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“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 it is?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.  But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’  Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you may faith by what I do.”  James 2:14-18James 2:14-18
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
Faith and Works ¹⁴ My friends, what good is it to say you have faith, when you don't do anything to show that you really do have faith? Can that kind of faith save you? ¹⁵ If you know someone who doesn't have any clothes or food, ¹⁶ you shouldn't just say, “I hope all goes well for you. I hope you will be warm and have plenty to eat.” What good is it to say this, unless you do something to help? ¹⁷ Faith that doesn't lead us to do good deeds is all alone and dead! ¹⁸ Suppose someone disagrees and says, “It is possible to have faith without doing kind deeds.” I would answer, “Prove that you have faith without doing kind deeds, and I will prove that I have faith by doing them.”

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Let’s get one thing straight: you are saved by faith alone in the redemptive work of Christ on the cross.  No amount of good deeds, monetary gifts, or donations of your time will “earn you points” into Heaven.  There is NOT a giant scale that God uses to weigh out the times of your life to see if the ‘good’ outweighs the ‘bad’.  God does not have a score card in Heaven that he marks each of your good works on to see if you can accumulate enough to qualify to live with him.  The scripture is clear here and many other places that it is faith in Jesus that brings you into a personal relationship with God and gives you the right to become a child of God.  Nothing else.

I have had friends in my life that did not know Christ.  A few of them were such GOOD people that I remarked that they would make “such good Christians” because they were already doing so many good things.  Of course these good things they were involved in were sometimes motivated by a sincere desire to be helpful to others, but other times they were motivated by a hope that they would live a good enough life to “score” points with God.  I know that because they told me.  And then we would begin to talk about this very dichotomy that James 2 addresses.  In one woman’s life it eventually led to her meeting Christ.  In another one’s life it did not.   Her upbringing tied her to the belief that doing good things meant you were a good person, and good people should go to Heaven.

Even Christians can get mixed up with “good deeds” and earning God’s favor.  No one ever said this to me, but growing up I had the belief that God loved me more (or at least liked me more) when I was reading my Bible and walking with him.  That is an easy untruth to slip into.  If that were true, then God would love me less (or like me less) when I am disobedient.  But we have to remember that it was God’s love for us that drew us into a relationship with him.  (1 John 4:101 John 4:10
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
10 Real love isn't our love for God, but his love for us. God sent his Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven.

WP-Bible plugin)  We were his enemies and had no righteousness of our own.  He loved us and called us to himself.  He did not look at us and think that we were doing such a good job; he’d like to know us.  We have done nothing to deserve his love.  He was the total initiator in our love relationship with him.  And that love never changes, no matter what we do or fail to do.

Now in the relationship with him, we are motivated BY that love to serve others.  Any other motivation (a fear of losing God’s approval) is wrong and will only frustrate our Christian growth.  We need to understand that this whole Christian life–coming to Christ, walking with Christ, loving our brothers, serving those who do not know him, sharing the truth we understand, making it through hard times–it is ALL done by faith.  And that faith does not (or should not) sit silently in our life.  If it is real, it will show.  If it is alive, it will grow.  And if it is authentic, it will produce evidence to all those around us. Like an apple tree produces apples because of what it is on the inside, a Christian will produce good works because of who they are on the inside.   We are saved by faith alone, but that faith is never alone in our lives.  It will show in our words and actions.

Points to Ponder

1.  What kind of evidence is your life producing?   Can the world around you tell that you know Christ?

2.  What is your motivation for good works in your life?  Are they motivated by God’s love in your life, or an attempt to earn his approval?

3.  Are there areas of service that you need to be obedient to Christ in right now?  What is keeping you from displaying your inward nature to the world around you?

Prayer

Father, help me to understand the complete work of your grace.  Help me to realize that nothing good I do can make me worthy of your love, and that nothing bad I do can move me away from your forgiving grace.  Instead, Lord, make my life a display of your love for me and others.  Let me serve others with your strength.  Empower me to live out my faith to the world on a daily basis for the glory of your name.  Amen.