Faith and Works
by Shenouda Girgis
“Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?”– James 2:5.
The opening chapters of St James’ epistle reveal the importance of being a doer of the Word and not just a hearer. We strive for a strong and steadfast faith to guide our Christian life. We must be genuine; What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? (James 2:14)
In the beginning, God, out of His great love, created us, everything around us and set us over all His other creations. And as if such a gesture of love wasn’t enough, He blessed us with free will – the ability to make our own decisions – but simply asked that we be obedient to His word.
As we all know, it was this very ability to make our own decisions that led to the demise of humankind as we know it. Surely God knew that His gift of free will would be abused and that we would disobey and fall from grace.
Why did He allow this to happen knowing the consequences of sin was death? Why would He allow such a void to form between us and Him? The answer for this is God Himself, love. What we sometimes don’t understand is that our relationship with God is unlike any other relationship – the strongest relationships are the ones that are not one sided – where there is mutual love. That’s why God gave us our free will, He wants us to chose to be in a relationship with Him and not force us into just doing the right thing.
His love for us is unique in that, despite our numerous and infinite infidelities, He is always willing to accept us and is waiting for the day that we consciously choose Him with the free will He gave us. As Christians, our faith is established on the very thing makes God, God: love! Surprised?
Out of His love, He sent His Only Son to bear the punishment of our sins and through the death and resurrection of Christ we have been given eternal life. But just like our fall, our fate is in our own hands and the hands of the free will that God blessed us with. All of this is important to know because this is the foundation from which the strength of our faith can grow.
Our works are the true measure of our faith. But what do the Saints mean when they say works? Put simply, works are the proof of faith; it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to dedicate your entire life to service but if our faith is strong then we naturally have ‘works’, when out actions reflect Christ and people can see Christ in you then these are the true works that the saints are referring to. Are you inclusive of others as Christ was inclusive? Are you quick to anger or do you have the patience we are taught to have? I think St Francis of Assisi says it perfectly:
“Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary use words.”
Further reading: James 1-3, Romans 4-5, Galatians 3, Ephesians 2 & Proverbs 1