Dead Faith

Wow! Did you know that faith can be dead? In James 2:14-17 it says, "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, 'Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." There have always been those who claim that they have been saved by faith in Jesus Christ, but who do not actually possess salvation. Wherever you find something true, you will also find a cheap imitation. In Matthew 7:21, Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."

According to Warren Wiesbe, "People with dead faith substitute words for deeds. They know the correct vocabulary for prayer and testimony, and can even quote the right verses from the Bible; but their walk does not measure up to their talk. They think that their words are as good as works, and they are wrong."

If we do not help those we see in need, we are in danger of having dead faith. Food and clothing are basic necessities for everyone. As believers, we are required to help meet the basic needs of people, both believing and unbelieving.

"So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith." Galations 6:10 (NASB)

And, "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'" Matthew 25:40 (NASB)

In Galations 5:6 it says, "I suspect you would never intend this, but this is what happens. When you attempt to live by your own religious plans and projects, you are cut off from Christ, you fall out of grace. Meanwhile we expectantly wait for a satisfying relationship with the Spirit. For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love." (The Message) So in acting upon our faith by helping those in need, we express love and exhibit a changed life. "But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth." 1 John 3:17-18 (NASB) We must demonstrate our faith by loving works.

The question, "Can that kind of faith save him?" in James 2:14, meaning can the kind of faith that has never been put into practice produce eternal life? If we do not have a changed life as a result of our faith, the kind of faith that then produces works of love, then the answer is no. It cannot save us because it is not true faith; it is dead faith.

"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." James 2:17 (KJV) John Calvin wrote, "It is faith alone that justifies, but faith that justifies can never be alone." The word "alone" means "by itself." A life of saving faith will never be "by itself", it will always produce a changed life, a life marked by good deeds.

So examine yourself. Is your life of faith marked by loving deeds which bring glory to His name? If your life has been changed unto salvation, then it will show. A person who knows the right words, but does not back up his words with actions, and does not produce fruit, may be falsely confident of his salvation. Dead faith can never save; it can only lull us into a false sense of eternal security.

Dear Lord, Please help me to act on my faith through loving deeds. Please produce the fruits of the Spirit in me. Let my talk and my walk be one and the same to the glory of Your name.