Kingdom Economics Faith without Works

Kingdom Economics last week we looked at The Year of Jubilee in Leviticus 25.

In Leviticus 25 we see the Year of Jubilee as a major social-economic reset. In year 50, The year of Jubilee would take place.

If you had borrowed money on your land, sold your land, or sold your land and yourself, then year 50 would forgive the loan on the land.

The land would revert back to its original owners. This would be a reset button for those who had to sell their land. It was clear that God cares about healing generational sin and desires to forgive family sins.

You might remember the visual image of the hula hoops. Akela owned some land and Zaden owned some land. Zaden had to sell his land and eventually was working for Akela on his land.

What happens at year 50?

Year 50, the Year of Jubilee, Zaden gets forgiveness and his land returns to his family.

As I looked back on the message, I felt I could have expounded on the forgiveness of the loan and the land fully returning back to Zaden’s family without any debt.

The year of Jubilee is a beautiful picture of Christ forgiveness for us as well. It is so much more than just land. His forgiveness is desired for all to experience.

We see that a Kingdom principle as Jesus prayed thy Kingdom come thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven is for families to have the tools and resources necessary to live securely in the land.

We also see the Kingdom principle of forgiveness. Christ forgiveness for those who place their faith in them.

We know as well that living a life full of forgiveness for ourselves and for others is a kingdom principle. The year of Jubilee was a law that expressed grace to the lenders.

We as believers should strive to express grace toward those who lend from us. We should treat them graciously and offer forgiveness when we can.

I want you to see this morning that Bridge of Faith church looks different because we have put our faith into action and set out to create tools and resources for families to live securely in the land.

James 2:14 HCSB

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

James ask two rhetorical questions.

What good is it or what does it profit if someone says they have faith but does not have works?

The second question is can faith without works be a saving faith?

This morning we have some guys joining us this week from Aurora University Spartans football team. Coach Jeremiah Chaney is an offensive line coach and all these guys are offensive linemen.

Imagine if this morning I told you everything you needed to know about being an offensive lineman but I never went out and actually played offensive line. Would I actually be an offensive lineman simply because I knew everything there is to know about being an offensive lineman.

In order to be an offensive lineman, I have to actually play the position. It is more than just knowledge but it also takes action.

James is insisting that once a person has faith then works are essential to that faith.

Amy and I are often asked how did all this at Bridge of Faith come to be and our response is we came in obedience to Jesus and we kept hitting walls in giving families the resources they needed to live securely in land and so we built a ladder of the wall.

Our faith in Jesus led us to works. We could not live in Rockaway Beach and do nothing about the state of our community. We had to do something. Our faith in Jesus called us to works.

You can’t simply just know all about Jesus and do nothing. Faith in Jesus causes works in Jesus.

James 2:15–17 HCSB

15 If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way faith, if it doesn’t have works, is dead by itself.

James expounds on this faith with works.

If your brother or sister lacks daily food and you simply just use words and knowledge by saying to them go in peace, keep warm, and eat well, but you don’t give them what the body needs then what good is it?

Go in peas is a familiar Jewish form of dismissal

in essence it is: well Good luck to you

He would be encouraging the brother to provide for themselves or to make their own way, keep yourselves warm and have plenty to eat.

What does it profit to use words only?

Amy and I were called to Rockaway Beach because we heard the planting pastor Vince Blubaugh share stories of 15 year olds who had experienced trauma and were living in trauma.

I will never forget one night we were preparing for vacation Bible School and I was sitting on the front porch steps of the old building. A 7th grade young man walked up to me and say hey pastor Jonathan are we eating tonight? I said yes. He said good and what are we having and I said pizza and his response was good I have not had anything to eat in 3 days.

It was this same week that a family was here and 5 of their kids had on shoes that out of all the 5 we could not take a shoe off of another kid and make them match.

It was this kind of stuff that the Lord used to begin to build ladders over walls and our faith in Jesus called us to build resources and tools so that 7th graders have food and families have adequate clothing.

Catch these resources that help families live securely in the land.

This Summer we have been feeding students in the month of June it was 4 days a week for 4 weeks. That was roughly 3200 meals in the month of June and about 1200 meals in the month of July.

We use a USDA Summer feeding program to assist with the cost of food. Food cost have went up and yet they have not increased the reimbursement rates. Between the USDA, your giving and other donors the Lord has provided to give families this resource of meals throughout the summer.

Another resource

It was kids coming without adequate clothing and shoes that pushed us to do something so that families had this resource to live securely in the land that launched the Bridge of Faith Thrift store ministry.

Our team will remember times when kids did not have clothes and we worked to find them clothes. It is amazing to have the thrift store next door and be able to run down and get what we need when we see a need. It is also fun to see that we need a certain size shoe and many times it has been on the shelf.

This is our team working hard to provide tools and resources. Check out this back to school sale here in Rockaway Beach.

James 2:17 HCSB

17 In the same way faith, if it doesn’t have works, is dead by itself.

James: An Introduction and Commentary Additional Note: ‘Works’ in Paul and James (2:14)

James draws the conclusion from the illustration: faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. The phrase by itself (kath’ heautēn) suggests, as Mayor says, that the faith is ‘… not merely outwardly inoperative but inwardly dead’.12 This kind of faith is ‘in and of itself’ useless, inactive, inert (the meaning of nekros in a context like this; cf. Rom. 7:8; Heb. 6:1; 9:14). The contrast is not, then, between faith and works, but between a faith that ‘has works’ and a faith that does not have works. The latter is, like a body without a spirit (cf. 2:26), lifeless, and profits one nothing on the day of judgment.

James 2:18 HCSB

18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith from my works.

Perhaps the argument here is I have the gift of faith and you have the gift of works.

James says it is both faith and because of faith then you will see works as a result.

James 2:19 HCSB

19 You believe that God is one; you do well. The demons also believe—and they shudder.

James: An Introduction and Commentary Additional Note: ‘Works’ in Paul and James (2:14)

The confession of the oneness of God, taken from Deuteronomy 6:4, was part of the Shema, a confession of basic doctrine that the Jew recited twice daily

James: An Introduction and Commentary Additional Note: ‘Works’ in Paul and James (2:14)

The word shudder (phrissō) was used in some ancient magical texts ‘of the effect that the sorcerer wishes to bring about by means of his magic’ (MM). It is, says Hort, ‘at once more distant and more prostrate than worship’. But at least it is a response—which is more, apparently, than can be said of some professing Christians who make the same confession!

James: An Introduction and Commentary Additional Note: ‘Works’ in Paul and James (2:14)

As important as correct doctrine is, no-one in the early church considered it sufficient for salvation. Genuine faith must go beyond the intellect to the will; it must affect our attitudes and actions as well as our ‘beliefs’. As Mitton says, ‘It is a good thing to possess an accurate theology, but it is unsatisfactory unless that good theology also possesses us.’

James 2:20–26 HCSB

20 Foolish man! Are you willing to learn that faith without works is useless? 21 Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active together with his works, and by works, faith was perfected. 23 So the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness, and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by a different route? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

James: An Introduction and Commentary Additional Note: ‘Justification’ in the Old Testament and Judaism (2:21)

O it is a living, busy active mighty thing, this faith. It is impossible for it not to be doing good things incessantly. It does not ask whether good works are to be done, but before the question is asked, it has already done this, and is constantly doing them. Whoever does not do such works, however, is an unbeliever. He gropes and looks around for faith and good works, but knows neither what faith is nor what good works are. Yet he talks and talks, with many words, about faith and good works.

Stigma Slide

The greatest resource we make available and it in each of these resources is the Good news of the Jesus coming and dying on the cross for our sins. (Poverty is rooted in broken relationships and the greatest relationship that needs to be mended is the relationship between us and our Lord and then this has the ability to affect all other relationships)

In addition to all this I want to make you aware of a few more resources.

Skaggs foundation scholarships for Bridgefit $15 for individuals or $25 for family scholarships

Skaggs foundation Sports scholarships up to $300 for an individual

Community garden offers 4x8 garden bed along with knowledge of growing produce on your own from the entire Holder family.

This week we will do a drive through food distribution and give out food to help off set inflation and assist families in need.

This leads me to another resource or tool we have added here at Bridge of Faith. You may have noticed it in the announcements.

It is the Bridge of Faith Distribution Center. This is a 6,000 sq ft facility with a loading dock