WHAT IS FAITH?
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There is a great burden in my heart to share the fullness of the Gospel. The news that is nearly too good to be true. Some present today a different Gospel than others. Of course we can point to cults like Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormonism. But even in the CHRISTIAN CHURCH we have seen over time and the history of mankind, that the truth is often distorted.
We look at the Old Testament accounts of the kings of Israel, and we see that the law of God, and the word of God was discarded, hidden from the people. And during the time of King Joash, the law was found and read before him, and he repented with sackcloth and ashes; and great reform came from the truth of God’s word being preserved.
We see in Jesus’ day that the Pharisees put so much stock in their traditions and regulations that they were even found breaking the commands of God to uphold their religious charades causing Jesus to call them out on their mishandling of the oracles of God.
Jump ahead to the Roman Catholic Church. Throughout medieval times, it was deemed illegal by the pope to translate the bible into local languages for the common church goers. Everything was done in latin. Why? For power, for religious authority, for greed. They say it was to ensure there was no deviation from official Catholic doctrines. Needless to say, if reading the Bible deviates your doctrine, then it needed to be deviated.
What’s the point? My point is, man has a way of mishandling and perverting the truth of God. Not even necessarily on purpose. Sometimes it is very on purpose. But today we see the same thing happening in our churches. People are not sure what the true Gospel is. If you ask them how they know they’re going to heaven, they will say that they live for God, they go to church, they’re sober, they tithe. All these THINGS. When the answer is found in none of these things.
So tonight I want to talk about, WHAT IS FAITH? In order to really understand the depths of faith, we are going to examine more closely the book of James.
Many people will often quote “faith without works is dead”! And it is used in a form or fashion that carries with it the aroma of self righteousness. As if to say, if a believer has sin in their life, they cannot be saved. When the fact of the matter is, that would mean none of us are saved.
What does it truly mean to say that FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD! That is what I wish to make clear tonight.
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?
22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works;
23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.
24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
When you read a passage like this, doesn’t it really make you think about your life? It’s convicting. It’s motivating. It causes me to reflect and evaluate my life and ask myself, ‘Am I living out my faith?’. This is a good thing, and i believe it is the exact purpose for which James wrote it, inspired by the Holy Spirit. It was to encourage good works in the lives of believers. And we see this concept in many other places in scripture, but quickly we will look at one.
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
This was James purpose. To stir up good works in his readers. But when this passage is taken out of context, (which it often is) it takes a sharp turn from convicting and motivating to condemnation.
It is so easy to take a few verses from the book of James and compare it to the writing of Paul and say, ‘this really seems to contradict one another’. How can Paul say,
16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
But James clearly says
24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
This can cause a person to feel like they may not be DOING ENOUGH to be saved. This brings great fear. If you’ve ever questioned your salvation, (like me) you understand just how scary and hopeless that place is.
In order to reconcile these teachings and show that James and Paul actually compliment each other despite the seeming contradiction, we are going to let the Bible define the Bible. Even more so, we will let JAMES explain what JAMES means in his epistle.
So the first step to understanding the concept that James is trying to teach us, is to understand
THE OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK OF JAMES
What will help us to understand this teaching, and is honestly a great tool in Bible Study to understand anything you’re reading, is to step back from the verses you’re trying to understand and look at the book as a whole. What is this book trying to teach me? There are obvious themes throughout the entire bible, but on a smaller scale, what does the overview of the book I’m reading tell me?
If we grasp at a few verses in James 2. What we find is that we are prone to make the book of James about works. But I challenge you to look at his teaching as a whole, and when you do, you’ll first find that James is written like the book of Proverbs. It is even called the “Proverbs of the new testament”. James seems to bounce around from wisdom packed idea to the next. But relative to faith and works, you’ll find that WORKS are clearly secondary, never mentioned without faith, while faith is mentioned throughout and on its own.
THE THEME OF JAMES IS FAITH
Let me prove it to you.
3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.
1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.
5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?
Obviously faith is mentioned all throughout chapter 2. Chapter 3 he discuses taming the tongue, and wisdom. Chapter 4 warns against worldliness and not trusting in our own plan, (which we could conclude is truly FAITH, FULL TRUST AND RELIANCE UPON HIM) and that we should say, “If the Lord wills i will live”. (Not if I WILL!)And chapter 5 brings a warning to the rich, talks about patience in suffering and finally brings it all back to faith,
15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
So we see the overview, and the theme of this proverbial epistle. But let’s take it a step further. To understand what James is talking about, we have to understand WHO HE IS TALKING TO.
WHO IS THE AUDIENCE OF JAMES?
Why is it important to know WHO James is talking to? So often we take verses out of context and attempt to apply them to our lives, when in deed the audience of the verse will greatly affect our application.
Paul explains in his letters like Romans and Galatians that NO ONE WILL BE JUSTIFIED BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW.
But does he do this in all of his letters? Paul discusses so many things in the book of Corinthians, but teaching that we are NOT justified by works of the law does not make the list. Why? Because Paul must have felt that the Corinthians were not people who ever thought they could be justified by works of the law. Their struggle was quite the opposite. They were fleshly, carnal Christians who needed guidance in things like sexual immorality in the church, how church should be ran, spiritual gifts, etc.
In Romans, Paul is speaking to Jews who were tempted to hold to the old covenant, thinking they could be justified by works of the law, so Paul dismantles their confidence in the flesh and shows them that it is GRACE THROUGH FAITH that saves them. - In Galatians, Paul is speaking to people who have come to Christ, yet are tempted to go back to works of the law as means of righteousness. He rebukes them with a stern ‘Oh foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you?’.
So when we consider how the audience of James differs from the audience of Paul, it makes sense that the emphasis of their teaching differs. (Different Dream Center Students need different teachings- it doesn’t change doctrine, only emphasis)
James audience is clearly different than Pauls. We know that James is talking to Christians, we get this from several verses.
Chapter 1 he starts off with ‘My brothers. Chapter 2, ‘My brothers’ 2:5 ‘Beloved brothers’ 2:15 ‘If a brother or sister’. And for sake of time, i will let you look for yourself, but he continues in each chapter, 3, 4 and 5, saying BROTHERS.
So we know that they believe. But as it’s obvious that Paul had to discuss faith with believers who are accustomed to WORKS, James here has a reason for explaining that faith without works is dead.
What could that reason be? It’s fairly easy to conclude that the audience of James MUST have understood a salvation by faith doctrine. Because he feels no need to refute legalism, or the attempt to approach God on the merit of our own righteousness (which is what legalism is). Paul felt a very strong need to do so in his letters.
Instead James feels the need to elaborate on what saving faith truly is. So with the backdrop now set, let’s dive in.
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
James begins with two examples of what saving faith is NOT! Here we see the first of those 2 examples.
If a believer sees a brother or sister in Christ, and they lack clothing, or they are hungry, and we have the means to help that person, but simply choose to SAY to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without fulfilling their need, what good is the words that we have spoken to them? Can those words clothe them, feed them or warm them at night? Those words are good for nothing.. Reminds me of something Jesus said.
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’
44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’
45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’
46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
So let’s get this straight. Jesus, who came to earth, God in the flesh, to pay for the sins of man. Who rebuked the Pharisees for their self righteousness, showing them that their legalism could NEVER save them. Who said that HE IS THE WAY, THE ONLY WAY. Here he tells the goats that they’re cursed to eternal fire, for as they did not do for the least of these, they didn’t do it for HIM?
What is He saying? Those who truly believe in HIM, will have a heart for the LEAST OF THESE, the brothers and sisters.
14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.
When you’ve passed from death to life, love springs up. The love of Christ inside of you will push you towards the least of these. Helping the least of these isn’t why your saved. Helping the least of these happens BECAUSE you’re saved.
James says, the same way that telling a person in need, ‘Go in peace, be filled, be warmed’, are nothing but dead empty words when you do nothing to fulfill their needs; So a faith that has no action, is a dead faith. And dead faith cannot save. A true living faith changes our hearts, the love of God is poured into our hearts according to Romans 5 by the Spirit, therefore we will love.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
So now James moves on to his second example of what saving faith is NOT.
James says that a person may say “You have faith, and I works.” But look at what he says next, “Show me your faith APART from your works, and I will show you my faith BY MY WORKS.”
Notice he didn’t say, “show me your faith apart from works, and I will show you my works”. James knows it’s not about works, it’s still about FAITH! The works are just the visible representation of faith.
How do we know that true faith is evidenced through works? Because here we clearly see that false faith has none.
V19 shows the fruit of a faith that cannot save you. It’s good you believe that God is one, but even the DEMONS BELIEVE! Yet they remain demonic. They continue to perdition. There is no change. And the result is FEAR. Perfect love casts out fear, an intellectual belief only cannot do so.
The point James is making is that a “faith” that does not change your heart in such a way that there is a living out of ones faith; is not faith at all.
Will a Christian struggle with sin? Absolutely there will be struggles. Will a Christian be ruled by sin? Not as a general rule, no. How can we be? We’ve died to it. Struggling to overcome, because we are not walking consistently in the Spirit; and simply subjecting ourselves to a life of sin are two different things.
A true saving faith always produces works of faith.
But simply doing works cannot save you either.
22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’
23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Jesus said that on that day many will say to Him, ‘What about my works?’. And Jesus will say, “What about them?”.
I think it’s safe to say that there will be people who truly had some of these very works listed. Prophesying, casting out demons and other mighty works. How can his be? For one, Satan masquerades as an angel of light. For two, think about Judas. We have no reason to believe that when Jesus sent out His disciples and gave them power over unclean spirits, that Judas was not operating in this gift as well. We have no reason to believe that Judas wasn’t preaching along with the other disciples. Don’t you think if he didn’t do any of the works, that when Jesus said ‘someone will betray me’ they would have all been like “Oh, it’s GOTTA be Judas. He didn’t even wanna lay hands on anyone or preach in the marketplace”. They didn’t know who it was. He had some works. He gave possibly 3 years of his life to following Jesus.
But the most important thing is not works. It’s truly being known by Jesus. So here we see opposite ends of the same coin.
In Matthew 25, we saw those who did not do for the least of these. They had lack of action which proved their lack of faith.
Here in Matthew 7 we see works with lack of sincerity, lack of intimacy, lack of faith.
Neither can save you.
So now James moves into two examples of what saving faith truly is.
20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?
22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works;
23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.
24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
This is where at first glance, it’s easy to see how it seems as if James and Paul are saying two different things. V21 literally says that Abraham was justified by WORKS! How could he say something that so strongly seems to disagree with the writings of Paul? There are two answers. We first must see that:
WORKS ARE THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF FAITH
James uses the life of Abraham to explain this concept.
1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”
2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.”
4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.”
5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
So God promised Abram an heir, and we all know that the offspring of Abraham became the nation of Israel, and through His offspring came the Christ. When God made this promise to Abram, HE BELIEVED GOD and it was credited to him as RIGHTEOUSNESS!
He believed and was called a FRIEND OF GOD. Contrast that with the demon who believes, but shudders in fear and remains an enemy of God. This was a faith that credits you with RIGHTEOUSNESS!
I love this part. Look at the name we just read in Genesis 15. ABRAM. Notice the name in James. ABRAHAM. When a person enters into covenant with God by FAITH. EVERYTHING CHANGES. Your very NAME CHANGES.
We were once called children of disobedience, faith declares us children of God
Abraham believed God. That was his righteousness. Abraham looked at his body, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb, yet Romans says Abraham did not waiver. He believed God was able to perform what he promised!
So how was Abraham justified by works when he offered Isaac at the altar?
In Genesis 22, God told Abraham to take his son, his only son whom he loves and offer him as a burnt offering. So he arose early in the morning with the donkeys and the servants, to head off to the mountain God would show him.
In faith Abraham went, to sacrifice the very son that God promised him. In faith, when Isaac asked his father where was the burnt offering, he replied that, “God would provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering”. In faith, Abraham told his servants that him and Isaac would go and worship and that THEY WOULD RETURN! Abraham used a plural noun. Stating they BOTH WOULD BE BACK. Hebrews 11 shows us why Abraham said this.
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son,
18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.”
19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.
You see, as James says, FAITH WAS ACTIVE ALONG WITH HIS WORKS AND FAITH WAS COMPLETED BY HIS WORKS!
This is not about a work that Abraham did that caused him to be righteous. It’s about what a faith that truly makes you righteous looks like. All that Abraham did, was done out of faith. His faith is what pleased God, his faith is what credited him with righteousness, and his actions fulfilled the scripture that deemed him righteous by faith. Because faith leading to righteousness ALWAYS produces works of FAITH!
So if Abraham is truly justified by his faith, why does James say he was justified by his works and not faith alone?
When Paul states in Romans 3 that we are JUSTIFIED by HIS GRACE AS A GIFT, he is using the greek word:
DIKAIOUMENOI: TO CAUSE SOMEONE TO BE IN A PROPER OR RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH SOMEONE ELSE
Paul is saying that we are MADE RIGHT IN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD BY HIS GRACE AS A GIFT!
When James says that Abraham was JUSTIFIED by works and not faith alone, he is using the greek word:
Dikaioutai: TO DEMONSTRATE THAT SOMETHING IS MORALLY RIGHT, TO SHOW OR TO PROVE TO BE RIGHT
JAMES IS SAYING THAT THE PROOF OF ABRAHAMS RIGHTEOUS WAS IN HIS ACT OF FAITH, WHILE PAUL IS STATING WE ARE MADE RIGHT WITH GOD BY FAITH!
We must see that we are JUSTIFIED, made right with God the minute we come to salvation.
And the Spirit of God leads us into good works BECAUSE OF OUR SALVATION.
So what James wants us to see is that Abraham was MADE RIGHT WITH GOD when he believed. His faith was credited to him as righteousness;
And he was shown to be righteous, he proved his righteousness, he bore fruit of his righteousness when he obeyed God out of faith and offered Isaac on the altar.
Notice that his POSITION changed first, and his CONDITION followed.
But don’t forget that in between Genesis 15 and Genesis 22 there was an Ishmael. That’s right. Abraham was justified and made right with God by faith in the promise. And before he showed his righteousness by his obedience because of his faith in the promise in Genesis 22, he sinned and acted out of unbelief by having an Ishmael.
Abraham slept with his maid Hagaar and had a son outside of the promise. A son of the flesh.
This is important to note because acting out of character, falling into sin, struggling with a sin does not undo your justification. Nowhere in scripture does it say that because of Ishmael Abraham was no longer righteous.
Because here’s the truth, and it’s exactly what James was showing us in his epistle.
True faith will cause us to live a life of worship by faith
Abraham failed. He fell. He sinned against the very promise that he believed unto righteousness. Just like us; who sin against the very God who gave us righteousness as a gift. But Abraham did not stay there. The point of the passage isn’t about sin. It’s about a faith that changes us from the inside out. True faith produces works, not out of self effort, not trying to earn something. The Spirit of God indwells us and will lead us into the good works prepared for us.
We will make mistakes along the way. James is not saying true faith has no sin. We all sin. But:
True faith will not remain in the sin of yesterday. We may stumble but we will not stay
So now, we should be able to clearly see that James and Paul are essentially teaching the same thing, just with different emphasis.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Grace saves us. Changes us. Good works will follow, because God wills it for us. The Spirit of God lives in us. He will lead us. True faith is found in verses 8&9, and true faith accomplishes verse 10.
TRUE FAITH ACCOMPLISHES WORKS OF FAITH
This passage truly sums up the message of James; and believe it or not it is PAUL who wrote it.
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,
12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
First comes salvation by grace, as a gift; then comes training to renounce ungodliness, and training to live self-controlled; and with it comes this hope as we are awaiting the return of Christ, who REDEEMED US and PURIFIED US, that we may be HIS possession and we are now ZELOUS for good works, BECAUSE Of the faith inside of us.
So, in summary; What is true faith?
TRUE FAITH ACKNOWLEDGES THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO SALVATION BUT GRACE ALONE THROUGH FAITH ALONE
TRUE FAITH ACKNOWLEDGES THAT I NOW HAVE THE SPIRIT OF GOD WHO SANCTIFIES ME AND GIVES ME THE DESIRE AND ABILITY TO LIVE HOLY
AS A RESULT OF TRUE FAITH, I WILL HAVE WORKS THAT SHOW I HAVE BEEN MADE RIGHTEOUS BY FAITH
I close with this.
13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Jesus says the same thing in John 14. Jesus said that it was the Father in Jesus doing His works. And we are certainly no different. Today it’s God in us doing His works. Good works are not of us. But all of Him. A natural result of faith in Christ.
And that’s what true faith looks like.