"Faith and Deeds" expanded

The debate between faith and deeds as a means to salvation is one that theologians have debated over for ages. There is a seeming contradiction between James', "you gotta walk the walk" stance (Jas 2:17) and Paul's stance in Romans that no amount of actions can change the fact that we are sinners in need of grace. This week in class (10/31) we will be looking at James 3:13-18. I'd like to key in on verse 13 for some food for thought. It says, "Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom." Compare this to 2:14-26. I find it hard to read this and think that James is saying that certain actions need to be marked of a checklist in order for us to be saved. What do you think? Compare it to Jesus' words in Matthew 23:23-24. What is the importance of faith vs. deeds? Is it a balancing act between the two? is one more important than the other? 

Giving - At the Heart of the matter

Today's post is on the end of Acts 11, verses 27-30. This passage teaches a very basic but important principle - that God is after hearts that are willingly obedient. (As always, HERE are the scriptures used in today's blog post)

God created us with free will for a reason. Make no mistake, if all He was after was obedience he could have and still could achieve that in us. The problem is that in such a model we become nothing but puppets with whom it is impossible for God to have a relationship. In the early part of the book we saw disciples selling and sharing ALL possessions, giving to each as he had need (2:45). This differs from what we know of socialism in one very important way, and that is that it was voluntary. The early disciples wanted to do this to make sure that everyone was cared for. In chapter 5 we see God strike down two who failed to give everything they had, not because they held some of their earnings back but because they lied about how much they gave so others would think more of them than they ought.

 Here again we see willing giving. In 11:29 it says, "The disciples [converts in Antioch], each according to his ability, decided to provide help to the brothers living in Judea." This is a shift from what we saw in the early part of this book (which was a necessity for the early church because of the circumstances) and more toward the type of giving Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 8-9.

This principle of cheerful giving is one that many of us are familiar with hearing, especially if we have grown up in the church, but it can be very difficult to implement. How do I give more than the numbers say I can and be happy about it? The answer is a balance. It comes down to a balance between willingness to give and willingness to be obedient. Jesus preached many times about money and the bible almost has too many references to finances to count. We are called to pray for God to give us an obedient heart, and part of that may mean giving more. When we put ourselves in a position where we need for nothing we can get in a rut that makes us take God for granted, thinking we've got things covered. When we give more we begin to feel that separation from our money and over time will start to view our incomes differently. The willingness spoken of here is rarely a willingness to give monetarily, but rather to be obedient to what God has commanded, knowing that by giving more you are breaking down walls of idolatry and growing your relationship with Him.

I do feel it important to clear up one thing, though. Reading 2 Corinthians 9 alone may lead us to dangerous thinking that falls under the "Prosperity Gospel," whereby the more you give the more God will give you back monetarily. This is simply not biblical. What this is talking about is spiritual blessings that you will sow from living a righteous life of humble obedience to God's word.