Rock This House
Jared Walnum
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Faith Without Works

A thought inspired by one of the songs on Selah Wind Christian Rock, "What Have We Done?" by 100 Watt Magnet. In the thicket of this musical question ther's a statement declaring that saying Jesus saves is not enough. This puts me in mind of Jame's epistle.

Faith without works is dead, James asserts. But to what works does he refer? Blind reverence to law and ritual? No, what James is talking about is something very active, vital and compelling. Works of the law and works of faith are not synonymous.

He refers to action that takes the one who professes faith from the safety of distant declarations and thrusts him into the vortex that defines true faith. No stagnant faith will suffice. Faith that is not expressed in action is dormant and produces no fruit. It brings no benefit to the one who holds it nor to anyone else. If the second greatest commandment is to love thy neighbor as thyself as Jesus declared then it's imperative that faith step out of its impending potential into a dynamic kenetic force through which the beneficiary of that faith is greatly graced.

What if the apostle Paul had said, "I have faith that God will redeme the gentiles," but never followed Christ's command to preach the gospel? Never abandoned all that was safe and familiar? Never put his life and limb on the line with great regularity to bring the message to the gentile world?

Talking about it would have profited no one. But acting upon it changed the world. Before Paul put faith into action Christianity remained an exclusively Jewish sect. After Paul by faith obeyed Christ and was empowered by Him, Christianity was able to spread to the corners of the earth.

So talking about faith becomes only a big noise without the activity or works of faith. The power and demonstration of faith is in the action. Thus is James justified in the admonition, "show me your faith without works and I'll show you my faith by my works."