Beliefs & Behaviors

James 2:14

How does what we believe affect the way we behave? This is the question that we will be looking at this week. Thankfully, this is not a new problem for followers of Christ. James illustrates this powerfully for us as he wrote to encourage and instruct the early Christians. In our verse today, we see his famous (maybe even infamous) question on the relationship between faith and deeds, or as I prefer to say it, between our beliefs and our behavior. I want to make sure we notice something important about this verse. James actually asks two questions. The first is what "good" is a belief that does not affect a behavior. The second question is whether the belief that does not affect behavior can save a person. The first question is asking something slightly different from the second. To make the difference a little more clear, we can view James's first question as asking about the "earthly good" and the second question focusing on the "eternal salvation" of faith. This is really important to get clear, because so many over the years have attempted to argue that James is teaching something other than salvation by faith, which is a clear Biblical principle. He's not. James is asking two different questions about faith. The first, is if we say we believe but don't behave according to those beliefs, what good is that to us or anyone else on this earth. The second question is whether an "action-less faith" can still be a saving faith. The earthly question is the focus of rest of his teaching on the matter. Interestingly, James does not attempt to answer the second question. I think the reason for this is obvious, James is not qualified (nor are any of us really) to tell God what kind of faith is and is not worthy of His grace. That's His job. So, for the rest of the week, let's leave this question alone and focus where James does. How does what you believe about Jesus affect the way you behave? 

Prayer: 
Jesus, I believe that You my Lord and my Savior. I believe that You died, rose, and have paid the price for my sin. Please help me to behave like I truly believe this. Amen. 

Reflection: 
If your life were a silent movie, would it be a Christian film? 
What do your behaviors say about your beliefs?