Is there outward evidence of your Christian faith? Or is faith a private matter kept quietly between you and God? Whether quiet or not, the Apostle James asks, “What good is it . . . if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” (Jas. 2:14). Of course, James is not disparaging faith by asking, “What good is it?” Rather, his rhetorical intention is to connect the dots between faith and the practical outflow of it, that is, works. In other words, “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (2:17). James’s argument does not deny that we are justified as righteous through faith alone in Christ alone. Rather, faith alone is never alone. It proves itself true through fruit. No fruit, no faith.
Tag Archives: Hope
Irresistible Grace
One of the key tenets of faithful Bible reading and study is: Context informs interpretation. It is a dangerous thing to extract verses out of context and form opinions in isolation. The result may be as innocent as a momentary misunderstanding or as catastrophic as leading the innocent astray. I am reminded of a man I knew who claimed he could make the Bible say whatever he wanted, plucking verses here and there to support his biases and often his pleasures. Let us not be guilty of the same.
Christ’s Conquest Confirmed and Announced
So consequential is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to the Christian faith that the Apostle Paul says that were it not true, then we have believed a lie, our faith is worthless, we should be pitied, and we remain condemned in our sins, eternally unforgiven.[2] If the gospel is good news, absent the resurrection, it’s the worst news ever. “But in fact,” Paul goes on to say, “Christ has been raised from the dead” (1 Cor. 15:20), a witnessed fact in history and a glorious testimony to the power of God.
Behold Your King
Imagine this: Jerusalem is crowded with pilgrims who have come to celebrate the Passover. The city is alive with anticipation. Thousands of Jewish families have traveled long distances to gather for the great feast that commemorates God’s historic deliverance of Israel from Egyptian slavery. The streets are busy, the markets are full, and the religious atmosphere is expectant. Into this already charged environment comes the news that Jesus of Nazareth is approaching the city.
Made for More than Mammon
You and I were made for more than mammon? Let us then use wealth wisely in light of eternity, stewarding resources faithfully as those accountable to God, resting ultimately in Christ, our true and lasting treasure. Trusting in Christ alone, examine your heart and ask yourself: Am I investing my resources in what will last forever? Am I faithful with what God has entrusted to me today? Is Christ truly my treasure—or merely an addition to it? The call of Christ Jesus is clear and uncompromising: “You cannot serve God and mammon.” And let us thank God this is true! For He offers us something far greater than wealth—Himself. And in Him, we find riches that cannot fade, cannot fail, and cannot be taken away.
The Lavish Love of God
Let us then examine ourselves in light of this parable. Perhaps you recognize yourself in the younger brother. You have wandered far from God. You have squandered his gifts. The message of this parable is simple: Return. As the prophet Joel says, “Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful” (Joel 2:12).
Was Lost, but Now Am Found
We find factual statements of the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the Bible. We may think, for example, of the protoevangelium in the third chapter of Genesis, where God promises the offspring of a woman victory over Satan.[2] We may think of the ram in the thicket substituted for Issac in Abraham’s sacrifice on Mount Moriah.[3] We may think of the statement of redemption in the introduction to the Ten Commandments.[4]
Crucified with Christ
Such renouncing is not turning from something to nothing, as if we are to empty ourselves of all desire, but to everything that Christ is for us. Let us not look back to what we have said goodbye, like Lot’s wife, but look to Jesus, “the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2). The shame, suffering, and death of the cross were not joy for Christ but looking through it, he focused on the joy to come, his resurrection, the salvation of his people, his eternal glory. And his joy is ours, as we have been crucified with Christ, we love him supremely, die to self daily, and live for him truly, serving as salt in a world that needs to “taste and see that the LORD is good!” (Ps. 34:8).
To the Highways and the Hedges
When you are invited to a dinner party, what things might you say to your host? “Thank you,” is always appropriate. Perhaps, “What a lovely home you have,” or “The meal was excellent,” “The conversation was engaging,” “You are a gracious host,” or even “May I have that recipe?” What you are likely not to say is, “You invited the wrong folks.” But Jesus, in a sense, said it.
The Wisdom of Humility
He was shamed, slandered, and tortured for nothing he did but what we did, even to the point of death, even death on a cross. He deserved none of it and took all of it, humbling himself that he might bring “many sons to glory” (Heb. 2:10). And as God’s sons and daughters, we glory in God’s son. For he who died for our sin and resurrected for our life has ascended, and “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:9-11). Amen.
Planter, Pastor, Preacher 