Faith and Deeds Go Hand in Hand

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

This strong statement from the book of James urges Christians to live out their faith. It does not mean that we are saved by our deeds, but that our deeds will reflect what is truly in our heart. We will in essence "back up" our faith in what we do. To us as Christian Moms, this word from James is extremely important. We are charged not only to instruct our children on having faith but also to live our out our faith on a daily basis, providing an example for our children to follow. Stepping out on faith ourselves, even when it seems to defy reason, is the best lesson we can give our children.

Earlier in the passage James uses the wonderful example of Abraham (verses 20-23) to illustrate how faith and deeds go hand in hand:

20. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21. Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22.You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness." and he was called God's friend.

God knew Abraham's heart, of course he knew that Abraham had faith. God asked Abraham to make that faith complete through action. Abraham was obedient, and in turn God honored the desire of Abraham's heart, which was that his son not be harmed.

If you say you trust in the Lord, strive to match your actions up with that statement. Be obedient to his call, even when its hard or when it doesn't make sense to you. Yes, it is a struggle to do this sometimes. The enemy tries to use fear to keep us from acting. We can act on our faith with confidence because we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). When we do this we give our children a wonderful example of faith and deed in action.

Scripture Reading: James 2:14-26

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