Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
James 2:18

Today, notice again that James uses the same terminology.  He says, “a man may say” speaking of the person who claims to have faith and displays it with works.  Here, James is saying that this man’s claim to faith is legitimate.  It’s actual faith because it shows up visibly in his life.  The works don’t create the faith; rather the works help to show the authenticity of the faith that is claimed.
I played basketball throughout my high school years.  I lived for it.  One of the things I used to do a lot is go to the park to play with whoever showed up.  Many times there would be guys who off the court would talk a big game.  They would talk about how much they loved basketball and how good they were at it.  The truth in those claims showed up once we started playing the game.  If they were true, it showed up in the way they played.  My dad and coaches used to tell me “Let your game do the talking.”  Sometimes in the middle of games the other team would “talk trash.”  If we were winning the only response that was needed was one word–“scoreboard”!
It’s the same with our faith.  If it’s real faith, you won’t have to say it for it to show up.  We should talk about our faith, but that shouldn’t be the only evidence that it exists.

Application:
Is your faith authentic?  Do you just talk a good game, or does your faith show up in your daily life?  Does your faith show up in your schedule?  In your bank statement?  In your conversations and testimony?