My Story - Peace with James

In my previous post, I quoted James 2:24:  "You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone."  Doesn't that contradict Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 3:28, and many other verses in the Bible?

I have come to believe that there is no contradiction when these books of the BIble are read in context.  I believe that James's statements complement -- rather than contradict -- the verses that clearly teach salvation is only by grace through faith, and not by works.  I agree with the following note from the NASB Life Application Study Bible (2000): 

• "While it is true that our good works can never earn salvation, true faith always results in a changed life and good works.  Paul speaks against those who try to be saved by works instead of true faith; James speaks against those who confuse mere intellectual assent with true faith.  After all, even demons know who Jesus is, but they don't obey Him ([James] 2:19)." (p. 2189). 

Any comments on this topic you'd like to share?

My Story - An OCD Perspective on Faith and Obedience

Since my earliest days as a Christian, I felt strongly that obeying God was important.  However, I was also keenly aware that I often did not obey God.  I wrestled for years with what it means to walk by faith, to obey, and how faith and obedience are related.

The books of James and 1 John greatly challenged me during these years.  As someone with scrupulosity OCD, I usually reacted to these books with (1) guilt that I had not obeyed "enough" and (2) fear that I really did not have saving faith.  Some people suggested that these two books contradict what the Bible teaches about salvation by grace through faith, and I did not know what to make of that. And if James and 1 John really contradicted the rest of the Bible, then that meant there was something wrong with the Bible which would mean that the Bible is not trustworthy -- and those of you with OCD can imagine what kind of tailspin this got me into with questions and doubts!

For example, in James 2:24 it says, "You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone." Whoa!  Doesn't that contradict Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast" ?  

And in 1 John 2:4-6 it says, "The one who says, 'I have come to know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected.  By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked."  Whoa!  Does that mean that if I do not perfectly keep His commandments that I am not saved ?

Before I go on, I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic.  Any comments?

Note: For those of you with OCD, I want to encourage you not to get caught up in overanalyzing these passages or other ones like I did! These passages are worth thinking about, but overanalyzing and obsessing over them is a trap, and in my experience it does much more harm than good. 

My Story - Living By Faith

In my recent post, "My Story - Faith Is Not A Feeling", I wrote:  

"I live by faith when I respond in trust and obedience to what God reveals to me to do, to say, or how to adjust my thinking.  I live by faith when I take Him at His Word by obeying the principles and commands He sets forth in Scripture."

Such a close linking of "faith" and "obedience" may elicit various responses, such as: (1) people with scrupulosity OCD might say,"I know that salvation is by grace through faith alone and not by works, but I think that God still wants us to obey exactly what He says to do.  I try so hard to obey all the time, but I still feel guilty that I haven't done good enough!"  (2) others might say, " I have faith that Jesus is my Savior, so it doesn't matter whether I obey or not!"

In my opinion, neither of these extreme reactions embodies what the Bible teaches.  For most of my years as a Christian, I had the extreme reaction of trying so hard to obey and feeling burdened with guilt since I could never obey perfectly.  But my thoughts on how to live by faith -- and how obedience relates to that -- have changed dramatically over time.  In coming posts I'll share some more of my journey of learning how to live by faith.