11.19.13

James 2:17 So you see, faith by itself isn't enough.  Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

My Thoughts

This verse use to really throw me!!  We learn when we read God's word that our works don't save us. And here we learn that if we don't produce good deeds our faith is useless. Talk about confusion!!  In James chapter 2 James talks about how our faith  should change us... he warns us not to be fooled by what we believe... What he is telling us that if what we believe is not making us better people than what we believe is wrong.  So we need to re-examine and re-learn what we think we know about God.  We can try to be good enough to get into Heaven...but that is not true faith... and we can say we know God but still act worldly...that is not knowing God... that is more hoping we know God enough.  Truly knowing God makes us want to do better, to be better, to please God.  If we don't see these things in our lives it is a warning and we need to heed that warning.  How horrible it would be to think you knew you had faith to find out at your death that you didn't.  Here James gives us a way to know...but to know we must be honest with ourselves!  Sometimes being honest with ourselves is the hardest honest to be....but it will produce much good once we get over the sting!