Faith made Perfect

James 2:22 “Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?”

Faith is an intriguing subject for many. To place your faith in someone or something is to make yourself vulnerable and entrust yourself to another person or thing.

It was not uncommon for ancient people to take silver or gold and fashion it into an image and then pray to the image, the practice is still common today. Many have Buddha idols in their homes or towns, some wear symbols or depictions of people who lived in the past. There are statutes of Mary and of Jesus where people will light candles, bow before, and pray to the lifeless images that stand before them. Some will worship a site, others think their prayers won’t be answered unless they kneel in a particular building or before an effigy of an animal or over a river. Some think they must isolate themselves on a mountain, cut off all outside influence, and practice asceticism to be holy.

Do all of these expressions of faith merit applause? Is faith good no matter what it is placed in?

When the Lord spoke through the prophet Isaiah, He made it very clear as to who you should place your faith in.

Isaiah 44:6-7 “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel
and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:
“I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.
Who is like me? Let him proclaim it.
Let him declare and set it before me,
since I appointed an ancient people.
Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.”

If any of these people or things are God, then let them proclaim themselves to be God and prove it! The Lord is Omniscient, in other words, He sees the end from the beginning and can declare all that is to come. There is no one else who has His understanding.

Isaiah 44:9 “All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame.”

For faith to have any merit, it must be placed in something that is trustworthy. The people who make idols have no right to form such abominations before a just and holy God.

He who is Trustworthy

Idols are made by man, they carry no power, they have no insight, and they cannot affect anything in life. To pray to them is to waste the breath. Idolators might as well pray to a rock, which coincidentally also happens on a regular basis in Mecca. Pilgrims of Islam regularly make their way to a giant obelisk and pray around it to complete one element of servitude to the false god of Allah.

Matthew 6:5-6 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”

Prayer must be offered to the One who can answer the prayer.

Once a petition of request is made, an expectation of response should be considered. If a person faithfully trusts in the Lord, then they will trust Him regardless of the response.

There are a couple of things to consider regarding God’s position….

1. He is omniscient. He knows what you need and where He is taking you. A wise request would be in accordance with all that God has shown.
2. He is love. He loved you when you were a sinner and He loves you now as you trust in Him. He acts upon that love and guides His people in righteousness.
3. He is omnipotent. His power is able to fully complete the work that He began. There is nothing that can hinder His work or stay His hand.
4. He is omnipresent. He is everywhere all the time. You cannot hide from Him and there is nothing that occurs that He is not aware of. We don’t need to inform Him of what is happening, He is intimately aware.

Remembering the attributes of God helps remind us that we are not alone. We don’t leave chance to fate and we don’t need to plead with God to show His love.

When our faith is sound, then the expectation should be on trust.

Legitimate Faith

For faith to be legitimate, it must be practiced.

James 2:14 “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?”

Faith without works is only an empty promise. It would be like praying to God and promising to trust Him no matter what happens and then standing up and relying only on your own understanding.

Christians must empty themselves of pride, seek the Lord, and then trust Him as He leads.

“A cheap Christianity without a cross, will prove in the end a useless Christianity without a crown.” J.C. Ryle

Faith is more than what you can get from God, faith is also reflected in love for others.

James 2:15-17 “If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,  and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?  Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

If I truly love the Lord, then the love He gives spills forth toward others. He is the one who fills your cup to overflow, but it’s not so that you can get more, but so that others might partake of His love.

Perfect love is divinely inspired. It comes from a pure heart and overflows from a pure God.

Dead Faith

There are many who carry with them a faith that is dead, it is lifeless. The Lord has no real work in them as a person and consequently will not deliver them at death. You know those people, you’ve seen them before, they are hypocritical in their testimony and serve only themselves. What looks like love is only pride fulfilled. The dead have stipulations by which their acts of service might be fulfilled. They might only do the act if they are recognized by the receiver. They want to know the need and how worthy it is before they consider serving. They want to know how deserving the recipients are before they act and if they find one iota of doubt, they feel justified in withholding their service.

James 2:19-20 “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?”

Dead faith is revealed in those who think that a declaration of God is enough. They might show up at a soup kitchen but the act is missing the love. They think they represent Christ but do not know Him and Jesus made it very clear how in the judgement He will remember their lack of relationship.

Matthew 7:22-23 “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. The people of God have been brought forth from death to life and the enemy has no hold on them. They are free from bondage of sin and their lives reflect the transforming power of God.

John 18:9 “This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.”

As Jesus prayed and reflected on His disciples, God’s people can be certain their faith will endure til the end.

If you have died to all you used to be, then you know the life that is in Christ. His promises are new every morning and the joy of the Lord is your strength.