(It’s also possible to tilt the other way, doing stuff for God, but not taking time for personal growth. But if you just feel your faith and don’t show it, you’re out of balance. Do you have “faith with works” or “faith without works?” Ask God to give you the power you need to put your faith into action.Īlso, talk with at least one other close Christian friend about this question: Is my faith more on the inside or the outside? Both are good. When we believe in our powerful Lord, like Abraham and Rahab did, we will find that our faith is confirmed by our actions. We can believe that God exists, but trusting in Christ is the key- that relationship radically alters how we live. We should also note a subtle difference between believing that and believing in.

He’s saying that a fruitless faith is pointless, worthless.

James is not saying that we earn salvation by being good or doing good. And people with genuine faith in Christ put out the fruit of good works. Now, you can get wrapped up in theological debates about whether faith or works is more important, but that misses the point. The love of God fills our hearts, so we respond to the needs of those around us. When faith is genuine, it results in good works. James says it’s the same thing with faith and works. A body without breath is merely a corpse. In fact, demons might be a bit ahead of you, because when they think about God, they “shudder.” If your belief in God does not result in godly actions, then that faith is essentially “dead.”īody and breath go together. In this passage James addresses the question: What is the nature of genuine faith in Christ? In other words, what does it look like? What effect does it have in our lives?įaith in the fact that there is one God is good, but not remarkable, James says. The book of James speaks to the realities of a living faith in Jesusthe kind of roll-up-your-sleeves and get-your-hands-dirty discipleship that is borne out of an authentic relationship with the risen Lord. A faith without action and without life change is ultimately a dead faith. Martin Luther, the famous German reformer, wanted to throw the book of James out of the Bible because of this specific passage. The Book Of James With Francis Chan: A 12-Day Video Bible Study - True faith produces fruit.

Francis chan book of james