22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.
So as Christians we believe we are saved by our faith and not anything we can do. So this chapter and a few of its verses can cause confusion for me if I let it or take a verse in isolation. But I think in short its not saying you get to heaven by your works, but saying that if you have faith your actions will reflect that fact. Practice what you preach so to speak.
So with that said, i know my faith. Is it obvious to others by my actions where my faith lies? Am I making my faith complete by how I live and behave everyday? Maybe some days better than others, I'm not sure recently how I invest my energy and my outward actions are helping make my faith complete. This chapter is a bit convicting for me right now.
knut
I think you nailed it. If you truly have the faith, you can't help but do the works......but, you can have a false faith without the works. That's the lazy man's Christianity. Its kind of like the Easter/Christmas christians. If you ask them, they would tell you they believe, but they don't practice anything that a true believer would.
ReplyDeleteI fall into this category from time to time. I slip into the malaise without even realizing it. Next thing you know.....I feel disconnected from God.
It's not good.
tp