“Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” — James 2:18
It is amazing to me how many people think works bring salvation. Didn’t Romans 5:15-18 declare salvation, or justification, is a free gift from God? Genesis 6:8 tells us Noah found grace in the eyes of God. How did he find grace?
Hebrews 11:7 says, “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.”
How was Noah moved by his hearing? Romans 10:17 states, “So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” Noah found grace. How? The Word came to Noah, and Noah heard. So, grace produced the Word, and the Word produced faith. Faith produced obedience, and obedience built an ark. The ark produced a way of escape across the waters, separating Noah and his family from dead things and the past (1 Peter 3:20-21).
To sum it up, works never produce salvation, but salvation produces works. My works never declare how faithful or full of faith I am. It is my faith that declares my works. We are not known by the fullness of our faith, but rather by the fruit we bear (Matthew 7:16). All my rules of excellence do not declare I am a Christian. it is my fruit that is following me that declares who and what I am. It is not my works declaring, but my faith declaring who and what I am. So, show us your faith without works, and we will show you our faith by our works.
Our prayer for you this week: May you come to realize the importance of real faith. Real faith has works following it. Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.
