During this
past month, I have been studying the book of James. His main theme is “faith
without works is dead.” In essence, he said, “Actions speak louder than words.”
The premise of this statement is that when a person becomes a Christian, a Jesus
follower, he or she is renewed and is no longer led by his or her own desires
(Titus 3:5). Because a person receives the indwelling of the Holy Spirit upon
his or her profession of faith in Jesus Christ, the person has the desire of
Christ within him or herself and the power to follow those godly desires. Jesus
said in John 16:13, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you
into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own initiative.” Before this,
John recorded Jesus in John 14:16-17,
I will ask the Father and He will give you another Helper,
that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world
cannot receive because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him
because He abides with you and will be in you. [NASB]
The
Holy Spirit who comes to live in a Christian at the point of profession of
faith creates a desire/will in the Christian to want what God wants and to do
actions leading to godly living. These actions are the works that show the
person’s faith in the world. They are the faith and works combination of which
James spoke.
The godly
desires within a believer, which come from the Holy Spirit, are characteristics
of God like righteousness, love, kindness, goodness, love, peace, patience, and
self-control (see more in Galatians 5:22-23). Believers act out these virtues
or characteristics as love toward God and other people. Jesus taught that
loving God and one’s neighbor as the two greatest commandments in Matthew 22:37-40.
Faith acted out as love toward God and neighbor’s develops godly
characteristics in a believer. Paul told the Philippian Christians in
Philippians 2:13, “It is God who is at work in you both to will and to work for
His good pleasure.” God puts the desires of His heart into the hearts of
Christians to do good works through the Holy Spirit. Christians do good works because
of the impelling of the Holy Spirit and out of love for God for providing
salvation through Jesus Christ His Son. Just as Jesus taught His followers to
love God and their neighbor, Paul taught the Corinthian Christians in 1
Corinthians 15:58, “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of
the Lord knowing your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” He meant keep showing
God’s love in action by caring for the poor, widow, and orphan. Show compassion
and give with a grateful heart. John said in 1 John 3:18 that a Christian
should not just love with word and tongue, but in deed and truth. This is the
heart of what James taught. The love God put into each believer should be visible
and shared with other people as a testimony of the believer’s faith and love for
God and their neighbors.
From these
and many other Bible passages, Christians learn they are to follow Jesus by
enacting His love toward other people. God’s love for us impels us to love Him
and other people. His Holy Spirit within us convicts and empowers us to love
people. Good deed for other people express this love towards them – taking care
of the widow, orphan, and poor, clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, giving
drink to the thirsty, sheltering the homeless, and showing mercy to all people.
Jesus taught that because we have done this for other people, we have done it
for Him (Matthew 25:35-40). Paul instructed Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:17-19 to
tell the believers, “Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to
be generous and ready to share.” He said in Titus 3:14, “Our people must also
learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, so they will not be unfruitful.”
God’s love does not stop or dry up after being shown once. He continues to have
compassion, love, and mercy upon people. God expects that of His children, too.
Christians do
good works for several reasons – to show the world God’s love, to obey God’s
commandments of loving Him and our neighbors, because the Holy Spirit impels Christians
to godliness, and because believers cannot help but love God because of what He
did for us – saved us from death and our sins. The final reason we should do
good works is that God will judge and reward us for our actions. God is
righteous and His righteousness requires justice and judgment. He will judge
every person, including His children, and He will mete out reward and
punishment based on our actions, words, and thoughts. Hebrews 6:10 says, “For
God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown
toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.” For
those who have shown God’s love in action, word, and thought, God will give reward.
These are the reasons we Christians love people and God, either in obedience or
by impelling. Not to love leads to lack of growth in Christlikeness and leads
to judgment.
So walk in
the ways of Jesus Christ. God will give you all grace to abound in abundance for
every good deed (1 Corinthians 9:8). What keeps you from becoming like Christ
and performing godly deeds?
Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed. 1 Timothy 6:18-19 [NASB]
