Good post, brother Mogens.
Now back to my question, what is the first good deed we perform and how it happens?
I believe, the first good deed we perform is when we accept Christ by faith and believe Him as a Son of God, our Redeemer and Savior.
This might happen because of the work of the Spirit in us as “faith” is also fruit of the Spirit, after we learn about Christ and His gospel.
What is the next good deed?
It is “living by the Spirit”, because it is the Spirit that work in us “to will and to act according to His good purpose” – Philippians 2:13. Just then we can do the good deeds that we are unable to perform by our self. Thus, without faith, all what we do is based on self. “And everything that does not come from faith is SIN.” – Romans 14:23. As this SIN is in us and is our nature, our very being, all what is done by SELF is evil as SIN dominates us (Romans 7:7-25).
And to live by the Spirit needs faith! This is what the gospel of Christ all about: “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The just shall live by faith.” – Romans 1:17.
We know that fruit of the Spirit is LOVE (Galatians 5:22), the character of God that was shed abroad in our heart by the indwelling Spirit to change our heart, to put death to SIN that dominate us.
And when LOVE ruled our heart, we will do good deeds to our fellowman.
At this point Paul and James were one in perception.
Paul is ruled by “faith that works by love” (Galatians 5:6), and James said “If you really keep the royal law found in the Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right” – James 2:8.
So, “love” for both James and Paul is an expression of their faith. According to James “faith without deeds (love) is dead” – James 2:26, same as what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3.
If they both have the same perception about faith and love as the fruit of faith, then they too must have the same perception about HOW they might perform this.
According to Paul, for to have LOVE in our heart we must live by the Spirit as LOVE is fruit of the Spirit that was shed abroad in our heart. We are not suppose to live by the law, because “the law is not based on faith” (Galatians 3:12), and “everything that does not come from faith is SIN” (Romans 14:23). That means keeping or observing the law is done by the principle of self, based on self-acts, performed by the SIN in us. The text might say: “Everything that does not come from faith is done by self (SIN).”
The law doesn’t require faith from his law keeper, on the contrary “the man who does these things (performance) will live by them.” – Galatians 3:12. All the law needs is performance or obedience. And since our performance is motivated by self or the SIN in us that dominates us, the result will only be acts of the flesh or keep on doing evil, breaking the law (Romans 7:7-25).
That’s why, the law is not for the righteous man (a believer in Christ) but for the “law-breakers (law keepers) and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, unholy and irreligious, murderers etc, as according to Timothy 1:8-11.
And James has the same perception.
James 1:25 “But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does.”
James 2:8 “ If you really keep the royal law found in the Scripture, “Love your neighbor as your self,” you are doing right.”
James didn’t say that a believer must keep the 10 Commandments, what he said is that a believer must keep (or have) the royal law which is love. And since he knew that love is the fruit of faith (James 2:14-25), then he knew that a believer must live by faith and not by the law.
Love is the royal law, the perfect law that gives freedom, freedom from SIN and sins. But the law (10 Commandments) only put us into prison, Prisoner of SIN (Galatians 3:23). As in order to keep the law, we must perform obedience, and that is impossible, because SIN (our self who were dominated by SIN) could not perform anything good. And since “the law is not of faith,” but requires obedience that is performed by “self” or the SIN in us, then the law could not give us freedom from SIN and sins, as it keep provoking all covetous desire in us, locked us into prisoner of SIN and put us to death ((Romans 7:5,8-11). Only the Spirit (by living after the Spirit) can set us free from SIN and death (Romans 8:1-4,13).
Thus, it is important to know that what James mentioned in James 2:10,11 is not a sign that he promotes the law as an obligation to keep for Christ believers (if so is the case, he will put himself against Paul theology) but just a COMPARISON for when you said you have love but shows favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law (love) that you are a law breaker because this act shows you have no love (agape) but selfish love (V.9).
He compared with a law keeper that breaks any one of the 10 Commandments is a lawbreaker.
And James continued with an advice that we must speak and act as those who are going to be judge by the law that gives freedom. Surely he didn’t mean the 10 Commandments, as it only made us prisoner of SIN, but LOVE will be the measure of judgment. That means, the fruit of our faith (if we claim we are Christ believers) will be the judgment of faith as it is the proof of our faith, are we a true believer that lives by faith or are we a believer that lives by self.
The just shall live by faith, it is the standard of life for true believers in Christ. If some one or the church said that the law (10 Commandments) is the standard of Christian living, then “faith has no value.”
In His love
James S.