James: a biblical faith
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
What is Biblical Faith?
What is Biblical Faith?
Faith is not the opposite of Evidence
Faith is not the opposite of Evidence
Mormons believe the resurrected Jesus came to America - there is no evidence of this, and only evidence against it. Yet, by faith Mormons believe this to be true.
What they are calling faith, is not the biblical definition of faith.
Not a leap in the dark
Faith is not a leap in the dark
Faith is not a leap in the dark
Many think true faith means doing something that makes no sense, trusting God will provide.
Faith is not the Opposite of good works
Faith is not the Opposite of good works
Many hold faith and works against each other...
We are saved by faith, not by works
Works can never save you, only faith can save you.
good works ends up playing a strange role of being both friend and foe.
Good works are good, because God wants us to do them, but they can’t save you, they don’t please God, only faith can do that...
Faith is not an “its all good” attitude.
Faith is not an “its all good” attitude.
When life’s circumstances become challenging,
the kids just got kicked out of school
Your financial investments are plummeting
You have been diagnosed with a cancer
Your husband just lost his job
And your best friend has just violated your trust in a way that may not be restored
When life happens, faith is not an attitude of, “its all good” God will take care of me.
We often think to be men and women of faith we should respond like this, however, that is not the biblical model of faith.
Faith is not a belief in the right thing
Faith is not a belief in the right thing
In the early church there was some deviant groups of men and women who believed that you could be saved by knowing the right things, believing certain doctrines to be true.
These groups that thought that salvation came through believing, intellectually agree with, right doctrine were called the gnostics.
the gnostics thought their salvation was dependent upon them gaining some sort of knowledge before they died, and if they did so they would be able to escape the wickedness of the physical world and join God in the spiritual world of heaven.
Gnosticism has reinvented itself in every phase of the church and is alive and well today.
I can say with confidence that each and everyone one of us struggles with gnostic tendencies in our theology.
It is a very popular thought that we receive salvation by knowledge.
We intellectually believe the right things in order to be saved.
If I intellectually believe the fact that Jesus died for my sins I can be saved.
If I can convince myself that the gospel is true than I am saved.
Yet, this is not biblical faith.
We tend to read the stories of the bible and look at the heroes of the faith and think that their salvation was based on what they believed about God.
Yet this is not true.
Abraham was justified by works, and not by faith alone.
Moses was justified by works, and not by faith alone.
Rahab was justified by works, and not by faith alone.
It sounds provocative, yet this is what James says.
So then the question is, are we going to believe what the bible tells us? Or, are we going to continue thinking about faith in a way that is unbiblical?
So we need to ask the question
What is Biblical Faith?
What is Biblical Faith?
How should we understand faith?
For many you were taught that faith is nothing more than agreeing with God.
For many think faith is positive thinking
Faith Without Works is Dead
Faith Without Works is Dead
James chapter 2:14-26 is a very helpful passage that
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
14-
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.
Here James is asking two very honest questions:
What good is it if someone “says” he has faith but does not have works?
Is a good for someone to say that have faith but have no works?
We see this all the time
Award Cerimonies
celebrity interviews
Is this sort of declaration of faith a good thing if they have no works to go along with it?
Is it good for a president to say they have faith but show no works that are in keep with that faith?
James asks this question in the rhetorical sense, the answer is no. It is not good.
Why is it not good?
confusion
testimony (pharisees)
leading people astray
There is a false sense of security.
perhaps the worst thing we could do is to affirm someone of their relationship with Christ when there is not a lifestyle of faith and repentance
Which leads us to James second question in verse 14
Can that Faith save him?
Can a faith that is not a biblical faith save a person? NO!
You see, we are saved by faith. We are saved by a biblical faith, not our idea or our cultures idea of faith.
In the same way many people believe in “god” however, that belief will do them no good if their faith is not in the God of the bible
Jesus as social justice warrior
Jesus as peace child
Jesus as role model
etc.
So James asks the questions...
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
He then goes on to illustrate his point.
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?
15-
If someone walks into our church today looking for some help, it is obvious they are not dressed for the cold weather and they frail and week as they are lacking in daily food...
And I called that person up front and and said,
“I can see that you are cold, for its winter out and you have no jacket, no hat, and no shoes”
“I also see that you are hungry, and by the looks of it you have not been hungry for a long time.”
“Therefore, by the grace of God go in peace, be warmed, and filled”
And I sent them back out in the cold without giving her warm cloths for her body or food for her belly -
If I did that, would you say that this a good thing?
of course not!
I could give this person all the warm wishes i could muster
I could believe with every fiber of my being that she would actually be warmed and filled.
But if I don’t actually act on these beliefs than they are no good.
In fact, you might say that this would be an evil thing to do.
For what good is it to say be warmed and filled, but not have works to actually give her that which she needs.
This is a powerful illustration, and James says that this is the same sort of thing as saying I have faith but no works.
He says in verse 17
17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
James
These are some powerful words, “faith, if it does not have works, is dead”
James does not allow us to leave faith, as the gnostics do, in the theoretical realm.
James is saying that if faith is left in the theoretical realm, not anchored and apart of ones life, than it is nothing more than a dead faith.
The danger of “I said a prayer” etc.
So if a biblical faith is not just believing something than what is it?
A Biblical Faith is a Faith That Works
A Biblical Faith is a Faith That Works
What James goes on to show us is that biblical faith is holistic, all encompassing, its a faith that works, always.
When faith looks in the mirror works are the reflection.
Biblical faith is a faith that matters, its real, it gets its hands dirty, its tangible.
It is not etherial, its not an idea, its not floaty.
Faith has more in common with bacon and pancakes than it does with feelings and ideas.
Biblical Faith is like a mothers love
Its a great joy to speak with a new mom
They speak about the love they have for their baby in such profound ways.
Its a feeling that is indescribable.
Its a tenderness that is obvious
Its an affection that is actually infectious
And all the feelings that are communicated in the conversation are accompanied by
dirty diapers
sleepless nights
lugging around diaper bags and carseats
crying
doctor visits
holding
constant feeding
burping
And the list goes on and on…
So which one is a better explanation of a mothers love?
The twinkle in the eye mom
Or the sleep deprived mom changing a diaper?
Well the answer is both. In fact, you cant call one love without the other.
If a mother ignores the needs of her baby, you yet tells you how much she loves love him, you would not believer her.
To love is both the feeling and the action. You take one away and you no longer have love.
Faith is the same way,
Faith is both a belief and an action - and they always go together.
And to try and separate them is to lose faith all together.
Look at what James says in vv. 18
James 2:18-
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!
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.
Someone will say, “you have faith and I have works”
according to James this is an impossibility. Whoever says this does not understand biblical faith.
So James says, “alright, you think faith and works can be separate, show me your faith apart from your works”
almost to say, “go ahead, I’ll wait”
as you try to figure out how to show me your faith apart from your works I will show you my faith by my works.
Watch me as a
husband, wife
mother, father
friend, roomate
supervisor, employee
Watch me
at home
at work
at the gym
around the table
when I’m out with my friends
We are to demonstrate our faith by our works always. Because our works always demonstrate our faith.
The best you can come up with to demonstrate faith apart from works is to say, well, I believe Jesus is God and that he died on the cross for my sins. Therefore I have faith.
To which James responds
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
James is saying even if your doctrine is right on point that does not mean you have faith.
When James says you believe that God is one
He is recalling the great proclamation of the Shema from
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
This is was the creed of Israel, this doctrinal statement was used to define the covenantal boarders of the people of God.
To say that YHWH was One, was to say that there is no God before him, and there is no God beside him.
For YHWH is the only God and therefore he is the one worthy of all our praise.
So James says, with a biting sarcasm, you believe that God is one, you’re doing well.
good for you
well done
you are able to recite a prayer, a verse, a creed,
James says you’re in good company…
I have faith in God, “for God so loved the world”
Yeah, you’re doing great pal.
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
even the demons believe that and they shudder!
However, even the demons do that and they shudder!
The demons a least respond the right way before a holy God, they shudder
They shake violently before such powerful truths
Yet you who try and say you can have faith apart from works don’t even shudder before God!
To separate faith and works, according to James, is such a vulgar thing to do that they join the demons in this conviction.
you’d think James would have proven his point by now
You would think that he has said enough to show or prove that faith without works is useless, dead, pointless, powerless… Yet James keeps going.
Do You Need More Proof?
Do You Need More Proof?
So he asks them… Do you need more proof? Do you want me to lay it out for you even more? Do you want to be shown
Look at verse 20
20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
James comes out and calls those who would argue that you can have faith apart from works foolish.
James, like the prophet Elijah, feels compelled to mock those who would pervert the truth of God’s word.
you foolish, or literally, empty, person
If you hold to faith apart from works you are an empty person
James is willing to show any foolish person who would seek to destroy the biblical definition of faith that the Scriptures understands a biblical faith as being a faith that works.
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.
Test Case #1: Abraham
James recalls the story of Abraham and Isaac, one they all were familiar with.
And says was not Abraham Justified by works when he offered up Isaac on the alter?
What if Abraham believed what God was telling him only in theory - yet did not obey and actually offer up Isaac?
Would that have been enough? NO!
James says he was justified by works, and the idea of just believing God without obeying God is nonsense.
Abraham’s faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works.
Again, faith and works, belief and action are always connected.
James gives them another example in Rahab
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?
James uses two extremes, two ends of the spectrum to argue his point that faith and works always go together.
Abraham was there father, a righteous man, a man of great faith, a man who was given the covenant promises
Rahab was a prostitute, a gentile, she knew nothing of correct doctrine, yet her faith, belief and action were placed in God.
For Rahab and Abraham, their faith was not an idea. It was an allegiance to God.
Mind, body and soul.
They pledged whole self to him.
They actions reflected their faith.
And this is what biblical faith is:
Its an allegiance to God,
mind (what we believe)
body (what we do)
soul (who we are)
And may we never be foolish as some were in trying to break faith apart into belief and action. But may we with our full beings pledge our allegiance to God in all things.
Now, James says
Three times in this passage James says, without apology, one of the most controversial issues in all the bible.
Look with me at verse 24
20
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.
He says in verse 21 that Abraham was justified by works
He says sin verse 25 that Rahab was justified by works
And he says in verse 24 that people are 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?
So, is this true?
Are we Justified by Works?
Justified by Works?
Justified by Works?
One of the saddest things is to hear people try and explain away James chapter two because Paul says,
28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
Romans 3:
So how do we understand Paul when he says we are justified by faith apart from works of the law AND James who says we are justified by works, and not by faith alone.
First, we need to look closely to what Paul actually says.
He says one is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
First, Paul understands biblical faith - a full fledged allegiance to Christ and not just some theory or belief.
So Paul agrees with James on the nature of faith.
Second, Paul does not say that one is not justified by works, he says one is not justified by works of the law.
You see, Paul is writing to people who are bring taught that for Christians to be justified before God they had to obey the law.
So it was not allegiance to Christ alone
rather it was faith AND obedience to the mosaic Law.
So James was dealing with people who were trying to take away from faith while Paul is dealing with people who are trying to add to faith.
Therefore, both James and Paul would agree that one is justified (declared legally right before God) by faith alone -
And what is the faith by which we are justified?
not just a feeling, not just a belief, not just a theory, but a full fledged allegiance to Christ.
James says that faith without works is dead
We are justified by a living faith, not a dead faith.
James concludes his argument with a powerful analogy
26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
faith without works, like a body without a spirit, is dead.
So faith without works, like a body without a spirit, is dead.
And only a fool would try and convince you that a body without a spirit is actually alive. And only a fool would believe such a lie.
Church we live in a day where churches, pastors, teachers, books, theologies, friends, and family try and convince dead people that they are alive.
There are churches that would say you are evil if you don’t affirm a dead faith as being alive.
We live among fools, and we are often in danger of becoming fools ourselves.
The gospel is far more than just a good idea, its far more than a theory, its far more than a feeling
The gospel of Jesus christ is a life giving power that raises dead people to life.
The Holy Spirit is not so weak as to enter someones life and leave them unaffected.
For where the spirit is there is life!
Church, let us be men and women who are unafraid and unashamed to live our lives fully submitted to the kingship of Christ,
And the good news of the gospel is that Jesus has come to make dead people alive, and he does this through a living faith tha
And in all things pledging our allegiance to our Lord.
Lets pray.