James 2:20 says. "But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?" The recipe for the salvation experience combines forgiveness of sin, repentance from sin & faith toward God. It is as simple as it is sure... follow the instructions & a relationship with God begins. "Begins", is the operative word. The unknowing wrongly assume that once the prayer of salvation is prayed, nothing more needs to be done. How sad! Our faith must be evidenced by our good works lest while we abide here, it be rendered useless.
James is dissatisfied with believers who are best identified by the moniker, "Christian." He's pushing for substantive confirmations and fruitful evidence of God's presence. There are many believers who live with such integrity that if being a Christian were a crime, their "rap sheet" would be measured in gigabites. However, for those who have only accepted Christ's salvation as the ultimate fire insurance from the flames of judgment, you can almost hear the Spirit saying, "Hey, 'work' with me here!" Live right, live well...
