New Definition of Atheist

A person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. - James 2:24

Sola fide is the old Latin term used around a lot of Protestant church circles to describe one of our core beliefs: that God considers people righteous by ‘faith alone.’ Isn’t that a curious contrast to what the Bible says here in James?

Of course James isn’t arguing that we have to earn our way into God’s good graces, but he’s aware of how many times people will pretend to believe in order to gain some comfort, but not really believe with their lives. The particular context that James is writing about here is caring in a physical and financial way for members of the community who are struggling. It seems that James might have similarly challenging words for the church in America today as well, doesn’t it?

As we heard on Sunday, theologian Gustavo Gutierez summarized this sentiment in by quoting a Bolivian farmer: “An atheist is someone who fails to practice justice toward the poor.” At the end of the sermon on Sunday (watch it HERE) we talked about how looking at our credit card statement and checkbook is a simple way to reveal what we believe in. How do you integrate your faith into your finances? If this is a new idea for you today, spend some time exploring it with Jesus. If you’ve been around church for a while, maybe do something practical like look up your credit card statement and reflect on what it says about your values and commitments.