Which Is It?

Which is the more important: faith or works?

Men have struggled with this question for centuries.

This question has even caused strife within the church.

Historically speaking, I know of at least one church that let this question result in a schism.

On one side, there were those that believed faith was the superior of the two.

They could point to verses like this to support their reasoning.

John 1:12 (NET) - But to all who have received him—those who believe in his name—he has given the right to become God’s children

The other side, not to be outdone, could point to verses like this in their defense.

James 2:17 (NET) - So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself.

People on each side insisted their view was the correct one.

Neither side was willing enough to see things from the other’s perspective.

Neither side wished to compromise.

A few attempted to reconcile the two.

They did this by stating that view of each was imperfect.

This, of course, did nothing to bring the two sides together.

Eventually, a schism occurred and the church fractured into two.

Each side went their own way.

Time went by and the distance between the two increased.

One of the churches eventually failed.

It made life rather difficult for the other before it did.

This concept of faith versus works still challenges some today.

For me, the concepts of faith and works are not in opposition.

Rather they complement each other.

They are like two sides of the same coin.

I believe that once a person has been genuinely justified by faith, then good works naturally follow.

The two go hand in hand.

Love is what makes this happen.

Scripture reminds us faith is important, but love is even greater.

1 Corinthians 13:13 (NET) - And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Love helps us to make our faith complete.

Love for God.

Love for our fellow man.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, June 3, 2016.

I’ll be back here on Friday, June 10, 2016