Can you have a faith without works? How are they connected? Paul tell us that salvation is through faith in Jesus alone. James says that if you do not have works, then your faith is likely dead.
Contradiction? Nope!
When I was a kid, I used to build model rockets. We would spend a week putting it all together and it looked great, but it didn’t do much. I had to add the engine to the rocket. It was this little cylinder that had explosive powder in it.
I would attach a fuse to it, push the button and off it went!
Paul says that faith is all we need, because we can’t work our way to salvation. James expresses the idea that if you have a faith and aren’t doing a thing, well, it might be dead.
Like a rocket being lit, a Christian, once saved by His Grace, shouldn’t be able to contain itself. The rocket doesn’t get to decide if it is going to go, it just goes. The catalyst is His blood. The result is a reckless path the leaves the world behind and reaches towards the heavens.
Jesus told us that following Him would cost us everything. But He didn’t mean for us to literally drop everything and follow Him, rather, He meant that when we see what He provides, we are willing to drop everything and follow Him.
Our faith should mirror that rocket. It should be recognized by the world as something that is just not of this world.
As we move into this new chapter, we will use a Discipleship program to get us there. Jesus walked, talked and had fellowship with those that followed Him. We will work to do the same.
What does it mean to be a disciple? It looks like a lifelong journey that we will start together. As we survey the various programs that exist to build us up, we will take advantage of Discipleship teams that will send us off to work on projects in small groups. We will work together, we will eat together, learn together, and learn more about Christ together and we Connect, Grow, and Serve!
Look for more soon as we identify the opportunities we have, in our own Body here at CCC, to show that world why we follow who we follow.