Apr

8

Faith and Deeds?

April 8, 2008 | Filed Under meditations

I have had friends who are heavy into proclamation express concern about the lack of proclamation that they see with some people who are mercy ministry or social action oriented. They feel that works have taken the place of the proclamation of the gospel.

On the other hand, I have had friends who are heavy into mercy ministry work express concern that the proclamationalists do little beyond sharing the Gospel. They feel that the focus on proclamation is so strong that poor and needy are totally ignored.

My take on it, is that the scriptures talk about both blended together in any ministry activity. I think it was Tony Campolo who once said that there are over two thousand scriptures that deal with the poor, the widow, the orphan and the needy. It is a theme very close to the heart of God because it is talked about over and over.

Check out this particular scripture…

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? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”-but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? 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.

Tyndale House Publishers. (2004). Holy Bible : New Living Translation. “Text edition”–Spine. (2nd ed.) (Jas 2:14-18). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.

Our faith will produce action. My take on this is that if we don’t see the action, then probably the work of faith isn’t there yet in our lives. It is both.

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Comments

3 Responses to “Faith and Deeds?”

  1. Leo on April 8th, 2008 4:53 pm

    A teacher I had in my DTS said it very wisely: “No one wants to go to heaven on an empty stomach, no one wants to go to hell on a full stomach”

  2. Donovan on April 9th, 2008 10:32 am

    Indeed… I remember when I first joined YWAM the story of an outreach team that was sharing the Gospel and the man told them that he couldn’t hear them because he was too hungry. You don’t hear that said much any more, but it is timeless!

  3. Mid Week Round Up | Byrnesys Blabberings on April 9th, 2008 4:10 pm

    [...] or even relevant to laity.CS Lewis gives 5 tips for writing and talking clearly HT: John PiperDonovan Palmer blogs about the balance of faith and works or more particularly narrative proclamation of the gospel vs. the gospel by acts of mercy.Jason [...]

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