Faith WITHOUT Good Works is Useless

Are you looking for opportunities to serve others? Serving others is evidence of our faith. Faith without good works is useless.


Have you ever been grocery shopping for your evening meal and had someone come to mind and you thought, Hmmm. I need to make an extra pan and take it over them. Maybe you knew what was going on with them, maybe you didn’t. But when you delivered dinner, you were met with surprise and deep gratitude.

Maybe you were gathering gear to get out the door and the Lord prompted you to call Mary and offer to take her daughter with you. So you did and find out that they were in crisis mode. Your taking their daughter with you relieved some pressure for them.

Maybe you hung around after church one day and helped the cleanup crew.

These are examples of doing good works. When we belong to Christ, this is the way we live. We a see a need, and we fill it. It is the evidence of our faith.

Let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. (Matthew 5:16)

Some people, however, look for good things to do because they think that is how they are saved. They think more good deeds can tip the scale in their favor.

But that is not how we receive salvation. We are saved by grace through faith. Period. There is nothing we can do to add to our salvation. Christ did it all on the cross. Paul told the Ephesian church:

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Since we can’t add anything to our faith, some wonder why we should bother with doing good things at all?

But you see, doing good things is one way that the world knows we do belong to Jesus. It’s not what saves us, it’s the evidence of God’s work in our lives.

Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless? … Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works. (James 2:20, 26)

Want to know what’s even more beautiful? When Paul said we are saved by grace, he also said that God created us to do good things that He planned for us to do a long time ago.

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:10)

What are some of the good works God planned for us to do?

  • Providing food and clothing to those in need shows that our faith is genuine (James 2:14-15).
  • Looking after the sick and visiting those in prison (Matthew 25:35-36).
  • We should be generous and willing to share (1 Timothy 6:18).

Any time we see an opportunity to do something for someone else and we do it, we are serving Christ. What good is our faith if we don’t to good things? Faith without good works is useless.

When we see an opportunity to do something for someone else and we do it, we are serving Christ. Share on X
What does it mean to live--without? Some people live without hope. God says live without grumbling! If we are His, He sees us without blemish. #write31days

Then these righteous ones will reply, “Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?” And the King will say, “I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” (Matthew 25:37-40)

Be ready to serve! Be ready to give. Follow Jesus’ example of servanthood. Not because you are looking to add to your salvation, but because your good deeds prove your faith!

 

Hi! I'm Dianne! Wife to the Tim-Man and Mom to Max, Rachel, and Abby--young adults on their way to independence. My passion is connecting women with God through His Word--the Source of Life, Love, and Truth. I've learned that true satisfaction is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Here you will receive encouragement from God's Word--which always speaks to the deep needs of a woman's heart.

17 Comments

  1. Wonderful post! I am so grateful you shared the Ephesians 2:10. Such a good reminder that He had good things in mind for us to do when He was creating us. We’ve been in His plans for a long time & that is so amazing to think on & I probably will all day 🙂 Blessings!

  2. Serving others is such an important part of our call as a child of God. It is also one of the easiest to ignore as if we didn’t recognize or hear the cry of someone in need. Great reminder for us to do to step out and do something for others. Blessings!

  3. Amen, Dianne! I’m with Mary above: it’s so easy to ignore others’ needs and focus only on ourselves, but as you point out here, that is not what God is calling us to! These are great examples of ways to serve. Pinning and tweeting today, friend. 🙂

  4. I love this! We planted a new church about 6 months ago and one of the ‘good works’ projects that was on our hearts was to adopt the nearby elementary school. So we have been building relationships with the staff and students slowly and just loving and supporting them however we can. We haven’t had many hands-on volunteer opportunities yet, but felt led to ask them last week if there was any need that we could help with. They responded immediately, saying that they were low or out of playground balls for the kids. We were able to go out that day and buy some equipment and drop it off… not a huge deal to us – but it made a huge difference for the kids!

    They will know we are Christians by our love… and Love DOES! Great post!

  5. I have a dear friend who just knows when I could use a break in the kitchen. It’s not when I am sick or have other major things going on, it’s the days that I just need that little something to help me out. It’s a gift. Thanks for reminding me of the importance of this. Enjoying your posts here in the 31 day series. Have a joyful day!

  6. “For it is by grace through faith that you have been saved, it is not your own doing but a gift of God”

  7. I love those promptings we receive from Holy Spirit. Great post!

  9. Dianne Thornton says:

    Beautiful, Karrilee! Yes! Love DOES! It’s a verb!!

  10. Dianne Thornton says:

    I’m so glad the Lord gave you something hear to think about today! I love that He has us on His mind all day, too! <3

  11. Dianne Thornton says:

    Thanks, Mary. I think it’s like many things … when we remember how people met *our* needs, we are more apt to recognize the needs of others. ((hugs))

  12. Dianne Thornton says:

    There are so many ways to reach out to people in our world. Sometimes they are fairly obvious, other times, we need spirit eyes to see. Other times, (I) we need a little push. Thanks for the social media love, Betsy.

  13. Dianne Thornton says:

    I love your friend, Robin! What at treasure she must be! ((Hugs))

  14. Dianne Thornton says:

    Amen! Tara! Grace is the gift of God!

  15. Dianne Thornton says:

    Thanks for dropping by, Susan! <3

  16. Love your examples of good work Dianne and love this post x

  17. Dianne Thornton says:

    Thanks, Rachel. 🙂

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