James 2:14-26
Faith and Deeds
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
Jesus was a Traveling Rabbi...And as He traveled from village to village and town to town teaching about God, He did many things...He gave us the Greatest Words ever spoken, and His Sermons on the Mount and His Sermon on the Plain are the Greatest of Sermons ever to be spoken...His Words are priceless, and they are still read today, because of this...And while He was teaching about God, people got to see Him and know and learn about Him...So He used His Great Ability to speak to others on all levels, while He was out on the road working and helping people...His Twelve Disciples really got to know Him well...One thing that they learned from Him was that not only was He a Great Teacher, He also was a Doer...He did things...Words alone and what He spoke did not (completely) define Him...And in doing the things He did, His deeds were to help people...
So when we read about His Brother James talking about faith and deeds, we can see that his Brother did what he said, and let all His actions tell us even more about Himself and who He was...Jesus certainly showed us He was the Son of God by His faith in His Father and by His deeds...We still learn from Him and His Disciples and Apostles...