“But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?” (James 2:20 NASB)
I took a very conservative approach to my golf game this year, and it paid off tremendously in one aspect. I made fewer bogeys this year than I ever have in the past. Do you want to know my secret?
I only played golf once this year.
Golfing less is a guaranteed way to hit fewer bad shots, lose less golf balls, and, yes, make fewer bogeys.
You’re welcome!
In all seriousness, I would rather have spent more time searching for errant tee shots and working through my frequent OCD (On-Course Depression), but I have been dealing with some challenging health issues that have not allowed me to play golf. We will have to wait and see if I am ever able to get back into the swing of things (literally) in the future. But at what point can I no longer consider myself a golfer?
No matter how many tournaments I watch on TV, golf-related articles I read, or Links Players devotionals I write, the truth is that if I don’t actually get out on the course and play golf at some point, it will be fair to say that I am not a golfer at all.
Let’s be honest, faith we don’t act on really is not faith at all.According to Scripture, this is also true about our faith.
In what is commonly referred to as The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told his audience the following parable, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell – and great was its fall” (Matthew 7:24-27).
The emphasis Jesus is making is not about simply believing what he had to say was good and right; rather, it is about acting on his teaching. Jesus’ brother James later expounded on this. “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith, but he has no works? … faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, ‘You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.’ You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe and shudder. For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead” (James 2:14, 17-19, 26).
Let’s be honest, faith we don’t act on really is not faith at all. We cannot claim to be followers of Jesus or “Christians” and not obey our Christ’s commands or act upon his teachings. Sound theology, good doctrine, and devoted faith in Jesus are only as beneficial as our responses to them manifested by our actions.
—
Josh Nelson
December 8, 2021
Copyright 2021 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at Links Players
Photo by Tara Winstead from Pexels