Faith without deeds is dead

dcasmr · Worker Joined: Feb 06, 2004 Posts: 147

James, the brother of Jesus in his book wrote:

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. James 2:26

A Christian, I always believe that the true manifestation of faith is by giving, especially to the very needy people, to those who cannot give anything back to you except to praise God for receiving your gift. And it written, that whosoever give to the poor lends to God:

Prov. 19:17. He who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, and He will repay him for his good deed.

I am very much troubled by the fact that some Christians, churches and ministries are not bottered by that at all. You can for example tally how many times a Preacher talks about the book of James during his entire annual sermons. How many times a church message is concerned by people dying of hunger in certain part of the world, etc....

The Bible is at times a difficult book to understand. Often, Preachers do not convey the message well, passing time cracking jokes or talking about passages that make people feel good about themselves.

Some people just think it is a matter of self-realization: "I accept the Lord, pray that myself and my own family gets wealth and great health, a nice boat, and that's it. These poor people can suffer and I do not have a duty to do something; maybe the UN or some invisible hand ought to do it."

I just want to hear the position of other Christians. Consider this: Send a letter asking a typical church to help with donations of personal items for needy people and you probably will not receive a letter acknowledging receipt. Write back two weeks letter with a donation of $50 and you will receive all kind of letters thereafter.

Just a thought
dcasmr -

Raven · Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2005 10:15 pm

Of course James is referring to deeds after we are saved and not a pre-requisite to being saved. He is illustrating the fact that a changed life (through Faith/Christ) should manifest itself through a changed walk. Just as we are to be baptized after Salvation as a witness and testimony of our Faith in Christ, we should also walk to a different tune in our attitudes toward our fellow [wo]man. Good post!

Here's another thought. How many sermons are preached anymore on the Glory of Heaven and the Eternity of Hell? When I was first saved in 1979, the Bible teaching Pastor I had was a fire and brimstone type with a passion for the lost. He could describe Heaven and Hell so that you could see the streets of gold and hear the anguished cry of the lost! I would give most anything to find a church, again, like that in this area Sad

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dcasmr · Worker Joined: Feb 06, 2004 Posts: 147

Agree 100% with you. More and more, the church is sort of "afraid" to touch those topics you mentioned, because it’s trying to please people, to do what some congregations or headquarters want.

In order to preach sermons like the Pastor you mentioned, one must be a "foot-soldier" Christian totally dedicated to the Gospel and not be a "paid" servant. I have seen them in Africa, walking miles to preach and participating in long hours of prayers for the sick. I have seen them winning people of other faith, something very difficult to achieve.

In fact, someone I grew with is a "foot-soldier" Preacher in Africa, with no car for the missions and no support. "Apostolic" type Preachers are effective, because there is no board to "control” them and no rich tax-collectors to stop paying tithes. They preach to people who are very poor and hungry for the Gospel. It's a real challenge, but we need such Preachers.

dcasmr

montego · Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2005 11:32 pm

Raven wrote:

When I was first saved in 1979, the Bible teaching Pastor I had was a fire and brimstone type with a passion for the lost. He could describe Heaven and Hell so that you could see the streets of gold and hear the anguished cry of the lost!

I have actually seen many Pastors focus more on the "lost" (and I am assuming you are meaning the unsaved) than on being energized by the incredible principles of God and in our own personal growth "in the knowledge and person of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ". To "know Him" is to "Love Him" and to "Know Him" you have to study His Word and "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ".

Unfortunately, too many Pastors, in my opinion, have also lost the "fire and brimstone type with a passion" for feeding the flock!

In Him,
montego