What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Scripture James 2:18 But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. (NIV) In the 1860's a famous tight rope walker, "the Great Blondin" came to America and strung out his tight rope over Niagra falls. A great crowd gathered to watch him as he dangerously walked across the tight rope from one side to the other. The people were amazed at his death defying feat. When he came back to where the people were, he asked them, "how many people here believe that I can walk across this tight rope safely to the other side?". All the people raised their hands because they had already seen him do it. They believed in their mind that he could do it again. Then he asked, "who wants to get on my shoulders as I walk across?" No one raised their hand. You see, even though they believed in their mind that he could walk across the rope, they weren't willing to put their faith in him. They weren't willing to trust him with their lives. Faith must express itself with action or deeds. Faith that fails to express itself is considered dead faith. Dead faith is not beneficial to anyone. Faith is not mystical, it is confidence and trust in the word and promises of God. Faith is not a magic key that forces God to do something on our behalf. Faith is assurance that God is who He says He is and that God will do what He has promised to do. Faith is demonstrated by our obedience to God’s word. “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.” It’s important to note when teaching about faith that we demonstrate our faith  not by what we don’t do ... but by what we do! Faith takes action it is not passive.