Terry Storch

Writing about life, leadership, faith, and anything else I find interesting.

James 2:14-26 - Empty Words

 

James 2:14-26 - Empty Words

Words are powerful! Anyone who is married or in a relationship understands the power of words. Too many times, I have lost this understanding and not been careful enough with my words. This quote rings true and speaks volumes. 

"Be careful with your words. Once they are said, they can be only forgiven, not forgotten." -Unknown

Words are powerful; all through the Bible, we read this and hear this truth. I especially love this Proverb. 

“Watch your words and hold your tongue; you’ll save yourself a lot of grief.” - ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭21:23‬ ‭MSG‬‬

But, what is also true is words can also be hollow and empty. As powerful as words can be, they have just as much ability to leave massive gaps, even Grand Canyon-sized divides between people. Think about your closest relationship; maybe your marriage. If the words that continuously come out of your mouth are, “I love you,” but your actions never show this...what kind of divide is being created. When I love you is over and over, followed up with never being home or choosing our desires or hobbies over anything, our spouse desires our words can start to ring empty. What about when our words say to our team this meeting is essential, but our actions are we are late over and over and over. Our words become empty, and the story and narrative starts to write with our actions, not our words. 

Today we are looking at James 2:14-26. These thoughts that James shares are so challenging, so direct they have caused great debate and controversy over the years. I learned today in my study that Martin Luther was so disturbed by this he wanted to throw the book of James out of the Bible. You see, words are powerful. Let’s see what all the fuss is about.

“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 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? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” - ‭‭James‬ ‭2:14-17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

You can see how this passage can create some controversy, right? Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. That is pretty bold! James doesn’t stop, and he keeps on coming, like Mike Tyson in his prime.

“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. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” - ‭‭James‬ ‭2:18-19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

James, in this passage, takes the readers back to the Torah, and hits on the oneness of God, and that belief. Yes, he says that’s important, but he also reminds us that even the demons believe that, and they shudder that it. What actions are we as Christ-followers having? 

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” - ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭6:4-5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The significant controversy over this section of James lands in the place of can our salvation come from faith alone? Those who have issues with James, and his thoughts here are hearing James say faith is not enough to be saved, and this would be a counter teaching to Jesus. However, theologians argue that that is not James message, James is not saying faith is not enough; James is saying that faith will reveal itself with works. That true faith is more than just a belief that true faith will manifest good works. I belief this to be true, and I can see it in my own life and back to my relationship with Robin, my wife. My true expression of love is more than just my words; my actions follow it. They are both essential and my love is expressed through how I live my life fully. This reminds me of Paul’s teaching in Ephesians;

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” - ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We are God’s handiwork, created for good works! If we have stepped into a relationship with Jesus, and if we are following Him and being transformed by His word, we will be different. We can not be the same as we once were, the shaping, sculpting, refining that God does in our lives will reveal itself in our actions and our works. 

“As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” - ‭‭James‬ ‭2:26‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This is a strong and harsh teaching from James, and I believe it should leave a mark. We should not read through this, or any part of James and not be punched and challenged. These words should push us to inspect our walk with Christ, to challenge our mindsets and our commitment levels with Jesus. James did not struggle with empty words, he lived it out and walked the walk. Remember, our words are powerful, once they are said it is quite possible they will never be forgotten. But at the same time, those words can wind up being empty if our actions are not following them. Faith without deeds is dead, take a moment and let that sink in as you think about the last week or so of your life and audit your actions. 

Lord forgive me for my inaction, and my deeds not always representing my faith. I pray today that we have the courage, the strength, and the stamina to align our actions with our words, our deeds with our faith. Lord, may we glorify you with our lives today. Amen

other writing
John 20 - The Gospel

John 20 - The Gospel

The Gospel, the Good News! Jesus, Son of God, was born of Mary, lived as the Son of Man, died, and rose to life to rescue the world and bring about a new life. The central message of the gospel. Jesus, the centerpiece! John 19 & 20 cover the brutal death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

In this scene, I can not imagine how the disciples felt. John describes them as overjoyed...but those words just fall short of what I can imagine this moment was like.

John 19 - The Magnitude of the Cross

John 19 - The Magnitude of the Cross

The day of Jesus' crucifixion fulfilled 28 Old Testament prophecies. Scripture was fulfilled! Beyond that, trying to wrap my mind around what happened this day, on the cross, and fully grabbing the magnitude of the cross is mind-boggling.

Sure, we can dumb this down or simplify it to a place where I just don’t believe it is anywhere near accurate. We can get into penal substitution and argue over was God full of love or was God full of wrath and hate that he killed his son. To me, John 3:16 is pretty clear on the love part.

John 18 - Jesus levels an army

John 18 - Jesus levels an army

In John 18, we come to the great betrayal. Judas came with the soldiers, officials, and chief priest and Pharisees. We know the scene. But this morning, I saw something I don’t remember reading and surly don’t remember learning about.

“So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭18:3-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 17 - The Lords Prayer

John 17 - The Lords Prayer

John 17 is Jesus looking heavenward and praying to God the Father. So much beauty and mystery in this prayer. One thing that jumps out to me is that Jesus, fully God, and fully man prayed. Jesus is God fully. Why did he need to pray, He was One with the Father, He was God...and yet he prayed. This is so powerful;

“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭17:5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 16 - What does it take to believe?

John 16 - What does it take to believe?

By the end of John 16, Jesus had done countless miracles, preached some amazing sermons, transformed so many lives, and developed a close and personal relationship with his disciples. So, when reading these verses, I am just utterly confused on so many levels.

“I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭16:28-31‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 16 - Undervaluing God in Spirit

John 16 - Undervaluing God in Spirit

Jesus’ time on earth is quickly coming to a close, and he finishes up his last sermon or teaching to his disciples as they walk to Gethsemane. This final teaching was a heavy one that no doubt left his disciples with a heavy heart. Jesus said it this way;

“...None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭16:5-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus goes on to say;

John 15 - Constant Growth

John 15 - Constant Growth

We were built for growth, constant growth. From birth, all the way until our death, we were designed by God for constant growth. The problem is, we often can find ourselves stuck in a belief, a phase, or a part of life where we stop growing.

One of the most brilliant investors embodies this understanding. Charlie Munger, at 96 years old, is still learning and growing as a person. I love this quote:

“Knowing what you don’t know is more useful than being brilliant.”
- Charlie Munger

John 14 - The Gift of Peace

John 14 - The Gift of Peace

John 14 opens with Jesus, saying, Don’t let your hearts be troubled. And the chapter closed down with Jesus saying Don’t be troubled or afraid.

A message that needs to resonate with our spirit and our inner self. This was such a good reminder, reading through John 14 over and over. This passage lifted off the screen.

“But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart…

John 14 - Troubled Hearts

John 14 - Troubled Hearts

The world today seems so volatile and chaotic. Everywhere you look, whatever we read and see on TV just seems to be troubling. Last night, I noticed my lovely wife Tweeted this;

“I can’t be the only one who watches the news and is simply embarrassed right now, right? (Dear Jesus, we tap out. Come on back.)”

I find this first humorous, but then I also find it sad. It’s true, watching the news as a Christ-follower is pretty embarrassing. In John 14, we see Jesus…

John 13 - Unselfish Concern

John 13 - Unselfish Concern

Summarizing John, chapter 13, looks like this. The Lords Supper takes place. Jesus washes the disciple's feet. Jesus calls out Judas, and Satan enters him. Night comes, Judas leaves, and Jesus says he must go, and where I am going, you can not come. To cap it all off, Jesus also calls out Simon Peter and tells him that he will deny and completely disown Jesus three times. Whoa, a really full chapter, and historical day.

Nestled in the wrap up of the day is the parting message Jesus leaves his disciples, a message Jesus is sharing with us right now.

 
thoughtsTerry Storch