Many Protestants argue that Christians are saved by faith alone, that faith is always accompanied by good works, and if anyone does not do good works, he is not saved because he has no faith.
James, however, gives an example of faith without works:
2:14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
James concludes: "You see that a person is justified by what he does and NOT BY FAITH ALONE."
Does a Christian witih faith always do good works, so that it is impossible to have faith without works? If not, can you provide other examples of faith without works?
2007-10-29 06:37:27 · 12 answers · asked by Bruce 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Faith without works is the norm. Many people are strident Christians. They believe in their religion with all their heart.
They just make a point to ignore the poor like everyone else. Examples like this aren't hard to find. They will give in church, but cross the street when they see a homeless person. (Note: not singling Christians out for this, but it's a common example.) The practise is called Antinomianism in theological circles.
2007-10-29 06:46:08 · answer #1 · answered by Runa 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Arundhati is right: Faith without works is the norm. Jesus said as much in his comment about the narrow gate in Matt 7:13-14:
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
The faith-alone, once-saved-always-saved gate is as wide as hell.
Besides neglecting works of charity, we see some "Christians" promoting infanticide and sodomy. That would clearly be faith without works, or faith with ungodly works, explicit rejection of the Ten Commandments.
CDF
2007-10-30 10:52:18 · answer #2 · answered by christiandefenderfaith 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well in actually you have taken this passage out of content. Coupleing faith with the action basically means. If you believe that God will bless you with a brand new car and you really dont have the finances for a down payment if needed and so because of these 2 minor oppositions you never go to a dealership. Yet you still have the faith in God that he can and is able to get youa car. You faith alone is nothing..but when you move out on yoru faith and go to a dealership and allow them to run your info through, and they come back to you and say you can get the car. and you in the back of your mind say i know my credit is horrible. and you get a car. Another example you can believe/ have faith that God has given you the gift of healing to lay hands on the sick and they recover but if you dont take that faith that he has given you the gift of healing to actually move out and lay hands and heal people then what good is having the faith that you can do it.
Faith without works is dead..or in todays terminology... you have to be in it. to win it or , you wont know. i fyou dont go. :) I hope this helped you understand that dont be dissmayed by the obstacles around you. I fyou believe and have faith and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord then you are saved. dont you walk and live your life knowing that you're saved even though you may can't physically see your name written in the Lamb's book of life.
2007-10-29 07:14:59 · answer #3 · answered by grpcia007 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I think we need to remember that the work of faith is not just the "corporal works of mercy", nor do those works need to be of a certain quantity. The good thief rebuked the bad thief and told him not to hassle Jesus. It wasn't much but it was a reflection of his new found faith.
As a former Benedictine monk I can assure you that any monk/nun or hermit who is only focused on his/her relationship with God will be a miserable failure. Our monastery was a retreat center serving folks of many denominations. Other Benedictines run schools and do street ministry. All important works of faith.
The Trappists I know spend their lives out of sight but are well aware of what's going on in the world. The focus of their prayer life is alleviating the problems of the world. That is their work of faith.
We all need to remember that faith without works is as dead as works without faith.
2007-10-29 07:42:19 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 0⤋
Yes, a person can have faith without works, but as James said, faith without works does not save a person.
IOt is very important to note that works without faith will not save a person, either.
2007-10-29 06:42:25 · answer #5 · answered by Sldgman 7 · 6⤊ 0⤋
Some Benedictine and Trappist monks. Many of them are hermits and usually do not interact with others, focusing only on their own relationship with God. (As opposed to Franciscans, for example.)
A side note: Faith and belief and intellectual conclusions or assumptions are all very different things. Faith includes a great deal more than intellectual assent to claims, it includes the way one behaves (acts).
2007-10-29 06:47:40 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Do you know the story of Juan Tamad in the Philippines. That's an exact example. Try to look deeper in the story. A fairytale at noon at the exact time of 12:00 pm.
2007-10-30 15:39:03 · answer #7 · answered by arnie 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can't possibly do the Christian deeds without faith. And once you have faith, you'd do the work. Because at the moment you refuse to do the work, you're faith is dead.
2007-10-29 06:53:58 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Darn. I was going to go with that as an example...
I guess another would be that with faith, the believer apparently loves everyone but you don't have to look far to see that's not true.
Oh, also, I would think faith would make you have an aversion to shell-fish. Apparently not. And faith should 'cure' any homosexual urges a person might have. Just look at the Republican party to see examples of that not being true...
2007-10-29 06:50:14 · answer #9 · answered by strpenta 7 · 1⤊ 3⤋
what about the thief on the cross that decided that he believed Jesus just before he died what works did he have that would justify him going with Christ that day to paradise. where were the works that got him into heaven. but I still believe that if you truly have faith ,works will be the fruit of true faith.
2007-10-29 06:46:02 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋