“I will show you my faith by my good deeds”
James 2:18
Good deeds show your faith, but faith alone shows what exactly? It shows absolutely nothing, it is not enough.
“So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.”
“How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?”
“So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.”
“Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.”
James 2:17, 20, 24 & 26 all say the same thing.
Faith in God is of utmost importance, the Bible says without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him, so we’re not downplaying faith, but alone —unpracticed, unapplied, unengaged, it is useless and won’t get you anywhere here on earth or in the kingdom of God.
The writer of James gives an example, “Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?” (James 2:15-16)
Ponder on this, and let this move you to practical ways to live out your faith, through generosity and kindness.
“If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?” (1 John 3:17)
Now what about those who have good deeds, those who are kind, loving, generous and are decent humans but have no faith in God? We know salvation —deliverance from sin and its consequences, is by grace ALONE, through faith ALONE, in Christ ALONE.
Both the believer without good deeds and the unbeliever with good deeds are not right with the lord and will not inherit the kingdom of God.
myvvoice 