What good is it, my brother, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?” (James 2:14).  For James, the object of our faith is Jesus Christ and what he has done for us, so he serves as our model for life after faith.  To have faith that is not lived out is no faith at all.  To say that you believe Christ is Lord, but not follow any of his commands seems to be a contradiction in epic proportions.  The difference between belief and faith is simple in James’ perspective, “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe--and shudder” (2:19).  So it is true that a life of obedience is reflective of pure faith. 

However, the opposite could also be said.  That a life dependent upon works misses the point of the sacrifice that Christ made on our behalf.  Paul, when reflecting on his life and all his achievements as a ‘righteous’ Jewish leader says this, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I might gain Christ” (Phil. 3:7-8).  So, the Christian life is one of rejecting legalism, while embracing obedience, so that we might be free to do that which we were designed to do (Eph 2:8-10).

• Discuss the following points related to this topic:
  • For your initial post, read through James 2 and ask yourself: 
    • Who are those in my life who are underserved? 
    • How am I uniquely equipped to serve them? 
    • What is one way that I could meet the needs of the poor or hungry that would radically change their life?
    • Finally, how will this act of obedience become a lifestyle of obedience?
  • Response posts should engage discussion in the same depth as previous discussion expectations.

Support your work with scholarly academic resources, textbooks, or other sources provided.  Quoting or paraphrasing from any source in discussion posts requires APA format by including an in-text citation and listing the reference at the end of the post.

Click on "TWO: Obedience Discussion" above to compose your discussion forum post.