“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” – James 3:13
Most of the time we usually mistake the book of James. There is a lot of people who based their beliefs on good works equal salvation in this book. Well, it is because most people do not understand what James meant by this. We have to understand that the Bible does not contradict itself. The book’s contained altogether sums up into the real message which is Christ. Now, if people base their salvation on good works, then it’s like saying that the Bible is with error. So, we have to understand the book of James really well and ask God for His Spirit to minister. We have to make sure that our mind is open and that we understand it with an accepting and submissive heart.
When James mentioned that faith is dead without deeds, he did not mean that our salvation solely depends on work or that our salvation needs to be worked. What James meant by this is that our faith should have a manifestation. Yes, we are saved by grace through faith and this is not from ourselves, but it is the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). However, God is powerful and His Word and salvation are powerful. It can change a man, it can give us knowledge and wisdom, that is why those who are saved should have a changed life. Those who are saved should manifest what their faith can do.
Now, our verse today is another verse of that which is proving to us that James really did not mean we need to do good works to be saved, but we do good works because we are saved. The wisdom and understanding that we have from our salvation, we have to show this by living a good life and by deeds done in humility. Not because we need to do good works, but because we ought to do good deeds because we are saved. Our salvation will really manifest good works because when Christ died for us, He also gave us the power to do good things and to obey God.
Therefore, as people who are saved, let us not confuse ourselves and think that we deserve this salvation because we are good. Instead, we must always keep in our minds that through our salvation, the wisdom and understanding we received from it will make us able to do good and will ought us to show this faith through good deeds. Again, it is not because we are good, but because our God is good and gracious. Thus, may we always remember that our salvation comes from God alone. We have to be faithful and manifest His salvation through deeds because we are saved, not because we will be saved if we do good deeds.
