Christians believe that we are saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This simple truth differentiates Christianity from all other religions. All other religions ultimately require something or rather some work on the part of their practitioner. That is, those religions require you to do something to earn eternal life. Not so with Christianity. In fact, Christ himself taught “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent” (John 6:29). We come to Christ empty handed and receive of his grace eternal life and the forgiveness of sins. But that does not mean that a Christian’s life is not characterized by good works.
This matter of doing good works was a critical issue for James, the Lord’s half-brother. It burdened him to observe those who claimed to follow Christ, but their lives were empty of works that gave credence to their new life. He asked “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can (that) faith save him?” (James 2:14) He used the illustration of someone happening upon a beggar “naked and destitute of daily food.” This one says to the beggar “be ye warmed and filled” but does not “give them those things which are needful to the body” (James 1:15-16). James makes the cogent point that the words were not profit to the beggar and “so faith, if it hath not works is dead, being alone” (James 2:17).
James points out even more the unprofitability of words (“faith”) without works. He teaches us that even the devils believe in God, but they “also believe and tremble” (James 2:19; emphasis added). As the old saying goes, “talk is cheap.” So James concludes that faith without works is dead. You see, faith is more than just an intelligent mental assent to the truth. Faith involves the whole being and results in a changed life.
James offered up Abraham as an example of this kind of faith. He tells us how Abraham was “justified by works when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar” (James 2:21). He had a faith that was more in substance than “depart and be filled” as we noted above. So James leads us to understand that faith is perfected by works and leaves us with this penetrating thought. “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26).
Our law enforcement officers are called upon every time they put on the uniform to “walk the talk.” So it is likewise with every person who names the name of Christ. Believers are to walk the talk. Noble words and empty lives do nothing for the cause of Christ. May our lives and lips match in a way that honors our heavenly Father.
From the Chaplain 