Living Faith: The Power of Action

Introduction

Proof.

We live in a world where people question everything.

Like we talked about on Sunday there are so many debates that are going on.

The root of the debates is we want proof, we want to know everything.

We also want to prove things to people.

Have you guys ever tried to prove something to someone?

Maybe proving why you believe the Bible

Why Kanye is the best rapper…

Over and over again, we unknowingly try to prove things to other people. We do this is so many different ways.

Wearing a Chiefs jersey to prove that I am a fan.

Talking about oil changes to prove I know something about cars.

Showing off my hand binded notebook to prove I am homeschooled.

We live in a world that wants us to show proof of everything, but James says here, we should have some proof to us being a blood bought born again believer.

We see that we have to…

1. Demonstrate Your Beliefs

James 2:14–17 CSB

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can such faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it? In the same way faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.

James starts off by asking this question, is it okay to have faith, but do nothing about it?

It is important here to know what and how James is thinking. James thinks that we need to have visible outcomes to show that we have faith.

James is wanting to separate two people in the passage.

The people that claim to have faith.

And the people who ACTUALLY have faith.

There will be people who claim to have faith, but do not actually have it.

So James here is not saying we have to work our way to heaven.

We cannot work our way to heaven.

We cannot do enough.

The focus here is not on if works can save you, but rather that works are a fruit of the faith.

Apple Tree - So I have a hard question for you guys, I hope you have been studying because this could get tricky. What is this? What type of tree is this.

How do you know that it is an apple tree? Obvious answer, it has apples on it.

Look here at Matthew 7:16-20

Matthew 7:16–20 CSB

You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So you’ll recognize them by their fruit.

This is what James is saying!

The proof of our faith is works, what we do is our fruit.

Now look at the example that James gives.

Someone lacks clothes and food, and you tell them to stay warm and well fed.

This person is in dire need.

This is not something that is semi-important, this is a pressing issue and this person is in need.

James is saying that we have to help people who are in need!

Sometimes all we can do is pray for someone and offer words to help them, but if we have the resources to be able to help people who are in need, we need to take action.

Even more convicting, how many of you have told someone that you are praying for someone and not even done that?

We see that we are to have action though!

1 John 3:17–18 CSB

If anyone has this world’s goods and sees a fellow believer in need but withholds compassion from him—how does God’s love reside in him? Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth.

See this passage says that if anyone has the “world’s goods”

If we have resources, if we have clothes, if we have food, we should be helping.

We should be striving to show mercy to others.

“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” -Timothy Keller

I love how it says it is not optional or an addition, this is because of what we talked about. Our faith causes these things.

Our faith must show works.

Now we are going to see why… we have to…

2. Distinguish True Faith

James 2:18–19 CSB

But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith by my works. You believe that God is one. Good! Even the demons believe—and they shudder.

So now we ask the question, why?

Why do I have to prove myself.

This is because we see how you cannot separate faith and works.

James says here show me your faith without your works?

You cannot.

Then James gives an example of how you can know so much about Christ intellectually, but not have faith in him.

Look at the demons.

Guys demons were angels at one point.

We see in that Satan who was also an angel leaves heaven and takes 1/3 of the angels with him.

So the demons know who God is, they know everything, but they do not believe.

It is possible to know God, but not have faith in God.

Because of this, faith and works are a bundle deal.

Look at this quote…

Faith and obedience are bound up in the same bundle. He that obeys God, trusts God, and he that trusts God, obeys God. He that is without faith is without works; and he that is without works is without faith. Do not oppose faith and good works to one another, for there is a blessed relationship between them; and if you abound in obedience your faith shall grow exceedingly.

Charles Spurgeon

So you cannot say, “Show me your faith, or show me your works” because they go hand in hand.

We all know the person who is fake.

The person who acts like they know everything.

You know the person…

Maybe they talk about cars, but really know nothing about cars.

The person who wears the sports jersey, but does not know a single person on the team.

The random person who tries to tell you how to do your job.

There are just some people out there who “know everything”

But these people can be fake.

To make sure that we are not a fake Christian, we have to be a changed Christian.

When we accept Christ he changes our hearts.

We are a new creation.

Our deeds display a changed heart.

Our faith has to be shown in everything.

Not just on Wednesdays and Sundays.

In all of our actions.

In how you talk

How you date

In how you act

EVERYTHING

We have to show true faith and true faith displays works.

3. Display Active Obedience

James 2:20–26 CSB

Senseless person! Are you willing to learn that faith without works is useless? Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by works in offering Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was active together with his works, and by works, faith was made complete, and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. In the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works in receiving the messengers and sending them out by a different route? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

So in this section, we see two examples of people who in the Old Testament who showed works and it was a result of their faith, but before I get to them, I want to tackle verse 24 because at the surface level it can seem difficult.

So lets look at it together.

James 2:24 CSB

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

So we see this, then we read elsewhere in the Bible and it makes us raise an eyebrow.

Romans 3:28 CSB

For we conclude that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.

So we see one place where its says not by faith alone, and one place that says it is by faith alone.

Well the Bible contradicts itself so we should all just go home right?

No, the answer to that question is no.

There are several factors that play into this, and I am going to show you guys how the Bible does not contradict itself.

We see these two different passages and they are first talking to two different audiences.

Romans

They thought that they could earn their way to heaven. They were doing lots of works and Paul says, “Hey, grace saves you, not works.”

James

They thought that their intellects and having the head knowledge could change you. James says, “Hey, you need to do something to show change.”

They were talking about the same thing, but emphasizing different things. Paul would have agreed that there needs to be action, and James would agree that there needs to be faith.

For me to show this to you, I want you to think of the man next to Jesus on the cross.

What did he tell that man?

He told him that he would join Him in heaven!

Would James disagree? Of course not, Jesus said it himself.

Because of this situation, how would both Paul and James respond?

Paul would say that he was saved because of faith alone.

James would say that because of his faith, if Jesus would have said step down from that cross and keep living your life, man that guy would go and live for God because his life was changed.

The common denominator is that FAITH CAME FIRST.

Faith has to come first.

James does not deny this, he is just emphasizing that they are a package deal because of our heart change.

He would agree that if faith does not come first than a person is just being a “good person.”

If they do not believe in God and are doing good things then that does not save them.

So even though he does not say it he believes that faith is what saves you, he just believes that it is a package deal more than anything.

Now we are going to see two examples where faith does come first.

First is Abraham.

Let me ask you guys, who is Abraham?

He is one of the founding Fathers of the faith.

Was promised lots of descendants.

Abraham was not having kids and his wife was 90 years old, so he tried to take things into his own hands and had a kid with another women.

His name was Ishmael, but this was not God’s promise, it was that him and his wife Sarah would have a child.

They did around the age of 100 Sarah had a child, his name was Issac, but does anyone know what happens with Issac?

Yeah, so after finally having a child, waiting all that time, God says to Abraham that he needs to sacrifice his child.

I cannot even image this.

I cannot picture killing anyone, let alone your own son. That is without mentioning that they waited YEARS and years for them to have him.

I am going to give an example that is no where near as extreme but imagine you have to wait until you are 100 years old to get your drivers license, everyone else is getting theirs, it is just you, then you finally get it, but God says, now I want you to go set your car on fire. That would be so disappointing, it would be terrible, but that is nothing compared to sacrificing a child.

So Abraham goes up there, and is about to kill Isaac in Genesis 22:12-13 he has the knife in his hand, but the Lord stops him.

Genesis 22:12–13 CSB

Then he said, “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.” Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

We see in this example, Abraham first had faith in God, then he was going to do whatever God told him to.

Abraham’s faith was made complete by his works.

His willingness and obedience to God demonstrated true faith.

This is what James is talking about.

Our faith has to drive us to action.

It has to drive us to be obedient to God in every moment.

Now our second person is Rahab.

Who is Rahab?

This is the one time in Church you can say the answer is prositute and not get in trouble.

We see her story in Joshua 2:1-14

Moses has just died and Joshua has sent two spies into Jericho to see if they can conquer it.

The king finds out that there is spies and they are trying to help them out.

They run into this person named Rahab and she wants to help them.

She acknowledges that she does not know much about their God, but knows that he can save her, so she helps the spies.

They come looking for them and Rahab sends them a different direction.

If they would have been found, they would have been killed.

If she would have been caught helping them, she and her entire family would have been killed.

But Rahab trusted God.

She had only heard a few stories and had faith that he was real.

She risked everything for God’s glory.

Both Rahab and Abraham had faith, but also showed it through their actions.

Conclusion

Guys, we have to have a true authentic faith.

To do that we have to be like a tree.

We have to produce fruits because we are known by our fruits.

We have to produce actions.

You cannot get saved and lock yourself in a room, we are called to get out and show God’s grace and mercy to people.

Abraham and Rahab had so much faith and risked it all.

Abraham was about to kill his son.

Rahab could have had her and her entire family killed.

but they both went out and risked everything because of their faith.

So how much are you willing to risk?

Are you willing to risk what your friends think about you because you tried to talk to them about Jesus?

Are you willing to risk people making fun of you for you fulling living for Christ?

How far are you willing to go for God?

Let’s go out and be a people of action! Love you all, lets pray!