One of the most important doctrines of the New Testament is that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ. This is not just an intellectual doctrine. This affects the way we live and move and have our being. When we think we are not good enough, the gospel reassures us: we aren’t—but God gives us all the righteousness we need in Christ. When we think that we don’t deserve to be forgiven, it tells us: we don’t—but God in Christ has forgiven us anyway. When we wonder if we really are born again, it points us to God’s faithfulness and love.

But this gospel of grace has been twisted, even from the days of the New Testament. Some said that if they "had faith" it didn’t matter how they lived. It was this thinking that St. Paul confronted in Romans 6:1What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? It is also this thinking that St. James challenges in our text.

V 14 What good is it, my brothers if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such a faith save him? At first reading, you might think that James is saying that we are saved by faith plus good works or good deeds. But that is not the case. We are saved by real faith. And real faith is evidenced by good deeds. A real faith comes from a heart changed by the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit, who changes our heart so we can have faith, changes our hearts so our actions change as well.

A good deed is anything that is done in obedience to God. James’s example is to carry out the law of love by helping physically with those who are cold and hungry. Just to say, "be warm and well fed," does not take away the cold and hunger. If we can, we need to put our actions where our mouth is. If you have the ability to care for someone and you have the desire, you will care for them because your heart will drive you to it. The question is this: Do you have a heart to show love?

Our Christian faith is lived out as we step out in faith. The two examples James uses next involved life and death. One was Rahab hiding the Hebrew spies in Jericho (see Joshua 2). The other was Abraham who was asked to be willing to sacrifice his own son, Isaac, as an expression of his faith (Genesis 22). Scripture tells us that Abraham thought either God would stop the sacrifice or perhaps raise Isaac from the dead. Through this, God was telling us something about our salvation. It was not Abraham’s son who had to die as a sacrifice for sin; it was God’s Son. It was not Isaac who would be raised again so we can have new life; it was Jesus Christ.

The things that God asks us to do are usually not as difficult as the examples given. But our faith must be backed up by obedience, or it is not real. The Christian life is not a matter of bare belief. Look at verse 19: You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. Bare belief in God will not save the devil. Evil spirits know that God exists. God’s enemies know that God exists. But they are still his enemies. They don’t have a living faith. They are not joined to Christ as their Lord and Savior. Their hearts have not been converted. When our hearts are converted, we believe in God, and the Spirit enables us to follow him. Our lives begin to be changed. Faith and actions work together because they both spring from the heart that has been born again.

Anytime we are following God’s commands we are living out our faith. Showing love to those who need it is living our your faith. Repenting of our sin is living out our faith. Sharing the gospel with others is living out our faith. Spending regular, daily time in prayer and reading the Bible is living out our faith. Gathering for public worship every Sunday morning is living out our faith. Giving of our time and talents and money in ministry is living out our faith.

It can be a brutal thing to look at your life and ask, "How does my life show my faith?" We look at conversations, business deals, lost opportunities for ministry, the list goes on. God does not want us satisfied with sin in our lives. God does not want up satisfied with spiritual powerlessness in our lives. He wants us to become more and more like Jesus. He wants us to get rid of sinful patterns and add godly ones.

Is the change in our life the proof that God is at work? I think it is supportive evidence. But the real assurance of our salvation comes from our Savior Jesus. We are continually driven back to the cross where the love of God is poured out for us in forgiveness. God takes our hearts. God breaks our hearts. God moves our hearts to be his vehicle of his grace to others.