Word for Today, Fri, 10 May 2006: Faith Without Works is Dead
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>
We do not want to confuse the act of salvation, which is a gift of God
from faith, which is the God given belief to place trust in God, from
the work of acting out our faith. Our works will not ever save us, but
at the same time, our works are evidence that we have lived by faith,
believing in the promises of God and acting upon them in obedience.
Roger Baron is a friend of mine, whom I have now known over the Internet
for several years. We are both active participants in the prayer needs
ministry of "Sowing Seeds of Faith", a ministry founded around a decade
ago by another friend of mine, Larry Davies.
Both Roger and Larry have been important sources of encouragement to me,
partnering with me in prayer on numerous occasions. Each of us
maintains a mailing list. Larry maintains Sowing Seeds of Faith, Roger
maintains AA Bible, and I maintain 1Corinthians7@welovegod.org. Larry
is also an ordained pastor of the United Methodist Church and he is
currently the Senior Pastor of the Timberlake United Methodist Church in
Lynchburg, Virginia.
In the message that follows, Roger presents the message from James, the
brother of Jesus, using a translation that some of you may not be
familiar with, The Holman Christian Standard Bible. Don't let that trip
you up. Read the passage again in your own Bible. After all, reading
God's Word, seeking the Spirit of God in your life in every possible
way, and communicating with God through prayer are the essential
elements of practicing and exercising our faith.
I maintain that what the person who struggles with alcohol or any
substance abuse must deal with are many of the very same issues that
each of us must address in our lives - and surrender to God, that we
might be set free from the things that we were formerly in bondage to.
Let us not return to bondage to anything other than being a bond servant
of Jesus Christ.
Roger, thank you for this message of hope and encouragement. Let us now
go forward in faith. Let us put our thoughts and words into deeds and
actions.
Yours in Christ,
Brian
Faith Without Works is Dead
(from James 2:14-26) (The Holman Christian Standard Bible)
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith, but does not
have works? Can his faith save him? If a brother or sister is without
clothes and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace,
keep warm, and eat well," but you don't give them what the body needs,
what good is it? In the same way faith, if it doesn't have works, is
dead by itself. But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have
works." Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith from
my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. The demons also
believe--and they shudder. Foolish man! Are you willing to learn that
faith without works is useless? Wasn't Abraham our father justified by
works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was
active together with his works, and by works, faith was perfected. So
the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was
credited to him for righteousness, and he was called God's friend. You
see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the
same way, wasn't Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she
received the messengers and sent them out by a different route? For
just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works
is dead.
Meditation
The epistle of James is famous for its doctrinal teaching
that faith alone is insufficient. Martin Luther took major issue with
the book of James. Nonetheless, it seems that the book of James is
heavily implanted in the A.A. program. The phraseology of "faith
without works is dead" is found in at least three different locations in
the first 164 pages of the Big Book. It is found at the bottom of page
14 in Bill's Story. It is also found on page 76 in "Into Action" in
connection with the transition into Steps Eight and Nine. And, it is
also found on page 88 in connection with the transition into Step
Twelve. The A.A. program is a program of action. The twelve steps
require work. Alcoholics who are in solid recovery are quick to point
this out. But, action is good for us. Many times alcoholics are also
"workaholics." We need to be kept busy.
There are no philosophical or theological debates in A.A.
meetings over whether or not salvation can be attained by faith alone or
whether or not "works" are also required. We don't debate the issue.
Most of us readily accept the premise found in the Big Book that indeed
"Faith without works is dead." We must keep busy and we must be free of
anger and resentment. This requires work. Otherwise we run the risk of
going back out. As indicated on page 66 of the Big Book, "For when
harboring such feelings [of resentment] we shut ourselves off from the
sunlight of the Spirit. The insanity of alcohol returns and we drink
again. And with us, to drink is to die." Resentments are not the only
thing which will shut ourselves off the sunlight of the spirit, but this
is a good example of what we must avoid. We avoid such things through
"working the program." And, working the program indeed requires
"work." We don't need theological proof that "faith without works is
dead," because we see it around us constantly as such "death" manifests
itself in those members who fail to work the program and who go back out
into the world of active alcoholism.
Prayer
God, give me the strength and motivation to "work" the A.A.
program today and everyday in my life.
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About these meditations: These meditations are designed to set forth a
specific bible passage in conjunction with a meditation. The meditation
is intended to incorporate the selected scripture into the A.A.
philosophy and/or the A.A. way of life. A.A. literature will also be
referenced and quoted. Each meditation is self-contained, meaning all
the material needed for the meditation will be quoted in the material
itself. The length of each meditation has been designed to be wholly
contained on a single sheet of paper, with appropriate margins, using 12
point font.
At the present time, these meditations have been generated in an effort
to create a daily meditation book for the Christian alcoholic in
recovery. These are being sent by e-mail, on an experimental basis, to
those requesting to be included on the recipient list. Suggestions and
comments are welcome. Additional authors are sought for creating new
and different daily meditations. Also, any additional help or
suggestions for the furtherance of this project in general is
appreciated. Contact Roger Baron at rbaron@usd.edu.
--
Roger Baron
(605) 677-6349
"Cling to the thought that, in God's hands, the dark past is the
greatest possession you have -- the key to life and happiness for
others. With it you can avert death and misery for them."
Big Book, page 124
"... for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him."
2 Peter 2:19
______________________________________________
--
Brian Masinick
masinick at comcast dot net
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