James 2:14-26 | Faith and Works

Intro - Indulgences.

Hey y’all hows it going?

Who is ready for a day off on Monday? Who is ready for a full day of meaningful football on Saturday?

To our Tech friends congrats, to our FSU friends, why did you let tech do that to you?

anyways, everyone good? Cool, lets jump in to it.

In the late 1400’s early 1500’s the catholic church is the only church, there weren’t any baptists, no real denominations, you had eastern catholics, but on the whole, the Roman Catholic church was the top dog.

They were it. Until a thing called the Protestant reformation happened, which is where priests and churches broke with the Catholic church on major issues, causing a schism, causing a divide in Christendom and it lead to some wild church history.

But in in the late 1400’s early 1500’s there was a teaching that had come about in the Catholic church called Plenary indulgences.

And basically what was going on, was you could buy your way in to heaven.

So think of it like this, if you were well off, made a ton of money, you could go to a priest and say i would like to buy an indulgence certificate for a million dollars, or what ever.

And the priest would be like, that is great, lets draw up the papers, you give them a million dollars, they would give you a special sacrament and prayer thing and then they give you a pass to heaven. Or at least, depending on the amount, less time in purgatory, which is it’s own doctrine that we wont get in to,

but basically,

here is a legit, get out hell free pass.

Thank you.

—

Now, to us, that sounds insane. Like that sounds antithetical to anything we see in scripture. If I started trying to sell you on that, you would be think i was out of my mind.

Well back then, people didn’t think that, one they didn't have the scripture in a language they could read, it was all in latin, where the majority spoke german or french. And then all the pastors and priests were telling you this is how it works.

So, along comes a man named Martin Luther, and he takes issue with this and a number of other practices and teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, and nails 95 of his grievances to a church door.

One of his main things was this idea that we are justified by faith alone.

That we are made right with God through faith alone.

From him nailing those 95 thesis to the door of the church, you have the whole Protestant Reformation.

And Luther basically says, the whole of the church hinges on justification through faith alone. Meaning you can’t earn the righteousness of God.

Nothing you can do to earn salvation. Going against the sale of indulgences, you can’t earn let alone buy your way to heaven.

So this is where we are going to live tonight, because this a tricky passage if we believe this, this verse on the surface seems like it goes against what we just said.

Context - We believe faith alone. Catholic doctrine is backwards.

So last week we looked at the markers of a community of faith, basically answering the question, what sort of community are you building? who are you trying to get in with. That partiality is the community test of faith.

Tonight we are switching gears, this passage is addressing a core doctrine of our faith,

so we are going to have to talk theology tonight.

And here a good rule for doing theology, that scripture informs theology. Not the other way around,

You can’t come up with a theology and then impose that on the scriptures.

The scriptures imposes itself on our theology.

It is where we derive our doctrines from.

And then, it is the whole of scripture that determines interpretation, because scripture interprets scripture.

So, to start off, I’m gonna give you what our doctrine is, what we believe based on the whole of scripture, what our theology is.

So we believe in Justification through faith alone.

That is where we land on justification theory.

That we are made righteous before God, through faith and faith alone, that we cannot earn our salvation, that there is nothing in us that allows us to earn our way to God.

our salvation is not based on merit but on faith.

so that is what we believe. And this is a tier one issue, if you miss this, you miss the gospel. This is as Martin Luther says, the hinge point of the church. It falls apart without this.

So tonight when we read this passage, you’re going to look at me like I’m crazy because surface level, it seems to go against this.

Stick with me.

So tonight, we are gonna be in James 2, verse 14-26. If you need a bible, throw a hand up, and we will get you one. Who needs one?

Cool, James 2:14-26, while you are flipping there, let me connect the dots a little bit.

So James in chapter 1 hit on this, this idea of faith. About hearing and doing the word, we talked a good bit about that a couple weeks ago.

That it is one thing to hear the word, another thing wholly to do the word.

So James here, touches this again, but really dives deep. He not just saying you gotta walk the talk,

but that not doing what you hear is useless and worth nothing in the eyes of God.

That there is more to your faith than just a mental assent. That there is more than just ‘believing’ but there is some substance to it.

So James 2, 14-26, lets read this whole passage together.

But before we do that, let’s pray for our time in the word tonight,

SO pray with me.

pray

Okay, lets read this together,

James 2:14–26 ESV

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.

Okay, so, what do we have here?

James is setting up an argument,

Imagine James is a lawyer, this is closing argument on this topic.

P1 - What is Saving Faith? What is being saved? - Titanic

So he starts with a question and what does he say?

What good is it brother, if someone says, he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?

So whats the question that he wants to answer?

What is saving faith?

What is a faith that saves?

SO let’s think back a couple weeks ago, we talked about faith, and faith means trust. It means that you believe something and then act accordingly, remember the chair at the wedding that i wasn’t sure was going to hold me.

So let’s think about it.

In 1912, the Titanic hits the iceberg, giant whole in the side, it’s taking on water, it’s sinking. You’re on the top deck, and they’re lowering the life boats out, and you’re standing there, and you think, man that is the boat is going to save me.

IF you get in the boat, you survive.

So what do you do? You get in the boat?

Like no brainer. We’re getting in the boat.

But what if you’re there and you’re like. That is the boat that is going to save me. and you just keep standing there.

You’re just like, so glad this boat is here to save us, but you’re still standing on the deck. Not in the boat.

Ship is sinking, you’re still saying the life boat will save me, while currently not in the life boat.

Life boat is lowering down, and rowing away, but you are still standing on the deck of a sinking ship.

Who is the lunatic in this story?

The guy on the deck watching the boat row off thinking it’ll save him cause he knows that boat could save him.

AS the water is up to his, neck he’s standing there saying, so glad we have these life boats to save us.

So this is the question James is asking then, what is a saving faith? What does it mean to have a saving faith?

It is a faith that has substance.

Look at the example James gives,

He tells a story that I think we still here, or have been apart of.

he talks about a brother coming to you saying, i’m hungry and i’m cold.

and you say to him, thats no good, well I pray for you, go and be warm and hope you find something to eat.

What did you not do?

Help the poor brother out.

James is saying, how do you handle the things you don’t have to pray about?

This is one of the things you don’t have to pray about.

Like, there are a lot of things that you should pray about, that require deep prayer and wisdom, that you need some real discernment on.

This is not one of those things.

Basically James is saying, if you don’t do anything with your faith, or if your faith is just in your mind and thats it. The it is useless.

verse 17

James 2:17 ESV

17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

James is saying, if you have a faith that does not compel you to act, you have a dead faith. You have a useless faith, and it worth nothing.

If you have a faith that doesn’t move you to action, you might as well not have faith.

So James is making a distinction, that faith without works is a dead faith, so faith is has to mean something more than just a mental assent. More than just head knowledge.

P2 - Faith that works

James then doubles down and says, this

Verse 18

James 2:18 ESV

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.

So what is James saying?

You need a faith that works.

To have a saving faith is to have a faith that works.

That faith and works are not opposed to each other, but that faith and works go hand in hand.

Notice this, look at the order James uses, i’ll show you faith by works.

Works are the natural out flow of faith. That faith produces works, not the other way around.

Works doesn’t produce the faith, but that through our faith, through out trust in Jesus, we are changed and we do the things Jesus does.

And James is saying, this is imperative you understand. Don’t miss this.

If you miss this then you will miss the gospel.

Look how serious he is,

He says, if you just believe in God, then you are on the same level as the demons.

Think about that for a second, just believing in God, that God is there puts you on the same level as the demon.

So who is not getting saved in that equation?

The demons, and neither are you if your faith has no substance, if your faith has no action. If your faith does not make you more like Jesus.

We need our faith to have life to it. We are deceiving ourselves if we think we can just believe in our head and it not translate to our life.

that is the test of faith. Is it transformative.

SO what does that mean,

what I’m talking about it sanctification, the process of being made like jesus, where you act like, him, where you are transformed to be like him.

What this isn’t is mere behavioral change.

SO here is what i mean, I’m not trying to get you to be more moral person, James is not trying to make you a good upstanding citizen.

Jame is saying, Jesus makes you alive, and that is life changing.

Everyone tracking?

P3 - Soli Fide

Okay, here is where we have to do some good biblical exegesis and do good theology.

James after this, gives examples about faith and works, and says some things that if we miss read this, we lose the point of what James is saying.

SO let’s read this carefully,

James 2:21–23 ESV

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.

Okay, so surface read this sounds like, works is what does it.

But lets go back to Genesis.

In Gen 15:6,

Genesis 15:6 ESV

6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

scripture says and Abraham believed and it was counted to him as righteousness. Now what is curious, this is passage takes place well before he was called to sacrifice Issac. Where God stopped him.

That story takes place in chapter 22, so what is going on here is, Abraham believed, and because he believed the lord transformed him to follow him.

Because of that, his life is different.

His life is the outflow of his faith.

His faith had substance.

so, then is this, we get to the real rub and this is where we have to rely on the whole of scripture.

James 2:24 ESV

24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

So I told you at the beginning that we believe in Justification through faith alone. So what do we do with this?

First off, James clarifies this in 26, Jm 2:26

James 2:26 ESV

26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

So faith, and what is meant here is mere belief, without any sort of transformative life change is dead.

We see this all over scripture, so I want to point out a couple of them Ephesians 2:8-9

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV

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.

Then in Romans 1:17

Romans 1:17 ESV

17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

So scripture interprets scripture, faith is what makes us righteous before the Lord.

Through faith in Christ, we are given his righteousness.

So James in the proper context is saying, Faith that saves is proven through works. Faith that is meaningful is played out in how a person lives their lives.

We call this doctrine Soli Fide, Faith Alone.

That in the whole of theology, faith is the means through which we are give Christ’s righteousness. Through faith we are justified.

And what this doesn’t mean is that if you say you are a christian, but your life looks no different, if you are not being sanctified, if you are not living in submission to Christ, your faith is worthless.

This does not give us a license to like how ever we want but frees us to live exactly how Christ wants us to.

It gives us the ability to pick up our feet ad follow him.

This as been the theme from the start.

Count it all joy, you have been made strong to face all sorts of trials.

Your faith has made you resilient.

Timeless Truth: Faith Must mean something to us. Faith must lead to action.

So here is the truth in this passage.

Our faith must mean something. Our faith must have some substance. Our faith must lead us to action.

We can’t have a faith that just sits there. If we do, we are the guy watching the life boat row away thinking we are good to go.

Our faith must lead to sanctification.

Truth for our context: How can we put our faith to action where we are? Where are your feet?

So for us here tonight. The question is this, do you have faith and is it any good? Turn this scripture on yourself, does your faith have substance?

Is your faith compelling you to action, is your faith being played out in your life or is it just sitting there in your mind, but your heart has nothing to do with it and your hands can’t grasp it.

P2Christ - this is to the good folks, gotta convince you. Cart before the horse.

This passage here is written to those in the church. It was written to those who should know this, but the reality is not all who say they’re a christian get this, not all everyone who grows up in the church understands this.

This passage is for the good ole boys and girls, this is for the people who think they are good enough to get in on their own.

This isn’t for the people doing all sorts of crazy stuff, they know they’re in sin, this is for the people who think they’re good while the water rises all around them.

Here is the reality, there is nothing you can do on your own to earn a place in the kingdom. There is no meritocracy in the kingdom of God.

There is no good enough to get in.

There is only Christ and his redeeming work on the cross.

Do you accept him as lord, do you believe in him to be savior and king.

That is all that matters.

The gospel is this, Christ died for you, in your place and made a way for you walk from death to life.

So as we sing this last song, ask your self, do you know Him? Are you following Christ?

Do you have faith and is it worth anything.

Come see Christ as Lord and come see Christ as king.

pray with me.