Faith that Works Day 5
James 2:14-26
Faith Acts
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
What did you think, feel, or see as you read? What verse stood out to you today?
I feel like today’s text was pretty self-explanatory, so I am simply going to add some thoughts from a sermon I preached last year on this passage.
Faith that is void of works is not saving faith. James isn’t saying we’re saved by our effort—he’s warning us not to settle for a belief that never moves the heart or hands. Faith works. The test of faith is the works of the believer. Works do not save. Faith saves, but faith works. Faith is not static or stationary.
Even Martin Luther struggled with this passage—he once called James “an epistle of straw”—but later admitted that true faith always moves us to good works. Listen to this quote: “O it is a living, busy, active, mighty thing, this faith. It is impossible for it to not be doing good things incessantly.”
Faith that Works Day 4
James 2:1-13
No Favorites Allowed
2 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
What did you think, feel, or see as you read?
If you show partiality, you are committing sin. While we are many years removed from the Jim Crow laws that infected our country, partiality still plays a major role in our world today. We judge people by their sexual orientation, color of skin, religion of choice, and even country of origin. While stereotypes are hard to combat, that does not excuse believers from mistreating or failing to love all those around them. Jesus, alongside James, urges us to show mercy, choose meekness, forgive—and forgive again. Love for neighbor does not run dry when our feelings get hurt or our patience wears thin.
Furthermore, picking favorites is not allowed in the church of Jesus Christ, as God has no favorites. As the song “Jesus Loves Me” taught us many years ago: “Red, brown, yellow, black, and white—they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world!”
Who do you struggle to love? What is one way that you can combat your human nature and live out the nature of God today toward that person?
Faith that Works Day 3
James 1:16-27
God is ALWAYS Good
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
What did you think, feel, or see as you read? What verse stood out?
Sporadic Thoughts:
God gives good gifts! All the great things I have received are from God! Praise be to God!
I must continue to work on being slow to speak and slow to anger. Not easy for me!
It is easy to hear (and even preach). I need to seek out more ways to do. I do not want to be one who preaches and does not practice!
God cares more about how we live and treat others than accomplishing certain tasks!
What is one way you can put into practice what you read today? Focus on this all day!
Faith that Works Day 2
James 1:9-15
True Worth and Real Temptation
9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
What did you think, feel, or see as you read?
True Worth: It is said often that comparison is the thief of joy. Nowadays, comparison is astronomically easier than before. Through social media, I can now compare my dinner, my outfit, my looks, and my personality not only with people I see each day, but with people across the state, nation, and world. Many are feeling like failures at work, home, and in life because someone they have never met is working out more, eating better, and vacationing to places they have never desired to go.
James speaks to our true worth in verses 9–11. Your worth is not based on what you own, make, or accomplish. Your worth is not determined by your goodness, giftedness, or generosity. Your worth is fixed in this—God loves you and Jesus died for you. You were worth it. You are His beloved, whom He lovingly desires! Don’t forget it!
Real Temptation: Our passage ends with a focus on temptation. Here the difference between trials and temptation comes into view. Trials are experiences that lead us to God. Temptation is an urge that leads us away from God. Temptation is not from God but is cultivated in our own hearts and expressed through our own desires. Temptation has only one end—death. It seeks to kill, not grow. It seeks to harm, not help. Temptation presses on the very things that we think will satisfy and then pulls the rug out from under us!
Are you struggling more with self-worth or self-sabotage?
Do you need to rest more in your identity as God’s son or daughter, or do you need to fight against the temptation you have opened doors to?
Faith that Works Day 1
James 1:1-8
Hope in the Hard
1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
What did you think, feel, or see as you read?
Here are some of my thoughts: Rather than bemoaning the trials that come our way, James is calling us to a mindset shift—Count it all joy! Why? Because trials have a purpose. Nothing happens outside of God’s sovereign control. This can be hard to fathom as we struggle through challenges we never imagined facing or can ever find good in—yet the Word of God is sure. God has a plan in it! What is that plan? Growth. Steadfastness. Fuller understanding of His grace and deeper dependence on His person.
But what if it is too hard? James gives us hope in the hard. When you are struggling, you are not alone! Pray for wisdom, help, clarity, and hope. God will GENEROUSLY give it to you. God doesn’t hold back on the ones who come to Him. He lavishly pours out until our cup overflows (Ps. 23).
Finally, when we ask—actually believe! Pray with trust, not doubt. God is not an option to help us but the option to help us. Praying is not a wish we forget about, but a statement of trust in the One to whom we pray.
Questions to consider:
What difficulties are you experiencing right now? What is God growing in you through these? Where do you need Him to supply? Do you believe He can supply?