“What does it profit, my brothers, if a man says he has faith but has no works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and lacking daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ and yet you give them nothing that the body needs, what does it profit? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. But a man may say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works…As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead.” (rf. James 2:14-18, 26 MEV)
Years ago when I was first starting out in ministry, I was a bivocational pastor at a small church deep in the farms and fields of southwest Georgia. For my full-time job, I managed Lemstone Christian Bookstore, one of a chain of franchised Christian bookstores located in Albany. I learned a great deal of my management skills and understanding of retail business while working there.
I remember one particular individual who would come into the bookstore at least once a week. He had some developmental issues and so was actually much older in age than his actions and words seemed to show. He would ride the bus to the mall with his elderly mother so she could go to the beauty shop while he would meander around the other retail establishments. Our store was typically high on his list to visit.
He always had the same ploy. He would find a book or two or even a small trinket that he liked and would bring it to me with the pledge that he would bring me the money for it when he returned the following week. He would never fail to tell me, “My word is my bond; I will pay you.” It was very tempting to allow him the “purchase”. However, because the store owner had already a history with this individual, I had been told not to fall to his pleadings since she previously in a move of compassion had allowed him to take something on the basis of his words, but he had never provided payment for it. Indeed, when she questioned him about it later, he had no knowledge of the transaction. His “word” may have been his “bond”, but the follow-through never materialized.
The Apostle James tells his readers that true faith fulfills its pledges and promises. Because true faith produces the “works” of God, as followers of Christ we are to possess His same commitment to completing the tasks and backing up our words with actions. In other words, just as Christ has committed to uphold His word by actual deeds, so must we as His children “put feet” to our words. Rather than making empty statements, like “you are in my prayers” or, as James puts it, “be warmed and filled”, we are to take definitive measures, praying when we need to pray, acting when we need to act, etc.
We must remember that our “faith is shown by (our) works”, not just in our words alone. We must commit ourselves to being more consistent in the application of our faith so that others will know for sure that we are truly following after Jesus.
