The 2001 Commentaries

Dead Faith

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The account at Acts 16:30-32 tells the story of a jailer that had just witnessed a miracle.
And after that, he asked Paul and Silas:

‘Lords; What must I do to get saved?’

Their reply was:
‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you and your household will be saved.’

Then, according to some Greek texts, the account goes on to say:
‘They spoke to him and all those in his house about the Word of God’ (or as some Greek texts say, ‘the word of the Lord‘)

So from these words, many have concluded that faith in Jesus is all that a person requires to be ‘saved.’
However, those who reason this way seem to overlook the rest of the Bible’s instructions.
For example;
Shouldn’t an accurate understanding of God’s ways and laws also be required?
If this weren’t true, then Paul and Silas wouldn’t have bothered to go on and teach this man and his household about ‘the word of God’ or ‘of the Lord’.

Jesus’ half-brother James also wrote about this matter, and he showed that more than faith is required to be pleasing to God.
For notice what he wrote at James 2:14:

‘What good does it do, my brothers, if someone says he has faith, but isn’t moved to do anything about it?
Can such faith save him?’
He then answers this question at James 2:17:

‘So, faith without [good] deeds is dead.’

And what type of faithful action was James saying was necessary to make ours a living faith?
He spoke of the need to be willing to help our brothers when they lack the necessities of life, to be fair, to be forgiving, and to live clean, honest lives.
Then he concluded (at James 2:24):
‘So, just as a body that isn’t breathing is dead, faith without [good] deeds is dead.’


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