Epilogue

Throughout Christian history the thrust of James’s message to those first-century “scattered” believers—and to us as well—has been misunderstood. So, here at the end of the book, let me state it one more time. James’s message is not about faith and works. It is not about faith or works. It is about a faith that works.

Faith always precedes any lasting good work. So we begin applying James’s message to our lives not by trying harder, but by trusting our entire being to Christ and His finished redemptive work on our behalf. The Christian life is not a changed life. It is not that we, all of a sudden, take on a new set of moral standards and try hard to change our ways. Instead, the Christian life is an exchanged life. We confess our sin and give God our old life. In response He forgives our sin and gives us a brand-new life: Christ comes to live in us, never to leave us, and empowers us to serve Him and His people. Once we are filled with God’s Holy Spirit, we can begin the great adventure of finding our true purpose for which He created us in the first place.

In fact, this new life is God’s free gift to us. The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). We cannot earn our salvation, and we do not deserve it. God gives us our transformed and eternal life because of His love and His grace, and we receive that gift through faith alone, by putting our faith in Him. We are all sinners who fall far short of God’s holy standards for our lives.

Yet God is a God of love who loves us despite our sin, and at the same time He is a God of justice who must punish sin. And this is where Jesus steps in. He is the holy and sinless God-man who came into this sin-filled world to take your sin onto His own body and, on your behalf, suffer God’s judgment of your sin on the cross. But just knowing this gospel truth is not enough. You must transfer your trust for this life from yourself and your own human efforts to Christ alone, and you must place your faith in Jesus, believing that His death and resurrection achieved for you God’s forgiveness and your personal salvation.

Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him” (Revelation 3:20). So picture an imaginary door on your heart and know that Jesus is knocking on it right now. If you would like to receive this gift of eternal and abundant life, you can respond to Jesus now, at this very moment. He promises that “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).

If you’re not quite sure how to respond, here is a prayer you can pray. Go ahead—in your heart—pray it:

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned. I know I don’t deserve eternal life. Please forgive me for my sin. Thank You for taking my sin onto Your body and dying on the cross in my place. I trust that You are the only One who can save me from eternal separation from a holy God. So I ask You to be Lord and King in my life. I turn my face to You, accepting Your gracious offer of forgiveness and eternal life. Thank You, Lord, for coming into my life as my Savior and my Lord. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

A simple prayer cannot save you, but Jesus can . . . and He will. If you did pray this prayer—and if this prayer reflects the desire of your heart—you can claim the promise Jesus made to those who would follow Him: “Most assuredly . . . he who believes in Me has everlasting life” (John 6:47).

You are now ready for the great adventure and purpose for which you were created: you can know Christ and walk through life with Him. As you do, His Spirit will work in you to transform you, to make you more like Him in character.

One more thought. Being comes before doing because what we do is always determined by what we are or whose we are. You are a child of God. So begin now to do all that James has instructed God’s people to do. After all, our Christian faith is a faith that works. So just do it!