Faith Works
Faith Works
James 2:14-26 NLT
14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing,16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”
19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. 20 How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds (works) is useless?
21 Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. 23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. 24 So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.
25 Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. 26 Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.
You can have works without faith, but you can’t have faith without works.
Our works are the demonstration that we are people of faith.
WORKS:
business, employment, that which any one is occupied, that which one undertakes to do, enterprise, undertaking, any product whatever, anything accomplished by hand, art, industry, or mind, an act, deed, thing done: the idea of working is emphasized, to that which is less than work
1 Corinthians 10:31 AMP
So then, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of [our great] God.
(WHAT DO YOU DO?)
Colossians 3:23-24 AMP
Whatever you do [whatever your task may be], work from the soul [that is, put in your very best effort], as [something done] for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing [with all certainty] that it is from the Lord [not from men] that you will receive the inheritance which is your [greatest] reward. It is the Lord Christ whom you [actually] serve.
Ask: What if everything we did, our work, our service, our leadership, was done as an act of worship to God?
“Working As Unto the Lord”
Nehemiah’s life and leadership give us four clear examples of what it means to work as unto the Lord.
1. Pray Before You Work (Nehemiah 1:4–11)
Application:
Before you send that email, start that project, or make that decision, pause to pray. Working unto the Lord means letting God lead the way.
2. Serve Faithfully in Small or Large Tasks (Nehemiah 3)
Application:
Whatever your “section of the wall” is, raising kids, cleaning up, managing a team, do it faithfully. God sees your work.
3. Persevere Through Opposition (Nehemiah 4:16–18)
Application:
When the work gets hard, keep showing up. Keep on keeping on, because you’re doing it for the Lord and the Lord will reward our faithfullness.