The primary tenant of the gospel is that salvation is through the grace of God alone, and personally received by faith. We emphasize that salvation is not by our own good works but is simply an act of God’s grace through Christ to forgive our sins and redeem our fallen condition. So what does James mean when in 2:17 he says “ . . . faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James is not contradicting the Gospel, but instead is clarifying what true and saving faith is like. Genuine, gospel faith is one that will be accompanied by the ongoing transformation of the individual to become more and more like Christ. Spiritual transformation occurs when, by faith, the individual takes action to be better aligned with God. Join me this Sunday as we look at the equation of spiritual growth: Faith + Works = Growth.

In the “you scratch my back – I’ll scratch your back” kind of world we live in it is natural to show favor to the people who can bring benefit to us. Those principles may work in the business world, but they are disastrous for the church and stifle spiritual growth in the believer. In chapter 2 James tackles the issue of favoritism – you might want to wear steel toed boots because James has stepped on my toes a bit just getting this message ready. The good news is James provides a pathway to counter our bent toward favoritism with a fresh take on the command to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Join me this Sunday as James shows us how to grow by loving our neighbor.

Read James 2:1-13

Read Luke 10:25-37

Pure Religion that Brings Growth

This Sunday is our third week in the book of James and the series “Growing Up with Jesus.” In the later part of chapter one James identifies religion that is disingenuous, followed by what is the religion that is accepting to God our Father.  Unfortunately, much of the unsaved world around us sees religion in a negative way because the version of Christianity they have experienced has not been the kind that God accepts. What is the religion that God desires? Join me this Sunday as we explore what is the pure religion God accepts.