Greeting Members and Friends
It time once again for our weekly Sunday School preview so thanks for joining me and welcome back. The Winter Quarter entitled “Faith In Action” explores faith as both belief and action. The February unit is entitled “Self-controlled, Upright, and Godly Faith” and looks at passages from the books of Acts, James, and 1 Timothy emphasizing the importance of faith authenticated by works and faith that helps to transform lives. This Sunday’s lesson is entitled “Faith Without Works Is Dead”.
It’s not enough to “talk the talk”, but for something to be real and genuine one must “walk what one talks”. This is essentially what James is saying to his readers in chapter 2 of his epistle. This James is the brother of our Lord Jesus and was the leader of the Judean church. It is said he was an ardent man of prayer and was also one of the early martyrs of the Church. He wrote at a time when Christianity was just beginning and most of his audience were Jewish converts. Life was already difficult and to profess faith in Christ didn’t make things any easier.
James wanted his young believers to understand that faith is more than what one says and more about what one does. When I was growing up as a young boy, there were always those boys who seemed to be “bad” because of what they said, how they said things, what they wore, who they hung around and so on. But if they were confronted by someone who was not intimidated by what they saw and heard, we discovered they were mostly show and little fight. They didn’t live up to their own hype and their actions did not back up their words. James warns us not to be like these boys were.
First, we don’t have to boast about anything. We only need to confess our faith in Christ. Secondly, confessing faith in Christ means we have accepted His teaching as our way of life. Thirdly, for our confession to be alive and real, our words and our way of life should mirror each other. It is therefore important to understand we are not saved by our works, yet our works are evidence of our faith and salvation. We don’t need to work to be saved, but we work because we are saved.
So, wherever there is a lack of works, there will also be a lack of and dead faith. Likewise, wherever you see works, you will see living and real faith. You can get a better understanding of this lesson by reading the daily SS readings found in your SS book which can also be accessed through our website and mobile app. Well, that’s all for this week’s preview. Be sure to join us in Sunday School this week for a fuller discussion of this lesson and the general topic of Faith In Action. So, until then
Grace and peace
Pastor Jordan
