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| What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 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 my faith by my deeds. |
| —James 2:14-18 |
Please think back to that time when you were a child. Did you ever ask your mom or dad to help you with something? Maybe you asked them to help you put on your shoes, or comb your hair, or brush your teeth? Maybe you asked them to take you to McDonalds or Burger King for lunch? Maybe you asked them to take you to the beach, so you could swim in the Lake?
Do you know why your mom and dad helped you when you asked them? Your mom and dad were willing to help you because they love you. You see, when we love someone, we are willing to help that person. Another way of saying that is that if we love someone, we are willing to serve that one. That’s right. If we love someone, we are willing to serve that one.
The writer of the Book of James in the Bible talks about the fact that if we love the Lord Jesus Christ and have placed our faith in Him as our Savior, we will be willing to serve Him. That means we will be willing to help others in His behalf. We will be willing to help others, just as Jesus would help them if He were with them in person.
But, do you know what? Sometimes people get it backwards. Sometimes people try to help others, not because they love Jesus, but just because they think by helping others Jesus will love them. And, when they do that, they miss the whole point.
Jesus already loves us. Jesus loves you and Jesus loves me. He loves us so much that He was willing to sacrifice His life in our place on the cruel Roman cross of torture. He died so that the shedding of His blood would serve as the ultimate payment for the atonement of the sins of everyone who has ever lived and everyone who will ever live. And, He rose from the grave, conquering death, so that everyone who accepts the reality of His great gift can spend eternity with Him.
If that wasn’t enough, He sent the Holy Spirit to live in the heart of everyone who believes in Him. The Holy Spirit helps us follow obediently the pathway that God lays out before us every day. And, that includes showing love to others by serving them in Jesus’ Name.
So, when people think that they can do things to help others to get Jesus to love them, they have it backwards. The only right way is to do things Jesus would want us to do for others because we love Him.
When we help others because we love Jesus, we put our faith in Him to work. That’s what James is talking about. James is telling us that “The faith that saves, is the kind that works.” Let me write that again. “The faith that saves is the kind that works.”
