James: A Faith That Works
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“Be doers of the Word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.” — James 1:22
“Be doers of the Word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.” — James 1:22
James is arguably the most practical book in the Bible, with the exception of… possibly… Proverbs…
It is down to earth…
It doesn’t embellish itself with “scholarly” language and theological explanations…
James doesn’t speak to and for the “educated elite… no… He puts things simply and boldly…
He is straight forward and honest in his words…(which is one of the things I like about him)
James boldly stands before us and says: “Don’t just listen to the Word, DO WHAT IT SAYS!!!”
BUT… I gotta ask…
Who is James to say this? Who is this James that we should listen to him?
All that he says in his introduction is:
1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.
Nothing else!!! No comments to reveal anything unique to identify him… As opposed to Paul…
1 Paul an apostle—sent neither by human commission nor from human authorities, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—
2 and all the members of God’s family who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
4 who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
It’s a mystery!
And… there are no other writings from James in the Bible…
So… Who was this James?
He must have been a familiar figure in the Church… because his letter was excepted among the believers.
5 James’s are mentioned in scripture:
— James, the son of Zebedee (Mk 1:19)
— James, the son of Alphaeus (Mk 3:18)
— James, the half-brother of Jesus (Mk 6:3)
— James, the younger (Mk 15:40)
— James, the Father of Jude (Lk 6:16)
Of these only James, the son of Zebedee… John’s brother… and James, the brother of Jesus could be described as “well-known”.
At first glance, it would seem that James, the son of Zebedee would be the obvious choice… after all, he was very close to Jesus… had travelled with Him… and was chosen as one of Jesus’s inner three…
2 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them,
33 He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated.
But…
James, the son of Zebedee was martyred in 44 A.D., and James’s letter is dated between 46-60 A.D.
It makes more sense then that this is James, Jesus’s half-brother…
That’s a BIG DEAL!!!
You see… If James is the brother of Jesus, then it reveals his amazing pilgrimage to Faith!
3 So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples also may see the works you are doing;
4 for no one who wants to be widely known acts in secret. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.”
5 (For not even his brothers believed in him.)
James didn’t believe in Jesus’s ministry in the beginning…
He was even part of the group that tried to stop Jesus…
20 and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat.
21 When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.”
But… James’s unbelief changed…
(the turning point — Jesus’s resurrection)
7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
After appearing to the women, Jesus appeared to James — his brother — first… after that…
James became a leading figure in the Church…
17 He motioned to them with his hand to be silent, and described for them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he added, “Tell this to James and to the believers.” Then he left and went to another place.
(argument over letting the Gentiles into the body)
13 After they finished speaking, James replied, “My brothers, listen to me.
14 Simeon has related how God first looked favorably on the Gentiles, to take from among them a people for his name.
15 This agrees with the words of the prophets, as it is written,
James made the final decision on the admittance of Gentiles into the Church…
Even Paul reported to James after his 3rd missionary trip…
18 The next day Paul went with us to visit James; and all the elders were present.
Paul called James one of the “pillars” of the church…
History calls him “James the Just”…
Eusebius says that James spent so much time on his knees in prayer that his knees “grew worn and hard, like those of a camel” — which earned him the knick-name “old camel knees.”
— If only we prayed like that??!?!
But…
I know what you’re thinking… Come on Pastor… Get to the point… What does all this matter?
Why are we wasting so much time on who the author is?
Because…
If you’re not convinced of the authority of the author… If you believe that he was just some common man writing down some pious advice, and that he isn’t as important as say — Paul — it will undermine the value of what God is saying to you through James.
This is exactly what happened to Martin Luther — the one who led the Reformation…
The one who boldly nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Church of England and was thus excommunicated by the church…
You see… Luther did not consider the letter of James to be equal with other scripture…
He called it an “Epistle of Straw”…
When he published his Bible in German… he put James in the back, and he didn’t even list it in the contents!
Can you imagine?!?
Luther didn’t reject James… but he considered it “second class” scripture.
WHY? Why did Luther consider James’s letter… the letter considered to be the first “book” written in the NT… so unimportant? So… meaningless?
The reason is vital for us to understand… because it reveals a danger to us!
You see… Luther had the attitude he had for a very specific reason…
He was a reformer in constant conflict with the Catholic Church leadership…
His theology revolved upon “justification by faith”…
He emphasized personal faith in Christ… trust in HIS atonement… and forgiveness of sin through the shed blood of Christ…
Are you with me so far?
The death and resurrection… and faith in the death and resurrection of Christ were the foundations of his reformation theology…
James does not deal with those things!
James doesn’t mention Christ’s blood… His death… or His resurrection… (unlike the other writers)
James does not emphasize “faith alone”… instead he focuses on “Faith REVEALED through works”…
Are you seeing where the issue is?
Luther’s opponents used James against him in his debates with them… The result…
Luther began to see James as a “hindrance” to the doctrine of Justification by Faith.
So… He did what Christians often do in reaction to controversy…
He blinded his mind to the FACT that the WHOLE Bible is the Word of God!
We do not get to “pick and choose” what parts to believe and what parts not to… We do not get to ignore the parts that “disagree” with our theology!
But that’s what he did!
“The greatest tragedies in Christian history are those that come about because Christians pick and choose which parts of God’s revelation they are going to live by.” — Pastor Glenn Pease
The single most dangerous thing that ever happened to the Bible was the introduction of verse numbers.
Because… It creates the idea that scripture is separated…
It allows people to “pick and choose” what to hold on to… and that creates a perverted view of Christianity.
All cults are based on select scriptures…
Let me tell you: No church… No Christian… will ever find the kind of spiritual balance that leads to true godliness and Christlikeness… until we accept ALL scripture as THE authority for faith and practice!
When we “omit” or “ignore” scripture because it does not fit our narrative… we lose!
Luther could not see beyond his conflict… He couldn’t rise above it… and so, he missed to opportunity to incorporate James’s practical emphasis on works with his emphasis on faith.
Let me tell you… When we reject scripture… when we ignore, or omit the parts that seem to not agree with our theology… we will soon find that we have a dead faith!
In Luther’s time, Lutheranism became dominated by a dead faith…
We need the balance of ALL scripture to foster a vibrant faith.
Don’t reject anything in God’s Word… just because it “seems” to contradict… or conflict… with the truth you hold to be precious…
Don’t ignore the parts of the Bible that are controversial… or difficult…
Jesus said:
4 But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
Paul said:
16 All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
Not just the parts you like best!
James is writing to help us… to help Christians make doctrine practical!
He is a man of action… His letter is instruction on how to put faith to work.
Pastor David Owens tells the story of one day while he was in graduate school…
It was a couple of weeks before Christmas, and he was running late for his finals…
So… he was running “back roads” fro El Darado, AR to Memphis, TN… He set his cruise control for 8 miles over the speed limit…
You know… so he could make it there on time…
He was studying as he drove… and at one point he looked up from his study cards just in time to see a police car passing from the other direction…
Of course… the officer flipped his lights on… turned around… and pulled him over…
“Where are you going in such a hurry?”
“I’m on my way to take my graduate final exam, and I’m running a little late.”
“What subject are you studying?”
He sheepishly replied, “Biblical Studies.”
“Do you know what Romans 13 says?”
“Yes, sir.” “It says to obey the governing authorities.”
Now, listen to the officer’s reply…
“If you know what it says, then why aren’t you doing it?”
If you know what it says… then why aren’t you doing it?
Doesn’t that sound familiar?!?
22 But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.
James’s purpose is to help us put our faith into practice!
It would be pointless for him to write and repeat what Paul and the other apostles were already teaching…
He saw that Christians were struggling with the practical application of the Apostles’ teaching… so he wrote to help!
Doremus Hayes writes in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia:
“There are those who talk holiness and are hypocrites; those who make a profession of perfect love and yet cannot live peaceably with their brethren;…
those who are full of pious phraseology but fail in practical philanthropy.
This epistle was written for them… The quietists who are satisfied to sit and sing themselves away to everlasting bliss…
ought to read this epistle until they catch its bugle note of inspiration to present activity and continuous good deeds.
All who are long on theory and short on practice ought to steep themselves in the spirit of James.”
Knowledge and belief that Jesus exists is the foundation… but even the Demons believe that!
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder.
Our theology… our faith… doesn’t do us, or others, any good if it is not obeyed and applied to our life!
In other words…
If one’s creed does not control one’s conduct, his creed is not worth the paper it was written on.
Christianity is not Christianity if it is not Christianity in Action!
One of the biggest struggles in the Church — throughout history — is getting Christians to act like Christians!
We have no problem getting Christians to…
— talk like Christians....
— to believe doctrine like Christians…
But.. it is a battle to get them to ACT like Christians should!
That is why James is so important…
James wakes us up to the realization that our belief… our words… our creeds… are dead and useless… unless they lead us to practical action!
C.S. Lewis wrote: “Do not waste your time bothering whether you love your neighbor or not; act as if you did. As soon as you do this you find one of the great secrets. When you behave as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him.”
Let me tell you this… (cause this is James’s point)…
Theoretical religion is not the religion of the Bible.
If your religion… if your theology… is not practical, then it is not Biblical....
Regardless of how well you can quote the Bible.
I want you to see one more thing before we go....
James was/is a great believer in prayer.
Do you remember his nickname? “Camel knees”
He spent his life… on his knees before his Lord…
Look what he says about it:
5 If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you.
6 But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind;
7 for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
James does not hesitate to “call out” the superficial ideas of prayer that many Christians have.
Prayer can be abused and misused…
For James… Prayer that does not get practical results is of no value!
James has a love for the practical… Why?
Because Jesus — his Lord and his brother — did.
Jesus emphasized “practical faith”....
Do you remember the “rich young ruler”?
He came to Jesus … he acknowledged that he had kept all the commandments… but he still asked “What do I lack?”
Jesus loved him… and said that he still lacked one thing…
“Go sell what you have and give to the poor.”
Do you see what He is telling him?
Jesus said, “You have a beautiful religion… but… it lacks practical application that helps solve human problems.”
The young man went away sorrowful, because....
He wanted a religion that gave him comfort… that gave him an assurance of eternal life… without requirements of him!
He didn’t want a religion that made him step out of his ivory tower… and into the sufferings of others…
He didn’t want a religion that required him to do something about it....
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you?
15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?
You don’t just pray for someone who is hungry… you give them something to eat.
James’s theology is a call to practice what we preach… to walk the talk.
“We do not actually believe any more than we are willing to put into practice.” — Vance Havner
As we study this letter… we will be challenged to consider whether we really do believe what we say we believe.
10 I asked, ‘What am I to do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told everything that has been assigned to you to do.’
James challenges us to ask the same question: “Lord, what do you want me to do?”
We need to realize…
The world doesn’t need better religion.... The World needs a better me.
We need a “Faith That Works”…
There are 2 things I want to challenge you to do as we work through the letter of James…
Read the entire letter of James — beginning to end — at least once a week (it only takes about 20 minutes)
Pray for God’s help to learn and to practice the truths revealed in this letter.
There are three vital steps we need to take when handling God’s Word:
Study through is day by day, verse by verse…
Pray it in… bathe our study, our reading, in prayer…
Work it out… apply the truths we learn to our daily lives…
Remember that police officer’s words: “If you know what the Bible says, then why aren’t you doing it?”
Let’s be both doers and hearers of God’s Word.
Because....
“Faith without works is dead.”
20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?