Faith Without Deeds is Dead

“Faith without deeds is dead” -James 2:26b. Oftentimes the church gets this mixed up. We push living a lifestyle modeled after Jesus, while missing the point of this verse. While yes, living out the faith you have is important, it is not the only thing. Paul in Romans discusses this from many different angles. Paul states that only through faith can you be saved, but that your faith is proved by your deeds-by what you do. It isn’t enough to just say it, you must live it out. I love this point, even though in the church this gets twisted so much. At my old church the leaders wanted everyone to serve-to the point where it seemed like you weren’t a Christian if you didn’t serve all the time. That was the church twisting something good into something bad. What you do does not determine your salvation-but it does serve as proof of it. At another point in Romans (10:14-15), Paul goes on to say that unless we tell people about Jesus, unless they hear about him, they cannot be saved. One of the biggest ways we ‘tell” people, is by how we live our lives. This makes our deeds infinitely more important, because, if you haven’t heard the line before- “Our lives may be the only Bible some people read”. How we live our lives is a direct glimpse into who we are. As it suggests in revelation- when we feed the hungry, clothe the homeless, and so on, we are doing the same for Jesus. In Romans Paul states that living like that is worshiping God.

Now that statement can be true in many ways. Take the fact that we are made in Gods image(Genesis 1:27). If every single human being you meet is made in the likeness of God, how you treat them is a likeness of how you treat God. Better yet, it’s how you treat his creation. Remember he pronounced creation good, so by defaming it, cursing it, attacking it, and killing it, you are dishonoring the thing God himself proclaimed was good. If God made creation to be good and perfect, then how we treat it is a picture of how we will treat God. Who are we to say something is bad when God himself said it is good? So, how we live our lives as an example to those around us is worshiping God, it is honoring his creation.

But this isn’t all. Paul also teaches the truth that we are no longer slaves to sin. Romans 6:14-“For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” This truth is the only thing that allows us to live the life filled with faith. We must be free from sin, because, even Paul stated that “I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it”. He knows what he wants, but he can’t do it. Paul is trying to get across that only through Jesus can we truly live the life we are called to.

So what does it mean to be human to Paul? It means to live with God in you, striving for him daily. Contrary to Moses, who focused on the law, Paul focuses on the heart, and how you live that out. Where Aristotle and Plato believe there is “superior man”, Paul would say as long as you follow God anyone can be that person, but that it is only through God. He brings a new perspective on what it means to be human that I hope we all appreciate.

Confucius

Confucius has many good, interesting points. From how we approach people around us, to how we approach the people within us, to how we lead well, Confucius hits on many areas that can be really important.

In previous weeks Plato and Aristotle talked about “the perfect man” Describing certain qualities within him, they supposed that this man was fit to lead. From a focus on Philosophy, to being athletic, smart, and well learned in math and astronomy, they both had somewhat different views, but the same goal. Confucius on the other hand doesn’t go that route. He may be talking about a good leader, or emperor, but not in the same way. Confucius focuses on the inner self of a person. How they approach other people, themselves, and god. He stressed the importance of learning, and always striving to go deeper.

He does this but talking about introspection, the ability to self analyze yourself, to find out if things need to be changed.  He talks about how an emperor must always be honest with themselves, and must strive to be the best character they can be.  big part of this is how an emperor treats the people around them. Confucius says that they must honor and recognize honest people, and people with good intentions. That if you don't honor those people it sets a bad precedent. This is something American culture has missed. By celebrating wealth and fame, no matter the character of the person, we have set dangerous precedents for who can lead our country, and who can help define the culture of our country. Whereas Aristotle and Plato discuss the perfect person to lead, Confucius would say that it can be anyone as long as what's inside is good. This concept has to do with divine right, and the fact that without it the emperor will fall.   

Confucius then talks about the way an emperor approaches the world around them, and how that's the same way heaven will approach them. Whether giving them this divine right, or withholding it since they are not worthy. Again, it's all focused inwards.

This is similar to how we as christians believe. It doesn't matter who you are on the outside. Doesn't matter what gifts, talents, or looks you have. All that matters is the righteousness of your heart, and how Jesus changes that.  This is an interesting connection since the two were developed completely apart from one another.

This focus inward is what sets Confucius apart, and why I liked him better than Aristotle and Plato. Where Plato and Aristotle would present a single type of person to lead, Confucius suggests that anyone can lead as long as their heart is pure.

One of the last things Confucius mentions is exploring new things. Confucius puts forth that an emperor should never stop discussing new problems, should always come at things from new angles. This connects really well with the introspection part, because it keeps the ruler active. The emperor is never complacent, and never believes he/she has solved every problem. In the same way we should be doing the same, especially with our spiritual lives. I had a teacher i high school who changed the way he taught his class every single year, always striving to be better. This is what Confucius i saying. Have the honest introspection to learn, and have the determination to do better, never settling for less. Do this, and you shall lead a long life as a leader, never failing, always lifting people up, beloved by "your people". For Confucius, being human is to look inside oneself, and to strive to greater things.

Aristotle Ethics

Aristotle Ethics was a very interesting read. From talking about learning, to happiness, to finding a safe middle in life, Aristotle brings up some really good points. The biggest takeaway I got out of it was the idea that humans are trying to satisfy themselves. To Aristotle this looked like happiness. He proposes that happiness is the goal of humanity, and that everything we do is to be happy.

But it went deeper then that. He talked about how happiness must be external and internal. This reminded me of our spiritual lives. We want to be happy, or in this case joyful-we seek to be fulfilled. Now whereas we find this in Jesus, there is still a external and internal part. We want our souls to be content, and sometimes that looks like physical contentedness. It is what we strive for. In my psychology class we are talking about something similar for children, and why they act the way they do. Aristotle proposes people act  to fulfill oneself, to be happy. Sigmund Freud believes something similar. A child cries to get something to fulfill itself, such as food, a diaper change, or just rocking.

Aristotle also says that money is not happiness, but a means to be happy. This is an important distinction that true happiness must be not only physical, but on a deeper level as well. Going a different direction he says that a just person will act justly, a temperate person will act temperately, and so on. You become what you do. Or, in terms of the bible, Faith without deeds is dead, it’s the same concept. Aristotle believed that external things helped bring internal happiness, and that you will become what you do. The spiritual and physical parts of us are interconnected, they use each other. I happen to agree. In our lives we have our physical being, and our soulful being. I believe that God made both of those parts for a reason, and that only through both of those can we really grow close to God and be fully human living in full contentedness with him.

Aristotle then goes a different direction in his book and explains the idea of a mean state.  A place that’s not excess, or deficient in your life. Aristotle says that in every walk of life there are “mean states” where we all strive to be at. Not too much, not too little. He defines Virtue as that middle state, and virtue as being the happiness we all strive for. I love how he connects all of this together, and each part adds on to the previous ones.

The things Aristotle mentions have some interesting implications in our life. From what we strive for, to what gets us there, to what we do when we get there, Aristotle brings up some really good points. Now although I disagree on the specifics of the idea of happiness being our goal, I can see how this applies to becoming fully human in relationship with God being the same thing.

In this call we are answering the question of what it means to be human. I believe Aristotle would say that to be fully human is to strive for a mean state of happiness, both physical and spiritual, and that defines us apart from the animals, or beasts, around us. That is what it means to be fully human to Aristotle.