What does First B Jackson teach about faith and works?
Drawn from the messages where it was actually addressed: the words said from the front, the passages taught, and where to hear the whole thing.
At First B Jackson, the teaching on faith and works starts with a relationship, not a to-do list. Pastor Carl has made this point in more than one message: God loves us first, and that love is what compels any action that follows. Faith itself is a gift, not something a person manufactures. Once given, that faith does not sit still. It moves outward into how a person treats a hungry neighbor, how they use their time and money, how they show mercy to someone who does not deserve it.
The church has spent real time on the warning James issues in the middle of that good news. A faith that produces nothing is described plainly as dead and useless. Pastor Carl has pressed this without softening it, pointing out that even the demons believe God exists, and it has done nothing for them. Belief that never becomes lordship, that never changes what occupies your schedule or your budget, is not saving faith. James uses Abraham and Rahab as his two examples: in both cases, faith and action worked together, and the action made the faith complete. An incomplete faith, Carl has said, is like a puzzle with a missing piece. The picture is there but something is wrong.
None of this is about earning salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 settles that question, and the teaching here is careful to keep the order right: good deeds come after faith, not before it. They are the living proof that saving faith is real, not the price paid to obtain it. Pastor Deborah has made the same point from the other direction, noting that the Bema Seat judgment will not be about condemning believers but about whether the life God gave each person was actually used to show mercy, carry burdens, and meet real needs. Faith, on this account, is never a private transaction. It shows itself.
Taught from James 2:14-26 · Ephesians 2:8-9 · 1 John 4:19 · John 15:5 · James 2:1-13
The passage taught · 1 John 1:9
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
World English Bible
The messages that teach on it
- January 31, 2024 Women's Bible Study - January 31st, 2024 - Walking in the Holy Spirit James 2 shows that real faith changes how we think, speak, and treat people. No favoritism, genuine mercy, and love that actually moves us to act.
- April 11, 2022 James Chapter 2 - 4.11.22 Faith without action is dead. James 2:14-26 shows how a real relationship with God naturally produces good deeds, and why belief alone is never enough.
- November 18, 2018 Faith and Deeds Always Work Together James 2 shows that real faith always produces action. A dead faith changes nothing, but a living faith rooted in God's love compels us toward good works that glorify God.
Mentioned along the way
- December 8, 2019 By Faith, We Understand Hebrews 11 sermon on Abel, Enoch, and Noah showing how faith that pleases God means believing He exists and rewards those who genuinely seek Him.
- April 7, 2019 God Is Sovereign, Man Is Responsible Peter opens his second letter by grounding Christians in what God has already given, then calling them to respond with lives marked by faith, goodness, and love.
- May 7, 2017 Mark Hull Elder Mark Hall shares how fear, of a mountain lion, of hell at age nine, and for his children, drew him toward God's grace rather than away from it.
- May 1, 2016 Jump: Giving Glory to God Through Faith Romans 4 traces Abraham's faith journey to show how trusting God, not our own works, brings righteousness and how that same faith calls us to act today.