 |
| "For as the body without the spirit is a false, so faith without works is false also." This is how many people read this Scripture! |
Initially posted here:
https://www.facebook.com/sing.f.lau/posts/10214705919897115
October 4, 2019
Let's reason a bit.
It is popular to
understand dead faith as FALSE or FAKE faith.
The body without the
spirit is not, and has NOT become, a false body or a fake body; it remains as
true and as real a body; it did not cease to be a body. It is a lifeless body,
a body devoid of the activities of life.
Something dead (the
word "dead" necessarily presupposes that it was alive before) does not
become fake; it has become lifeless, devoid of life activities. A dead tree is
still a tree but a dead tree is most assuredly also a fruitless tree too.
That God's children
- only those that are saved by God's grace can be His children - can have dead
faith is a harsh reality that few want to accept even though it is plainly
taught by the Scriptures.
The simple truth and
sad reality is that there can be faith without work - that's a real problem
among God's children. That is why James has to deal with that SPECIFIC problem;
he wasn't wasting time dealing with an imaginary issue.
Jesus Christ dealt
with it as well in the parable of the sower. That parable is about FRUITFUL
discipleship, not what a man must do to secure eternal salvation, as imagined
by many.
Apostle Peter dealt
with it too, in 2Pet 1
5 ¶ And beside this,
giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6 And to knowledge
temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7 And to godliness
brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8 For if these
things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor
unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
If a child of God
does NOT give all diligence to add to
his faith those things, he will be barren, his faith is fruitless, i.e. dead.
Dead faith is not
FALSE faith; dead faith is TRUE faith but fruitless. So many foolishly assume
that dead faith is false faith!
Whatever has
happened to common sense?
