For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9
When I've accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior and got to find out about salvation, my heart was rejoicing! I am saved by grace through Jesus Christ! All I need to do is to believe and have faith in Him, contrary to the popular religion nation that I still need to earn my salvation by my own strength. Despite of all the sin I've committed, I don't need measure up and perform to earn His love and grace, I just need to sincerely repent and accept Jesus. Only Jesus blood has the power to save and free us from bondage! How amazing is that?! That's why I've been sharing that truth, so other people may experience true life and freedom as well.
HOWEVER,
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
James 2:17
Confusing? Contradicting? Which is which?
Well, those two verses shook my brain up. And so, after my shift, I prayed really hard to the Lord and asked the Holy Spirit to guide me and give me wisdom as I read James Chapter 2. I prayed because like what I've said I am sharing the Gospel to people, so I need to fully understand this whole thing. Plus, I need to be prepared.
Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage —with great patience and careful instruction.
2 Timothy 4:2
Going back, after reading it for like five times, it made me understand that the verse is about FAITH and OBEDIENCE. I understand why God made sure that James 2:17 would be included in the Bible because He knows that it's easy for people to accept the Lord sincerely and publicly declared it without obeying. And I can testify to that, I'm not gonna use other people's garbage, I'll use mine. I was like that when I was a super baby Christian. Saying to the world that I'm a Christian and yet still doing things that are not pleasing in the eyes of my Lord.
Now, I'm not saying that it's FAITH + GOOD WORKS = SALVATION.
NO!
When you receive Jesus Christ as you Lord and Savior, God gives you a Spirit that enables you to understand His grace and gives you wisdom. And that Spirit is from God that also raised Jesus from the dead.
What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.
1 Corinthians 2:12
Meaning, the kindness, patience, hope and all the good things we're doing is a product of our genuine faith through the help of the Holy Spirit. He is the one coming from God suggesting us to make wise decisions and convicting us whenever we do things that are not pleasing in the eyes of God.
It's like this, Yes, we accepted Jesus one day and we now have faith in Him but it doesn't end there, we still need to OBEY! It's an everyday decision! We gotta communicate with God through prayer, get to know Him more and get equipped by reading His Word, worship Him by fully trusting Him and show that we love Him and understand His grace by obeying Him.
SO YEA, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I now understand that James 2:17 is all about faith and obedience to the Lord. Now, about the contradiction? Well, wait, did it ever say there that "faith without works cannot save you"? NO, right? But it says, it's dead! :)
remember,
ONLY JESUS BLOOD can wash away our sins and save us.
And no matter how hard we measure up,
WE WILL NEVER EARN SALVATION.
Once we accept Him as our Lord and Savior,
we are not just called to believe BUT ALSO TO OBEY.
So, BE SENSITIVE WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT that enables us to make wise decisions that are HONORING and PLEASING in the eyes of God. :)
