James 2:14-17
What good is it, my brothers,
if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such a faith save him?
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you
says to him, “Go, I wish you well;
keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing
about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if
it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
One of the “behind the scenes” ministries
at FBCG that I am most proud of is called “Compassion
in Action,”
or C.I.A. for short. The Compassion in
Action ministry administers our FBCG Food Pantry and manages what we call our “Benevolent Fund.” Our
Food Pantry now serves over 200 families every month and each year we use our
Benevolent Fund to offer well over $100,000 in help to those in our church
family and community who are struggling in some way.
Compassion in Action is important
in a number of ways. It’s
important that people who are facing hardship have a place to come for both
help and hope. It’s
equally important for the church to demonstrate from Monday through Saturday
the faith we talk about on Sunday!
I believe that ministries like
Compassion in Action give the church credibility in the world and give
Christians a way to put their faith to work.
I think that’s what James is talking about when he writes:
What good is it, my brothers,
if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such a faith save him?
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you
says to him, “Go, I wish you well;
keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing
about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if
it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
This week I found myself wondering
where and how James learned this powerful truth.
I think we can assume he learned
it from Jesus.
When Jesus said, “Love your enemies; pray for those who persecute you;” he did.
When Jesus saw people in need; the
blind, the lame, the lepers, he responded with compassionate action.
When Jesus said, “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down
his life for his friends;” he did.
I think James compared what he saw
in Jesus to what he saw in many of the so-called religious leaders of his day.
Men who said one thing but behaved in a completely different way.
It’s important to note that James is not teaching that we
somehow earn or achieve our salvation through good works. We know from other
places in the New Testament that salvation is a gift of faith alone. But he is
saying that once we have come to faith in Christ; once we have experienced the
grace and forgiveness offered to us in the cross; once the risen Jesus has made
his home in our hearts, our lives must bear evidence of his goodness, mercy and
compassion.
For James, to claim faith in Jesus
without becoming more like Jesus is an oxy-moron; it makes no sense because
such a faith is useless and dead.
That’s why Compassion in Action is so important! It seems
to me that one of the most harmful things we can do for the cause of Christ is
to claim to follow Jesus but fail to respond to the needs all around us. One
the other hand, one of most powerful ways to share the gospel is to put our
faith into action by extending the care and compassion of Jesus.
How can you put your faith into
action today?
Pastor Brian Coffey
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