May 31st, 2022

Talk the Talk or Walk the Walk

James 2:26 NIV

"As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."

      Before we dive head-first into today's thought, I want to give a little background to those who are unclear about the importance of the reference James is using when he says, "As the body without the spirit is dead." If we turn to Paul's letter in the book of Ephesians (1:13-14), we will see that in receiving the Holy Spirit, we are guaranteed our inheritance in Heaven which we have gained through Christ. Without it, we will die along with our earthly bodies. The spirit is what gives us life. Likewise, James tells us that our faith without deeds is lifeless. To further clarify, he uses a great example in v. 16-17. He says that suppose a brother or sister comes to you without food or clothes and you say to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and well fed," but do nothing about it, then what good are your words? Our faith is not defined by our proclamation of it, but by our actions and good deeds. We can claim Christianity as our faith all we want, but if we aren't going to act like Christians and abide by the laws that have been set before us, then our faith is as useless as a body without the spirit! God hears our words and sees our deeds, and one day, we will be called to answer for them.  

I want to encourage you to evaluate where you stand in your faith. Are you walking the walk, or are you talking the talk? What changes can be made so that your deeds match up with your faith?