A Word from James: Action

by Marilynn Chadwick

Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (James 2:17 NIV)

Action. Movement. Progress. Results in life matter. James challenges us to consider our results—the bottom line of our beliefs. What we believe impacts how we live.

But can our actions ever make us good enough for God? Does the salvation of our souls depend upon how well we live out the commandments? Must we work our way to heaven? Absolutely not!

Our focus today is on the word “action.” Let’s see what James has to say about the importance of our actions: “So also faith, if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up), by itself is destitute of power (inoperative, dead)” (James 2:17 AMPC).

These words have sparked controversy for centuries. But the exhortation here is not so much about how we get “saved." Rather, what are the characteristics of saving faith? Quite simply, if faith has no corresponding actions, it's not real faith, James argues. Outward actions are merely evidence that our faith is alive and kicking.

Let me give you a practical illustration. I have two flower arrangements in my kitchen window. One is a beautiful vase of freshly cut flowers. Beautiful, but dead—those flowers can never reproduce. The other container holds a lovely potted bloom, its roots surrounded by soil, ready for planting. It will live and produce new blooms...again and again. This flower is alive. In a similar way, true faith, by its very nature, will produce actions that correspond to our beliefs. This kind of faith is alive.

If you have trusted Jesus for your salvation—accepting his death and resurrection as payment for your sins—you are "saved." Your righteousness is settled. You are made perfect in God's sight by grace through faith. Period.

Such faith is alive and will naturally produce actions. This does not mean you are perfect all at once or that you will never fail. But you are alive, forever a member of God's family. Once that question is settled, then ask yourself this question: Since I believe, what is God asking me to do as a "corresponding act of obedience?"

God’s Word is also “alive” (Hebrews 4:12). It tells us in practical terms how to live out our beliefs. The Holy Spirit gives us the power we need to follow the commands in Scripture.

Today, listen for your marching orders. What actions will you take after you read and meditate upon God's living Word?

Lord, help me have faith that is not only alive, but active. I come to your Word for life, power, and inspiration. Remind me to care for the poor and the poor in Spirit. Give me your eyes as I go about my day and nudge me when to give a kind word, a helping hand, a few dollars. Prick my heart with a fresh urgency. Break my heart for what breaks yours.

A Word from James: Religion

by Marilynn Chadwick

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. (James 1:27 NLT)

“I got religion” was the folksy expression I sometimes heard growing up in the deep South when someone accepted Jesus. As for me, I spent most of my high school years running away from religion. And from God. But the Lord lovingly pursued me and, in time, I surrendered to his free gift of grace. I came to understand that following Jesus was about a relationship—not a religion. Salvation was made possible only through the costly blood of God’s Son. No wonder they call it “Amazing Grace.”

James prods us to practice true religion. He’s not talking here about religion as a quick ticket to heaven. Rather, “religion,” in this context, refers to the practical expression of our devotion to the Lord: “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you” (James 1:27).

The Greek word translated “religion” is threskos—seldom used in the New Testament. It describes outward service rather than inward piety. It’s all about our actions. True religion, according to James, must involve acts of mercy, love, and holiness.

Let’s look at this same verse in the Amplified Bible: “External religious worship [religion as it is expressed in outward acts] that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God the Father is this: to visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their affliction and need, and to keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world” (James 1:27 AMPC).

We are saved only by grace through faith. We must never stray from grace as the foundation for all our works. Good works cannot earn our salvation. But if we truly want to please the Lord, we’ll be intentional to pour our life out in service to the hurting ones around us. Especially the widows and orphans.

But James also reminds us we must never forget the purity of our own life. We are called to holiness. That’s the kind of religion that pleases the Lord.

So, let’s ask God to show us who is on his heart. May we be sensitive to his Spirit, alert to practical ways we can serve those in need. And while we’re at it, let’s pray for the Holy Spirit to correct us in areas we need to clean up—it’s far too easy to slide into the ways of the world. Today, as we step out into our world, let’s dare to pray the prayer God always answers: Lord, break my heart for what breaks yours.

A Word from James: Execute

by Marilynn Chadwick

Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1:22 NIV)

To execute is to translate ideas into actions. For any business, the ability to execute is critical to the bottom line. In spiritual matters, we execute when we live out the truths we’ve learned in Scripture—we put feet on our faith.

The book of James exhorts believers to execute—to be doers as well as hearers of God’s Word. "Faith without works is dead,” he challenges (James 2:26 NKJV). His words can make us squirm. Sometimes a single word may be just the inspiration that moves us to action.

As we continue our journey through James, let’s pause and reflect. James calls us in these verses to dig deep. Do we really believe our beliefs, or do we merely hold an intellectual assent to the faith? “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do” (James 1:22-25).

Some believe James treads dangerously close to a works-based theology. Reformation champion, Martin Luther is said to have called James an "epistle of straw" and thought it shouldn't even be included in the New Testament.

I disagree. In fact, the book of James has been one of my strongest faith-builders in the entire New Testament. James has a way of putting me into hard places that grow my trust in God. Do I truly believe that Jesus’ death and resurrection covered my sin? If so, that belief should propel me into a life of action and good deeds. Have I found practical ways to be both a hearer and a doer of God’s commands and his calling?

Mother eagles are known to be quite nurturing. Yet their method for teaching their young ones to fly is a swift push out of the nest! They swoop down and catch the baby eaglets as they falter, repeating the flight lesson again and again until the little ones are soaring like...eagles! Just like a mama eagle, James pushes us out of our cozy nest of faith with a call to action. We may hear the Holy Spirit whisper, “Go there, to that one who needs the Father’s love. Serve this broken one over here. Share your living water with this thirsty one.”

Our heart begins to beat faster in response to the Holy Spirit’s promptings. We step out…take a risk…and find that our faith takes wings. Our trust grows big, and before you know it, we will be soaring like an eagle!