James 2:17-18

James 2:17-18 – In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But some will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds and I will show you my faith by what I do.

           Faith without works is dead. James gives it to us clearly and does not hold back. He tells it like it is. Do not be confused, however, because we know that works cannot save us. That is not what James is saying here.

We know that it is by the grace of God that we receive salvation. Salvation is something that we could never earn by being a good person. “If it were by works, then grace would no longer be grace.” No, James is talking about something different.

What James is saying is that talk is cheap. Anybody can say one thing and then do something entirely different; we see this all the time. Some people change what they say and what they ‘believe’ based on who they are around.

This scripture is telling us is what should already be obvious. If you truly believe something it will be reflected in what you do. James say, “Show me your faith without deeds and I will show you my faith by what I do.” Think about that statement for a moment. How can you show someone something without doing something? You can’t! That’s the point.

You can’t show faith without acting on it; and if your faith is real you will act on it. So what it comes down to is that your actions will show what you believe! Faith is proved real by your actions!!