Faith alone.

Dear Friends,

A topic that has come up a lot of late is this idea of faith vs. works. My husband and I enjoy asking people what they think and believe as a way to get different perspectives. Not to judge, not to compare, simply to inquire. Doing this has led us to think about all sorts of issues that maybe we wouldn’t have put much thought into previously. However, doing so has opened us up to a great community with others and ability to learn and grow.

Recently we have been asking people that we meet what they think or what they have been told or what they think the bible says about what is required for salvation. We have gotten all sorts of answers: baptism, prayer, repentance, be a good person… the list note I would like to tell you that salvation is from the Lord and the Lord alone. No group of people have ever been given the authority to determine what is requires. Moreover I want to make a distinction between what God has said is required, what God has said is a sign of obedience, and what it is that none of us can be sure on. I would also like to say I have my masters in medical sciences: not theological study. So know that the conclusions I’m about to draw won’t take you back to the original greek or anything of that sort.

So.

One of my favorite books of the bible is the book of James. I can’t tell you when my love for James writing started but I think it was while I was engaged. The letter is quick to tell you not to doubt God when you ask for judgement, it reminds you to keep your mouth quite, that anger is not from God, that kindness and mercy are seen as beautiful to God…any many other beautiful things that I find I go over and over again now that I’m married.

But each time I read it something else sticks out to me and today it was in James 2… James 2:24 says “You see then that it is by people’s actions that they are put right with God, not by their faith alone.”

There was an entire protestant reformation that one of their founding doctrines was Solo Fide or faith only. But James here is telling us it’s not faith alone and I think that when the protestant reformation happened they were probably speaking to what many of us get caught between on this idea and that is if we say works are included that when Paul writes to the Ephesians in 2:8-9 and says we are saved by grace through faith it is a gift so that no man can boast. By saying works are included doesn’t that take away from the idea of grace ? “a gift given with no merit” 

No it doesn't because the very definition of faith is that it is active not passive. 

James is simply giving what I believe to be a zoomed in version of this verse. He is zooming in on the word faith and defining it. Like many words we use so flippantly faith is one that can’t just mean something abstract or arbitrary to each of us but yet should have a definition. (paradoxically I find it interesting that it doesn’t’ say we were saved by grace through our love for  God it says by our faith.) James goes on to make clear this idea by giving examples of Abraham and Rahab. He concludes chapter 2 v 26 with “So then, as the body without the Spirit is dead so also faith without actions is dead.”

He is reminding us that if the Holy Spirit is moving and dwelling in us we should be different. Now let me clear I still believe belief comes before the behavior and I’ve got blog posts on that, but once you at any point recognize God as existing or being someone to pay attention to there is a faith grows and that faith is manifested by the change in your life. To be clear I will emphasize that the change you make, the actions you do are not you earning your salvation because as we said it’s a gift from the Lord, but it does say that we are saved through faith and it is therefore impossible to tease apart the web of faith that is completely a marriage of the belief you have and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in your life in the form of actions.

There are lots of places for people to debate on salvation and I’m not going to cover baptism or some of these other requirements people have imposed on other people, but I will say that God is a mighty and active God and He is continually WORKING in our lives. That beautiful display is absolutely going to stir a response in those that see the beauty. When you realize how amazing it is that He sent His son to die for you, there is no way you don’t want to live for Him. Again salvation itself is a gift from the grace of God but the bible does give us information as to some of what goes into that. We can't know everything about it as God has only given so much information, and we can't speculate. On some things we must say as Zachius did : Salvation is from the Lord- and praise Him for that beautiful gift that He provided and is working out in us each day. 

Please keep me in your prayers as I wait to see how I did on my pance, and unpack my new home. In a few weeks I will be starting a new job and I ask for prayer for that as well that God  would prepare me to love and help others.

<3

Anita