Paul Vs. James - An 8-Day Study On Faith & Works By Chris BrunoSample

 

DAY ONE 

What does the Bible really teach about faith and works?

Maybe you’ve been in a Bible study with a friend who seems to know the Bible well, and you were surprised to hear him say, “Since we are saved by faith, there is nothing left for you to do. In fact, trying to do good only leads to legalism.”

Or you might have a neighbor who attends church every time the doors are open. If anyone is a faithful Christian, it has  to be her. She recently told you, “We can’t expect God to accept us if we are not doing something for Him. God helps those who help themselves.”

If you have your biblical wits about you, when you hear ideas like these, you can smell something fishy. But when we actually find ourselves in the middle of one of these conversations, we might not know how to respond. When we read verses like Romans 3:28 (“one is justified by faith apart from works of the law”), some people respond like  the man in the Bible study. They might say if we ever try to do anything good to please God, then we are in danger of legalism and self-righteousness. But that doesn’t quite square with the many places in the New Testament wherein we are actually commanded to do something.

Other people might be more inclined to focus on all of those commands to obey. When they read a verse like James 2:24 (“a person is justified by works and not by faith alone”) they end up like the church-lady neighbor, basically trying to work their way to heaven. But that doesn’t seem to fit either.

My guess is that if you’re reading this book, you take the whole Bible seriously and won’t end up at either of these extremes. Or at least you won’t say these kinds of things out loud. But if we’re being honest, we often end up leaning toward one  of these positions.

You might not come right out and say that works don’t matter, but when you talk to your kids or people in your church about what it means to follow Jesus, you never talk about obedience. Instead, you emphasize making a decision, praying a prayer, or signing a card. Saving faith begins and ends in a single moment. While good works are the icing on the cake, you can still have the cake without the icing.

Or maybe you say just the opposite. Following Jesus is not simply about what you believe, but about what you do. What really matters when it comes to following Jesus is that you care for the “least of these.” Those who are loose on their doctrine yet feed the hungry, give to the poor, and promote human flourishing are more Christian than those who hold firm to the “truth” but don’t care about these good works.

As I’ve studied, read, and taught about the relationship between Paul and James and the interplay between faith and works in different settings over the years, I’ve found that many Bible- believing Christians subtly buy into one of the false perspectives we described above. But as I’ve dug into the Scriptures to correct these misunderstandings—beginning with my own!—I’ve seen people grow in their confidence in the Scriptures as they understand and learn to apply to their lives the important interplay between faith and works. As we walk through this study, I pray that we come to understand better what it means to follow Jesus faithfully.