A Journey in James PT. 2
Partiality, forgiveness and living a balance of faith and works are all things that James discusses in the second chapter.
How does one live the right balance of faith and works? This is a question that’s regularly discussed in a small group I study with. Living by faith and works is crucial to living the life Jesus intends for us.
I don’t remember any time when Jesus didn’t request his servants to do tasks along with exercising faith. The nine lepers ran to the temple. The disciples cast their nets on the other side. The woman at the well spread the word of Jesus. The barbarian remained in his town to show what God had done for him. Mary and Martha mourned for 3 days.
“But someone will say ‘you have faith, I have works.’ Show me your faith with your works and I will show you my faith by my works.” [v. 18] Faith is more than words. It’s acting on those words. “by works, faith is made perfect.” [v. 22]
Just stating that you have faith is nothing. “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” [v. 26] When you aren’t serious about your faith, it doesn’t benefit anyone. It’s when you’re genuinely committed and when realize that the relationship you have with God is a friendship, a deep connection based in trust and faith is formed.
Once this is formed, we’re going to want to live a certain type of way. We want to live and exhibit our faith to God through our works. These works are simply fuelled by the desire to please the Lord and no one else.
James speaks very solemnly against partiality or any kind of favoritism. God is quite impartial to each of us, though He recognizes our individuality. As I read through these verses [2:1-9], I wrote this message to God in the margin of my Bible: “My relationship with you is non-partial. You are non-partial towards me and everyone else. Where do I have the right to partiality? You love my whole being!”
James plainly states in verse 9 that partiality is a sin. Everyone deserves equal and sincere treatment. Those who are impartial do well in the sight of God.
Forgiveness. Impartial forgiveness. On occasion, I struggle to forgive others but the more frequent battle is forgiving myself. “Ask forgiveness and you will be forgiven”, I’m repeatedly told. Yes, but why’s that so hard for me to understand? God offers forgiveness for each sin equally, but am I actually letting go of those sins? Am I allowing myself to be forgiven? One sin unforgiven is subject to judgment.
The smallest of sins left unconfessed can lead to death. [v.13] Forgiveness means having mercy on yourself and letting God wash away the sin. We must have mercy on ourselves and know that only by Jesus’s blood, we are indeed worthy.
Now I’m not saying if you sin, you don’t love God. Living perfectly is impossible for we are immersed in sin, but sometimes that sin is caused by our own feelings and emotions; our desire to mask our fears and worries. It’s the acknowledgment of our wrong and our need for forgiveness and mercy from God.
He is so willing to give that forgiveness and share mercy. He loves us and doesn’t want anything between us and Him. Having faith in His impartial plan of forgiveness is a huge step in our walk with God. Nothing can stand between us and God besides ourselves. We must take that first step and allow him to have that chance to help us grow!
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Partiality, forgiveness and living a balance of faith and works are all things that James discusses in the second chapter.
How does one live the right balance of faith and works? This is a question that’s regularly discussed in a small group I study with. Living by faith and works is crucial to living the life Jesus intends for us.
I don’t remember any time when Jesus didn’t request his servants to do something along with exercising faith. The nine lepers ran to the temple. The disciples cast their nets on the other side. The woman at the well spread the word of Jesus. The barbarian remained in his town to show what God had done for him. Mary and Martha mourned for 3 days.
“But someone will say ‘you have faith, I have works.’ Show me your faith with your works and I will show you my faith by my works.” [v. 18] Faith is more than words. It’s acting on those words. “by works, faith is made perfect” [v. 22]
Just stating that you have faith is nothing. “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” [v. 26] This verse is crazy cool. When you aren’t serious about your faith, it doesn’t benefit anyone. It’s when you’re genuinely committed, when you genuinely realize that the relationship you have with God is a friendship, a deep connection based in trust and faith is formed. Once this is formed, we’re going to want to live a certain type of way. We want to live and exhibit our faith to God through our works. These works are simply fuelled by the desire to please the Lord and no one else.
James speaks very solemnly against partiality or any kind of favoritism. God is quite impartial to each of us, though He recognizes our individuality. As I read through these verses [2:1-9], I wrote this message to God in the margin of my Bible: “My relationship with you is non-partial. You are non-partial towards me and everyone else. Where do I have the right to partiality? You love my whole being!”
James plainly states in verse 9 that partiality is a sin. Everyone deserves equal and sincere treatment. Those who are impartial do well in the sight of God.
Forgiveness. Impartial forgiveness. On occasion, I struggle to forgive others but the more frequent battle is forgiving myself. “Ask forgiveness and you will be forgiven”, I’m repeatedly told. Yes, but why’s that so hard for me to understand? God offers forgiveness for each sin equally, but am I actually letting go of those sins? Am I allowing myself to be forgiven? One sin unforgiven is subject to judgment.
The smallest of sins left unconfessed can lead to death. [v.13] Forgiveness means having mercy on yourself and letting God wash away the sin. We must have mercy on ourselves and know that only by Jesus’s blood, we are indeed worthy.
Now I’m not saying if you sin, you don’t love God. Living perfectly is impossible for we are immersed in sin, but sometimes that sin is caused by our own feelings and emotions; our desire to mask our fears and worries. It’s the acknowledgment of our wrong and our need for forgiveness and mercy from God.
He is so willing to give that forgiveness and share mercy. He loves us and doesn’t want anything between us and Him. Having faith in His impartial plan of forgiveness is a huge step in our walk with God. Nothing can stand between us and God besides ourselves. We must take that first step and allow him to have that chance to help us grow!
Kasondra Reel is a senior studying nursing.