Faith That Worksಮಾದರಿ

Faith in Action

The book of James is chock-full of wisdom and practical ways to apply Jesus’ teachings. All of it points back to the Son of God and emphasizes the key idea that Jesus is King. Throughout this letter, James draws upon themes from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) to remind followers of Jesus what life in the Kingdom of God is like. This way of life is different, better, and set apart from the rest of the world.

Since Jesus is King and context is everything, we will kick this plan off by breaking down some of the context around the book of James. Then, over the course of the coming week, we will dive into the real-life takeaways that we can apply as we become people who live out our faith in big ways!

James, Jesus’ brother and a respected teacher, wrote this essay-like letter to the early church. The people of the early church were being taken advantage of by the Romans who ruled their culture. Because of this suffering at the hands of wealthy oppressors, there was an immense amount of political and social tension that resulted in many church members becoming discouraged and lashing out in anger. Some of them adopted a “if you can’t beat them, join them” mindset, and their way of living moved away from what Jesus had modeled and closer to the messed-up ways of the world.

But James, a man who loved God and who was committed to living out his faith, wrote this letter to remind his Christian brothers and sisters what it looks like to live in a way that honors God, even when the culture rejects you.

2,000 years after James wrote this letter, many of us still struggle with the desire to please the world while also following God. Think about it: You may be the only Christian in your friend group or on your sports team, and you want to follow God, but you don’t want to be left out. So you still show up to every party. Maybe you’re the only Christian in your family, and you desperately want to have the boldness to share your faith at home, but when you try to speak up, you get told to shut up.

If you find yourself desperately craving something that will give you peace in the midst of chaos and the strength to live with purpose, what you’re looking for is resilient faith. Faith is trust, based on evidence, that leads to obedience. We develop this type of faith as we learn to make Jesus’ way of life our way of life.

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. James 1:19-22 NIV

But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:25-27 NIV

True faith requires action. Hearing the truth without acting on it is not enough. We are called to master our emotions and rein in our anger so we can honor God and love others. Following Jesus is an invitation to reject the normal way of doing things and commit to speaking words that are gracious and true. As members of God’s family, we do good to the people around us and those who are in the most need.

As we work through the next few days of this Plan, we will explore specific ways you can begin to live faithfully as a fully devoted follower of Christ. Because faith is trust, based on evidence, that leads to obedience, and we are people who live in such a way that others may know the goodness of God through the ways we care for them.

Challenge: Find someone to join you in this Plan! We weren’t designed to go through life alone. If you want to be a faithful follower of Jesus, you need people on your side.