James The Just pt. 10
James the Just • Sermon • Submitted
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14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Faith Without Works!
Faith Without Works!
*open prayer*
There is a lot to go over in these short verses. They have been twisted and mis-understood for centuries.
There seems to be some confusion over what James is talking about.
Some will even tell you this is a case of James vs Paul.
Let’s look at what Paul says in Romans 3.
28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
Lets look at little further in the next chapter...
1 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? 2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. 3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. 4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
9 Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. 10 How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. 11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also: 12 And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised. 13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
Couple things to point out here.
Chapters and verses were not originally in the text. They were added later to help us navigate the text.
That being said it is important for us to understand context of what the Bible is talking about, and be careful not to pull verses out of context.
During the reformation period, when Martin Luther spoke out against the many practices of Catholicism, this text was referenced.
The Catholic church pulled these exact verses from James and tried to justify their claims of being saved by works.
This is why it is so important to be in the Word and not just trust others to tell you what it means.
It is also why I stay away from “thought for thought” type of Bible translations such as the NLT, Message, NIV, and all the others...
Don’t fall for other people telling you what God’s Word says, read it for yourself.
Search the scriptures daily!
So, It would appear, at least at first, that we have found a contradiction in the bible.
Was Paul correct or was James?
Did one of them attempt to disprove the other?
Can these passages be reconciled?
Martin Luther himself actually questioned the canonicity of the book of James, which of course he later repented of...
Both men use the same word for justified.
Both men speak of Abraham
On the surface, both men seem to be saying opposite things....
So who is right?
As we will see here in a moment, both are correct and both fit together perfectly in scripture with each other.
Context matters, and so with that we are going to look at this from a philosophical point of view for a second.
What is the problem the author is trying to solve?
Or point they are trying to make?
Contextually speaking what is the point Paul is trying to make?
2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
Paul is talking about what makes us justified before a Holly and Perfect God.
What is it that makes us justified in God’s eyes?
Our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Contextually speaking what is the point James is making?
14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
If a man goes on saying he has works.... as in to other people.
James is making the point that genuine faith produces works, we call them fruits… and by their fruits we (us people) will know it is genuine. (reference Matthew 7:16)
In the last chapter we talked about what true religion is, then we were warned against favoritism in the beginning of chapter 2.
Now we see James warning us against those that claim they have faith (among men) yet clearly do not.
A hypocrticial type of faith.... James calls it a dead faith.
God knows the moment we are saved, and we have to produce nothing before him.
Man however, does not, and works are the best clue we have to see genuine faith in God.
James shares with us that faith produces works and so that is a metric by which we can test those who claim to be in the faith.
Push up analogy.
If I make the claim i can do 10 push-ups in less than a minute… most people might believe me.
If I make the claim I can do 1,000 push-ups in less than a minute.... you would want to see it… to see if I can “justify” my claims.
Justify to who?
Does God know how many push-ups I can and cannot do? Of course.
My claim is to my fellow man...
It is to them that I must justify my claim with my works....
Now with that, lets look at our passage again tonight...
14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
In other words… can merely claiming to have faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
Here we see an example of where one has the ability to see their faith manifest into a good work....
Did the thief on the cross get this opportunity?
No, but he was justified before God, and had genuine salvation. If he would have been physically rescued off that cross, and given an opportunity to live beyond that day, you would see his faith manifest into works.
So claiming to just have faith is not enough....
Saying you “believe in God” is not enough....
James goes on to tell us even the devils believe, but that wont save them...
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
If all you have is head knowledge, you have a vain religion....
James says this in the next verse.
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
Then we get back into Abraham, who is interestingly referenced during a later point of his life than when Paul referenced him. (about 7 chapters later).
But James shows us Abraham’s faith manifested into a work when he obediently offered up his son Isaac.
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
James again points out, Abraham did not just say he had faith in God, he showed it by his works...
Faith produces works.
24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
The account of Abraham and Isaac is recorded so that we (mankind) can see Abrahams faith in action. Further we can see the level of his faith....
This test was for man to see, not God.
God knew all along what would happen. It was a surprise to Him!
25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
James doubles down this point with Rahab.
Merely saying you have faith or having a head knowlege of God is not the type of faith that Justifies you before God.
Only a real faith will save you.
God knows the heart, so he knows when you truly have that.
Man will know because it will produce works...
It is a living faith that saves, not a dead, vain faith.
Questions?
Close out.