Thursday 20 February 2014

Faith Without Works Is Dead.


Mark 11: 22-24
22 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

If you believe the next person that knocks your door is bringing to you a very lucrative contract, you will jump up and run for the door the very minute you hear the door being knocked. Now that's faith. Faith works through corresponding action.

Some of us have taken this scripture to isolate and neglect the ACTION part of faith.

James 2:14-26
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. 25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Let us look at two miracles performed by jesus. The wedding in Cana where he turned water into wine and also where he fed 5,000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. In each case, Jesus commanded them to do something. He asked for pots to be filled with water and for the water to be drawn and served at the wedding. He asked that the crowd be seated on the grass as he blessed the food and he gave the food to the disciples who gave the food to the crowd.

Imagine if the men at the wedding had refused to fill the pots with water or refused to serve it! Imagine if the multitude had refused to sit on the grass or the disciples had refused to give the food to the crowd!

You can read about the wedding in Cana & Jesus' feeding of the 5,000 in John 2:1-10  & Mathew 14:13-21.

Faith ALWAYS has a corresponding action. For God to bless the works of your hands, you had better be working in the first place.

Faith without works is dead. FAITH WORKS because there is a "works" part to faith.

Confessions work . . . Only with corresponding action. If you confess for 24 hours daily for 10 years without action, guess what your results will be . . . ZERO . . . NADA.

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