvantage.
ReplyDeleteA works gospel sucks though. I'm not getting to Heaven if it's based on what I've done!