Sermonette: Faith and actions

Recently, as part of my study at the New Rockford E-Free Church, I took a look at James 2. For those who aren’t familiar with James, this is the chapter where he talks about faith and actions. James’ basic argument is that if a Christian truly has faith in Jesus, it will be obvious in the way they act. It is impossible for a Christian to have saving faith, and not have it be obvious in the way they act. To show this, James makes three arguments to back this up. First, James points out the obvious fact that if we have faith, but don’t actually do anything good, that doesn’t help anyone. If our faith never actually gets to the point of action, then we never will do anything good in the world. It’s functionally meaningless. Second, James shows that it’s not an either/or. Christians can’t choose between having faith and living out their faith. True faith always turns into actions. Finally, James shows that this is not a new idea. Both Abraham the father of Israelites and Rahab the prostitute were considered righteous, not simply because of their faith, but because when the opportunity arose, they didn’t hesitate to risk it all to demonstrate their faith. Abraham risked the life of his only son; Rahab risked the vengeance of her home city of Jericho to aid the Israelite spies.

Now, I’ve heard this sermon before. Pastors are constantly encouraging their congregations to live out their faith; pushing them to "walk the talk." This time, however, when I read through James something new struck me. I noticed that James isn’t trying to motivate Christians. He’s not a coach trying to get his runners to run just a little harder. No, James states that faith without actions is dead. James isn’t trying to motivate, he’s trying to warn. He’s saying that if your faith doesn’t motivate you to action, you have very good reason to doubt your faith. It’s like Jesus was constantly saying: good trees always produce good fruit. Bad trees always produce bad or no fruit. If you’re not producing fruit, don’t try harder. Ask why your faith isn’t motivating you to actions. This is the truth of Christian faith and actions. If you have faith, it will be obvious in your actions. However, if your actions don’t show your faith, then it may be time for the hard questions.