John 10:37-38, The Work of Belief - A Faith That Works....SAVES

37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”

To help set the context for what’s going on here...

Jesus has been laying the framework that He and He alone is the way to God!

He’s made statements pertaining to Himself:

being the Shepherd of the Sheep

being the DOOR to salvation! -

That if ANYONE enters through HIM into the fold of God - then that person will be SAVED!

He’s made it clear that anyone who comes along and comes into the fold by ANOTHER way...

is a thief and a robber…and someone who kills and destroys

Now the Jewish Leaders were having a hard time understanding Christ...

They were picking up SOME things....but by and large they were confused...

EVERY ONCE in a WHILE Jesus would say something that they DID understand…and it was usually something that made them want to KILL Him...

For example - Jesus had just got done saying this...

John 10:30 ESV

30 I and the Father are one.”

Pretty BOLD statement no?

The Jewish Leaders understood what Christ said here…NOT from a Trinitarian perspective…but from a DIVINE perspective...

And so they respond by -

John 10:31 ESV

31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.

They considered His statement - Blasphemy…and so in their eyes - He deserved to die!

And so - just like we spoke of last week -

It’s clear - that the Jewish Leaders here are dealing with - UNBELIEF!

They don’t believe!

And so Christ responds to this unbelief…back to our text...

John 10:37–38 ESV

What I want us to do today is - TAKE THIS PASSAGE....

....and bring it into OUR CONTEXT - today

When I read these verses this week - they pretty much SLAPPED me in the face...

Why?

Because it SEEMED APPARENT to me that what Jesus says here - applies directly to us...

…meaning - PUT OURSELVES in this passage - with us as Jesus, and the outside/unbelieving world as the Jewish Leaders...

I believe WE could say this same exact thing - that Jesus says here - TO THE WORLD!

John 10:37 ESV

37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me;

If [I] am NOT doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me…NEXT slide

but if [I] do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father!

John 10:38 ESV

38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”

THIS is the Christian life...

And we can see a lot of things here - that actually IMPACT you and I....TODAY

So we’re going to see 2 MAIN things today regarding FAITH and WORKS...

That WORKS themselves are TwoFold!

They IMPACT - Christian and Non-Christian alike!!

And it’s going to require that we FIRST - look at the relationship between FAITH and WORKS

SLIDE: Faith & Works: Works Prove Faith of Believers

Faith & Works

The Bible makes it clear that WORKS in the life of a Christian…are the EVIDENCE of that person’s FAITH...

And so we see in Scripture that FAITH and WORKS go HAND-N-HAND...

So let’s go to the book of James to see this up close! - AND THEN - once we understand how FAITH AND WORKS fit together...

…we’ll come back to what Jesus says in our text TODAY - to see how WHAT He says applies to us!

James 2:14 ESV

14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?

First off, the questions being asked here each have a negative answer.

Notice how James asks this question – What use is it…if someone SAYS he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him?

He doesn’t say – What use is it - if someone HAS faith but no works, can that faith save him?

· So James is referring to someone who makes a claim to having faith,

· but their life is VOID of works.

· Now this faith that is claimed,

· is not some random type of faith.

· It’s not a faith that is grounded in some random, non-relevant idea.

· No, this is a claim to Christian faith.

· So, this person would have basic beliefs in the gospel,

· the existence of God, scripture as the Word of God,

· and even Jesus as the Son of God. (it’s the same kind of faith that the demons had in scripture)

· This is a claim to this kind of faith,

· and yet, James says, if this faith is void of works, then it’s useless, and can’t save him.

· The verb that is used in this verse describes someone who continually lacks evidence to support the claims of faith that he makes (MacArthur Commentary 124).

· So what are the ANSWERS to the QUESTIONS that James asks…?

Answer: What use is this type of faith? -> useless. Can this faith save him? -> NO.

SEE - here’s what the Bible teaches about this topic...

· The Bible points to a reality that says, “your actions reveal what you believe”.

· And that a profession of belief,

· without actions that support that profession,

· is useless, or of no good.

· That professing to believe in Jesus Christ without a life that reflects that and demonstrates that, is ultimately a phony profession.

WHY?

James 2:17 ESV

17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

This kind of FAITH is - Faith without works is - DEAD faith...

see that’s why instead of asking “Do you BELIEVE in Jesus”....the better question is “Are you a FOLLOWER of Jesus?”

This is where our 1st point comes into play...

WORKS PROVE FAITH...

James 2:18 ESV

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.

Here it is!

WORKS here - PROVES the faith!

“I will show you my faith - BY MY WORKS”

Works SPRING forth from FAITH...

So IN THE BOOK of JAMES - James is elevating the IMPORTANCE of works…within Christianity...

But ONLY so that he can DESCRIBE what a LIVING FAITH looks like...

BUT then he SAYS SOMETHING that people have TAKEN - and have actually used it to SAY THAT WORKS SAVE us...

James 2:20 ESV

20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?

Ok here it is...

James 2:21 ESV

21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?

Ok - timeout...

the Christian Faith says - we are JUSTIFIED by -

FAITH ALONE in Christ ALONE…and not by - WORKS of the law

But what did James just say?

was not Abraham justified BY WORKS when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?

OK - The ANSWER here is YES - SO how do we explain this?

Well - actually James explains it for us...

We’re actually going to look at the next few verses in GRAPHIC form…to help us with it...

(The Bible often describes WORKS as - Fruit - and so we look not to a Tree Analogy…)

SLIDE: Pic - Tree- FAITH

Now the Jewish Leaders would have pointed to Abraham and said - SEE - He was Righteous! He was saved by his own goodness!

James here says - NO - his works came from the FAITH that he had!

And it was HIS FAITH that was COUNTED to him as - Righteousness!

SO this is how FAITH and WORKS - go together!!

In order to understand Faith and Works - we have to understand:

Justification

Sanctification

Through FAITH ALONE in CHRIST ALONE we are JUSTIFIED...(APART from WORKS)

That’s justification!

We’re DECLARED saved!

BUT ONCE JUSTIFIED....

that FAITH that saved us....begins to THEN WORK in us...We begin to grow Spiritually... (this is Sanctification) -

SLIDE:

Justification: Faith (Apart from Works)

Sanctification: Faith (Working)

So - back to our TREE ANALOGY....to get this...

And there are 2 kinds of people in this world...only 2...

Those who trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior...And those who DO NOT trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior...

So we have BELIEVERS...and UNBELIEVERS...

SLIDE: Tree - Life Without

Unbelievers do not bear fruit...How do we know?

We don't see any...There are NO works

But why?

SLIDE: Tree - Self

Because they draw life from - SELF - which is no life at all...

This person may be wealthy...

They may be a very sincere...NICE person...

But without Christ, they are drawing life from SELF

They are their own god...and they have no Spiritual Fruit....

BUT THEN...

SLIDE: Tree - Good Works

We have a BELIEVER...They DO bear fruit.

Fruit GROWS on their branches!

How do we know?

We see it...maybe we're on the receiving end of it...

They bear FRUIT...and THIS fruit is acceptable to GOD....why??

SLIDE: Tree - Wholepic

This fruit - these good works are PLEASING to God because they GROW....drawing life from GOD Himself....From Jesus Christ...

SLIDE: Tree-Faith-Works

And so seeing it all flow together...

We see that FAITH in Christ alone...justifies us before God

We go from Spiritually Dead...to Spiritually alive...

AND NOW - able to bear fruit for God...

BUT HERE'S WHERE THE WORLD GETS THIS BACKWARDS...

Everyone that has an apple...please stand...and hold up your apple.

These are apple trees...

These apples grew on these trees...

NOW - what if this TREE...WHICH DOESN'T HAVE ANY Apples....any Spiritual Fruit...

decides - that it's going to go to the FRUIT STORE...and PICK an APPLE from the basket....and STAPLE it to it's branches...

Is this NOW AN APPLE tree?

NO?

Why?

Because we know that you just can't STAPLE some apples to a tree and declare it to BE an apple tree.

APPLES don't MAKE a tree an apple tree....APPLES are EVIDENCE that the tree is an apple tree - correct?

The same applies to OUR GOOD WORKS...

GOOD WORKS don't MAKE you a Christian...

You won't be able to stand before God one day when you die, HOLD up your good works and say - SEE, I deserve HEAVEN!

The ONLY Good Works that please God, are the Good Works that flow FROM FAITH in Jesus Christ...

ONLY through FAITH do good works GROW from WITHIN...

Apart from Faith, you are merely someone who is gathering up apples (good works), and stapling them to your branches..

Apart from FAITH in Jesus, you are no different than a TREE, with apples stapled to its branches, declaring itself to be - an apple tree.

ONLY through Faith in Jesus Christ will we stand before God when we die....JUSTIFIED.

So is FAITH in Christ important... - YES - it saves you...

Are works important? - Yes - they prove you have SAVING Faith!

See - FAITH is what BRINGS US TO GOD...FAITH ALONE iN CHRIST ALONE...

And WORKS prove that THAT happened!

OK - I hope we UNDERSTAND Faith and Works now...

Back to our 1st point - we see now how

SLIDE: Faith & Works: Works Prove Faith

Faith & Works

But remember - We SAID that works are actually TWOFOLD!

Like we JUST SAW - WORKS prove the FAITH of the one WORKING!

So they IMPACT the BELIEVER!

But let’s look at our text again…and see what Jesus said!

John 10:37–38 ESV

Who is Jesus speaking to?

He’s speaking to - UNBELIEVERS!!

And He says - listen - IF ALL I HAVE are WORDS -

If I don’t have ANY WORKS.....JUST WORDS...

“then DON’T BELIEVE Me”

Remember - the issue with the Jewish Leaders is that they DIDN’T BELIEVE Jesus was who He claimed to be...

And Jesus says - If His works were NOT what God would do...

then they had reason for their UNBELIEF!...

BUT...

If His works WERE the works of God - then the works were a WITNESS to who He truly was!!

And we need to embrace this truth....today....as Christians

Yes - Works PROVE faith…the faith of the one WORKING… (Believers)

SLIDE: Faith & Works: Works Draw Unbelievers to Jesus

Faith & Works

THIS is how WORKS are twofold…!

They REVEAL/PROVE the faith of the Believer… (that’s 1 side)...

AND

They draw Unbelievers to Jesus!! (that’s the other side)

John 10:38 ESV

38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”

Even if you don’t BELIEVE ME....Believe the WORKS...

THAT YOU may KNOW (believe)...

Let’s go back to the case of the Blind Man...

The blind man is healed...

And the Jewish Leaders keep asking him OVER AND OVER again…how it happened to him!

John 9:24–33 ESV

24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 26 They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” 28 And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” 30 The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”

The blind man CAN’T HELP but keep coming back to - THE WORK!!

He says to the Jews - you don’t KNOW WHERE He came from....YET He opened my eyes!!

“Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind...”

What’s this man continue to point to?

THE WORK!!

He’s BELIEVING the work - and in doing so - understanding that Jesus is from the Father!!

That Jesus is who He claims to be!!!

So do you see how important this is for us?

To REALLY understand how important our WORKS are - FOR THE WORLD around us!?

Let’s look at Phil 2:14-16

Philippians 2:14–16 ESV

14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

Our WORKS - SHOULD be lights in the darkness of this world!

That the world would SEE our LIGHT - SEE our good works - - and give GLORY to God!

God hasn't given us the Light of the Gospel so that we can keep it to ourselves!

No, our gathering of people here at AFBC exists for the World.

AFBC exists for the world...not for ourselves.

And yet, even if we grasp that, there's a way of going about DOING WORKS that we must understand...

SLIDE: The question becomes -

How do we live our lives in such a way that the world can see that we don’t value what they value?

Here's why we ask that - - The world says -

"You go ahead and do your religious thing on Sunday...which I find VERY boring...you can do that because i see NO difference in your life"

“Your life looks JUST LIKE my life”

And we think the World is impressed with our trying to keep the 10 commandments??

The World doesn't care if you commit adultery.

As long as you don't steal from them...don't kill them (I’m NOT saying the 10 commandments aren’t important)…BUT

It's not impressive to the world - to be a good Law Keeper!

What's impressive is sacrifice.

BECAUSE sacrifice...in the cause of love...looks like you have a treasure different from the World.

The world can't see The Gospel.

The world can't see your belief.

The world can't see your theological certainty

What they see - is your good works

What they see is what comes out of you BECAUSE of your belief.

What they see is the expression of the Gospel in your "doing".

This is why holiness matters.

This is why living righteously matters.

This is why what you post on facebook matters.

This is why what you tweet on twitter matters.

This is why what you say at work matters.

This is why HOW YOU LIVE matters!

SLIDE: Question

If the only witness people had was your life, what would they conclude about God?

Point of the question is - people ARE making conclusions about God based on your life.

They are either concluding that God is not real… Because your LIFE DISPLAYS that He’s not...

Not worth their time...

OR - More VALUABLE than life itself!

What have we seen today?

SUMMARY:

Faith & Works:

Works Prove Faith of Believers

Works Draw Unbelievers to Jesus

Are your works drawing those around you to Christ?

May we get to a point in our lives where we CAN SAY TO THE WORLD - WITH JESUS...

John 10:38 ESV

38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”