Dead Faith, Dead Weight

“Faith, by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2:17). 

We’ve heard it said of some people, “They are too heavenly minded to be any earthly good.” The truth is that if they were truly heavenly minded they would be of great earthly good.

There is an assumption in the Bible that if we believe in God then we will obey his commands. Nowhere does God separate faith from action. If we separate faith from action, then we have misunderstood Christianity entirely, and the Bible says our faith is DEAD. We have substituted true spirituality for “super” spirituality.  Our dead faith has become dead weight.

Participating in Jesus is to respond to the call of God in our everyday moments and decisions. When we receive God’s instructions and rely on him for the ability to carry out those instructions we must then respond with action. Don’t camp around the theology of good works, but ascend the mountain and find the joys of the Lord at the top. It’s there that we hear the enviable words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant” (Luke 19:17).