Posted Sep 28, 2020 |
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“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. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe – and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?” James 2:18-20
James points out the people who believe but do nothing about it are the same as the people who do good deeds but do not believe in Him. Neither group is doing all that God has commanded. Demons believe that God is God and shudder. You do not hear of them being in Heaven, they have their own place and it is not a place I would want to be a member of. The Bible states that your good works alone will not get you into to Heaven.
God has called us to admit, believe and commit.
A long time ago, I was taught the ABC’s of salvation and I think they are the best way to describe this verse. God wants you to Admit that you are a sinner and repent for those sins. Then you need to Believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, died on the cross for our sins, and rose from the grave three days later. Finally, Commit your life to living for Him. Now A and B are pretty easily defined but the C is what stumps people for some reason.
Our Heavenly Father wants a relationship with us through prayer and the reading of His Word. He also wants us to fellowship with other believers, lifting each other up and holding each other accountable; sharing our lives with one another. On top of all that, He wants us to care for others by doing unto the “least of these.”
For whatever you do unto the least of these, you have done unto me. Basically, the love or works (feeding, clothing, praying for, helping someone move, etc.) you show towards others, is displaying the love you have for God.
You cannot fully do one without the other because even the demons believe and look where their outcome lies.
