Faith and Works: The Meaning of James 2:26

"It's not about works." Many of us have been taught that trying to 'earn' our salvation by what we do is an insult to the Messiah's blood. Since he paid the price for us we are free to do, well, almost anything we want so long as we are trying to serve him and mean well. We can set aside the commandments of the Creator if they aren't convenient to our lifestyle today. All we have to do is believe, any expectation on ourselves to live a certain way is an affront to the Messiah himself.

Is this what Scripture teaches? James 2:26 says that faith without works is dead. This passage makes it clear that our actions and deeds are significant to YHWH. James makes it clear that faith and works go together. Works alone aren't enough, but just having faith shows there is a conspicuous lack in our lives. This used to be a confusing concept to me (and no doubt to those who tried to remove this passage of Scripture from the Bible), I would hear it and then remember Galatians 2:16, that we are declared righteous by faith in the Messiah and not by works of the law. How do these fit together?

Let's take a step back to see that a better rendering of this passage from Galatians would be, "We are declared righteous by faith in the Messiah, and not by the works of the Aaronic priesthood." Scripture is not teaching that the commandments given to  the priests are wrong or bad, but they were only a temporary covering of sins until the Messiah came. We are not made righteous by the sacrifice of animals. It is not saying that the choices we make have no consequence before YHWH or in our lives. 

Like with the animal sacrifices, our actions alone are not going to make us righteous. You could keep every Sabbath of your life and never covet your neighbor's possessions, but without the Messiah it is not enough. However, once we have faith in the Messiah our works should reflect that! He himself said that if someone loves him they keep his commands (John 14:23), so don't think for a minute that your actions don't matter to him.

The Messiah wants us to love him, and therefore he wants us to be obedient to the commandments in Scripture. Not that our salvation depends on being able to perfectly walk that out every day. Like a loving husband, he offers grace and mercy when his bride is not perfect. Not to worry, your salvation doesn't depend on you. But you showing love to the Messiah? You get to do that by keeping his commands.

Is the Ruach of YHWH limited?

Reading through Micah last week one verse in particular stuck with me:

O you that are named Beit Yaakov, is the Ruach of YHWH limited? Are these His doings? Do not My words do tov to him that walks as a tzadik?

-Micah 2:7 RSTNE

Is the Spirit of YHWH limited? Don't His words bring good to those who walk righteously? This is a dividing line. It is the question for believers today.

Do you believe that YHWH's word is good or not?

If you believe that the Word of YHWH is good, and life giving, and beneficial then you will do it. You will keep the commandments and live as Yeshua did. You will walk in light. The 119th Psalm states repeatedly that YHWH's word is what lights up our path and helps us to see. But if you choose to believe it is not, you will disregard it, selecting only the parts you want, and walk in darkness and confusion.

It's interesting to me that this was a struggle in Micah's day as well. Just as today we have people claiming Scripture is outdated and no longer applicable to our lives, something similar was debated several thousand years ago. I love how YHWH addresses this point, "Is my Spirit limited?"

Is YHWH limited to the point where he couldn't come up with one set of instructions for all humanity? Is He unable to speak to us consistently? I don't think so. 

He follows this with another simple question: Don't my words bring tov to those who live as a tzadik?

The answer is obvious but this is not a rhetorical question. You have to decide for yourself if you believe that YHWH's word is good. And if you believe that it is good, are you going to live like that? This verse does not say, "Don't my words bring good to those who hear them?" It says, "to those who live as a tzadik," - or righteous person.

Throughout Scripture we see the point is not simply to hear the Word of YHWH, but also to do it. YHWH spoke to Noah instructing him to build the ark and Noah did it. In Luke 11:28 Yeshua said, "Favored are they that hear the word of YHWH, and do it."

Do you believe that YHWH's word is good or not? Will you put it into practice or not?