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We must begin with Adam and Eve. God gave them a command.
If they obeyed the command through faith they would have been
justified. When the devil discredited the command of God it was a
matter of faith to believe God and not the prodding of the devil.
When they disobeyed God they fell. Justification, whether it is
faith apart from the works of the Law which is the message of St. Paul
or faith by works in response to real charitable needs which is the
message of St. James, is a matter of obedience to the Spirit of God and
his leading through faith whether it is independent of works or faith
working by love. This we learn from Adam and Eve. When you
know in your spirit God wants you to act in a certain way, the devil is
there to discredit the word of God or instill fear, whether fear of
harm or public opinion, or doubt or unbelief. It becomes a matter
of faith to act in accord with the Spirit and not to the contradictions
of the devil. If you know in your spirit God wants you to stay
home and not keep the Sabbath by going to church, you are justified by
obedience to faith apart from the Law and not by keeping the Law.
Obedience is better than sacrifice. Our experience of
justification is faith apart from works. When we see someone in
need and we respond by giving the person what they need regardless of
the sacrifice, our experience of justification is faith working by love
in obedience to the leading of the Spirit and not by doing nothing. It
is justification by the obedience of faith. When we are saved by
grace through faith and not of works, our confession is a response to
the power of the Holy Spirit. When we hear the message of
salvation all sorts of factors come into play and it is a matter of the
obedience of faith to respond in the affirmative and not to the voices
of the enemy. When we see people in need and the Spirit impresses
upon us to help, there are all sorts of excuses that arise to not
respond to the leading of the Spirit. It becomes a matter of
faith to act and not draw back. Adam and Eve fell because of lack
of obedience and lack of faith.
In short,
justification is through the obedience of faith. We experience
salvation while we are still sinners. It is salvation apart from
works. St. Paul is there to tell us that salvation is for Jew and
non-Jew through faith and not by keeping the Law. Yet we also
experience justification by faith working by love. St. James is
there to tell us we must not neglect those in need when God prompts us
to respond to those who are in real need of the help we can give.
Faith without works is dead as the body without the spirit is
dead.
God wants us to experience
justification as St. Paul sees it as well as the way St. James sees
it. So much of the church remains feeble and sick because of a
lack of the obedience of faith. To discredit the word of God is
the work of the devil. To instill fear, doubt, and unbelief is
the work of the devil. To overcome all the contradictions of the
devil is the work of the believer through the power of the
Spirit. The righteous find life through faith. The
righteous find life living by faith. Be people of faith.
Amen
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