James 2:14-16 ” What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? “

All of us have been guilty of this.  We encounter someone with a urgent physical need…we can’t help but see it and understand the gravity.  But what do we do?  We walk away, but not before sanctimoniously announcing, “I’ll pray for you.”  I can almost see Jesus shaking His head in disappointment.  We have blown a chance to show His love through our good deeds.  For our faith manifests itself in these good works…demonstrating to the person we’re helping in very tangible ways that God loves them.  We are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus…and by our actions His caring is shown to others.

James 2:14 ” What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?”

James, the oldest half-brother of Jesus, was telling us here we should demonstrate our inward faith by outward actions.  So it’s basically the difference between having living faith or lifeless faith.  Between just giving lip-service to the needs we see around us or actually jumping in to help others.  A few verses later James adds to this, “You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.” (James 2:24)  So in the life of a Believer, faith and deeds must go hand in hand…there is not one without the other…and so in this lies the big difference between living and lifeless faith.

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