Taking Stock

Yesterday, we challenged you to take a moment and think about your life. Are you living in accordance with what you say you believe? And if you aren't, then ask God for wisdom (James 1:5) and the walk in obedience with what He says.

One of the things that I want to broaden on this is something that I like to call "The Justification Factor." We read this week in James 2:24 that "a person is justified by what they do and not by faith alone." We talked about the fact that on the surface this seems to fly in the face of what Paul says in Ephesians 2:8-9 when he says, "It is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not by works so that no one can boast." I would like to talk about what James is saying here in context, and then hopefully, we can see what God is trying to tell us.

When we use the term "justified", there are two biblical definitions. The first is that of redemption. This is the meaning we most often jump to. It is the truth of God's Word that tells us that when we come to faith in Christ, we are justified before God...in other words, our sins are forgiven and we are able to stand before God righteous. This is totally a gift of God. There is nothing we can do in and of ourselves to make ourselves right before God. If were to try, God would laugh at us, and we would be toast. So it is obvious that James is not using this definition of the word "justified" here.

The second definition for justified is vindicated. This means that there is proof for what has been asserted. If I say, "2+2=4", I would then justify my statement by counting two apples, and putting with it, two more apples, and then counting again, having four. This "justifies" my statement that 2+2=4, and thus proves me right.

In James' example, the life of faith needs to be justified...or vindicated. If I say, "I have faith in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior!" then the actions of my life better reflect that this is true in my life. If I make this claim, and then go off and do whatever I want to do, then my statement is not justified, it is proven to be false, and I am a hypocrite. But if my claim is backed up with peace in the midst of horrific circumstance; or generosity when I can't afford it; or kindness when I've been abused; or any of a number of qualities that a Christ-Follower is to have, then my assertion is justified (or vindicated).

So when we talk about "The Justification Factor", we are talking about the fact that when we assert our faith in Christ verbally, there ought to be evidence that proves we are who we claim to be. The Newsboys have a song titled Guilty in which they approach this subject. Click on the link below and have a listen:

So, if you would like to share about a time you stood up for Jesus and your faith in Him was justified, comment below! And we'll see you on Sunday!