Living Out Our Faith Openly (2)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
So, tonight, we are going to wrap up our study of James 2. My objective this evening it to bring chapter 2 into context with the entire book of James. Let’s begin by reviewing our theme along with a quick review of chapter 1.
You should have a handout with the theme as well as an outline of each chapter as well as an expanded outline of chapters 1 and 2. So, if you look at your handout you will note the following.
Our Theme is...
Living Out Our Faith
A theme that was quite evident by our study of chapter 2. Remember these verse which are the key to this book.
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
You will also note from your handout that chapter 1 emphasized we are to...
Live Out Our Faith Victoriously
We learned we can be victorious each day in our faith as we...
Understand the True Purpose of Life’s Trials
2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
Simply Follow God’s Plan for Our Lives
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Realize the Consequence of Sin
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
Faithfully Hearing & Doing God’s Word
22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
When we come to chapter 2, we learned that the Holy Spirit emphasized this point. We are to...
Live Out Our Faith Openly
Live Out Our Faith Openly
The fact is that we, as believers, can indeed live each victoriously in our lives. As we do so, we can also live our faith openly before others demonstrating our faith in Christ. That is the point of chapter 2. Learn to live victoriously in your personal life and learn to live openly in your public life.
What does that look like?
We Must BE OBEDIENT in Loving Our Brother (Neighbor) as We Love Ourselves
We Must BE OBEDIENT in Loving Our Brother (Neighbor) as We Love Ourselves
First, we must FOLLOW the Lord’s Example of Demonstrating Impartiality to Those Around Us
First, we must FOLLOW the Lord’s Example of Demonstrating Impartiality to Those Around Us
Well, the Holy Spirit demonstrates it for us in the first paragraph which spans verses 1-14. He gets right to the point in verse 1 by stating...
1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
The essence is that there is something missing in your life. What is missing? You are not treating others in the same way the Christ did and as He taught us to do.
You may recall that Christ said...
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Someone might say that is easy. It is my brother or sister in Christ, how could I not love them or treat them with respect? Unfortunately, too many times we say things with our mouth, but we do something totally opposite in our actions. Thus, the example that the Holy Spirit gives us...
2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
You see it is not good enough to say this, that, and the other if you are not going to back it up with your actions. An issue addressed in the second paragraph of this chapter. The point though is this. We have a mandate from Christ to love others no matter who they are. Loving them is much different than loving their sin. When we see a believer in sin, the loving thing at that moment is to confront them about their sin seeking to restore them back to the Lord. However, treating someone differently than another based on how they dress, how much money they have in the bank, or even based on how popular they are is wrong. Thus, living out our faith openly begins with us following Christ’s example especially in how we treat others.
Next, living our faith openly as we obediently love our fellow brothers and sisters means another thing. That is...
We must live in SIMPLE OBEDIENCE to the Lord’s command in Matthew 22:39.
We must live in SIMPLE OBEDIENCE to the Lord’s command in Matthew 22:39.
Note the Holy Spirit’s reference to it in verse 8.
8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
Obviously this is a reference to Matthew 22:39 where Christ said...
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Looking at verse 9 of our text we read...
9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
Thus, anything short of loving our fellow brothers and sisters regardless of their status or situation in life is sin. It is disobedience. If you truly want to live out your faith openly before others then you must without fail love others as even as you love yourself. Now, someone might say, “Pastor, what if my brother or sister is my enemy?” My answer would be “So what if they are? The command still stands. In fact, there is great command concerning our enemies.” Look at what Christ said in His great Sermon on the Mount.
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
In the end, there is no way to get around this simple command by Christ. We must obey His command to love others.
A third way way we live out our faith openly as we are obedient to loving others is by
Showing Mercy to Others even as God has Toward Us.
Showing Mercy to Others even as God has Toward Us.
13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
I am reminded of Romans 12:1-2 which says...
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
God’s mercies are all about what God has done for us. He was merciful to us in that He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die for us even while were still sinners. His mercy is extended all that will accept His Son death, burial, and resurrection. His mercy plays out through His Son in that we are washed, we are sanctified, and we are justified in His name. Furthermore, God has mercifully and graciously accepted us as His sons and daughters providing us with His Spirit that indwells us. There is a quite a bit more we could say about God’s mercy but time does not allow. Suffice to say is this. As God has been so merciful to us, the least we can do in return is be merciful to others. Part of a being living sacrifice (which, by the way, is a faith that is not dead) is that we do the same unto others that God has done for us. When we do, we are living a life that is holy and acceptable unto God. It is our reasonable service. And, our outward actions are on public display giving notice to all around that we belong to Him.
Another point the Holy Spirit makes in this chapter concerning us living our our faith openly is the correlation between faith and works. If we truly are the believers that we claim to be, we will have a living faith and not a dead faith.
So, living our faith, according to the second paragraph of James 2, means we are...
OUTWARDLY DEMONSTRATING Our Faith by Our Actions
OUTWARDLY DEMONSTRATING Our Faith by Our Actions
14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
There is no denying the Holy Spirit’s point here. True Faith in Christ will always be accompanied by Obedient Outward Actions. The two cannot be separate. True faith in Christ is characterized by...
a FIRM CONVICTION regarding God and His Word.
a FIRM CONVICTION regarding God and His Word.
The Holy Spirit gives us another practical illustration. In this illustration, we have a brother or sister in need of food and clothing. Yet, instead of taking action in helping them, we simply say to them “Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled.” The essence of this being that we have in our possession the things needed to help them, but instead we just offer them empty words. By the way, on side note, is this not the opposite of loving others even as we love ourselves. Thus, a person who says the believe God and His Word and is not obedient to Him is demonstrating a dead faith and not a living faith. People who say one thing and do another are not people of conviction. They are people of who are out to please themselves and not God. However, people who have true faith in God are people who obedient to Him. They are firmly convinced that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who “diligently seek Him.”
Now, if you look at verses 18 and 19 of our text, you will note...
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
Here we see a stark contrast of a person believes versus a person who has faith. There is a difference. The difference is clearly seen with demons. They most definitely believe God exists and even tremble in His presence. However, they are not capable of faith. Faith is firm conviction that God is real, that His Word is truth, and that His Son is the only way to eternal life. A person who is firmly convinced of theses things will see themselves as hopeless and helpless before God. They will fall on their knees repenting of their sin and asking God’s forgiveness. In doing so, their hearts is opened for God to come in and do a marvelous and miraculous work. Thus, a true believer of Christ is a person of true faith that began with a firm conviction concerning God and His Word.
A firm conviction about God and His Word leads a person...
to personally surrender to the Lord as His master.
to personally surrender to the Lord as His master.
The Holy Spirit gives us another illustration. However, this illustrations comes from the Old Testament and from the life of Abraham. Note verses 20-23.
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
We covered this extensively last week and I will not dwell here must this evening. The point is this. Abraham was completely obedient to God’s demand that he sacrifice his son, Isaac. We note last week how that Abraham did not complain and did not seek to find an alternative. Instead, Abraham packed everything up and led the way to mountain in Moriah. We they arrived, he and Isaac made the journey upon the mountain together. Every action that Abraham took throughout that entire event testified to his personal surrender to God and His Word. He was an obedient servant even up to the moment he drew back the knife to slay his son. And, when God stopped Abraham, he responded with the words of a surrendered and obedient servant by saying “Here am I.”
For our own practical application, our life every day before the Lord should be a life of complete surrender to the Lord as our master. Our day should start with “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven.” Christ said...
15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
And then again...
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.
Thus, a person who says they love the Lord and do not keep His commands (are disobedient and not surrendered) is demonstrating they are not a person of faith. There is never any doubt about those who truly believe God and His Word. The evidence will be their daily words and actions. Word and actions that seek to live in accordance with God’s commands.
Which leads us to the last characteristic of a true believer in God.
A firm conviction in God and His Word leads to a personal surrender to Christ as Lord and Savior which results in...
OUTWARD DEMONSTRATIONS of Such Faith by a Person’s Words and Actions
OUTWARD DEMONSTRATIONS of Such Faith by a Person’s Words and Actions
A point that I have already stated and one that is greatly emphasized in our text.
24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
The Holy Spirit for good measure gives us one last example - Rahab. Rahab is a person who is the complete opposite of Abraham. She, being a woman and an Amorite, seems like the last person you would expect the Holy Spirit to use as an illustration. However, her story is a great story. Even though the odds were against her, she placed her complete faith in God. She risked her own neck for God’s men. She only asked for one thing in return. She asked that she and her family be spared God’s wrath and judgment. She knew her only hope was to put her faith in God. She did. She believed in God and she believed that in doing so God would reward her. She was right. God rewarded not only by saving her and her family, but He gave her a special place in the lineage of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. There is NO QUESTION that she was a woman of faith. How do we know? Her actions confirmed it. Thus, a person of true faith is a person of action.
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.