As we move towards the end of the letter, James is continuing to help us to see what true faith is all about. Read James 4:13-5:20. Faith can easily be confused with confidence and so there is a warning against boasting. This is particularly given to the wealthy who may be tempted to go around… Continue reading Boasting and the future
Tag: faith
Theology of risk
One of the questions to arise out of the COVID inquiry is about what our attitude as Christians is to risk and what it should be. For some, churches were seen to be far too risk averse and this was associated with a perceived over passive compliance with Government regulation and guidance. For others, the… Continue reading Theology of risk
Every promise
There have been some fantastic new hymns written in recent years. One of them in “I will stand on every promise of your word” by Keith and Kristyn Getty. It describes a number of circumstances we might face, from the simple arrival of each new day through to the horror of failing God and stumbling. … Continue reading Every promise
On banning teaching children about religion until they are 18
You see all kinds of fascinating insights into society’s thinking on social media. Recently I saw a post on Threads (the Meta/Facebook alternative to Twitter) which argued that children should not be taught religion until they are 18. Specifically, they were observing that this is something China seeks to enforce and identifying it as a… Continue reading On banning teaching children about religion until they are 18
Doubt or belief
The Air we breathe
You’ve probably heard the sermon illustration about faith where the preacher talks about the difference between saying you believe that a chair will hold your weight and proving this by actually sitting in the chair. We were talking about this illustration at our Life Group in relation to James 2:18 and the relationship between faith… Continue reading The Air we breathe
Rahab
To illustrate what he means by faith and works going together, James points to two Old Testament characters. The first and perhaps obvious one is Abraham (James 2:21-24). James reminds us of the statement that “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness” from Genesis 15. He argues that this was particularly… Continue reading Rahab
Where is Jesus?
One of the strange things about James’ letter is that Jesus doesn’t seem to be particularly prominent in the epistle. It is perhaps this, as much as discomfort with his take on faith and works which has tended to make it one of the less popular books of the Bible to study or to preach… Continue reading Where is Jesus?
Faith and works, hearers and doers
Central to James’ argument is that living faith results in transformed lives, particularly in the crucible of persecution and suffering. This transformation affects character (1:19-21) and attitudes (2:1-7) because it is about our lives being shaped by love for God and for neighbour (2:8-13). This means that there should also be a change in behaviour… Continue reading Faith and works, hearers and doers
Can I choose between faith and works?
James continues to tease out the relationship between faith and works to show that the two go hand in hand together. Having used a practical example, he now uses logic by setting up a hypothetical debating partner. A look at the text (Read James 2:18-26) The hypothetical interlocutor suggests that it is possible for one… Continue reading Can I choose between faith and works?
Faithroots 