Faith and Works

When we were studying James in class, we got into the discussion about the relationship between faith and works. This is roughly how the professor explained it:

We don’t do works to prove that we’re believers; we do works because we’re believers.

If there’s a lone apple tree in an orchard of cherry trees, it doesn’t try to bear apples to prove that it’s an apple tree and not a cherry tree; it bears apples because it’s an apple tree and that’s what apple trees do.

So: works don't save. They aren't divorced from faith, either. Faith and works go together naturally.