JAMES 2:17
"So you see, faith by itself is not enough. Unless your faith produces good deeds, it is DEAD and useless."
In the old west they had posters for criminals, "WANTED- DEAD OR ALIVE". The Lord wants His children, "ALIVE AND NOT DEAD". Faith that is not alive is dead and useless in God's kingdom. When you came to the Lord, you became a new person with a new spirit. That is the natural consequence of believing in Jesus Christ. You were filled with the Holy Spirit that lead you in a new holy way, filled with hope and faith. As a new man you abandoned your old ways. It is not enough to believe God without demonstrating through your actions that you also have the kind of faith that inevitably produces good deeds.
Have you demonstrated your faith by doing good deeds? Are you actions obedient to the Lord? Faith by itself is limited in its power. Faith that does not produce good deeds is inoperative and useless. Is your faith dead and useless, or is it producing good deeds? That is how we know you are alive in Christ, by your deeds! Faith that is unproductive and spiritually deficient is inactive, ineffective and worthless.
You will be shown to be justified and acceptable to God by the actions and works you do as a result of your faith. An example is Abraham, when he brought Isaac to the alter in obedience to God. Abraham's action spoke volumes about his faith. When your faith is in co-operation with your works it is a complete and full expression of your true belief. A man is justified and pronounced righteous by God through what he does and not alone by faith. We must do works of obedience as well as believe and have faith. Is your faith, DEAD OR ALIVE?
