Consistency is the Key

James 2:12ff, "So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law of love, the law that sets you free. There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when He judges you... What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? ...So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, 'Some people have faith; others have good deeds.' But I say, 'How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.' You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. Fool! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?... So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone...Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works."

Oswald Chambers, "Christian perfection is not, and never can be, human perfection. Christian perfection is the perfection of a relationship with God that shows itself to be true even amid the seemingly unimportant aspects of human life...Such lives may leave you with the idea that God is unnecessary— that through your own human effort and devotion you can attain God’s standard for your life. In a fallen world this can never be done. I am called to live in such a perfect relationship with God that my life produces a yearning for God in the lives of others, not admiration for myself."

The thoughts of grace and works, seem to be contradictory toward one another. On one hand you cannot earn your salvation. I know this, for I was saved while I was living in sin. My good works did not save me, for I had none. But now that I have all of my faith in God, how could I say that I was His follower, if I did not act accordingly? My every day actions show my faith. If I am living one way when others can see me, then sneaking around and doing something different when I was alone, my private actions would contradict my public ones. These can go in all sorts of extremes. For example, lets say that a person seems to be very generous and gives to the poor and helps the needy all of the time, but then never pays their bills and neglects personal responsibilities, what does this say about their true faith? Or if a person is offended when others curse around them and criticizes the way they worship God on Sundays, but then hides and looks at pornography while in private. What does this say about their true belief?

Christ is calling us to a higher standard. We must start looking at everything that we do. We cannot say, "Some people have faith; others have good deeds." He is calling us to be consistent. Having college girls living with me, in my house every day watching everything we do, has greatly opened my eyes to this even more. We are being commanded, it is not a suggestion, that we must not live double lives. I have not perfected this, for no one is perfect, but my eyes have been opened. The question is, am I living a changed life to please other people, or am I changed because I love my God? Are my actions consistent with what I say I believe? Do I have good deeds, because my heart is for God. Or do I have good deeds, so that others will praise me? I could never earn my salvation. That kind of work could never save anyone. "But I say, 'How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.'" If you have good deeds in one area, but then trample on what you have done by living differently in another place, what kind of faith do you have? Consistency is the key. Is your faith consistent with your good deeds? Are your good deeds constant with your faith? Are we expecting our good deeds to save us? Why do we do good at all? Are we completely relying on the grace of God and expect Him to expect nothing from us in return? Consistency is the key....