Faith Without Works

So a few days ago, I was reading in James, and I came across the section about how faith without works is dead. I was a little confused at first, cause I knew that we wer'nt saved through works, but by grace through faith like it says in Ephesians 2:8. I was especially confused when I came to James 2:24, which says: "You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone." A first it may seem like the Bible is contradicting itself. But through the notes in my study Bible and different cross references, I came to this conclusion: true, real faith in God will result in good works. therefore goodworks are evidence to real faith. So if a person does not do good works and follow God's laws, he does not have real faith. James is not saying that works save us. Works alone can never save us, because we make mistakes, and if you break one part of the law, you are accountable for breaking the whole law. (James 2:10) That's why we need Jesus! Works do not get us into heaven. Our faith, givin by God's grace gets us into heaven. But our good works is proof of our faith. Merely believing that God sent his son to die on the cross so that we may be saved is not enough to get to heaven. Even the demons believe that! (James 2:19) It is when we give our lifes to the Lord, trust that he will take care of us and love him that we are saved. And if we do all these things, we won't be able to help doing good works!

In this way, faith and works are inseperable. That is why James 2:26 says, "For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead."

I found this truth really challenging. It really made me see the importance of following God's word. I had never understood this passage before, and now that I do i just wanted to share it with you so that you won't be confused!

love,
Hannah