LENT: Apr 9 - James 1:27

Religion that is pure and undefiled

before God, the Father, is this:

to care for orphans and widows

in their distress.

James 1:27

 

The heart of Lutheran Theology runs through Romans 3 – “23 since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24 they are now justified by his grace …25 … effective through faith … 28 apart from works prescribed by the law.” In other words, it’s God’s actions (grace), not our actions (falling short), that save us.

 

Martin Luther, therefore, wasn’t a big fan of the book of James, and this Apostle’s contention that “2:17 faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.”

 

So which is it? Paul’s “apart from works, we’re saved by faith” or James’ “without works, faith is dead”? Indeed, does the only pure religion demand that we do the work of “car[ing] for orphans and widows”?

 

It’s both!

 

Why? Because 1) the Bible says so. And because 2) the two statements really don’t contradict each other anyway!

 

1.    If it ever appears that there’s a contradiction in Scripture, don’t just reason it away in a human way. Live at the apparent intersection of these two contradictions … until God gives you clarity. If you have to lean in one direction or the other, lean toward the dominant witness of several clear Biblical principles and don’t opt for the “cool contradiction” (which is sometimes how cults and sects start). But also be patient, realizing that clarity usually comes from a further studying of scripture.

 

2.    But here’s why these two really don’t conflict …

 

a.    We’re saved by faith … not our works.

b.    And that’s a good thing because we all sin … and without God’s grace we’d be eternally dead and doomed (see Ephesians 2:1ff).

c.    But once we come to faith – and are rescued from eternal death – shouldn’t that change us?!!

d.    Shouldn’t we want to live like our Savior taught us to live?

e.    Pure and undefiled faith prompts a makeover on our hearts and lives.

f.     It’s not that we won’t still make mistakes. (Yes, we’ll still continually sin and fall short.) Nevertheless, as we grow in faith, we’ll grow in faith, love, and obedience to the ways of the Lord.

g.    As we grow in faith, we’ll begin to look more and more like Jesus.

h.    And we’ll begin to care more and more for people – including the orphans and widows.

i.      And we’ll do this through joyful generosity, rather than dead legalism.

 

In Christ’s Love,

A guy who is pure and undefiled

– not on my own, of course,

but through God’s grace – and

wants to live joyfully and

generously in response

to God’s love