Faith Without the Works

Faith is the foundation of our religion, which is not to say that we’re inherently religious, but that by definition, we are Christians, which is, in fact, a religion. 

But faith, which is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen, is essential. It is the first major building block of the pyramid known as the stature of a perfect man, meaning everything that you build upon your faith is built after, not before. 

Proceeding justification, sanctification, and baptism of the Holy Ghost, of course. 

Still, faith is important. Without it, we wouldn’t have God. 

The average atheist has a problem with this, calling faith a ‘scam,’ ‘fake,’ and above all, ‘nonsensical nincompoopery reserved for fools and antagonists.’ This is ironic, given that those who say this are actively playing that role. 

The role of the antagonist. 

But what if I told you that upon this parabolic stage before Heaven, the faithless were not the only ‘antagonists?’ What if I told you that the Christians could fall under the same title, definition, and judgment? 

Would you believe me?

Well, the good news is you don’t have to believe me, but the One who sent me, which is God, who is the Word. 

James 2:14 - 26 says, “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man says he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them, not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so, faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he had offered Isaac, his son, upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise, also, was not Rahab the harlot justified by works when she had received the messengers and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

The question now is, how do these scriptures attribute an antagonist? Well, let’s keep going. 

In a traditional story, an antagonist, in paraphrasing, is the bad guy. He creates challenges for the protagonist, constantly getting in his way so that the protagonist can overcome, defeat the enemy, and teach us, the audience, a moral to the story. 

I think you can see where I’m going with this. 

Sidebar: just because I use the word ‘story’ does not mean the word of God is a work of fiction. We believe it is, in fact, the truth. I say this for those in radio-land who do not believe and actively criticize the very act of believing. 

Please spare me the ‘gotcha’ comments in the comment section. 

I’ve heard this a thousand times. Saying it a thousand times more won’t shake my faith or the beliefs my fellow believers share with me. 

Just trying to save you the energy. I have a feeling you’re going to need it. 

Now, the antagonist in this metaphor is actively called the devil. The protagonist, God, lives within us, and we in Him, meaning we, Christ and God, are supposed to be the protagonists. 

But the antagonist, his job, and his fruits are easy to identify. His works challenge the children of God, proving them and allowing them the opportunity to overcome. 

In that, we find our testimony. 

What are the fruits that we know the antagonist by? Certainly, it’s important to know who the enemy is just as well as he knows us, and given his spirit is already in the world, it’s even more important we learn how he acts, what he does, and who he is so we know exactly how to beat him. 

I now present the antichrist: a prime example of evil with scriptural characteristics for you to identify him by: He does not acknowledge the coming of Christ or that Christ came in the flesh already. He denies that Jesus is the Christ, that the Father and the Son are one; he is a deceiver,   showing signs and wonders, deceiving the very elect if possible. 

In other words, he is anything contrary to the Word. 

So, now that we know this, we must ask ourselves, “What are the fruits of the protagonist?” 

These fruits are more scripturally called the fruits of the spirit.

But, in short, the children of God are known by their fruits the same way the antichrist is known by his; only ours come from following the scripture to the T. 

After learning all these characteristics that pertain to the different characters, we can now go back to James, saying, “If you have faith but no works, then your faith is dead.”

This is Scripture. Anything contrary to it is of the devil. 

Ask yourself the question: Are you a protagonist or an antagonist? Does your faith live, or is it dead? 

Let’s find out. 

What are the works of the faith? In many places, Jesus lays it out perfectly—clearly—saying, among other things, that we can heal the sick, cast out devils, tread on serpents, and impart eternal life onto whosoever will, as overcomers, victorious. 

By the way, that’s not to say that we are salvation. We’re nothing more than a vessel used to bring Christ, who is salvation, to others, like water in a pot from a well in the middle of a desert. 

How do we do this? Through the five-fold ministry, the program of our faith working in perfect synchrony to lead those who thirst to Christ's non-drying well. 

Apostles, pastors, prophets, teachers, and evangelists are all part of this ministry. 

Are you a part of them?

You probably are; you just don’t realize it. 

This program comes through the gifts. The gifts of writing, baking, painting, singing, teaching, loving, befriending, fellowshipping, among other things. These are gifts, and when given to God for the kingdom of Heaven, they are a ministry.

Many of us are evangelists and don’t even realize it, the same way we may be a part of the other folds. In order to discover which part of the ministry you are, you must begin working. 

Are you a protagonist or an antagonist? Is your faith dead or alive?

We know anything contrary to the Word is of the devil; therefore, if we partake in it, we are the antagonist, which, in fairness, is needed for the protagonist. Even as a force of evil, we can be used for good; it is only a shame that we who choose to be an antagonist could be a protagonist. Worse than this, most antagonists also call themselves Christians without even realizing the role they’re playing.

Imagine how proud of us, the devil, is when we use our faith as another means to work for him.

Remember that comment about ‘being religious’ that I made earlier? Well, we’ve come full circle, and now we can apply relevance. 

I feel bad for most atheists, save the ones that report me for hate speech on my TikTok lives when I express my religious beliefs.

Jokes aside, even those who are more hypocrites than they are atheists still have my pity. They choose to live in misery as an antagonist, tortured by the main one without even knowing it. 

So why do I pity them? Whenever I see someone like that, I ask myself, “How did they get there?” The answer is simple: religiousness. 

Organized religion—denominations—are more satanic than the satanic temples. At least the Satanists are honest and open about who they are—it is their foundation. In contrast, the mega-churches have a foundation of lies, walking around as false prophets or wolves in sheep’s clothing, seeking whom they may devour. 

Money, power, greed, and manipulation rule the religious. These are the same who run to the faithless to convert them from realism into indoctrination. 

What a shame… the realist is gifted with a sight that we call discernment, seeing through the fallacies and deceptions propagated by the self-proclaimed representatives of God. 

Because of this, the average atheist turns their back on God and, even after doing this, has a better opportunity to make it to Heaven than the most religious Christian. Why? Because the angry banter and tirade of the atheist is a greater work of faith in nothing than the Christian’s lack of real, true work, despite their faith in something, or Someone, or everything. 

Christians, who sit in their religious shells: you must break out! The religious spirit is most dangerous because many don’t know they are possessed by it. In this spirit, they do far more damage to themselves and others than the devil ever could. 

Break out of the religious chain and come into Christ! 

There will you do the works; there is your name written in the lamb's book of life. Not in the mega-churches or your prosperity, nor the conversion rate of souls to your church that is lesser a house of God and more a brothel for the great whore.

In taking Christ to the faithless and the faithful, we lead them to him, not us. This is eternal life. 

We serve God, not man-made doctrine and Satan-founded denominations, and with the service of God, will we see the works in our time, not death—sin—disbelief in God, a Luciferian ideology founded in Genesis as the origin of evil to destroy mankind. 

What are you? A protagonist or an antagonist? Working or dying? I pray this helps you answer the question and come alive through the works of Jesus Christ. 

Until next time, may God richly bless you.