Title: Faith with works/James 2:22-24
Faith with works/James 2:22-24
"Behold, faith worked together with his works, and by works faith was made complete... From this you can see that a man is justified by his works, and not by faith alone" (James 2:22-24).
What does the Bible say about faith? First, faith is seeing. God made him look to the land he had promised to Abraham. Abraham, who looked by faith, obtained the land. When he gave his son Isaac, he said that he would make him look at the stars in the sky and that he would give him as many descendants as the stars. Faith is seeing. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). God does what we believe.
Second, the believer's language is positive. Faith and language go together. Jesus said, "According to your faith let it be done." This is the expression "it will be as you say". Faith creates positive language, and the language of belief makes history of faith.
Third, faith is shown through works. Abraham hoped in the midst of hopelessness and believed in the midst of hopelessness. Faith must not only be expressed in words, but must be put into action. Such faith bears fruit. We often deceive God as if we have faith. But God is never deceived. God is looking for people of faith who have works. Because God works through people of faith.