We are saved by faith alone, but faith that saves is never alone.

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?… But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works… So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. … You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. (James 2:14, 17-18, 24)”

Thinker: “How do I know I am saved?” (‘saved’ means accepted by God and not facing His condemnation.) Average Evangelical: “Because you believe in Jesus.” Thinker: “But don’t you also have to be good to be saved?” Average Evangelical: “No, we’re saved by faith alone. Not by being good.” Thinker: “Awesome! That’s exactly what I wanted to hear. I’m into this girl…” James: “No, a person is justified by works not faith alone.”

At ‘the God talks’, while studying the book of James this illustration came to me. (It was on my mind because my car broke down the day before.)

Let’s say being ‘saved’ is like a car going forward. What makes a car go forward? The engine. But without wheels the car can’t go forward. How do I know if the engine works? The car goes forward. Faith in Jesus is the spiritual engine of the Christian life.

Faith is the internal thing that we can’t see that drives the Christian. Wheels are the external things that are visible and move. Wheels are good works of love as James puts it. Without engine and wheels working together the car is useless.

We can’t put an engine in a car only the Manufacturer does that. The engine gives the car its identity: Ford, Toyota or troublesome Jeep. We can only change the wheels. The wheels don’t make the car what it is. If I put Continental tyres on my Ford, my car is still a Ford not a ‘Continental’. We can only see outwardly and if a car goes forward, we think it’s a good car but the Manufacturer opens the bonnet, looks inside, and by examining the engine knows if the engine is good or not. He doesn’t need to see it go forward.

From the outside, the only way we know someone has ‘saving faith’ is by looking at their progress – (not perfection!) Does our faith express itself in deeds of love? If it does, the engine inside (faith) is real. God the Manufacturer looks inside. God accepts us based on our faith only, because our deeds of love are never good enough – (otherwise God would only accept Ferrari’s and never Hyundais.)

We are saved (accepted by God) by faith alone. Our faith is justified (proven genuine) by deeds of love. When James says that we are justified by works and not faith alone, he is talking about the whole car taken together, because without works, faith is dead.

So what drives you? Being driven by the certainty that God accepts you on the sole basis that you have faith in Jesus, means that you are driven by genuine faith. You will know this because of your deeds of love. Without deeds of love the engine is broken and can’t save you.