Tuesday, September 19, 2006
James 2:17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
FAITH IS ALIVE
Faith is a living thing. Faith in Jesus effects our entire life. Having a faith relationship with Christ, means that, out of love for our Savior and appreciation for what He did for us on the cross, we will be intensely interested in pleasing Him in everyway. The good works we do will be the evidence, the proof, that faith is living in our hearts. The good works don't save us, but they provide evidence that we are saved.
Let me illustrate . . . Long ago a young slave girl was put on the auction block to be sold. All her life she had been a slave and now her cruel master decided to sell her to someone else. The auction was held and she was sold. But when she stood before her new master, the master said, "I've bought you, but now I set you free." Her response was interesting. She was so overwhelmed with gratitude that she begged the man to let her serve him. She readily recognized that he was a kind, caring man who would treat her well. Her willingness to serve this man, along with her faithful service to him in the coming years, did not set her free. She was already free the moment he bought her and gave her freedom. But his kindness in setting her free, prompted her to want to serve him.
We have been fully and completely ransomed -- set free -- by Jesus Christ. He did every bit of work necessary to set us free from a guilty conscience, from death, from Satan's control over our lives. He set us free from that horrible lake of fire. As the Spirit touches our hearts with this amazing truth -- that God Himself in the person of Jesus would shed His blood so that I could have eternal life -- our response is, "Let me serve you Jesus! Let me serve you with a living faith! Let me live a life of good works as an expression of gratitude." When our hearts are touched by the love of God in Christ then its going to show! Good works are going to automatically be there in our lives.
