MAKING YOUR FAITH VISIBLE (5 OF 13)
by Scott Maze
Scripture: James 2:14-26
This content is part of a series.
Making Your Faith Visible (5 of 13)
Series: Balance: A Study of the Book of James
Scott Maze
James 2:14-26
Churches and Christians talk a great deal about faith. And yet faith is invisible. Faith in and of itself cannot be seen. Paul points to the invisible nature of faith in the classic verse of Romans 10:9: ''because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved'' (Romans 10:9). You cannot look inside my heart. While faith is invisible, yet it still leaves its impact in a tangible, visible way. For faith is like calories. You can see neither of them but can always see their results.
A June 2006 report from the National Prison Commission states, ''What happens inside jails and prisons does not stay inside jails and prisons.'' The commission notes ''disturbing evidence of individual assaults and patterns of violence'' that spill out of those institutions when inmates more dangerous that when they were first imprisoned are released into communities.''
Yet, a 2003 University of Pennsylvania study demonstrated that prisoners who participated in a faith-based program were ''significantly less likely'' to be re-arrested. Louisiana State Penitentiary was once the bloodiest prison in the South. Today, the biggest maximum-security prison in the USA, is different. Because of faith-based training, the prison is sending missionaries, graduates of the facility's in-house Bible college to other prisons in Louisiana. Again, faith, like calories, is invisible, but you can see their results.
We have been looking at the words of James. Today we are looking at the theological heart of this small letter from James.
Everything up to this point is like an arrow point to James 2:14-26 . . . And everything behind this passage points like an arrow back to it. This is in many people's minds James' thesis for their entire letter.
Today's Scripture
''What good is it, my brot ...
Series: Balance: A Study of the Book of James
Scott Maze
James 2:14-26
Churches and Christians talk a great deal about faith. And yet faith is invisible. Faith in and of itself cannot be seen. Paul points to the invisible nature of faith in the classic verse of Romans 10:9: ''because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved'' (Romans 10:9). You cannot look inside my heart. While faith is invisible, yet it still leaves its impact in a tangible, visible way. For faith is like calories. You can see neither of them but can always see their results.
A June 2006 report from the National Prison Commission states, ''What happens inside jails and prisons does not stay inside jails and prisons.'' The commission notes ''disturbing evidence of individual assaults and patterns of violence'' that spill out of those institutions when inmates more dangerous that when they were first imprisoned are released into communities.''
Yet, a 2003 University of Pennsylvania study demonstrated that prisoners who participated in a faith-based program were ''significantly less likely'' to be re-arrested. Louisiana State Penitentiary was once the bloodiest prison in the South. Today, the biggest maximum-security prison in the USA, is different. Because of faith-based training, the prison is sending missionaries, graduates of the facility's in-house Bible college to other prisons in Louisiana. Again, faith, like calories, is invisible, but you can see their results.
We have been looking at the words of James. Today we are looking at the theological heart of this small letter from James.
Everything up to this point is like an arrow point to James 2:14-26 . . . And everything behind this passage points like an arrow back to it. This is in many people's minds James' thesis for their entire letter.
Today's Scripture
''What good is it, my brot ...
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