Sunday, September 6, 2015

Faith and Works

I read the Scripture for today in worship. It was from James chapter two. "Faith without works is dead."

How do we apply that idea today? First comes faith and out of our faith in Jesus comes an understanding of how to live a Christ like life. It is easy for a person to say the right words of faith and many do and then do nothing about it. If we truly belong to Jesus we will then do what He calls us to do. Jesus not only taught the Gospel but lived it out as an example. We will help people in need with out being asked. We will love the unlovely with out question and we will be generous with what ever we have.

Today I see people who claim to be Christian doing and saying hateful things when Jesus taught love for all people. I remember in the Gospel of John, the self-righteous religious leaders brought to Jesus a woman caught in the very act of adultery and said to him, "The scripture says this kind of woman must be stoned. Now what do you say?" Jesus said, "Let the one of you who is without sin cast the first stone." They all went away.

When we do not accept the call to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and show hospitality to the stranger, we forget that Jesus said, "When you did it to the least of these you did it to me." In anger many Christians say to turn away people from our country who need our help. When there are millions of refugees in the world seeking a place to live in safety how can Christians turn them away?

It is a chilling thing to read the words in James, "Faith without works is dead."