Acts 26:20  “… I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds.”

My wife has accused me of repeating myself.  I have told her over, and over again, that I do not.  However, there are certain themes that repeat themselves in scripture.  Reflecting on a text may result in having the same thoughts that a similar text prompted.  If you read this, and it makes you feel like it is “déjà vu” all over again, I preemptively apologize.  However, I could not ignore what Paul said to King Agrippa just because he also said it so often in his letters to the churches.

In a backlash against corruption in the church, Martin Luther stressed that salvation was by faith and not by works.  Martin Luther was right, and Paul in “Romans” makes it very clear that we cannot earn salvation; righteousness is by faith alone.  Just because something is true, does not mean that it is the only truth.  Faith that Jesus Christ is the Son of God has to make a difference.  If our faith does not make a difference then it is not really faith.  It is impossible to get right with God without it making a difference in every one of our relationships.

True faith always leads to repentance, and we live out our repentance by heading in a new direction and living in a new way.  Paul preached that we demonstrate our repentance by our deeds.  James said “… I will show you my faith by my deeds. (2:18)” There is no contradiction between the theology of Paul and of James.

The contradiction we find is in the lives of people who claim to be Christian, but at the same time commit deeds unequivocally wicked.  Paul, James and the totality of scripture are in theological agreement; Christians do not commit wicked deeds. People committing wicked deeds cannot hide behind a doctrine of “once saved always saved”.  Regardless of what they once were, wicked people are not Christian.  Wicked people are not safe or saved.