As my dad was feeling under the weather this week, he got a gentleman from the church, Mr. Jacob Westcott, to fill in for him at the pulpit this morning. Mr. Westcott preached a very good sermon on James 2:14-26, entitled "Faith Without Works is Dead."
The "sermon in a sentence" (as our previous pastor used to always give) was the title of Mr. Westcott's sermon - faith without works is dead. That was the sermon in a nutshell. Saying that you have faith, but not living out that faith through works is nothing; it's a dead faith. I've thought a lot about this, since I wrote a speech for the Maritime Speech Meet last month on our teen's apathetic faith and their belief that all they have to do is say that they have faith in God, but they can deny Him by their works. This is a topic that is so relevant today, not just among youth, but among people of all ages.
One of the problems is that many people don't understand that, whether they say it out loud or not, their lives make a statement. And that statement will either be - I have faith or I don't. That's not something that can just be said. Simply saying that you have faith does not make that your life statement. You have to live out your faith, by producing works, for your life statement to be - I have faith.
So what does your life say? Do you live out your faith in Christ, or do you live out a dead faith, a faith without works?