Word
of God
Man
does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth from
the mouth of God
Matthew
4:4
The
Epistle of James 2:26
(Study
notes by Matthew Henry Edited/Prefaced by Doktor Riktor Von Zhades)
26
For as the body without the spirit is dead, even so the faith without
works is dead.
Brethren:
Indeed so. Faith and works are mutually supportive of one another; that is you cannot have one without it’s corresponding partner. This is as an addendum to chapter one verse twenty two, that is to say to be a doer of the word. If you have faith, you do well to believe. Yet if you do not act upon that faith and be a doer of what God commands us to do, then your faith is useless as it serves not a single purpose. One here would put forth the proposition, that it rings hollow, like an empty vessel of polished tin. Shiny on the outside, empty within itself.
Indeed so. Faith and works are mutually supportive of one another; that is you cannot have one without it’s corresponding partner. This is as an addendum to chapter one verse twenty two, that is to say to be a doer of the word. If you have faith, you do well to believe. Yet if you do not act upon that faith and be a doer of what God commands us to do, then your faith is useless as it serves not a single purpose. One here would put forth the proposition, that it rings hollow, like an empty vessel of polished tin. Shiny on the outside, empty within itself.
One
of John Wesley’s tenets of Christian faith was to dutifully
discharge that faith by the helping and assisting of others whenever
and wherever needed. It was his view, of which we can concur that to
do the will of God was to show the love of and by God for His people
in our daily actions. If we only bring them to Christ, but end there
what does it profit them? Yes they have salvation, but if they do not
learn to act upon that salvation it is quite possible they fall away.
As such it is on our heads because we’ve become a stumbling block
to them, a barricade if you will on their walk with our Creator, for
we failed to show them how works of the faithful is most important to
the maintaining of a healthy Christian life. - Dr. R.V.Z
These
words are read differently; some reading them, As the body without
the breath is dead, so is faith without works: and then they show
that works are the companions of faith, as breathing is of life.
Others read them, As the body without the soul is dead, so faith
without works is dead also: and then they show that as the body has
no action, nor beauty, but becomes a loathsome carcass, when the soul
is gone, so a bare profession without works is useless, yea,
loathsome and offensive. Let us then take head of running into
extremes in this case. The best works, without faith, are dead; they
want their root and principle. It is by faith that any thing we do is
really good, as done with an eye to God, in obedience to him, and so
as to aim principally at his acceptance The most plausible profession
of faith, without works, is dead: as the root is dead when it
produces nothing green, nothing of fruit. Faith is the root, good
works are the fruits, and we must see to it that we have both. We
must not think that either, without the other, will justify and save
us. This is the grace of God wherein we stand, and we should stand to
it. - Matthew Henry - late 16th Century Theologian
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