I want to share a brief thought. It goes with what ‘works’ actually is. As most of us found, performance based churches often like to point to the book of James, where he says that faith without works is dead, in order to support some of their teachings.
One day at an old workplace, I was looking through a book of graphics which could be used in advertisements. In the religious section, one caught my attention. It said, “Work is love made visible.“
I think this is a good way to summarize exactly what James was teaching. Ephesians tells us that we are saved through faith and not works, yet James says faith without works is dead. Are these contrary the one to the other? No, they are not. (More could be said, but not in this blog.)
The examples James uses to show works, have to do with our actions toward others. Jesus stated that if we love him, we will keep his commandments. The works that we do come from the love in our hearts. These works will never save us, make us righteous, nor gain us any special standing with God. They are simply the evidence of what is in our hearts.
Work is love made visible. I like that!
********
Shop at our Amazon store! As an Amazon Influencer, this website earns from qualifying purchases.