Can You Have Faith Without Changing How You Live? | Week 6

Faith that does not work does not work - September 13, 2026 Sermon Date: September 13, 2026 Podcast Description A claim of faith becomes credible when it changes the way we live. James 2:14-26 presses beyond words, agreement, and religious familiarity to ask whether trust in Jesus has become visible through compassion, obedience, and action. Good works do not purchase God's grace, but a living faith will not remain alone or unchanged. James and Paul are not opponents. Paul confronts the idea that we can earn salvation by our works; James confronts a faith that never produces them. We are saved by grace through faith, created in Christ Jesus for good works, and empowered by the Spirit to close the gap between what we claim and how we live. The searching question is not whether we have done enough to earn God's favor, but where we have given Jesus our agreement without giving Him our obedience. Episode Outline 1. The central question: what good is a faith that never becomes action? 2. Compassion made concrete: meeting physical needs instead of offering empty words. 3. Why intellectual agreement alone is insufficient: even demons believe and shudder. 4. Abraham's trust became visible when he obeyed and moved toward God's promise. 5. Rahab demonstrated living faith by risking herself to protect God's people. 6. Paul and James address different distortions: works without faith and faith without works. 7. Saved by grace and created for good works: Ephesians 2:8-10 holds both truths together. 8. The personal examination: where is the gap between the faith I claim and the life I live? 9. The response: surrender agreement and obedience to Jesus and let the Spirit produce visible fruit.