“Faith without works is dead”1. “Saved by faith… not through works”2. So which is it? Can both be true? It depends on the meaning that you put on the word “works”. The Bible tells us to believe, but notes that even demons believe, yet we don’t have to worry about a demon moving in next door in Heaven.
It is easier to understand if, instead of works, we think of it instead as action. The action that Jesus expects of us is not necessarily to build a church, to go to seminary, to evangelize in the streets. Indeed it is nothing that we conceive of on our own.
Think of the role of the shepherd and the sheep. In John 10:27 Jesus says “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me”. The thing that we MUST do that demons won’t is to follow Jesus. Following is the action that Jesus expects of us. This will lead us away from the desires of our own hearts to the desires of His. It may include building or evangelizing – but it will be His direction and not be limited to our own understanding. Is it easy? YES! Sheep are not brilliant animals. Indeed those that seemingly have a mind of their own are the hardest to shepherd.
Jesus says “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” It’s easy to believe that He is the Truth and the Life because that is a passive acknowledgment. Accepting that He is the Way must be an active acceptance. In accepting this we must follow Him. It is no accident that the early church was known as the “Followers of the Way” – not the Sitters in the Pews, nor the Keepers of the Rules. In order to follow Him, we must listen to Him – not model our behavior or actions on the other sheep. Test what you hear against the instruction manual He left for you – the Bible. Relying on the bleaters around you may have you following a fellow member of the flock whose ultimate destiny is lamb chops rather than Heaven.
1 James 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
2 Ephesions 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
In a dry and thirsty land 