Evidence of Changed Lives: Faith Shown by Actions

The picture of Crime Scene Kitchen sets the table with clues, evidence, and a little bit of confusion. The contestants look around a kitchen for chocolate, dirty cake pans, buttercream, or whatever else might tell them what was really made. The evidence points somewhere, even if some folks somehow end up making cupcakes when there were no cupcake clues anywhere. That picture opens up James, because James starts asking what the evidence shows when somebody says faith is there.

James does not teach that works save anybody. God saves by grace through Jesus Christ, because human effort could never finish what only Christ could complete. James still will not let faith stay hidden in a corner with no fingerprints, no tracks, no sign that anything has changed. Second Corinthians says that anyone in Christ is a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come, so a changed life ought to leave some kind of evidence behind.

Zacchaeus gives one exhibit. Zacchaeus was a tax collector, a thief with a title, a man who took his cut and lived off other people’s loss. Christ came to his house, and Zacchaeus started giving money back, even four times what he had stolen. The evidence shows that Zacchaeus changed because of Christ.

Peter gives another exhibit. Peter denied knowing Jesus, lost his nerve, and went back to fishing because he did not know what to do with himself. The risen Lord met him on the shore, restored him, and told him to feed the sheep. Pentecost then showed a different Peter, no longer worried about himself, standing up and telling the story of Jesus.

Paul gives the same kind of evidence. Paul went from persecutor to missionary, from trying to stop the message to sharing the message. Scripture is full of blind people seeing, lame people walking, demon-possessed people starting over, and even a thief on a cross finding eternity with Christ.

The rich young ruler, the nine lepers, and Judas show the other side. Some people saw Jesus, received from Jesus, or walked beside Jesus, and still did not surrender. Abraham shows living faith in action, because faith took steps toward what God commanded. Actions do not earn salvation, but actions do show what is alive, because Christ does not leave a life unchanged.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Evidence follows a changed life Actions do not purchase salvation, and James does not turn grace into a paycheck. Actions do show what has taken root in a life, the way clues in a kitchen show what was really made there. A life in Christ may not be perfect, but it cannot remain untouched, unchanged, and without evidence. [55:47]
• 2. Christ makes old things new Second Corinthians gives the center of the whole question, anyone in Christ is a new creation. The old has gone, and the new has come, not because human effort finally got strong enough, but because Christ makes a real person new from the inside out. The question is not merely whether a person knows the right words, but whether Christ has actually changed the life. [56:19]
• 3. Restoration can rewrite failure Peter’s denial did not get the last word over Peter’s life. The risen Christ met a failed disciple on the shore and turned a man who went back to fishing into a man who would feed the sheep. Failure became part of the evidence, not because failure was good, but because Christ restored what fear had broken. [62:42]
• 4. Religious closeness is not surrender Judas saw miracles, heard Jesus, followed with the apostles, and still treated Jesus as a path to his own greatness. The danger is not only being far from holy things, but being near holy things without being changed by Christ. A person may know the language, the room, and the routine, yet still miss the Lord standing right there. [68:24]
• 5. Faith takes obedient action Abraham’s faith did not stay as an idea in his head. Abraham moved toward what God commanded, even when the command was hard, costly, and impossible to understand fully. James points to that kind of action as evidence that faith is alive, not as a replacement for grace, but as the fruit of trust. [71:34]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [47:55] - Father’s Day And A Puzzling Start
• [48:31] - Crime Scene Kitchen And Clues
• [54:10] - James, Faith, Works, And Evidence
• [55:47] - New Creation In Christ
• [57:24] - Has Jesus Changed A Life
• [58:14] - Zacchaeus As Exhibit A
• [60:52] - Peter Restored And Sent
• [63:56] - Paul Changed On Damascus Road
• [66:32] - People Who Did Not Get It
• [69:27] - Abraham’s Faith In Action
• [72:10] - Actions Show Who A Person Belongs To
• [75:30] - Sharing How Christ Has Changed A Life
• [77:06] - Prayer For Continued Change
• [82:15] - Go With Christ’s Peace And Love

Bible Reading

1. James 2:14-26

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and filled,' without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 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. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness'—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” [54:10]

Observation questions

1. In James 2, what kinds of examples are given to show the difference between saying something and actually doing something?
2. What details in Zacchaeus’s story show that his life did not stay the same after Jesus came to him? [58:14]
3. What changes can be seen in Peter from the time he denied Jesus to the time he stood up and spoke boldly? [01:02:42]
4. Which Bible characters were named as people who were close to Jesus or helped by Jesus, yet still did not respond with surrendered faith? [01:06:32]

Interpretation questions

1. James says faith without works is dead. How should that be understood without turning salvation into something a person earns? [55:07]
2. Second Corinthians says that anyone in Christ is a new creation. What kinds of change would a group expect to see if that verse is really true in a person’s life? [56:01]
3. Judas was around Jesus, saw miracles, and still was not changed. What does that say about the difference between religious closeness and true surrender? [01:08:24]
4. Abraham’s actions are presented as evidence of living faith. What does his story show about the connection between trusting God and obeying God when the path is hard? [01:11:34]

Application questions

1. If someone asked, “How has Jesus changed your life?” what would be easy to answer, and what would be hard to put into words? [57:24]
2. Zacchaeus responded by making things right where he had done wrong. Is there any place where repentance needs to become visible in a relationship, a habit, or a decision this week? [01:00:12]
3. Peter’s failure did not have the last word because Jesus restored him. Where might shame, regret, or spiritual failure still be keeping someone stuck when Christ may be calling that person back into faithfulness? [01:03:56]
4. It is possible to be near holy things and still remain unchanged. What might that warning look like in church life, and how would someone recognize that danger in a personal way? [01:08:55]
5. Abraham’s faith took action. What is one step of obedience that may already be clear, even if it feels costly, inconvenient, or difficult? [01:12:00]
6. Actions can look like encouragement, service, showing up at the hospital, helping a grieving family, or speaking to someone about Christ. Which of those kinds of actions comes most naturally, and which one needs to grow? [01:15:30]
7. A changed life leaves evidence. If the past month were examined like a kitchen full of clues, what evidence would point to love for Christ, and what evidence might show distraction, fear, or self-focus? [55:36]