Pastor’s Corner — October 2022

This fall we’re going through the book of James for our Sunday morning worship service sermon series.  James is the brother of Jesus, mentioned in Matthew 13:55 (paralleled in Mark 6) which gives him some authority, although he doesn’t claim that authority in the letter.  He begins in James 1:1 by saying, "James, a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

When James wrote, his focus was on living the life of a Christian.  The key verse in James is James 1:23 where he writes, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

Unfortunately, many people have misunderstood the message of James, and claimed that it promotes a Christianity of works rather than a Christianity of faith alone.  Martin Luther, the great 16th century reformer, supposedly asked his students to “tear the book of James out of their bibles,” although there isn’t a reliable source that says he actually said it. He did, however, move James to the back of his bible when it was published in 1534.

But James says it best.  You can’t be a true Christian if you don’t live out your faith in real life.  James 2:18 says, “But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”  Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.”

We need both.  We need faith in the fact that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and by his death and resurrection, we can be made right in the eyes of God.  And we express our gratitude to God’s mercy by showing our faith in our actions.

What are you doing today to show your faith?  Faith and deeds must work together to be effective.  James 2:26 “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."

Pastor Dan