James 2: 17 – Checkup Time

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Where do we start here? What is faith? Is faith alive? How can faith be dead? What is James talking about here?

James uses a word that gets everyone’s attention. “Dead” is a word that everyone understands. Dead is dead. From a worldly point of view, a dead body isn’t going anywhere under its own power. Dead means there is no life in it. Dead means that it is, like Beethoven, decomposing.

As a metaphor for faith, “dead” brings to mind something without life or motion. A dead person or animal ceases to have any worth.

So what is faith? Jesus talks about faith as something that comes in different sizes. He talks about “great faith” and “little faith.” James talks about dead faith.

If faith is required to be with Jesus in heaven, how do we get some? How do we avoid having this “dead” faith that James talks about?

James has been talking about trials and temptations, and how that plays out in the arena of faith. He points out that discriminating against the poor and favoring the rich is contrary to God’s “royal law.” Instead, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

All this seems to swirl around God’s Great Commandments: Love God above all else and love our neighbor as ourselves.

Ever wonder if loving others is all that important to God? According to James, it is. In fact, if someone says they have faith but don’t do what God tells us to do, their “faith” isn’t worth the paper it is written on.

So what then?

What kind of faith do you want to have?

Application: Check the pulse of your faith. Is the heartbeat nice and steady or is your faith on life support?

Food for Thought: What does a living faith look like?