Is My Faith Alive?
Today’s Verse:
James 2:17 ESV
So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Faith is at the center of the Christian life. We are saved by grace through faith, not by works. The Bible is clear on this (Ephesians 2:8-9). However, in the second chapter of his letter, James writes something which can sound profoundly disturbing: “Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
Are we getting a double message from Paul and James? Not at all. James is putting to rest the notion that faith is something we can sit on our hands for. Faith is not just assent to specific facts. Faith is not just empty words. It’s all of those things, but when faith is genuine faith, it works. Genuine faith moves. Genuine faith breathes. Genuine faith acts.
Martin Luther was rightly wary of James, but he did say it was right to say that we are justified by faith alone - but not by a faith that is alone. In other words, good works do not save us. But good works are what flow from saving faith. Good works are evidence of faith, just as James explains in chapter 2, verses 15-17: “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 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? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Lutherans do not do good works to become God’s favor. Lutherans do good works because we have it, full on. Christ has completely and utterly redeemed us. Our good works, then, are the result of that redemption, the expression of that redemption, the way our faith actually reaches out in service and sacrifice and love.
So this morning, ask yourself not just, “Do I believe?” but “Is my faith alive?” If it’s feeling a little dead, then don’t give up. Return to Christ. He’s the source of all life, and He doesn’t just save us. He sanctifies us. He makes us into the kind of people who live what they confess.
Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Lord Jesus, thank You for saving me by grace through faith. Guard me from empty belief and stir my heart to love in action. Let my life bear witness to the faith You’ve planted in me. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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