A Weekend with James
0 comments | Posted by Steven Layson on 28 Feb 2010 in From Steve's Study ::
This weekend should be a really exciting one as we get the opportunity to go away together as a church family. It will be a great privilege to have Richard Gibson talking to us on the book of James.
James is one of those books of the bible that are a bit dangerous… dangerous in that it is almost impossible to read it without coming away challenged and changed. Some of the key verses of the book is 2:17,18, “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”.
Far from contradicting Paul’s teaching that salvation comes through faith alone, it goes further to spell out what it means to have faith in God. Faith is not mere intellectual assent, “Oh yes, I believe in God”, or even “I believe Jesus died to take away my sin”. Faith is a commitment. It is a willingness to place our whole lives in God’s hands. That’s why Jesus’ message was “Repent and Believe”, not just “Believe”. Faith, by its very nature, requires a transfer of allegiance to Christ.
The book of James spells out some of the implications of such an allegiance. In only five short chapters we are challenged to be humble, be slow to become angry, listen to God’s word and apply it, guard against favouritism, keep a tight rein on our tongues, beware the dangers of wealth and much more. Let me encourage you to sit down and read James’ letter for yourselves, perhaps download Richard’s talks from the weekend & talk with one another about how we can “show our faith by what we do”.
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