The Gospel Story
11/27/22
James explains to his audience that faith by itself if it is not accompanied by action or works, is dead.
James 2:14–26
Faith in the life of a believer, when not accompanied by good works or deeds, is useless.
We know that our faith is not born of our righteousness, and neither are our works.
The work of the Spirit always overflows in worship.
When we find ourselves living lives of obedience, showing forth joy and patience, kindness and love, our hearts abound with thanksgiving.
We rejoice, not in our own righteousness, but in the work of the Spirit within us.
There is no judgment for others because we recognize all our works are simply a gift born within us.
We do not look down on others who are struggling; we just keep inviting them to Jesus
As we seek to live out our faith with good works, we must take care to evaluate our motives behind those works and ask for the Spirit’s help in maintaining purity of heart.
Paul’s call here to a life of freedom that does not indulge the flesh is directed at the Judaizing claim that life apart from the law always leads to indulgence.
Paul contends that a life of freedom is a life of loving others (the essence of the law) and not indulging the flesh.
We are free in Christ to do good works for his glory.
We are not free to pursue our passions that do not align with God’s plans.