Sermon Tone Analysis
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So, if we just walk outside this time of year, we will FEEL:
cooler temperatures
more chill in the air
AND we will SEE:
leaves changing colors...
AND - those leaves ALL over the ground…which means…all over our yards...
WHICH means -
when we walk outside this time of year - we look around and see - WORK!
Leaves left on your lawn can - KILL your lawn...
And some years in the past, I’ve literally said - OH WELL…i’ll take my chances...
and I’ve left them (at least in my backyard)...
*2500 square foot net
When I look outside nowadays - YES - I see the beauty in the landscape…the colors God has created...
BUT - I also.see.work
WORK is something that over the centuries has really been examined…and dissected in the Christian faith...
BECAUSE - as we know - there are SEEMINGLY 1000’s of Christian perspectives on Salvation...
We BELIEVE however -
Salvation comes by - FAITH ALONE in CHRIST ALONE....apart from works...
That WORKS play NO part in our SALVATION…justification
And so BECAUSE of that - the concept of WORKS and HOW they fit into Christianity is something that some/many people have struggled to understand.
Today - Jesus Christ is going to address for us HOW works play into the Christian faith....
and THEREFORE - how our WORKS play into our faith
So let’s get to it...
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!
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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...
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 -
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...
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!
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!
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!
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?
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...
Here it is!
WORKS here - PROVES the faith!
“I will show you my faith - BY MY WORKS”
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