# 31 2020 Dev. James 2:18-19. Works of Compassion! Read all of Ch. 2:14-26. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.
James 2:18-19 “But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.”
James begins this section, “Faith and Deeds” with a question: “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?” He points out the responsibility of followers of Jesus to care for one another when in need. He appeals to human compassion and to the the royal law of God, love one another and your neighbors as much as yourself. According James, people who claim to have faith but do nothing to help anyone, don’t have faith or faith is dead. Also, on the down side, deeds without faith, as good as they may be, do not count as works done in the name of Jesus and do not last into eternity.
He uses the rest of the passage to prove the point that authentic faith demands action. James gives Abraham as the ideal example: “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness”. Not only did Abraham believe against all odds but he acted on what he believed to be true, thereby completing his faith. Abraham’s faith in the promises of God is the same faith in the fulfilment of the promise, Jesus Christ. The faith of followers of Jesus drives our compassion, our sense of justice, our love for others and for the lost. For true Christians, faith is the knowledge of God in our heads that we have allowed into our hearts and with the help of the Holy Spirit we address the needs around us.
We all know that works do not save us spiritually but we do deeds because we are saved and deeds are done out of gratitude. What is amazing is that work done in the name of Jesus, with His mercy, with His justice, with His love and with the Holy Spirit follow us to heaven and become the building blocks for the New Heaven and the New Earth. Praise the Lord always!
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