Dead Faith, Living Faith

Outline

Real Faith results in Real Works

There is a difference between Belief and Faith

Faith without Works is Dead

NOT You Must Work to become Saved

OR

Dead Faith

Demon Faith (v19 - sarcasm)

Useless Faith

I even memorized it in Greek

James was speaking to believers. Perhaps it wasn’t so much questioning their salvation as exhorting them to walk it out, work it out.

Our story

Talk is cheap

Sports, UFC, and the Holy Spirit

Dead Faith, Living Faith

Who is my neighbour?

Response

What if I can’t see any works that I’ve done? Am I saved?

Salvation by faith, not by works

How can I walk the walk?

Response

The Challenge

Encouragement / Shine

Conclusion & Response

1. Talk is Cheap

“I even memorized it in Greek!”

I have 3 daughters, Sierra, Cassia, and Destiny.

Let’s pretend I’m having a conversation with my eldest, Sierra, right now.

“Sierra, Go, and put away all the toys in your room.”

30 minutes later..

“Okay Papa, I heard what you said.”

“Sierra, Go, and put away all the toys in your room.”

Another 30 minutes later...

“Okay Papa, I heard what you said AND I memorized it.”

“Sierra, you’re not hearing me. Go, and put away all the toys in your room!”

A couple of hours later...

“Papa, I got it this time. I spent A LOT of time thinking about it. I really looked at the room and all the toys. I know what are toys and what are not. I’ve considered what it means to really put them away. And I understand what it means to GO. I wrote down a plan for how to put them away. I memorized WORD FOR WORD what you said. I even memorized it in Greek! What do you want me to do next?”

That’s ridiculous right? You’ve thought about it, you’ve studied it, you’ve memorized, now what’s next? Seriously?

But when our Heavenly Father tells it to you and to me it becomes a tragic story. For God spoke through James saying:

Now that’s a funny story when I tell it, right?!

But when our Heavenly Father tells it to you and to me it becomes a tragic story. For God spoke through James saying:

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 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? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (, ESV)

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 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? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (, ESV)

Wow.

The believers were having a rough time of it - remember this was written to the diaspora, the scattered Jewish believers. Rome was trying to stamp out the Christian faith which they saw as a growing cult.

But God didn’t tell them “During these days it will be well if you can just hold on to your profession of faith”. He calls that dead faith. It is no real faith at all.

"I even memorized it in Greek!”

To the persecuted and hiding believers He told them to care for the needy. To put their faith in action.

Wow.

What does it look like to put our faith into action? Jesus said it like this in the Gospel according to Matthew:

Wow.

And yet for many of us in the church that’s exactly the case. We’ve read the truth. We’ve studied the truth. We’ve heard countless sermons on the truth. We’ve spent our cell time discussing the truth. And then we’re ready to move on to the next thing. Without ever having practiced the truth. Is that right? How can that possibly be true about us? And yet it seems to be true!

““When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 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.’ “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. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 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.’ 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?’ 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.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”” (, ESV)

The believers were having a rough time of it - remember this was written to the diaspora, the scattered Jewish believers. Rome was trying to stamp out the Christian faith which they saw as a growing cult.

But God didn’t tell them through James “During these days it will be well if you can just hold on to your profession of faith”.

There is no such thing as faith without action. Let me say that again, there is no such thing as faith without action.

To the persecuted, scattered believers He told them to care for the needy among them. To put their faith in action.

What does it look like to put our faith into action? Jesus said it like this in the Gospel according to Matthew:

““When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 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.’ “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. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 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.’ 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?’ 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.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”” (, ESV)

I’m not a farmer. I’ve never worked with farm animals. So I did a little research and here’s what the original hearers of this parable would have already understood: amongst many breeds of sheep and goats there is little visible difference. You’d have to look closely for certain tell-tale signs.

Knowing this makes the parable even more applicable to us today. Because at first glance many may claim to be Christian. Many talk the talk. But it’s only when a person looks at the actions that they can tell the difference. Those with a living faith walk the walk.

James addressed the responsibility towards the poor and needy

The overall theme of James can be easily stated as “Faith in Action”. And one of the major points James’ focuses on in his letter is the responsibility of the church to care for the poor and the needy. James would only have focused on this if he was receiving reports that it wasn’t being practiced. As Allen shared with us two weeks ago, they weren’t loving their neighbour.

What about us? Are we loving our neighbour? James says that caring for the poor and needy is the essence of true religion. Are we practicing true religion? Or are we just religious?

Politicians and Secular Society

When I say the phrase ‘Talk is cheap’ what’s the first thing that comes to mind? For my generation it’s usually politicians. Lots of promises. Followed by delays, excuses, higher costs, and in the end a result so changed from the original promise as to be worthless.

For secular society Christians might also be a common group that comes to mind. Christians make claims of absolute truths, and prescribe a high standard of moral, ethical living. And then fail to live up to that standard themselves.

Social Media

But it’s not just politicians and Christians. It’s easier than ever. Whatsapp. Facebook. Instagram. Snapchat. Youtube. Click, click, click, a bit of typing or talking and boom. You’ve broadcast your words for any and all to see and hear.

v14-v17 within the believing churches there were needy poor who were not being helped by the well off believers.James is saying that this is arising out of the core issue of talking the talking but not walking the walk. Or in his words, your faith is a dead one.

Sports and the UFC

Many of us are sports fans. You might support a football club like Liverpool. Or a rugby team like the All-Blacks. In China everyone was big a fan of Yao Ming who played for the Houston Rockets NBA Basketball team.

My sport of choice is the UFC. Anyone here a UFC fan? UFC stands for Ultimate Fighting Championship. Top level mixed martial arts competitors will fight till one is physically submitted, knocked unconscious, or to fifteen minutes, whichever comes first.

Fifteen minutes is a LONG LONG TIME. Normal people in good shape will have difficulty lasting 90 seconds before exhaustion hits. These are top level athletes.

Many people talk real tough. Talk is cheap. But when they get in that cage they can’t talk their way to a victory. They have to earn it by backing up their talk with actions.

Their mental resilience and physical strength come from their strength of will. Their will power is what enables them to overcome an opponent who literally is trying to knock them unconscious or choke them out.

The will power is what enables them to not just talk the talk but to walk the walk.

They do this for up to fifteen minutes. But even incredible will-power can’t sustain their level of activity for all of life.

And as believers we can see some short term change if we’re strong willed. But sooner or later we will run out of steam, we’ll collapse. Our will-power is limited.

But our source as believers is not will-power. And our fight is not against flesh and blood. Our source is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit being fully God is not limited in any way. The Holy Spirit is our source to confront the evil and injustice we find within ourselves and in the world around us.

Empty religious words

And that’s really what this passage in James is about. You can’t just talk the talk of faith. You have to walk the walk of faith. And heartbeat, that walk must be walked in the power of the Spirit.

According to James if you see your brother or sister in Christ who cannot even afford chicken rice - or clothes that aren’t falling apart - and you just say some nice sounding religious words, well, that’s dead faith. Useless faith. Empty faith.

You’re talking the talk but you’re not walking the walk.

James continues on to say:

(ESV)

19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

Salvation by faith, not works

Let’s pause for just a moment because i want to be very very very clear on something. In fact, would you please repeat it after me?

“Salvation comes by faith, not works” (x3)

What is assumed but not spoken in this passage is that our good works cannot not ever earn or maintain our salvation.

Good works prove or reveal our saving faith.

The Main Thing

Here’s what I want to tell you today: Heartbeat, it’s not enough to just talk the talk, you have to walk the walk. Because your faith is no faith at all if it isn’t put into action.

Paul vs James

I’m not challenging whether you have really received the gift of salvation - that’s between you and God. The Bible is very clear on salvation - it is by faith, not by works lest any man should boast.

I am challenging you to examine your lives. Because we as a community, we as Heartbeat are saved by faith that RESULTS in works.

A faith that is all talk is a DEAD FAITH.

A faith that leads to good works is a LIVING FAITH.

Let’s not be a dead religious body that is all talk.

Let’s be a living faith community that walks the walk of Christ.

Response

Heartbeat, let’s shine as a community! Let’s excel! YOU can be an amazing example for your family. For your friends. For your classmates. For the larger church body. For society!

When I’m asked what the youth are like in SJSM I like to brag on you a bit. Not because of anything I’ve done. But because in some areas I’m quite proud of you! But this is just the beginning because I believe you are no where near your full potential yet :-) You can soar much higher, you can shine much brighter!

You have the potential to live 24/7 as a worshipper in Spirit in truth. You have the potential to be the generation that breaks completely free of the traps entangling so many today! To put people before money. To put people before possessions. To put people before time. You have the potential control digital media and not let it control you. Because in Christ you have the potential to resist the devil and to choose good works!

We’re going to conclude with the benediction in a moment. Before we do I’m asking you to examine your own life. And the life of our community.

Is your faith a dead faith? Or a living faith?

Are you only talking the talk? Or are you walking the walk?

What about us as a Heartbeat community, as a whole?

Is our faith a dead faith or a living faith?

Or are we walking as Jesus walked?

For our response we can respond on three levels.

The first is a personal level. If our Lord Jesus is speaking to you regarding your faith, come to the front, come to the altar. Pray.

The second is on a corporate or community level. The Bible has a rich history of believers confessing on behalf of their community whether they personally had fallen short or not. They cried in repentance and asking for forgiveness and blessing at a corporate level.

If you are moved to respond in this way I’d like to invite you move to the kneelers at the side.

The third level is to respond as a cell. To commit to one another to hold to a living faith, to walk the walk together.

Again, the three levels:

Personal

On behalf of our community

As a cell

Let’s pray.

Earning vs Proving

Competing vs Completing

vs

James: Can a proclamation of “faith without works” save?

(a proclamation) of faith without works (the evidence) is dead. Saying go and be well without doing something about it is utterly ineffective. They’re empty words. Saying you have faith but not acting upon it is no faith at all.

RC Sproul: “Justification is by faith alone. But not by a faith that is alone.”

Intro

I have 3 daughters, Sierra, Cassia, and Destiny.

Let’s pretend I’m having a conversation with my eldest, Sierra, right now.

Let’s pretend for a moment I’m having a conversation with my eldest, Sierra, right now.

“Sierra, Go, and put away all the toys in your room.”

“Sierra, Go, and put away all the toys in your room.”

30 minutes later..

30 minutes later...

“Okay Papa, I heard what you said.”

“Okay Papa, I heard what you said.”

“Sierra, Go, and put away all the toys in your room.”

“Sierra, go, and put away all the toys in your room.”

Another 30 minutes later...

Another 30 minutes later....

“Okay Papa, I heard what you said AND I memorized it.”

“Okay Papa, I heard what you said AND I memorized it.”

“Sierra, you’re not hearing me. Go, and put away all the toys in your room!”

“Sierra, you’re not hearing me. Go, and put away all the toys in your room!”

A couple of hours later...

A couple of hours later.....

“Papa, I got it this time. I spent A LOT of time thinking about it. I really looked at the room and all the toys. I know what are toys and what are not. I’ve considered what it means to really put them away. And I understand what it means to GO. I wrote down a plan for how to put them away. I memorized WORD FOR WORD what you said. I even memorized it in Greek! What do you want me to do next?”

Papa, I got it this time. I spent A LOT of time thinking about it. I really looked at the room and all the toys. I know what are toys and what are not. I’ve considered what it means to really the toys away. And I understand what it means to GO. I wrote down a plan for how to put them away in the most effective manner. I memorized WORD FOR WORD what you said. I even memorized it in the Greek! What do you want me to do next?”

Instead we have these two:

That’s ridiculous right? You’ve thought about it, you’ve studied it, you’ve memorized it, now what’s next? Seriously?

But when our Heavenly Father tells it to you and to me it becomes a tragic story. For God spoke through James saying:

Now that’s a funny story when I tell it, right?

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 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? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (, ESV)

But when our Lord and Savior tells it, it becomes a tragic story. For God spoke through James saying:

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 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? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (, ESV)

Wow.

The believers were having a rough time of it - remember this was written to the diaspora, the scattered Jewish believers. Rome was trying to stamp out the Christian faith which they saw as a growing cult.

But God didn’t tell them “During these days it will be well if you can just hold on to your profession of faith”. He calls that dead faith. It is no real faith at all.

Our Story

To the persecuted and hiding believers He told them to care for the needy. To put their faith in action.

Wow.

And yet for many of us in the church that’s exactly the case. We’ve read the truth. We’ve studied the truth. We’ve heard countless sermons on the truth. We’ve spent cell time discussing the truth. And then we’re ready to move on to the next thing?! Without ever having practiced the truth! Is that right? How can that possible be true about us? And yet it seems to be true.

What does it look like to put our faith into action? Jesus said it like this in the Gospel according to Matthew:

The believers were having a rough time of it. Remember, this letter was written to the Jewish believers in dispersion. The scattered believers. Rome was trying to stamp out the Christian faith which they saw as a growing cult.

““When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 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.’ “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. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 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.’ 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?’ 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.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”” (, ESV)

But God didn’t speak to them through James saying “During these days it will be well if you can just hold on to your profession of faith.”

To these scattered believers who were facing persecution He told them to care for the needy among them. To put their faith into action.

There is no such thing as faith without action. Let me say that again, there is no such thing as faith without action. Instead we have these two:

English Standard Version Chapter 25

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 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.’

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.”

Belief

I’m not a farmer. I’ve never worked with farm animals. So I probably wouldn’t know a sheep from a goat even if it walked up and licked my face. So I did a bit of research and discovered something that the original hearers of this would have already known:

Biblical Faith

Among most breeds of sheep and goats there is little visible difference. You’d have to look closely for certain tell-tale signs.

Belief stems from our intellect. We believe that 1+1=2, that the sun will rise tomorrow, that there will always be taxes. We believe these to be true. But we don’t necessarily believe we need to act on these truths.

Knowing this makes the Jesus’ words even more applicable to us today. Because at first glance many claim to be Christian. Many talk the talk. But it’s only when a person looks at the actions that they can tell the difference. Those with a living faith walk the walk.

Faith, biblical faith, is rooted in action.

James addressed the responsibility towards the poor and needy

I don’t just believe that God came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ and died for my sins that I could live free from sin. I live like it.

Talk is cheap

The overall theme of James can be easily stated as “Faith in Action”. And one of the major points James’ focuses on in his letter is the responsibility of the church to care for the poor and needy,James would only have focused on this if he was receiving reports that it wasn’t being practiced. As Allen shared with us two weeks ago, they weren’t loving their neighbour.

I don’t just believe that Jesus said to go and make disciples. I do my best to GO and to MAKE DISCIPLES.

What about us? Are we loving our neighbour? James says that caring for the poor and needy is central to true religion. Are we practicing true religion? Or are we just religious?

I don’t just believe that God desires to work through our prayers. I pray so that I might see God work.

Politicians and Secular Society

Faith is rooted in action. And I strive to grow week by week in my faith. By putting my beliefs into action.

When I say the phrase ‘Talk is cheap’ what’s the first thing that comes to mind? For my generation it’s usually politicians. Lots of promises. Followed by delays, excuses, higher costs, and in the end a result so changed from the original promise as to be worthless many times.

Belief on its own doesn’t hold lasting value.

For secular society Christians might also be a common group that comes to mind. Christians make claims of absolute truths and prescribe a high standard of moral and ethical living. And then fail to consistently live up to that standard themselves.

“You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” (, ESV)

Social Media

The Jews are monotheistic. Hurray for them. Even the demons believe in one God. But that belief doesn’t benefit them in the least.

But it’s not just politicians and Christians where we might feel talk is cheap. It’s easier than ever to broadcast your voice. Whatsapp. Facebook. Instagram. Snapchat. Youtube. Click, click, click, a bit of typing and boom. Your words are out there for all the world to see and hear.

Chair Illustration

Sports, UFC, and the Holy Spirit

Bring over a chair. Ask for a volunteer to stand up and answer questions.

Many of us become sports fans. You might support a football club like Liverpool. Or a rugby team like the All Blacks. In China the young people were all fans of Yao Ming who played for the Houston Rockets NBA basketball team.

“Do you believe that that is a chair?”

My sport of choice is the UFC. Anyone else here a UFC fan? UFC stands for Ultimate Fighting Championship. Top level mixed martial artists will fight in a cage till one of them is either knocked out, choked out, or physically submitted. Or fifteen minutes, whichever comes first.

“Yes”

Fifteen minutes is a LONG LONG TIME. Normal people in okay shape will have difficulty lasting longer than 90 seconds before exhaustion hits. These are top level athletes.

“Do you affirm in your mind that that chair is able to support your weight and that you could sit in that chair?”

Many people talk real tough. Talk is cheap. But when they get in that cage they can’t talk their way to a victory. They have to earn it by backing up their talk with actions.

“Yes that chair is able to support my weight”

Their mental resilience and physical strength come from their strength of will. Their will power is what enables them to overcome an opponent who is literally trying to knock them out or choke them to sleep.

“Is that chair supporting you at this moment?”

Their will power is what enables them to not just talk the talk but to walk the walk.

They can do this for up to fifteen minutes. But even incredible will-power & training can’t sustain their level of activity for all of life.

And as believers sure we can see some short-term change if we’re strong willed and focused. But sooner or later we will run out of steam, we’ll collapse. Our will-power is limited.

But our source as believers is not will-power! And our fight is not against flesh and blood. Our source is the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit being fully God is not limited in any way. The Holy Spirit is our source to confront the evil and injustice we find in ourselves and in the world around us.

Empty Religious Words

And that’s what this passage in James is really about. You can’t just talk the talk of faith. You have to walk the walk of faith. And Heartbeat, that walk must be walked in the power of the Spirit.

According to James if you see you brother or sister in Christ who cannot even afford chicken rice - or clothes that aren’t falling apart - and you just same some nice sounding religious words, well, that’s dead faith. Useless faith. Empty faith.

That means you’re talking the talk but not walking the walk.

Salvation by Faith, not works

Let’s pause for a moment. I want what’s already been said to settle in to you.

I want to be very very clear on something. In fact, would you please repeat this after me?

“Salvation comes by faith, not by works” (x3)

What is assumed but not spoken in this passage is that our good works cannot EVER earn or maintain our salvation.

Good works prove or reveal our saving faith. They don’t earn it.

The Challenge

Here’s what I want to tell you today: Heartbeat, it’s not enough to just talk the talk, you have to walk the walk. Because your faith is no faith at all if it isn’t put into action.

I’m not challenging whether you have really received the gift of salvation - that’s between you and God. The Bible is very clear on salvation - it is by faith, not by works, lest any man should boast.

I am challenging you to examine your lives. Because we as a community, we as Heartbeat are saved by faith that RESULTS in works.

A faith that is all talk is a DEAD FAITH.

A faith that leads to good works is a LIVING FAITH.

Let’s not be a dead religious body that is all talk.

Let’s be a living faith community that walks the walk of Christ.

Encouragement

Heartbeat, let’s shine as a community! Let’s excel! YOU can be an amazing example for your family. For your friends. For your classmates. For the larger church body. For society!

When I’m asked by Pastor’s from other churches what the youth are like in SJSM I like to brag on you a bit. Not because of anything I have done. But because in some areas I’m quite proud of you! But where we are at is just the beginning because I believe you are no where near your full potential yet :-) You can soar much higher, dive much deeper, you can shine much brighter!

You have the potential to live 24/7 as worshippers in Spirit and Truth. You have the potential to be the generation that breaks free of the traps entangling so many today!

To put people before money. To put people before possessions. To put people before time. To put God before career. To put God before personal pleasure and comfort.

“Of course not.”

You have the potential to to control digital media and not let it control you. Because in Christ you have the freedom to resist the devil and to choose good works!

“Why isn’t it?”

“Because I’m not sitting in it.”

Conclusion

“That’s right. For you to put your faith in that chair you need to go to it and sit in it. Only then will it be supporting you and keeping you from falling.”

We’re going to conclude with the benediction in a moment. Before we do I’m asking you to examine your own life. And the life of our faith community.

Is your faith a dead faith or a living faith?

JAMES: “What does it profit a man if he *says* he has faith but has no works?”

Are you only talking the talk? Or are you walking the walk?

“No profit whatsoever. Because all he has is a profession of faith. If he had true faith it would be impossible that he would be barren of works. Because true faith always results in obedience and works.

What about us as a Heartbeat community, as a whole?

If James were in our midst tonight would he commend our faith as living or call us out for being of a dead faith?

Let’s look once again at the equation we’ve brought up several times:

Grace + Faith = Salvation + Works

We can each choose to respond to today's message on one of three levels:

The first is a personal level. If our Lord Jesus is speaking to you regarding your faith then come to the front, come to the altar and pray.

The second is on a corporate or community level. The Bible reveals a rich history of believers confessing on behalf of their community regardless of whether they had personally fallen short or not. The cried in repentance asking for forgiveness and blessing at a corporate level.

If you are moved to respond in this way I’d like to invite you to move to the kneelers

placed at the side.

3. The third level is to respond as a cell. To commit to one another to hold to a living faith, to walk the walk together.

Again, the three levels of response:

Personal

On behalf of our community

As a cell

Let’s pray.