Proof By Deeds
Last Saturday, October 31st, was an important holiday. It celebrated a Christian tradition that was started nearly 500 years ago, and no, I’m not talking about the tradition of giving out candy to children or dressing up in costumes. October 31st, is referred to as Reformation Day. This celebrates the occasion on which, on October 31st, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five theses to the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg.
Martin Luther took issue with many of the practices and teachings of the church. One such practice was that of indulgences. The idea behind indulgences, if I have my history correct, is that you could pay money to the church to help your loved ones get out of purgatory. The reason that Martin Luther took issue with this teaching, among others, is because he believed, as the Bible teaches, that we are not saved by works but by faith alone. Faith in Jesus Christ as savior and not good deeds is what brings about salvation. In fact, Martin Luther even pushed for the removal of certain books of the Bible from biblical canon. He primarily took issue with the book of James due to its emphasis on works and good deeds.
Ever since Luther’s time, there have been theological debates citing both Paul and James (the brother of Jesus) and their views on salvation by grace versus the necessity of good deeds. Our reading in Acts this week we get a glimpse of Paul’s message. We can read through his letters which give us a better picture, but in Acts 26:20 we see Paul summarizing the message that he preached, “that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.” Clearly, Paul is not advocating for a life devoid of good deeds. When we look at the letter of James (James 2:14-17; 26) we see his side of the debate. However, just as Paul was not pushing a doctrine of faith without works, James is not pushing for a gospel of works without faith or salvation by works. If we were able to sit these two men down together, I believe we’d find that they are arguing the same point, just from two different sides.
As I’ve talked to people here at the church, I’ve found that I can often determine a person’s passion after only a couple of conversations. People tend to talk about things that they’re passionate about. If I told you that I’m an avid fisherman, you might believe me for a while. However, as the conversation continued and I wasn’t able to tell you my favorite fishing spot, when I confessed that I don’t own a single rod or reel and that I never go fishing, you’d probably question just how much of an avid fisherman I was. This is because when you’re an avid fisherman, those other things just come along with it. An avid fisherman knows the best times and places to catch certain kinds of fish. An avid fisherman has the rods and reels to go fishing, and an avid fisherman actually goes fishing. These things prove an avid fisherman. If you’re a fisherman, you do these things. It’s the same thing that Paul is saying. If you have faith in Christ, you will prove it with your actions.
On the other hand, James is approaching it from the complete opposite direction. Instead of saying, “You have faith, now prove it,” he says, “The good deeds that you do are a natural result of your faith.”
As my son gets older, we try to allow him to take on more responsibilities. In the process of teaching, I know my wife and I have muttered more than once, “You’re doing it wrong.” For example, he will be trying to tie his shoes and say, “It’s not working.” We’ll go over to him, have him show us what he’s doing, and inevitably say, “That’s because you’re doing it wrong. Here, do it like this.” Apparently we’ve said it so much that now he just knows what we’re going to say, so when he can’t do it he instead says, “I’m doing it right, but it’s not working.”
Now, there’s an inherent problem with that statement. If he were tying his shoes correctly, then it would work. The reason that it’s not working is because he’s not doing it right. Those of us who’ve learned to tie our shoes know this. If you do it right, then it’ll turn out the way it’s supposed to, and the end result of having a tied shoe proves that you did it right. If you didn’t do it right, you wouldn’t end up with a tied show.
This is the route that James is taking. If you have faith, you’ll have good deeds. You can’t say, “I have faith,” without having the deeds to back it up. It’s like saying, “I tied my shoes correctly, but it didn’t work.” It’s just not possible. Either you tied your shoes correctly and it worked, or you didn’t tie your shoes correctly and it didn’t work. Either you have faith and therefore have good deeds or you don’t have faith and therefore don’t have good deeds. You can’t say, “I have faith, but I just don’t do any good deeds.” It doesn’t work that way. Good deeds are the natural result of faith. Having a fishing pole and going fishing are a natural result of being an avid fisherman. You can’t have one without the other. This is the point that James is trying to make when he says, “Show me your faith without deeds, and I’ll show you my faith by what I do.” (James 2:18)
Our faith and our deeds go hand in hand. Deeds without faith are meaningless, because we can never do enough good deeds to earn our salvation. It is only through faith in Christ that we are saved. However, simply stating that we believe, simply going to church, is just as meaningless. True faith, the faith that changes the heart and brings salvation, brings about more than a heart change. It changes our whole lives. This change is manifested by the way in which we live our lives. Good deeds, good works, are the evidence of the faithful heart, for a heart that truly has faith will be driven and compelled to live out that faith, whether it’s through serving meals to the hungry, clothing the naked, or accepting the outcast.
My challenge for you today is this. Live out your faith. Don’t just come to church and say you have faith. Live it out in your daily life. As Paul said, “repent and turn to God and prove [your] repentance by [your] deeds.”