6.12.14

James 2 — Love and Action

“If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right.” 2:8 Our culture certainly places a premium on wealth and status. In virtually every situation, we have affinity towards certain people, and strive to gain their approval/affirmation/praise. Many times, that affinity stems from the others’ status, and mostly we have affinity towards those of high status, usually ‘higher’ than our own. The instruction here is to combat favoritism. Its written assuming favoritism will be my M.O., without correction. So, this writing corrects. Love is an across the board, no matter what, regardless of status, kind of thing, and proper display of God’s love through us requires that we not discriminate. The natural tendency towards discrimination is what I have to combat and kill. Again, the coming and dying.
Then the passage about faith and deeds “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.” 2:18 and then: “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that — and shudder.” 2:19 When the creator of the universe interacts with mortal man, and there is an act of salvation by the creator, by definition there is a change in the mortal man. Salvation necessarily changes the believer, and wells up within the believer the desire and need to ACT. The two are linked. One, and then the other from the one. Salvation happens causing action. I cannot get away from the reality of that statement. “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” 2:26 Action out of Love. His love for us, creating in us love for one another.