James 2:17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Faith by itself is only a thought, and even that is is a weak thought. Faith by definition must include some type of action to it. In many places in the New Testament, the word “faith” is used as a verb, an action word. God expects us to act on our faith. The word for “believe” is the verb form of the Greek word for “faith.” Many people say that they believe in God but this belief only remains a thought, and a weak thought at that. There is no evidence that this single thought has moved to faith. This is one of the weakness of a Calvinistic interpretation of salvation as eternal security and election. This doctrine states that a person is chosen by God and once saved, is always saved. It lessens the need for action. I do not see this doctrine supported in this verse or many others in the Bible. Rather, what I see is that faith requires action to be confirmed. Our actions can invalidate our faith. For example, if we disobey God and sin, it shows that our faith is lacking. This does not make faith a “work.” It shows that faith always goes with action and obedience. James put this obedience in the form of “works.” The type of works we may have to do will depend upon God’s plan and purpose for us. There are obvious works that God wills, such as taking care of the poor, widowed, and orphan. These are the key ideas in James’ mind. But our works are not limited to these things. The Bible deals with two major human problems: thinking that we can be good enough before God to earn our salvation through works (proven wrong by Paul the Apostle), and thinking that we only need to believe and trust God without any obedience and holiness (proven wrong by James, among others). The way to invalidate any confession of faith we make is by doing nothing in response. The way to prove we believe and to grow this faith is obedience to the law of love, wherever that may take us.
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