LEARN IT, LIVE IT LOVE IT
WRITTEN BY MIRYNA VAN AS
Click here to download this E-Book
James 2:14-26 Faith Without Works Is Dead
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
That is why we reach out to others, because it is a part of who we choose to be. Jesus said above every single thing He came to teach us, there are two things that are the most important.
Mark 12:30-31 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
Jesus Himself said this and He made it very clear just how important they are. God loves us but He never only said it, He came and paid the ultimate price to prove His love to us so who are we then to say we love our neighbour but we turn a blind eye to their needs? To love our neighbour is the second most important thing of all, so when we choose Jesus we choose to become everything that package contains.
We can’t say: “well I’ll just love God, reaching out to people isn’t really my thing or praying for others is a bit weird, or faith is more of a private thing” because that’s what many people say, but we cannot be a half a Christian. We cannot say we love our neighbour but we have done absolutely nothing that proves it. We cannot say we love our God with every single piece of our being but we won’t even open our hearts or hands to give love when it’s the second most important thing to Him. So ask yourself today, is my faith dead or is it carried by what I do.
There is a quote that says: If you look at a box of smarties, its labelled as smarties and when you shake it, smarties pop out. You say you are a Christian but what comes out when your box is shaken?
Let us be all that what we have chosen to be, not just some of it, Jesus did not die for half of our sins, He died for everything. Let’s continue on the chapter in James starting with James 2:18 But someone will say, (and listen to this) “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your[a] works, and I will show you my faith by my[b] works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?[c] 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”[d] And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. 25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Yes, salvation is not earned and there’s nothing we can do to earn God love or forgiveness, but it’s not about what we do but about living what we believe, like this chapter says we cannot have faith without works or works without faith its simply just something that goes together, like two halves. So as you speak you must live to be fully what you say you are.
We have only looked at the first two commandments but this really applies in all of our relationship with God. We should have a hunger to know more of Him, to walk deeper into faith every day. We should never say we have enough of Jesus or that we are a good enough Christian because nobody is perfect and never will be, but it’s about having a hunger to be more like Christ. The word teaches in Ephesians 5:1-2 that we should be imitators of God. This doesn’t mean we must walk around and try to be God, no, it means we must be imitators like Jesus was an imitator when He lived on earth. Jesus came and lived a life of example for us to follow.
Jesus says we should go out into the world and make disciples of all people (Matthew 28:19). We won’t be doing that if we don’t have a hunger for Christ, we won’t be doing that if we don’t strive to love like He did and we won’t be doing that if we don’t know our God like He did. So our faith is calling action, its calling us to study God, study His work, His love His ways to read and study all that He has done is still doing and has ordained us to do. Yes He has ordained us to DO things! You can’t go loving God on your couch in front of the TV, you can’t get to know Him in depth spending 3 hours on Facebook every night and you surely can’t expect more crazy, exciting, unexplainable and breath-taking experiences with God if you don’t spend time with Him and for Him!
You see so many people think it’s all just about going to paradise one day and they will just believe in the resurrection of Christ and wait it out for the reward when what they’re doing is really missing out on so much treasure! Jesus came to save us but He also came to restore the relationship between us and God. God doesn’t only want to give us eternal life, He wants to give us abundant life NOW! (John 10:10.)
You see we have to press into God every day, in everything, and the more we do the more we will want to. It’s not about God giving you a big house, a nice car and a good job, that’s just so cheap! He wants to give you all of everything this world can’t even give you a spoon full of. When we live in His footsteps seeking Him in everything, He reveals Himself to us in so many ways, we encounter so many moment in tears sobbing in the presence of God because He just never stops amazing us. God loves to show you that He will provide in a sun scorched land (Isaiah 58:11, The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.)
He wants to show you that He will split the seas for you, that there is nothing He can’t do. He wants you to go out and have the front seat to His work! He wants to use you to heal people of incurable diseases, He want to use you to deliver people from bondage, He wants to use you to fill the needs in others. It’s all God, everything, but He wants YOU to be the vessel. He wants you to live a life full of His glory, for you to live a life experiencing Him every day knowing Him in everything. THOSE are the moment that take your breath away, THOSE are the moments that washes into every part of your soul, that gives you the hunger to go deeper every day.
Paul the disciple lived a life like this, on a permanent Christ loving, living high and when he was locked up to be killed he couldn’t wait, yes as crazy as it sounds, he was excited to die, because he was so deeply in love with Jesus that he couldn’t wait to be reunited with Him. You see seeking God every day in everything means we spend time with Him, and spending time with Him means we are building a relationship. You think you will get to love a woman, a man or a friend with a deep love that you don’t get to know, spend time with or ever even talk to? No, relationships just don’t work like that. Ask yourself this today, will paradise, eternal life with God really be of any worth to you if you don’t love Him with this deep kind of love? Or have you imagined paradise as a place with an abundance of worldly things freely available to you?
If you don’t love God in this way, if you have never prayed and seen healing or provision if you are not excited to be reunited with your saviour it doesn’t mean your lost, it just means you got to get to know Him, it means you got to learn to walk the talk, to be one with two halves: faith AND action. This world teaches us that seeing is believing but God is really saying, believing is seeing. James 4:8 says the following: “Come near to God and He will come near to you….” Yes, you have to make the first move. He is not going to come chase you of the couch and say, “Hey, come on, come see what I can do, I want to show you a life that’s full, I want to give you everything this world never can and never will. I can give you joy your body can’t even handle. I have given you everything you need for battle, I am the all mighty God, nothing can stand against me and I’m on YOUR side. If you will just come and walk it out in faith, you’ll see I have already given you the victory.”
No that’s not going to happen, but one thing is for sure, with a lot more time in His word, a lot more time in prayer and a whole lot more action all of that IS waiting out there for you. He has planned one insanely, amazing journey for you, all expenses paid, so just stand up and get on the bus.
I have some homework for us. Let’s make a study each week, look at a video, study some material, read the Bible and whatever really hits your heart in it, whatever calls you to action, whether it’s something you need to learn to do or say more often or even if it’s something you have to learn to stop doing or saying or thinking, anything that’s going to bring you closer to being a better imitator of Christ, write it down, stick in on the fridge, talk about it with your friends and family joining you and pray over it that whole week and ACT IT OUT! At the end of each week look over what you have accomplished and at the end of each month evaluate yourself again.
Take one step at a time every day and with everything you get from this:
Learn it, live it, and love it.
Prayer: Lord thank You that we know You have so much in store for us, thank You that we know You hold a life this world can’t give us and that we can have it if we press into You. Jesus, thank You for the price You paid and that nothing in this world can ever separate us from your love. Lord take us on this journey and teach us to be better imitators of You. We want to know You more Lord, we want to be a full believer with two complete halves. Guide us Lord and show us the life you planned for us. We honour You God, we praise You and give You all the glory. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen
Miryna van As