Faith in Action part 3

Faith that Honors

Faith in Action 3

We are in the middle of a series entitled Faith in action

from the book of James

the theme of the book of James is Grow up A practical book Pointing out that genuine faith, produces fruit. James in his book points out to three types of faith

Dead faith, without works, demonic faith, believing the same way demons do , dynamic Faith, faith in action.

Throughout this series we will look into different aspects of a faith in action.

Faith that Honors

Let’s pray

Jas 2:1 My fellow believers, do not practice your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of partiality [toward people--show no favoritism, no prejudice, no snobbery].

Jas 2:2 For if a man comes into your meeting place wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in dirty clothes also comes in,

Jas 2:3 and you pay special attention to the one who wears the fine clothes, and say to him, "You sit here in this good seat," and you tell the poor man, "You stand over there, or sit down [on the floor] by my footstool,"

Jas 2:4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

You showed favoritism

1 Don’t Judge, with evil thoughts,

Discrimination, partiality, prejudice, are old issues in the heart of man, today we hear words like racism and bigotry, it has been around for a long time, is in our hearts, all of us struggle with it.

The meaning of the word Racism today has change to, if I don’t agree with you in a certain social issue, I am a racist or a bigot.

James in his letter is clearly addressing believers in Christ, he wrote My brothers, James was not addressing a social issue, this was not written to the law makers, or to the supreme court or trying to be an activist,he was writing to remind believers,those things has no place among us.

Jesus said this

Mat 7:1 "Do not judge and criticize and condemn [others unfairly with an attitude of self-righteous superiority as though assuming the office of a judge], so that you will not be judged [unfairly].

Mat 7:2 For just as you [hypocritically] judge others [when you are sinful and unrepentant], so will you be judged; and in accordance with your standard of measure [used to pass out judgment], judgment will be measured to you.

This word Judgement in the Greek Krino meaning that we are sentencing someone, we decide that this person has less value than us, we are superior to them, as a person. So we look down on them.

Remember If we are slave or free, we have the same Lord, thank God we live in a nation where there are no more slaves, on paper, but there are many people who still live as slaves in their heart.

Is very important that we see ourselves the same way God sees us

People are precious

God had told Samuel to anoint a new King after He rejected Saul, he was directed to go to the house of Jesse King David’s father.

1Sa 16:1 The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you grieve for Saul, when I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen a king for Myself among his sons."

1Sa 16:2 But Samuel said, "How can I go? When Saul hears about it, he will kill me." And the LORD said, "Take a heifer from the herd with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.'

1Sa 16:3 You shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do [after that]; and you shall anoint for Me the one whom I designate."

1Sa 16:4 So Samuel did what the LORD said, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and said, "Do you come in peace?"

1Sa 16:5 And he said, "In peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." He also consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

1Sa 16:6 So it happened, when they had come, he looked at Eliab [the eldest son] and thought, "Surely the LORD'S anointed is before Him."

The Lord rebuked Samuel,

Samuel made a mistake he was looking for appearance

1Sa 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

1Sa 16:8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass before Samuel. But Samuel said, "The LORD has not chosen this one either."

1Sa 16:9 Next Jesse had Shammah pass by. And Samuel said, "The LORD has not chosen him either."

1Sa 16:10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, "The LORD has not chosen [any of] these."

Jesse didn’t think much of David, but we know that the only opinion that really matters is the one of our Heavenly Father. Notice that David with all his faults was the only man called, a man after God’s heart. He had a very close relationship with the Lord.

1Sa 16:11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?" Jesse replied, "There is still one left, the youngest; he is tending the sheep." Samuel said to Jesse, "Send word and bring him; because we will not sit down [to eat the sacrificial meal] until he comes here."

1Sa 16:12 So Jesse sent word and brought him in. Now he had a ruddy complexion, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. The LORD said [to Samuel], "Arise, anoint him; for this is he."

Our heavenly Father knows us well and He will not bypass us because someone else looks better, because they are more attractive or have a better education or the right skin color David became king without the help of his father and brothers.

among us should be no partiality.

Eph 6:8 knowing that whatever good thing each one does, he will receive this back from the Lord, whether [he is] slave or free.

Eph 6:9 You masters, do the same [showing goodwill] toward them, and give up threatening and abusive words, knowing that [He who is] both their true Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with Him [regardless of one's earthly status].

Col 3:25 For he who does wrong will be punished for his wrongdoing, and [with God] there is no partiality [no special treatment based on a person's position in life].

Bigotry, Racism, prejudice, if you are in Christ all these things must go including the distinction between male and female, we are all one in Christ.

Gal 3:28 There is [now no distinction in regard to salvation] neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you [who believe] are all one in Christ Jesus [no one can claim a spiritual superiority].

Remember that in the first century a woman’s testimony was not valid in a court of law, our Heavenly Father has always valued women, it doesn’t matter how bad our society becomes, church should always be a safe place for everyone.

Lets go back to James 2

2 love and Respect everyone

Jas 2:5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

Jas 2:6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts?

Poor people don’t have the time or the money to take you to court and James was not putting down every rich person, only those who did these things. There are many wealthy people in the bible who were very Godly. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Lot, Job and many others

Jas 2:7 Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?

Jas 2:8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF," you do well;

Jas 2:9 but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

Honor the poor and remember that they are brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. Be kind and compassionate to them.

Eph 4:1 So I, the prisoner for the Lord, appeal to you to live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called [that is, to live a life that exhibits godly character, moral courage, personal integrity, and mature behavior--a life that expresses gratitude to God for your salvation],

Eph 4:2 with all humility [forsaking self-righteousness], and gentleness [maintaining self-control], with patience, bearing with one another in [unselfish] love.

We are to love and care for our homeless and the mentally ill in our streets, but James was not talking about them, he was talking about our Christians brothers and sisters, followers of Jesus attending our churches.

Treat them with Love and respect.

Remember that we are all in the same level at the foot of the cross, we fell short of the glory of God. We need to come to Jesus to be saved, It doesn’t matter how educated how rich what kind of skin color we have if you have tattoos or not. We need Jesus.

Rom 3:22 This righteousness of God comes through faith in Jesus Christ for all those [Jew or Gentile] who believe [and trust in Him and acknowledge Him as God's Son]. There is no distinction,

Rom 3:23 since all have sinned and continually fall short of the glory of God,

Rom 3:24 and are being justified [declared free of the guilt of sin, made acceptable to God, and granted eternal life] as a gift by His [precious, undeserved] grace, through the redemption [the payment for our sin] which is [provided] in Christ Jesus,

Social discrimination is evil Social class distinction is evil it has no place among us.

I’m so grateful for our Hawaiian culture, we don’t need expensive suites and dresses, to be well dressed, an aloha shirt and a pair of shorts will do, or an aloha dress. I have met some very wealthy people here in Hawaii very comfortable in their t shirts and shorts, a freedom that we don’t have in many of the other states.

3 Sin makes us all, law breakers, we need Jesus.

Jas 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

Jas 2:11 For He who said, "DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY," also said, "DO NOT MURDER." Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

Jas 2:12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.

Law that gives us freedom, the law of Moses tells us how bad we are. In Christ we have being set free from the controlling power of sin.

Jas 2:13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

James is writing to believers, this is not an evangelistic message, as a believer we will reap what we sow in this world.

We all deserve a place in hell, is by the grace of God that we have been redeemed forgiven and have a place in heaven with the king of kings. Amen!

To have a Faith that Honors

Keep judgment away from your heart

Respect, love and honor our brothers and sisters

And remember that all sin makes us law breakers; we need the mercy of Jesus.

To have a dynamic faith, faith in action, we need to make Jesus the Lord of our lives

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Joh 3:16

To receive Jesus, we need to accept Him as God’s son, repent from our sins and a life of selfishness, and ask Him to be your Lord and savior, not that you deserve it, but is a gift from God.

If this is your desire today, please repeat this prayer after me?

Heavenly Father I’m sinner,

I’m sorry for my sins,

I’m willing to turn away from my sins.

I receive Christ as my savior,

I confess him as Lord

from this moment on I want to follow and serve him,

in the fellowship of his church,

In Jesus name. Amen!