“An Active Faith”
Notes
Transcript
Intro:
When we come upon passages like today's, it is easy to read it and assume that there is some sort of list that will be made about coinciding our faith and works.
We will read the text in a moment, and you will understand why I say this. What we will hear James say is, Faith without works is useless, faith without works cannot save.
Faith without works is ineffective, and faith without works is dead. Man, that will get ya hopping right on down the road, won't it? Let's just read the passage itself and then we will work through it together. Read Passage: James 2:14-24
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.
So again, if you learn anything like I do, or you think anything like I do, you are looking for some sort of list of things to do so that you can be in the clear.
“Just give me the list of what I have to do because if faith without works means it is a dead faith, then I do not want to be dead so just give me the list already and let's pay the piper man."
It does feel that way in the text, I know, but that is not what James is arguing friends. I know this because it would belittle the work of the cross and the cross would seem so insignificant.
So, what is James arguing then? Make sure you have a proper understanding of faith and works. Faith is believing in, trusting in, and obeying God. If you do not believe in God, you will not trust God.
If you do not trust God, you will not obey God, and James would argue that if you are not willing to obey God, even imperfectly, then do you have faith?
Works that James is talking of here is a life focussed upon loving God, as I said last week with our whole being, followed by loving others. That's it. That's a lot, but that's it.
So, I want to make sure that I am clear today. My argument will not be that you can only prove your faith or validate your faith through works.
My argument, and what I believe James is quite clear on, is that our faith, those of us who say we have faith, will have lives that are marked by our continuously loving God and loving others.
The first way that we will see that is when we understand that ...
1. Works are evidence of our faith
1. Works are evidence of our faith
The noun faith is found in this book 16 times. Of the five times that it is used outside of this passage you will find that it is always used with a positive connotation.
In this passage however, you will see that it is used in connection to a imaginary person who does not have faith.
From the beginning in verse 14 James is saying that it's possible to make the claim that you have faith and actually not have it, to say that you are a believer and not be saved.
James makes it quite simple; you want to find someone that is saved by faith, then look for fruit. Fruit is a natural byproduct of our faith that saves.
Don't confuse this. He is not saying that we need to add deeds or works in our lives to prove our faith is genuine. No, he is saying that real and genuine faith is one that produces fruit.
He does not say how much fruit, but he is saying that the fruit is evident. Jesus too alluded to this on the sermon on the mount. Read Matthew 7:16-20
16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.
18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
How can you tell an apple tree is an apple tree? You see the apples hanging down from the limbs. The outside is the evidence, and with our faith, the outside is evidence of what is on the inside.
Now let us read what James goes on to say. Read James 2:15-17
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.
His question is very direct. What good is that? Do you see what happened in this instance. He is talking about two people of the same church community.
One has fallen on tough times and the other one who has wealth, or at least they have enough to help make a provision during this time and chooses not to provide.
James is saying, "Look, God can minister to both people but what good is your abundance if you are not helping out your brother or sister?"
If we become stagnant in our faith, where it is not moving or acting, then we become like a cow that cannot pass its calf.
You know what happens to a calf that has managed to get lodged in the mother? It will die. It can survive for like 8 hours in the birth canal so you don't want to rush it, but left alone it will die.
I am not going to draw any more of a description for you, but man it is intense to be a part of. If our faith just sits and becomes stagnant then what good is that?
James was quite clear in chapter one that we are to be doers of the word, not just hearers. Look, James is drawing for us a conclusion.
Whatever we have been blessed with, we should use it to bless others with. Our fruit should look like that. It continues to show we love God and love others.
Let's not forget what Jesus said about this same thought. Read Matthew 25:40
40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
We're not even talking about miracles or healings here. We're just talking about doing good things for people in need.
Works actively demonstrate the reality of our faith. Another way that we are continuously loving God and loving others is when we understand that ...
2. Faith is intellectual and practical
2. Faith is intellectual and practical
Having an intellectual faith is an important part of our walk, just look at the proclamation that Jesus made about Peter. Read Matthew 16:16-18
16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
It got Jesus' attention, and Jesus pronounced a blessing on Peter because he had received a revelation from the Father. But here's something interesting: Demons made amazing confessions of faith too.
Read Mark 1:24
24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”
Read Mark 5:7
7 And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.”
They knew who Jesus was; they made the right confession; but demons hate Jesus and there is not a demon that will be going to Heaven. This is the very thing that James is talking about.
Read James 2:18-20
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?
So, James is saying that even the demons believe. Look I want to be extremely honest here. Don't you think for one minute that demons don't believe in God.
They probably have a better theology than a lot of Pastors. They know the scripture better than most too. There is one glaring difference though.
I have waiting for me, by faith, something that they will never have a part of. I will be beside my creator forever. The creator of the universe is taking me in.
Yes, they may have a correct doctrine of Jesus, but it will not save them because they do not love Him, or others for that matter. They will never submit to His reign.
Because of my faith in Christ, James is saying that my acts of mercy or works is because of my deep love for Christ and are evidence of my salvation.
Again, this is not something that we do to gain favor from God, it is because of our faith in and love of God. This is a reiteration of the last truth.
Tim Keller said in his book, Ministries of Mercy, “Mercy to the full range of human needs is such an essential mark of a Christian that it can be used as a test of true faith.
Mercy is not optional or an addition to being a Christian. Rather, a life poured out in deeds of mercy is the sign of genuine faith”
The final way that we will look at today that shows we are continuously loving God and loving others is when we understand that ...
3. Obedience demonstrates our faith
3. Obedience demonstrates our faith
James ends our passage by talking about Abraham. Now Abraham had many sons, and many sons had Father Abraham. I am one of them and so are you, so let's just do ourselves a favor and praise the Lord.
If you are not familiar with that song from VBS over the years then you are officially weirded out right now, and for that, you're welcome. Let's see what James says here. Read James 2:21-24
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.
In clarity, James is giving us a clearer picture of the Gospel here. It is more than a intellectual knowing of the Gospel. This is a faith that is filled with radical submission, a radical obedience.
Have you ever thought what that might look like for us? James is drawing a picture of faith contrasting between genuine faith and professed faith, not mature and immature.
James is essentially sharing the story where Abraham heard from God and enters into a covenant with God. God gave a promise, Abraham believed.
His trust in God carried over years to come, even to the point where he was told to sacrifice his only child. Most of you know that God did not allow Abraham to follow through.
So, James is making the argument for practical faith out of that history. James is saying that this is the fruit of faith.
No matter how crazy it may seem, you act out of radical obedience to God. Faith led to works in this case, and the act of works completed the faith.
To apply this in a way for us to make sense today, the more you obey God the more your faith grows. When our faith leads us to obedience then our faith grows.
When your faith grows it leads to maturity. So, the point: works are good when they are the fruit of our faith.
To put this practically today, if you come to church each week, spend time in Bible study, care for the poor, and so forth. Pay attention here because you don’t want to miss this.
If you do anything churchy, and you do this to earn favor before God, then you are missing the point and that is not bringing honor to God, that is lacking in faith.
So what James is telling us today is that we are not justified by our faith, because we claim to believe in Jesus and do nothing with this faith, we say we have.
James closes by reminding us that our faith in Jesus is lacking greatly if it bears no fruit. James is telling us that we are to be a living faith, active in our pursuit of Christ.
You may be thinking here today, "How do I know if my faith is real?" The answer is found in this question, "Is there any fruit?"
If there is faith, then there is always fruit. Maybe not everyday, maybe not even every week or month, but in the life of a believer there is always fruit. It is a life of obedience and sacrifice for God.
So if you are not a believer here today, meaning you have not given your life to Christ, will you really wrestle with this? Just bow your heads with us.
Would you consider, as foreign as it may seem, to give your life to Christ today? Would you come up and let me spend some time talking to you about that today?
And believers, if there is willful and consistent neglect to pursue a love relationship with the Lord, spend some time confessing that, asking the Lord to fan into flame the hope He has put into you.
Let’s ask the Lord to increase our confidence in His saving work, to give us eyes to see whether that mustard seed of faith is there. Give us clarity, Father.
