Faith & Deed

Taken from James 2:14-26

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. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Good works always follow true faith. If you stand strong in what you believe, if you believe that Christ is your Saviour, if you've tasted and seen His goodness, if you have that true faith.. I believe good works will naturally flow from within you because you have the God of love in you.

One thing that caught my attention was the illustration of Rahab. It's common for people to use Abraham as an example of faith but for Rahab? why would James use Rahab.. a prostitute?

Well, my view is that even a person who may be or may 'seem' unrighteous, or someone whom we consider not a true believer (christian by name), deserves a chance to experience God. Because everyone have their own personal struggle in their faith, those who have known the Lord should not look down and judge but to help those who are struggling in faith... for those who have known the Lord once struggled in the past too..

Because every individual is imperfect, the best approach is always for change to begin in ourselves first. Being a good testimony is a must to reflect the faith that we have. Be a good living testimony and love others because God deserve the best from us. He deserves the best & the most glorious name and we as His child have a great responsibility in fulfilling that!