“As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” James 2:26

Faith in God is always accompanied by action. Faith and good works are not contradictory. They both are complementary. In other words, if we have Bible faith we would act on the faith.

Mary had faith in God when she heard the heavenly message; she put feet to her faith by saying, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” Based on the information that Elizabeth, her relative, was pregnant at her old age, she went to the hill country to visit her. She magnified and praised God (Luke 1:46-55), and she stayed with Elizabeth for three months. These were all actions that accompanied her faith toward God.

You see, faith is a word of action. Faith does not portray a passive mindset. It never does. Faith results in obedience to God, which is an action. 1 Thessalonians 1: 9 says the people in Thessalonica “stopped worshiping idols and changed to serve the living and true God” due to their faith in the living God, which is an action they took.  Faith in God generally results in repentance, change of lifestyles, new decisions, and transformations. Someone said even your pets would take note of the changes in you if you have faith in God.

Our today’s insight says, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” If there is no repentance and changes in behavior and lifestyles, then it is a dead faith. The true faith in God automatically produces actions. Jesus Christ said in Luke 6:44, “A tree is known by its own fruit.”

Luke 17:11-14 describes an incident of ten lepers who stood at a distance and cried aloud, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When Jesus saw them, He said, “go and show themselves to the priests. He did not immediately heal them but asked them to go and show them to the priests. It says, “as they went, they were cleansed.” The ten lepers had faith in Jesus. They believed Jesus can heal them. This is the reason they cried out for help. Now they put feet to their faith and walked to see the priests. On the way, they got healed. Moses, the greatest leader of Israel, left Egypt and the position of Pharaoh’s Son for the sake of the greater value than the treasures of Egypt-the disgrace for the sake of Christ.

The immediate context of our today’s insights in James 2 gives the examples of Abraham and Rahab. They both placed their faith in God. They both acted on their faith toward God. Abraham “obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” (Hebrews 11:8).

Similarly, Rahab put her faith in the God of Israel and acted on that faith by lodging spies in her home and sending them away in a different direction to protect them. Jesus said to the disciples when their boat was sinking due to heavy winds, take courage. It is I, do not be afraid. Peter replied and said, command him to come on the water to Jesus. Jesus said, “come.” Peter, of course, had faith in Jesus. Now put feet to his faith and started walking on water. Peter acted on his faith. He was not walking on water. Instead, he was stepping on the faith he had in Jesus Christ. He walked on the words of Jesus Christ.

Beloved, what action are you going to take today? Remember, faith toward God always results in action.

Dearly beloved, got a moment for today’s prayer? Pray after me. “Father in heaven, I place my faith on you. I will put feet to my faith by accepting Jesus Christ, your Son, as my savior and Lord. I repent of all my sins. I confess my sins to you. I believe Jesus died and rose again for all of my sins. I want to live for you the rest of my life. In Christ’s name, I pray. Amen.”