“For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” Jas 2:26 NIV
God is Holy, Holy, Holy, and as His children, we are supposed to be holy also. (Lev 19:2; 1Pe 1:16) Another way to say “holy” is set apart…that means we are supposed to be different! Different than those who are not in Christ or growing to be like Him, of course. But we are supposed to be different than who we used to be as well. The way we used to think, speak and act must reflect the transformation God has given us in our spirit, and then the continued changes He is making in our soul. We must learn God’s ways so we can imitate Him and truly live out the good works we were always meant to carry out. But if we merely say we are Christians and are not acting different??? We act like we are still dead.
Dead means we are no longer alive. It means we are useless, futile, making no difference. If we say we are a New Creation but we are acting like that old person, then we are not doing good works, and it is like we are still dead. It’s like Jesus has made no difference in us at all. This is heart breaking for God. We actually grieve the Holy Spirit when we are not loving Him and others the way we were created to love. (Eph 4:30) But no guilt here! (Ro 8:1) I am trying to tell us the Truth so it will set us free. (Jn 8:32) Free from a dead life that is not fulfilling, that doesn’t leave a lasting legacy and that does not honor our Savior. We were saved to be alive, fully excited and passionate about every area of life…and when we start living this way, we do not even have to think about doing good works because they will be inevitable.
Join me in memorizing 52 verses this year:
1- Jn 3:16
2- 2Co 5:17
3- Jas 2:26
<>< Peace, Diane
