Faith & Action [4/25/12]

Greetings!

I hope everybody is doing well; I'm super excited because I finally moved out of residence! It will hopefully be my last year in residence, unless I decide I can't handle living off-campus. I guess I will have to learn to cook too! I can't wait to see what the next year holds in store for me!

So, today, I wanted to talk about something I only recently discovered. This may be old news for many of you, but I still wanted to share it. I am constantly surprised at how many things I am learning about Christianity. I was raised in a Christian family, so I felt like I knew so much, yet I now realize I knew so little. Only recently, I realized a crucial piece of information that I did not take note of. This piece of information changed a lot for me, and it has given me a lot to think about.

For years, and years, and years, I thought I was a Christian. I thought I was saved because I had said the sinner's prayer. I said it one night, and immediately afterwards, I went back to my usual life. Afterwards, I rarely thought about God, and I lived every single day without his will in mind. My actions were selfish actions, and my thoughts were selfish thoughts. I truly believed in God, but I didn't have any sort of relationship with him. I did not seek to do his will, and I honestly didn't care. It wasn't until I began to make friends who encouraged me to build a relationship with Him that I began to learn more about the difference between faith and good actions.

James 2:17

So you see, faith by itself isn't enough. 

Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

This verse really struck me. As I was discussing this verse with a friend, I began to realize how many people there are who believe in God, and even believe they have been saved. They say they have faith. They say they are saved, but are they really? There are many who believe in God. There are many who acknowledge his existence, but this does not mean we are saved! If we begin to seek God's will, we begin to do actions that are in His name. But, if you do not see a change in your daily life, then how can you say you are saved?

Our faith works together with our actions. We cannot have one, and not the other. Another serious issue that has been seen amongst people, is the issue of those who believe they are saved because they are doing actions. There are many who believe that the more good deeds they do, the bigger chance they will have in getting to Heaven. They donate money, they are kind to people, and from a worldly perspective, they are "good." But, doing only actions will not save you! Faith and good deeds go hand-in-hand. They go together! With faith, comes good deeds. God does not accept things we believe to be good deeds; we are doing these deeds for ourselves, and not for anybody else. Just because we think they are good deeds, does not mean God thinks they are.

Please don't fall into this trap... I fell into it. I believed I was saved, because I believed in the existence of God. I believed I was saved because I went to church once a week, but I was so wrong. I was tricked, and I fell for the trick. I pray that none of you will fall for this just as I did. Jesus is the only way!

Thank you for reading my blog tonight, I really enjoy writing this for you all! It gives me time to reflect on my walk with God, and I hope it gives you a chance to reflect as well. :) I didn't listen to a song tonight, because I had a lovely friend sing for me while I wrote this blog, but there will be another song up tomorrow!

- kjoosaurus out!