The Friend of God
Scheduled for September 28
One
of the most common concepts in Protestant Christianity is Martin Luther’s sola
fide -- faith alone. It is the doctrine that we are not saved by what we
do (“works”) but rather by whom we believe (“faith”). A “proof text” often
used to bolster this view is quoted from the Letter of James:
(James 2:23 NIV) And the
scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was
credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend.
The
argument is fairly simple: Abraham believed God; God credited him with
righteousness. So often we then conclude that what we do has nothing to
do with our belief. But back up a couple of verses. What was Abraham doing
here, about which James said he “believed?”
(James 2:21-22 NIV) Was not
our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his
son Isaac on the altar? {22} You see that his faith and his actions were
working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.
Even
though we often hear James 2:23 quoted as supporting the idea that “works” are
of no consequence, the passage is actually an explanation of James more famous
quotation:
(James 2:17 NIV) In the same
way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
The
King James has it in more familiar language: “Faith, without works, is dead.”
The
sad thing is that we have redefined the word “faith.” To James and the others
of his time, the idea that you could have faith without acting on it was absurd
-- as indeed this is the point of the second chapter of his letter. He
considered it foolish. We, on the other hand, have redefined faith to mean
“intellectual agreement.” I have faith that the earth goes around the sun. I
have faith in my wife. One of those two I act on -- and so the word “faith” in
those two sentences has two different meanings. Christian faith is the kind of
faith you act on -- or it is not the faith at all.
As
you take Communion, you are stating your faith. You proclaim to all who
observe that you believe. The loaf and the cup, you are saying, are
symbolically the body and blood of Jesus Christ, broken and shed for our sins.
In a communication too powerful for words, you proclaim his death as sacrifice
for us. Before we do this, each of us is commanded to “examine himself.” So I
ask you to examine this: am I making an empty proclamation at Communion? Is
my faith lacking in works? Or does my faith overflow in good works to the
praise of God?
Use
the mirror of your mind; see if your faith is alive -- or dead.
