NextGenKent

Do you have something expensive you own but never really use? Like in the past year, do you have something that cost lots of money and you used it, say maybe once? Most of the time we are good at something because we have worked hard at it—whether it was a hobby and we enjoyed it, or because we were pushed to do so, like by a coach. In James 2:14-26 ( Try reading it in The Message translation) James starts by asking a question—What good is faith? Can so called “faith” save him? James points out the difference between “ say ing” you have faith and having and actual faith which is a "doing" faith. To James, faith and action are the same thing. Have you ever listened to what we've called "arm-chair players"? Those guys who sit on their chairs watching football games and call out everything the coaches should have done? Ever ran into someone who said they were a follower of Christ, barked off everything Christians should be doing and then continue to s...

Paul Hiebert wrote, "Conversion to Christ must encompass all three levels: behavior, beliefs, and the worldview that underlies these. Christians should live differently because they are Christians." With so many in our nation today stating they are Christians, or they believe in God or the Bible but when pressed on the matter, they don't really know or understand what it is they profess. Hiebert challenges this position of people and thinking they are converted when it is very likely that they are not. He continues to expand these three lines of thought: "However, if their behavior is based primarily on traditional rather than Christian beliefs, it becomes pagan ritual. Conversion must involve a transformation of beliefs, but if it is a change only of beliefs and not of behavior, it is false faith (James 2). Conversion may include a change in beliefs and behavior, but if the worldview is not transformed, in the long run the gospel is subverted and the result i...