"i hate wax fruit"

James 2:14
“What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? ”

How would you feel if you went up to your local farmer’s market and asked for the most delicious orange they had...the attendant nods knowingly and then goes about his task to find you that spectacular sphere of Vitamin C goodness, then quickly comes back and hands you what appears to be the most brilliantly orange orange you’ve ever seen. But as soon as you try to peel the orange you find that this is not the delicacy your heart has been craving, this is a wax orange! In frustration you ask the attendant why he gave you this phony orange when you asked for the real thing...he looks at you rather strangely and says, “An orange is an orange, right?”

Friend, this is what many people in our world (maybe even people you know...maybe even you) are doing when it comes to believing in Jesus as the Savior. They have chosen to pass on genuine living faith choosing instead a stale and unsatisfying counterfeit that can do nothing but mimic the outer appearance of the genuine article.

Speaking of this “wax faith”, James says “what use is it” if you settle for the imitation claiming it’s the real thing? James concludes that this kind of imitation “faith” is as “dead” as that wax orange. (Ok, he doesn’t say that bit about the orange...but you get the idea.) James wants us to know that the only faith that makes a difference is the genuine, life changing, spirit filling, loving giving, Christ exalting faith. The “wax faith” is just like the wax orange, it may look delicious on the outside, but on the inside it as completely empty.

In our world there are plenty of people who look good on the outside, but dig a little deeper than the surface and we find nothing but religious games. Now, this isn’t to cause us to go around doubting everyone’s profession, (If anything, we would do well to closer examine our own!), but we MUST be aware that just saying you have “faith” doesn’t mean you have come to know God.
Our world asks, “An orange is an orange, right?” Well, oranges, like people’s faith claims, have to be judged on more than just external appearance. Its not enough to just look like you have faith...you have to really have it!

Can I tell you a secret? I hate wax fruit.