Christian Principle #2 Deeds.

 Christian Principles: #2 Deeds

In the book of James we read,

“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?  

Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  

If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.  

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. 

You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?” James 2:14-20.

There are many Christians who will tell you, you are saved by faith. That is true. However James here make it clear our faith needs to be accompanied by works. Good deeds. 

   If we indeed have true faith in Jesus it will spur us on to good deeds. Simply believing in God should never be enough for the believer in Christ Jesus. We need to put our faith into action.

Jesus made this clear when he said,

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  

I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  

When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  

When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ 

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  

For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,  

I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 

“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Matthew 25:34-46.

If you claim to be a believer in Christ Jesus are you putting your faith into action?

Please think about it.

What are your works saying?

  What are your works saying?

In proverbs we read,

“For a man’s ways are in full view of the LORD,

 and he examines all his paths.” 

                                                         Proverbs 5:21.

In the book of Ecclesiastes we read,

"Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 

For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." Ecclesiastes12:13,14.

Too many Christians today here in North America believe they are saved by the grace of God. (Ephesians 2:8) which in their minds means nothing else is necessary. It is true we are saved by grace. But at the same time we must remember that we too will stand before God to answer for our actions.

I firmly believe that our faith should spur us on to do good works. In the book of James we read,

"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?  

Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  

If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 

But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.  

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. 

You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?" James 2:14-20.

Thus my question to anyone reading this who claims to be a Christian, a follower of Christ Jesus; What is your works telling those around you? What are they saying to God?

Please think about it.

Do Gods work

  Do Gods work

In the book of proverbs we read,

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. 

Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." Proverbs 31:8,9.

All too often I think the church, particularly the evangelical church here in North America fail to follow what is said here in Proverbs 31:8,9. 

While there are a lot of Churches that do reach out and help the poor, and destitute. There are also way too many who do not. Churches, evangelist and pastors who are focussing so much on the ills of society that they are seen by secular society in a negative way. 

In the book of James we read,

"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?  

Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  

If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 

But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.  

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. 

You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?" James 2:14-20.

I like what the American Evangelist Tony Campolo said,

"These issues are biblical issues: to care for the sick, to feed the hungry, to stand up for the oppressed. I contend that if the evangelical community became more biblical, everything would change." Tony Campolo.

As Christians our faith must urge us on to help the hungry, and the oppressed. In this way we will I believe win favour with God and man. And not only that see souls won for Christ.

Please think about it. 

Your Faith Should

Your faith should

“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?  
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  
If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.  
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. 
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?”  James 2:14-20.
Christianity is very much a faith of both, faith and works. Our faith should compel us to do righteous works.
It’s easy to say by faith we are saved, but our faith must go further than that.
Sometime ago the youth group at my son’s church were challenged to make a difference. So they decided to find some people with no affiliation to their church that were in need of help.
They in one case helped fix up a house both inside and out. They did it without cost or obligation to the people they were doing it for. They did it without fan fair. All they got for their work was the appreciation of the people they did the work for, and the good feeling that they received for a job well done.
This is how we as Christians should work. Tony Campolo the American evangelist states,
“These issues are biblical issues: to care for the sick, to feed the hungry, to stand up for the oppressed. I contend that if the evangelical community became more biblical, everything would change.” Tony Campolo
He’s right we should be showing our faith through our deeds every day. Remember the words of Francis of Assisi,

“The deeds you do

 may be the only sermon 

some persons will hear today”

                                     Francis of Assisi

Think about it.

The Church

The Church
James the half brother of Jesus wrote,
"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?  
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  
If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 
But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.  
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. 
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?" James 2:14-20.
Tony Campolo the American evangelist said,
"These issues are biblical issues: to care for the sick, to feed the hungry, to stand up for the oppressed. I contend that if the evangelical community became more biblical, everything would change." Tony Campolo.
Just recently someone sent me a Facebook post it was from the Bishop-elect of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Missouri, Deon K. Johnson in response to president Donald Trumps call to open the Churches immediately deeming them essential. In his reply to Trump Bishop Johnson gave an excellent description of what the church truly is. He said,
"The work of the church is essential.
The work of caring for the lonely, the marginalised, and the oppressed is essential.
The work of speaking truth to power and seeking justice is essential.
The work of being a loving, liberating, and life giving presence in the world is essential.
The work of welcoming the stranger, the refugee and the undocumented is essential.
The work of reconciliation and healing and caring is essential.
The church does not need to “open” because the church never “closed”. We who make up the Body of Christ, the church, love God and our neighbours and ourselves so much that we will stay away from our buildings until it is safe. We are the church." Bishop Deon K Johnson.
The church is not buildings. The church is made up of individuals world wide that love and believe with their whole heart and soul that Jesus is Lord and God. No virus or act of man can stop the church from it’s appointed task.
All adversity be it man made or a pandemic does, is make the church adjust and be creative in how it goes about doing God’s work.
Jesus said,
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” Luke 4:18,19.
It is this ministry the ministry that Jesus started that we as believers in Christ Jesus are called to carry on. Thus my question to you.
Are you preaching the good news of Christ Jesus? Are you doing all you can to show the Love of God to those around you and help them in any way you can no matter how small?
Please think about it.

Praise Him in Word and Deed"

Praise Him in Word and Deed
The Psalmist tells believers in God to,

Praise the LORD. 

Praise God in his sanctuary;

 praise him in his mighty heavens. 

Praise him for his acts of power; 

praise him for his surpassing greatness. 

Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, 

praise him with the harp and lyre, 

praise him with tambourine and dancing,

 praise him with the strings and flute, 

praise him with the clash of cymbals, 

praise him with resounding cymbals. 

Let everything that has breath 

praise the LORD. 

Praise the LORD. 

                              Psalm 150

Here’s a question. Do you praise The Lord in word and in deed?
 Many people praise God in word. But their actions in their daily life do not give praise to God.
The book of Acts notes this about the early church,
“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,  praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:46,47.
The early church kept their eyes fixed on God. As a result “the Lord added to their numbers daily those who were being saved.”
It’s my belief if those who claim to be followers of Christ Jesus today kept their eyes firmly on God. Praising Him and showing unconditional love to those around, many more people would be saved.
Please think about it.

Christians and Purity

Christians and Purity
The apostle Paul writing to the Corinthians states,
“Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” 
“I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” 
Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”2 Corinthians 6:17- 7:1.
In my previous blog post I noted that to be Christlike not only meant loving people but sitting down with sinners and others to present the message of Christ to them.
Here the apostle Paul is making it clear to believers in Christ that we need to keep ourselves clean from the contamination of the evil of the world.
However that does not mean refusing to associate with the people of this world. Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians states,
“I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.
But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.” 1 Corinthians 5:9,10,11.  
Paul make it clear we are not to associate with someone calling himself a brother in Christ who is doing immoral things.”
In 2 Corinthians 6:17-7:1, Paul is saying that we personally need to keep our lives clean. Paul makes it clear stating,
“...let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”
The apostle Peter writes
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 
Dear friends,
 I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:9-12.
As believers in Christ we should be living as good a moral life as we can. So much so that without us even saying a word those around us will realize it and even be attracted to Christ because of it.
Please think about it.

Word and Deed

Word and Deed
Matthew’s gospel records Jesus speaking to his disciples as saying,,
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5: 14-16.
Over the years I’ve heard many sermons on this passage of scripture. Most of them focussed on the fact that believers in Christ Jesus are the light of the world. That it is their job to take the message of salvation into a dark world.
There is however less emphasis on how believers in Christ are to take that message to the world. Many Christians assume that it is by word of mouth that the gospel message is to be preached.
While that is true, it is most definitely not the only way. In the last sentence from the above quot by Jesus, Jesus states,
“In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” Matthew 5:16.
As Christians we must present the gospel message in word and in deed. The apostle Peter states,
“Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:11,12.
Francis of Assisi wrote two things believers in Christ Jesus need to consider. He wrote,

“Preach the Gospel at all times 

and 

when necessary use words.’

                                                    Francis of Assisi

and

“The deeds you do

 may be the only sermon some persons will hear today” 

                                                                       Francis of Assisi.

If you claim to be a follower of Christ Jesus, what are your deeds telling the world about Jesus?
Please think about it.