SERVANT QUARTERS
with Gayle Erwin
www.servant.org

The statements of James in his New Testament letter about faith and works so irritated Martin Luther from his platform of newly-discovered grace that he didn't want to include James in his translation of the Bible into German. Luther might have missed the statement that places the demands for works in James under the cover of grace. Can you have faith without works? Probably not. Jesus certainly spoke negatively of seed that germinated but didn't produce. Can you have works without faith? Probably. Jesus spoke of some who did many mighty works "in His name" yet declared that he didn't know them.

So, what is the big deal? The writer of Hebrews expresses faith in stark terms: And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (11:6) Now that we have that settled, both having and proving that faith becomes extremely important.

Jesus paints an attractive and scary picture of faith in such expressions as "Your faith has saved you. And I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, "Move from here to there" and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

I have observed numerous and embarrassing attempts to exploit that last statement to accomplish things more showy than edifying. Often, the mountain is the one who prays (who then gets moved into obscurity) rather than his proposed mountain. Jesus didn't mean for that to be an opportunity to show off. Remember that only those things done in His name (compatible with His nature) have His power behind them.

So what might best represent that mountain and what is that core secret of faith? James actually describes it clearly: If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. (James 2:8)

Problem! Loving my neighbor happens to be the biggest mountain I face, since I am, by nature, so self-centered. Getting the disciples to love one another rather than compete with one another proved to be the most difficult task Jesus faced. Only after the incredible infusion of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, were they able to stand "together."

Now, we have enough clues to begin to put the faith problem to rest. To a church that had lost its way in returning to the legalism of its before-Christ past, Paul writes words that move me even if it didn't move the Galatians: The entire law is summed up in a single command: Love your neighbor as yourself. (Galatians 5:14)

The entire law? Yes. All of our works that prove our faith is love? Yes. That covers a lot of territory. True. However, just eight verses earlier, he wraps it up just as tightly: For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. (Galatians 5:6)

This is so direct – neither keeping the law nor not keeping the law has any value. This certainly flies in the face of religion in general. You may with great effort attempt (as some denominations do) to live in the rules of the Old Testament. What does Paul say? No value at all! You may declare yourself as living in the New Testament and free from all rules. What does Paul say? No value at all! Though Paul declared himself free to do anything, he also restricted his freedom to one rule (the Royal Law) that his actions must always be to edify others.

So where is the value? Where are the "works"? It is all in love. In fact, the only thing that counts is love. I think the Holy Spirit must help us with that, but Jesus made him so available to us. All we have to do is ask. (Luke 11:13)

And all it takes is a grain of faith to move that mountain. Amazing! And I didn't even have to mention 1 Corinthians 13.

Gayle D. Erwin

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