James 2:14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?

It was probably this specific verse that caused Martin Luther to dislike this book so strongly, as I mentioned yesterday. The problem was, he didn’t really read the rest of the chapter. Just reading this verse made his brain shut down! To be fair, in those days the Catholic Church was selling “indulgences” as a way to finance St. Peter’s basilica in Rome, essentially teaching that you could buy your way to heaven. That’s so wrong I would hardly know where to begin, contradicting it. However, the flip side is that there are sadly many people who claim to be Christians but whose lives are completely indistinguishable from the non-Christians around them. That’s what James is teaching against here, and it’s a very necessary teaching for modern “Evangelical” Christianity. There is a distinct tendency to say that if you repeat a formula you’re saved. Words are important, but James’ point is that if our “faith” stops at words, it’s not really faith. My seminary-professor grandfather called that kind of thinking “Into bliss and out of blister.” In other words, “Say the magic words and you won’t go to hell.” It is very true that “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) However, we forget what it meant in those days to confess Jesus, rather than Cae­sar, as Lord: persecution, and even martyrdom. That wasn’t a casual statement! James is addressing somewhat less dire consequences, but they are no less real. Someone has said, “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” That’s another way of expressing exactly what James is saying here.

I have always liked the Book of James, perhaps because it stepped on my toes so hard! (Maybe I’m a masochist.) I have always felt that James 1:22 was written expressly to me: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” Growing up in a strongly, and genuinely, Christian household, I’ve always known the right words to say. I’ve carried that on in my own household. When my older daughter was questioned by the pastor after she requested baptism as a 2^nd grader, he later commented to me that he had never before encountered a child who had such a clear grasp of the fundamentals of salvation. However, I’ve learned from my own life that I can say the right things and do the wrong things, even simultaneously. I have learned the hard way that there is no room for pride in the kingdom of God. Now as a pastor, I seek to guide people into practical faith, so that they may indeed not deceive themselves but walk in the riches of what God has prepared for them in Christ. I could go on for a long time about all that means! At the same time, I’ve got to me a living demonstration of the truths I speak. If my life is inconsistent with my confession, I do more harm than good. However, if I am filled with and yielded to the Holy Spirit, then the light of Christ will shine from me and draw people to salvation.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for all that You have done in me, and continue to do in me, over the years. May my life be a proclamation of saving faith, so that those who see me may know that it is possible and desire it for themselves, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!