In 1522 Martin Luther, the great firebrand of the protestant reformation called the book of James an ‘epistle of straw’ and argued that the book be removed from the Bible. What could have led such a man to view the book of James with such distain? It was this simple verse from James 2:24 ‘You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.’ So then, how are we as Christian people saved on that final day of judgement? Is it by grace or by works? Are we saved by what we do, or by what has been done by Jesus on our behalf?
As we have unpacked the book of James together we have been considering the phrase ‘Authentic Faith’. How do our actions show our faith to be real and authentic? In this we have a clue to help us in our dilemma. You see, Paul and James are both right about what saves us on that final Day of Judgement. Paul rightly states that we have nothing to boast before God because we are saved by God’s grace alone, meaning we come to God with empty hands begging for His mercy and grace. And yet James asks a different question, how do we know that the faith we profess will save us? The answer is that our saving faith is never alone. Our deeds point to the authenticity of our faith.
So what do your actions show about your faith in Christ? Does your love for God and those made in His image, well up inside you until you are unable to keep it in? Or do your actions show something else about your faith. We are saved by faith alone but saving faith is never alone.
James Delanty