Daily Dose of the Word of God - James 2: 14-26

Kyle Olson, Technical Director

Transcript

Kyle Olson  0:07  

Welcome to Elmhurst CRC's Daily Dose of the Word of God. Today is Wednesday, June 25 and Sunday is coming. I'm Kyle Olson and I serve here as the Director of Technology. I'll be reading from The Voice translation of James, chapter 2, verses 14 through 26.

Kyle Olson  0:29  

Brothers and sisters, it doesn’t make any sense to say you have faith and act in a way that denies that faith. Mere talk never gets you very far, and a commitment to Jesus only in words will not save you. It would be like seeing a brother or sister without any clothes out in the cold and begging for food, and saying, “Shalom, friend, you should get inside where it’s warm and eat something,” but doing nothing about his needs—leaving him cold and alone on the street. What good would your words alone do? The same is true with faith. Without actions, faith is useless. By itself, it’s as good as dead. I know what you’re thinking: “OK, you have faith. And I have actions. Now let’s see your faith without works, and I’ll show you a faith that works.”  Don’t you realize that faith without works is useless, like a glove without a hand or a hat without a head?  Do you think that just believing there’s one God is going to get you anywhere? The demons believe that, too, and it terrifies them! The fact is, faith has to show itself through works performed in faith. If you don’t recognize that, then you’re an empty soul. Wasn’t our father Abraham made right with God by laying his son Isaac on the altar? The faith in his heart was made known in his behavior. In fact, his commitment was perfected by his obedience. That’s what Scripture means when it says, “Abraham entrusted himself to God, and God credited him with righteousness.” And living a faithful life earned Abraham the title of “God’s friend.” Just like our father in the faith, we are made right with God through good works, not simply by what we believe or think. Even Rahab the prostitute was made right with God by hiding the spies and aiding in their escape. Removing action from faith is like removing breath from a body. All you have left is a corpse.

Kyle Olson  2:35  

Let's pray. Lord, thank you for your word. Thank you for your endless faith in us, so much so that you sent your son. We know that through our faith in you, we are saved. But James challenges us to move beyond that, that as saved people, as redeemed people, as risen and renewed people, we are called to redeem,resurrect and bring about your kingdom here on earth as in heaven. So today, we pray that in our walk, travels and in our actions, that the fruits of our faith are made real and known. In your name, amen.