If you were to die today, would it take a team of expert investigators to find evidence of your faith? Well…hopefully you won’t die; and hopefully the evidence of your faith is so visible and obvious there is no doubt on where you stand in your relationship with God.
The Bible is very clear that we are not saved by works or deeds. It is by the grace of Jesus Christ, evidenced by our faith, that brings our salvation. That said, our faith is defined by our actions. James makes no bones about it:
James 2:14-22
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such 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…
…Was not our ancestor 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.
Our deeds should be the evidence, and a direct result, of our faith. If we do not stand out as a Christian in this world, we need to revisit where we’re at in our relationship with God.
Philippians 2 states we should “shine like stars in the universe” as we are contrasted by a crooked and depraved generation. Matthew 5 tells us we should be the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world” so that mankind can see the reflection of God in each of us. These Biblical metaphors are not just there to pretty up the Scriptures; they are meant to emphasize the truth…that our lives should be noticeably different if we claim Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
I pray none of us, as believers, will ever need an investigative team to find evidence of our faith; that our faith will be so obvious there can be no doubt as to who we serve.
Blessings!
Greg Morton
© May 24, 2010
To view a printable copy of this commentary click here
Monday, May 24, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment