Faith without works? Or what?

Numbers 19; Psalms 56–57; Isaiah 8:1–9:7; James 2

A man attends our church who has a handicap. His handicap does not bother me, but something does and I’m not sure what it is. He is overweight, often unkept, and has the attitude that everyone should wait on him. The handicap bus used to transport him but the driver was so annoyed with his demands that he refused to do it any longer.

I’m instinctively repulsed by this man. I don’t want to talk to him or help him find his way through the brunch line. Others do, but I struggle to be anywhere near him. I’ve not heard him say anything that honors Jesus. Perhaps this is what bugs me. I’d like to think the Holy Spirit is giving me discernment without explanation but that seldom happens. Maybe I’m just a respecter of persons?

James wrote, “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.” (James 2:1) Obviously Jesus never turns away those who come to Him. He did shake His fist at hypocrites though. Is this what is behind my reaction to this person? Or am I making an excuse?

My commentary says that, “Complete and consistent obedience is required if spiritual maturity is to be attained. The believer is commanded to accept his brother with courtesy, compassion, and consistency.”

James would agree. He goes on to say:

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 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? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (James 2:14–17)

This illustration can also give me another excuse. This man is not lacking in clothes or food. He does not require those kinds of things. Yet “the law of love gives no excuse for respect of persons, so the possession of faith gives no license to dispense with good works. A believer must not only demonstrate his love by ready acceptance of others, but he must also demonstrate his faith by responsible aid to others” meaning I’ve no reason not to help the man or to feel such repulsion toward him. But I do.

Our live-stream church service this morning gave me an answer. It was on Matthew 5:3 that says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The pastor did an excellent job of explaining what it means to be poor in spirit. He summed it up: poverty of spirit means realizing that I do not have what it takes to meet the challenges of life.

Simply put, I cannot love those that are unlovable; that is the work of Jesus in me. In this situation, my poverty of spirit is showing up. There is nothing in me that can do what James says about being impartial. I simply cannot do it. Instead of looking for reasons why, I’m to confess that I cannot accept all members of God’s family without favoritism and I cannot to minister to them with a working faith. I am not trusting God for both direction and enablement. It matters not why I have this gut reaction to this one person, but I know that will be my reaction unless or until God enables a different attitude.

APPLY: Talk to God about this. Poverty of spirit is not a bad condition. He says that it is blessed, even a mark of those who belong to His kingdom. First step is getting past using “I cannot do this” as an excuse and after that, I need to be willing to ask the Lord to change my attitude — and I can’t do that either.