CDPunt(igam) Writes

There once were two neighbors. They bought the exact same car at the exact same time. One neighbor, let’s call him Stephen, took his car out most every day for a drive. He would take his family for rides in the country on the weekends and himself off to work each day. The other neighbor, William, never took his car out of the garage. Once a year, he would wash and polish it. Even then, he would push the car out and then push it back in again, never even starting the engine. One day, Stephen heard a knock on his door. It was William; he was in a fine mess. His wife needed to go to the hospital. She was expecting a baby. He’d already wasted so much time looking for the keys, then the car wouldn’t start because the battery was dead. Even after charging it up, it still wouldn’t turn over. The car was dead. Stephen pulled his keys from the hook and ran to the garage, started his car, and pulled up to his neighbor’s house to load up William and his wife. Thankfully, they got there with plenty of time to spare, no thanks to William.

This story is based on James 2: 14-26

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

NIV: New International Version