Living Faith

I - in?

Y - How much is enough? Is my faith authentic? Am I ok? Am I in? Is this really it?!

Two kinds of “church-i-anity”

Older Generations:

Believe in Jesus and the doctrines of your church-denomination.

Attend church three times a week.

Sunday Morning, Sunday NIght, and Wednesday Night

Serve at the Church

Be a member of a church

Read the Bible Daily

Bible Studies

Give 10% of my income

Avoid Saloons and Dance Halls

Practice Religious rituals

Get kids confirmed

Do these things and your GOOD!

Younger generations Reacted against that:

Too RidgidLifelessLegalistic

NO, all you need to do is Believe in Jesus, you are GOOD!

It’s not about what you DO!Need a “relationship” with Jesus.

But you should probably go to church sometimes too

ANd you should probably avoid really serious sins.

Now were in this weird place where everyone sort of does their own thing.

No-one is in a place where they can challenge or encourage someone or even themselves to do better.

We wind up with a faith that doesnt ask much (and is increasingly asking less) from people. And a people who are expecting increasingly less from their faith.

Now were just confused.

What does it mean to follow Jesus. Is it about having the right ideas of who he is? Is it about going to church? Is it about thinking fondly about Jesus or praying or something? Is that it or is there more to it?

G- The lesson we dont want to hear: Real Faith is Lived. Faith is made real, when it is acted on.

G- The lesson we dont want to hear: Real Faith is Lived.

TRANSITION: James’ sermon is all about this question. What does authentic faith “look” like? He dose it by adressing a question that people often ask in the church. He wresteles with it around this word ERGA a greek word that is translated in this in a bunch of ways.

Works

Deeds

or

Actions

Basically James is wrestling with wheather ERGA have anything to do with FAITH. Wheather Faith needs ERGA.

He begins with a question.

If God saves because of what he has done, not becasue of anything we could do is there anything we need to do

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?

on simply this question our knee jerk reaction is yes right?!

So if James is this mirrior. Its often going to show us things we dont like, things that are hard to hear. But like most things that are hard to h

because Jesus died and rose as a free gift of grace, a grace we cant possibly earn. But James looks at this question differently than we do.

He begins (like he does so often in this sermon) with a case-study

15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?

He turns the question around a little bit.

If a brother or sister. One of your community. Comes with great need and you ignore their physical needs but give them a blessing what good is it?

Does your blessing, does your faith, do them any good?

James doesnt ask at this point if the person offering the blessing has an Authentic Faith. He just asks simply and practically. DOES that person’s faith matter.

does it make a difference in the life of the hungry person?

Does that persons faith, save anyone?

Nope.

IN this case the hungry brother or sister is still hungry, and still naked. No matter how much “Faith” the blesser has, that faith, is useless to the hungry person.

Does that kind of faith keep anyone warm?

James assumes your answer, and he carries the point forward in verse 17.

17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

James keeps pushing the point. Is belief alone the same thing as faith? Is faith about simply what you think.

18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

No, it must be more than what we think? Because even God’s enemies can belive in him, but they are not “faithful.”

James concludes his argument with two stories of vastly different people and what true faith looked like in their lives.

Abraham is willing to do anything God asks him even if it doesnt make any sense. Rahab puts herself at risk to help God’s people.

In both cases their FAITH. What they thought, that God could be trusted, was played out in their actions.

James concludes his arguement in verse 26 with this simple statement.

26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

James doesnt say that faith without works is bad, or fake. No he says that faith without action is dead.

James is NOT saying you better quick tack a few works onto your faith to make everything seem legitimate.

He IS saying, that IF your faith is authentic it will change your life. It WILL work itself out in deeds. because it cant not.

If a body is alive it will breathe. A body without breath cant be alive. It doesnt make any sense.

The gospel invites us to life, now.

The gospel invites us to life, now.

The more you embrace the gospel in more and more parts of your life, the more it gets in there. The more alive you will find yourself. We are all HUNGRY for real life. So hungry we look to fill that hunger with all kinds of things.

But they never satisfy

Y - it’s time to check our pulse

When I read this part of James its hard for me to not get into that over critical mode for myself.

I think of the times I have screwed up ect....

But that is not the point. The point is not to get us to beat ourselves up over wheather we are doing enough, or wheather our faith is sufficently alive.

James doesnt say, faith without deeds is dead, therefore QUICK do some stuff so you can be sure your faith is alive.

The bible doesnt call us to that. Just like you would never cure a heart attack by going for a run.

Instead we check our pulse and if it feels week. If when we think about our lives its hard to see how our faith impacts our lives.

If we look honestly and we have a tough time seeing how our fatih impacts our lives or perhaps an area of our lives. Dont get discouraged, if your pulse is weak dont beat yourself up.

Beccause we have God who is known for brining dead things to life.

W - Abundant life is on offer, will we recieve it?

He IS saying, that IF your faith is authentic it will change your life. It WILL work itself out in deeds. because it cant not.

If a body is alive it will breathe. A body without breath cant be alive. It doesnt make any sense.

The gospel invites us to life, now.

The more you embrace the gospel in more and more parts of your life, the more it gets in there. The more alive you will find yourself. We are all HUNGRY for real life. So hungry we look to fill that hunger with all kinds of things.

But they never satisfy

We tend to think the deal is, we accept grace, try not to sin too much and do whatever the requirement is and hopefully we can get on with our real life (our dreams, goals, or pleasurers) How much do I have to pay to be “good, in, or faitfhful.”

James says this way of looking at things is wrong. Its not that you need to do a certain amount to earn salvation or some kind of blessing. True LIVING faith is sustained by God at work in us and living things do things.

If what you call “faith” doesnt change anything its a waste of time. IF your faith constantly affirms and confirms everything you already think, its not faith. If it doesnt lead to abundant life, its not faith.

But the gospel is a whole life, reshaped, generated and sustained by GOD at work in EVERY aspect of our lives.

Problem:

Question: what does a living faith look like? Is it about thinking the right things or doing the right things? Faith OR Deeds.

Point: Abundant Life, Overflowing Generocity, Passionate Care, Self Sacrifice, Utter Trust. - ABUNDANT LIFE IS THE OFFER anything short of that is a ripoff.

A whole life foundation. A overflowing SOURCE.

(IF your faith doesnt change the way you live is it really faith.)

FAITH MUST IMPACT THE LIVES OF OTHERS

If your faith stops at your front door its not faith.

IF you are connected to Jesus.

IF you are letting God work in your life

THEN

YOUR belief, your faith will flow out into life

YOUR heart will become softer.

about fruit.

W - Abundant life is on offer, will we recieve it?

Faith w/o Action is dead.

We are so focused trying to be ok that we leave what GOd is really offereing on the table. We want a background faith, that stays in our heads and leaves us alonge, but the gospel invites us to something different.

The gospel invites us to life, now. FULL LIFE that invades every part of us.

The more you embrace the gospel in more and more parts of your life, the more it gets in there. The more alive you will find yourself. We are all HUNGRY for real life. So hungry we look to fill that hunger with all kinds of things.

Action reveals Faith

Faith and action work together

But they never satisfy.

Jesus came so that we might have life, and have it abundantly.

THat is something worth celebrating,

Lets pray

Faith w/o ACTION is useless

Faith w/o Action is Dead