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Ring of Truth provides 366 daily ‘proofs’ that the Bible is consistent throughout from Genesis to Revelation, and relevant for our lives today!
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James 2:14-17
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
Take Rahab (see verse 25).
She hid the spies and saved their lives and asked for her life to be saved when they returned to take Jericho. But she still had to be ‘at home’ with the red cord showing when they eventually returned (see Joshua 2:17-20). And she became the mother of Boaz and the great-grandmother of King David (see Matthew 1:5-6). Christianity is not a ‘set of rules’ nor just a ‘ticket to Heaven’. It is an active developing relationship with Jesus, which is outworked in our relationships with others. It’s a ‘Ring of Truth’!
God is into changed lives. That’s why Paul showed us the necessity of us being “living sacrifices” and of “renewing” our minds (see Romans 12:1-2). If our Christianity doesn’t change us inwardly, there is something wrong and we have missed the point. My faith is not supposed to be and remain ‘head knowledge’. I can ‘know the Bible off by heart and from cover to cover’ but if I don’t allow it to introduce me to a personal relationship with God and allow it to transform my attitudes and behaviour, it has achieved nothing and I have nullified its power.
Similarly, Christianity is not designed to make me arrogant, selfish or independent. They are carnal desires and oppose God. He has redeemed us to become His Community. We become a part of the Body of Christ. I am then expected to meet with the rest of the Body, and to encourage it by using the gifts the Holy Spirit has entrusted to me. I am to use all that God has given to me in abilities, talents, gifts, time and wealth for the extension of His Kingdom.
It was never God’s intention for there to be such a thing as an isolated Christian. Nor is the Christian life just a ‘spiritual exercise’. The old cliché, “too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good” describes those who allow their faith to become unreal. All the way from Genesis to Revelation, the Bible deals with real people with real problems and real relationships, with real conflicts and challenges and who made mistakes – but lived the life.
The bottom line is – I believe only what I actually put into practice – all the rest is just hypocrisy. We have to ‘walk the talk’.
The basic change I need to make is from being ‘self-centred’ to ‘others-centred’, which can happen only when I am primarily Christ-centred. He provides both the perspective and the power for me to do this.
Yes, God does love and accept us ‘just as we are’. But He loves us far too much to leave us ‘just as we are’.
James is a Christian, isn’t he? Can’t his faith save him? “Listen”, he says, “don’t tell me you are saved and continue to live like an ostrich with your head in the sand. Wake up and be real. If you really are a Christian – start acting like a genuine Christian. Give to the poor; visit the lonely; provide for the hungry; clothe the naked; encourage the weak; and help house the homeless.” (And that’s just for starters.)
Christianity is not about just carrying on life as normal plus going to Church on Sundays and the Small Group, or Prayer Meeting mid-week. It is a radical lifestyle, which is designed to change society.
Guess what? If we all lived it, we could. We have the privilege of being empowered to live totally radical lives and change the society in which we live – by just living the real Christian life – by putting our faith into practice.
Tell me – as James asks – will your faith save you? Is it alive or “dead”?
What do you think God thinks?
How will you ‘work out’ your faith in a vibrant way today, this week and in the New Year?
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