John 16:25-33
25 “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
29 His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! 30 Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Reflection
Followers of Jesus should anticipate difficulty while we wait for his return (John 16:33), but because of Christ’s victory over this world we can have courage. Christ’s victory is the guarantee of our victory as well. When we place our faith in the finished work of Christ, we are joined with Jesus and overcome the world together with him (1 John 5:4–5). We will someday experience the fullness of this victory, but in the meantime we can find peace in the midst of trials and suffering by remembering the promises of Christ and his victory (John 16:33).
James 2:14-26
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
Reflection
James explores the nature of saving faith. There is a “faith” that cannot save. Such faith has kind words but no deeds. It is a “dead” faith because it doesn’t produce a changed life (James 2:14–17). Good theology “apart from works is useless” (v. 20). Demons prove this, since they understand truth about God and yet live in terror since they don’t trust him (v. 19).
Abraham’s faith produced action “when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar,” and his “faith was completed by his works” (vv. 20–22). When James says Abraham was “justified by works” (v. 21) he does not mean that he earned his justification. He means that Abraham’s claim to believe was validated by his actions. Saving faith proves itself real by works. We are not saved by our works, but faithful works flow from saving faith. The deeds of Rahab also proved her faith. She claimed that she feared God and she called him Lord, and she proved it when she risked her life to hide Israel’s spies (vv. 25–26). James does not suggest, then, that faith plus works equals justification. He agrees with Paul that faith alone justifies, but he knows there is a so-called “faith” that is dangerous because it is dead —and dead faith doesn’t save anyone. The faith that justifies is a living faith that reflects the character of Christ and delights to love others in concrete ways.
Psalm 131:2
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.
Difficult or confusing circumstances do not have to destroy the inner peace that Christ has given us through the Holy Spirit. If you are anxious, present your requests to God with thanksgiving, trusting God’s promise to guard your heart and mind with his peace (Phil. 4:6–7).