I think faith does a lot. Others will say it doesn't, but then I have to counter with scripture and show them that it does. What I mean is that faith requires action.
James 2 is a favorite chapter of mine. First off James tells us not to show favoritism between people. Now there is a difference between showing favoritism and helping people who need it. I give some people more time than others, but that's because those particular people actually need it. I've had people try to take my time who only wanted it, which would have taken it away from the people who needed it, and I chose those who were in need over those who just wanted. A child who breaks their arm needs more attention than a child with a paper cut. That's the mentality that I had, and I think it worked and was still in line with what James is talking about there.
But then moving on to the next passage in the chapter, James talks about how faith without works is dead. This is what I really want to get into today. This tends to be something I come to a lot because I see this problem a lot.
There's a preacher that said one time something along the lines of, "Going to church doesn't make you a Christian just as sitting in a garage doesn't make you a car." I just tried to find the source and failed, but someone did note on that idea that a more appropriate phrase would be, "Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage would make you a mechanic." This I think is more spot on. Going to church can, over time, bring you into true Christianity, just as being at a shop could slowly turn you into a mechanic.
I've talked about my mechanic friend before and I've had this happen to me. I hung around, watched, had some people show me how to do some things, and I'm no mechanic, but I can change oil and brakes and do a few other easy things. That's what we call the discipleship process. A master teaches an apprentice so that the apprentice can become self sufficient enough to eventually become a master and do the same.
So what does this do with faith?
You have faith, you want to do something about it, you find someone older and wiser who has been in the faith a while, and follow them, learn from them, grow to the point where you can do like wise. That's what Jesus did, that's what he told us to do, that's how the Church really got kicked off in Acts, those are the people that followed Paul, and that's what a lot of churches today have lost.
Faith has to lead to action. It's not always discipleship though, some people think that only good works matter. "I tithe every week, I pray, I read my bible, I give extra to the homeless, I volunteer at a food pantry, I even lead a bible study for people in the church." That's all great. And I have no problem with that. But how many people have you helped lead to Christ? How many non-Christians do you tell of the Gospel? Your faith breeds actions, which is good, but does it breed discipleship?
I guess what I'm saying is that Faith without works is dead. But what works need to happen? What works show that you have faith? Why do works show that you have faith? I'll try to answer these three questions real quick.
Why do works show that you have faith?
Let's say you love someone, boyfriend, girlfriend, parents, whatever. You tell them to their face, "I love you." But then when they're around you ignore them, never do anything to make their life just a tad bit easier, never show them that you love them in anyway possible. Is that love then? No. Same goes for faith. You say you believe God exists, that Jesus is his son and died for your sins, and you say you accept him as your savior and Lord. But you act no different from before that faith and after it. You still complain about everything because you're life is sooooo terrible. You still pick on people, mouth off to your parents, give your younger siblings hell, break laws, and really just do whatever you want because you're grown and no one can tell you what do to. Do you really have faith then? If you did believe all of that then you couldn't help but change your life because of what Christ did for you.
What works show you have faith/ what works need to happen?
As I said, yes, there are easy things to do in response of having faith. We can give, we can volunteer, we can lead Bible studies, what have you, but serving can turn out to be pretty easy. For most people that's in their comfort zone, and others it's just on the edge of growth. I serve a lot, because I enjoy it. I don't do it for praise for myself, I don't do it because I think it'll show my faith. I do it because I want to love everyone as God does, and it doesn't matter who needs help I'll go out of my way to help them whether I like them or not, because I show no favoritism. But that's not me showing my faith. Me showing my faith is sitting down with a believer or non-believer and giving them time, not service, but time, even if I don't know them. I show interest in them because I am interested in them. We'll talk about whatever, maybe we'll get to a topic about Christ, maybe we won't. Doesn't matter. But I actually care about that person and that's what matters. I may not know the person like I said, but they're as much one of God's children as I am, they just may be lost, or they may not. I have that faith that Christ died for me, but not only for me but for them also. And I live on that faith.
So go out, and live your faith.
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