Pastor Chris’ Corona Quarantine Epistles to the Flock of AIC Ngong Road, in Dispersion and Isolation. 52nd. Edition.
Dear Servants of the King,
We saw in James 2:14-19 that faith produces transformation, without which, our faith is no different from that of the demons. We see in today’s passage (vv. 20-26) that faith is demonstrated in works. Abraham – Action Against Better Insights (vv. 20-24). When God told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, everything in Abraham’s being must have shouted, No! All of Abraham’s hopes were on Isaac. But true faith trusts God and acts on his instructions, even when the instructions go against our better judgment. I must add a caveat, though. Be sure that it is God speaking.
The numerous warnings in scripture against false teachers/prophets should be taken seriously. False prophets sometimes lie outright, to deceive. At other times, they believe what they are saying is from God. This is either because they are so convinced of the matter, they think it must be of God, or they have had a dream, seen a vision, or heard a voice and assumed it was from God. Don’t get caught in the trap of the false prophet, “Test the spirits, whether they are of God,” (1 John 4:1). The simplest test is to compare what one dreams, sees, or hears with what God has already said in his word. Anything that goes contrary to the Bible simply cannot be from God. There are other tests but those are for another day.
Once you have determined that God is speaking to you, this usually from his word, act on it decisively. In Abraham’s case, as is in all cases, this is what confirmed that Abraham believed – not some nebulous belief in the head but visible action in obedience. Rahab, Action Against Base Instincts, (vv. 25-26). A prostitute is a person who profits from the weakness and vulnerability of another. When the spies came to her, Rahab must have seen the potential for gain, if she turned them into the authorities. At the same time, she must have sensed that something big was in the offing and these men were part of it. It took great effort to resist her desire for profit, but it is that action that proved her faith. She risked her life, should she have been found out, and let a chance for immediate gain go because she believed in something greater, more profitable. But her faith would have been futile if she had not acted on it. It would have been dead.
How many times do we miss a great opportunity to do something for God and yield instead, to our selfishness? How true is our faith? The proof of the pudding is in the eating – faith without works is dead.
Your Loving Pastor Chris.