Faith: Walk the Talk!

Here are portions of a famous preacher’s talk on faith:
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that- and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”
The preacher’s name was James. His lecture can also be found in the book of James, chapter 2: 14-26.
Summed up, James’ talk says this: faith without deeds is dead. He does not mean that you can achieve heaven by deeds, or that faith is composed of deeds. Instead he means that if your faith is not demonstrated through deeds, it is not real.
An interesting part of this passage- at least for me- is this part: “You believe that there is one God. Good! (sarcasm!) Even the demons believe that- and shudder.” Faith is not merely an intellectual belief in God. No. True faith is a commitment to God. And a commitment to God is demonstrated by doing what he desires.
Another interesting part of James’ talk is the passage about Abraham. “You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the alter? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did… you see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.” Just think- what if Abraham’s “faith” was composed of, “Oh yeah, God, I know you’re there.” His faith was, “God, I will do whatever you tell me to do.”
There are two things to say as I sum up. One: Faith without deeds is dead. Two: faith is a commitment.
A challenge can be found in James’ words: Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.”