http://bible.com/events/48793898
James and Abraham: Faith that Works
“Faith that’s alive is faith that ACTS.”
James, the brother of Jesus, is living in the reality of faith that requires action.
-In the first century AD, being a follower of Jesus meant more than just believing in something, but rather belief in action.
-As believers are scattered throughout the region, he wants them to remember the foundation of this faith that they proclaim: a foundation of faith in action.
James 2:14-23
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 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. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father 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. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.
-Faith without action isn’t weak, or sick or misguided. Faith without action is dead.
-Faith that is alive is faith that is active and responding.
-James doesn’t offer any possibility of a faith that doesn’t bear fruit.
-If you have faith, but don’t act upon it, you are, essentially, on par with a demon.
Genesis 22:1-14
Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together. When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
Put yourself in Abraham’s place and then ask: Why would God do this?
1. This was not just about Abraham.
-There is something much bigger happening here, as this story foreshadows God the Father sacrificing His son, Jesus.
2. There will always be instances where our finite brains cannot comprehend.
-This is perhaps the ultimate example of not understanding, but having to trust that God’s ways are higher.
3. God was asking Abraham: Will you give it all for me?
-He is asking us the same thing today.
Faith that’s alive is faith that ACTS.
Other verses for further study/reflection:
Matthew 25:31-46
1 Peter 4:10
Ephesians 2:8-9
James in 8 Minutes
This overview video on the book of James breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In this book, James combines the wisdom of his brother Jesus with the book of Proverbs in his own challenging call to live a life wholly devoted to God.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn-hLHWwRYY