Watchword (August 9, 2009)

[jrabbach]

Jesus says, "Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life."
John 6:47

This is the watchword for the week, and it says that whoever believes has eternal life. How does that compare/contrast with the book of James which says "faith without works is dead?"

Is faith all we need? Can we have eternal life without then doing good works? What do people think? Are these two verses in conflict with each other?

[Dason Kurkiewicz]

I don't think they're necessarily in conflict with each other. I just think that James is making a point that if you're not really doing anything... do you really actually have faith?

Is what Jesus wants really just for us to believe that he is the son of God and be happy with that? To just sit there and be impressed and in awe of that fact? I don't think that's what he's getting at. He came and showed us a perfect life and he called us to follow in his way. So yes we need to believe in him but we also need to follow in his ways. It could be argued that the good works just come naturally with faith.