Proper 17

“Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem” (Luke 13:22). Jesus knows that when he gets to Jerusalem, he is going to die. If we expect Jesus to use these final teaching opportunities to share happy thoughts, we would be mistaken. With a sense of extreme urgency, Jesus shares truths we need to hear, even if we do not want to hear them. As Jesus teaches hard truth, he challenges conventional wisdom—the wisdom of man, by directing our attention to the new creation His death and resurrection will bring about. This new creation reverses the normal and natural order of things. This should not surprise us, considering His life and work are the opposite of what one would expect.

Today is week-three of our mini-series entitled “Hard Truth”. Two weeks ago Brother Matt Markham opened this Hard-Truth series by reminding us that there is no easy, pain-free solution in the Christian life, but to persevere. Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble” (Jn 16:33). And yet, we persevere in this Christian race when we remember the great cloud of witnesses, when we submit to the Father’s discipline, while fixing our eyes on Jesus.

Last Sunday Pastor Plautz reminded us of the Hard-Truth in Jesus’ Word in the gospel reading. The doorway into heaven is narrow; not everyone will make it in. Scripture consistently teaches that the one who believes, he is the last one God should let into his kingdom and that his only chance of getting in is through the grace that Christ offers; he will then enter first.

Today, the Hard-Truth is about humility. We all know that humility is a positive trait and pride is a negative one. But, we still helplessly fall into the trap of pride. The text today—our Epistle Reading—admonishes us against showing favoritism, which is the opposite of humility. But Jesus gives us the promise we need to be freed from pride’s trap. Our status—or exaltation as the gospel reading call it—isn’t our responsibility because Jesus has already made it his. Those who humble themselves, Christ will exalt.

The Hard—Truth today is about how faith is displayed by our works.

James 2:18 “But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

We know we are not saved by works, but how our actions are to follow faith seems to be an inconsistency between James and the rest of Scripture.

This verse throws into an age-old debate that is more often sparked by the words that follow in v 26: “faith apart from works is dead.” The problem we have is making these words jive with the rest of Scripture, like what St Paul wrote in Romans 1: “The righteous shall live by faith” (1:17).

But ours is a tradition based on faith alone, grace alone, and Word alone. So, we’ve got this, right? It’s all about order.

Works do not count for our salvation. We are saved only through the righteousness of Christ, a righteousness carried out in his suffering, death, and resurrection and given to us by the grace of God in our Baptisms.

We know the words. But then it’s the actions that follow that seem so inconsistent.

If, in fact, what we do really matters, is James just giving us empty encouragement to “do better”?

There are two sinful outcomes of a Christian’s life when one dismisses works because they can’t save.

We either then do whatever we want because God’s grace is there to pick us up (which is exactly the problem Paul had to warn the Romans against), or,

We do nothing because it counts for nothing.

It is important for us to understand that what we do or don’t do does matter, because those actions are connected to faith, not in order to be saved, but because we are saved.

James was dealing with the same issue as he wrote his letter, “My brothers”. James is writing to those who are of the faith, his brothers and sisters in Christ, made so by God’s grace through the gift of faith. James is also writing to us.

James writes about a problem in the Church, a disconnect between the faith they professed and how they lived out their faith in relation to one another.

The same caution is extended to us in our day, especially as we hear the example of this disconnect that James gives.

Two men enter the assembly, the gathering of believers in the presence of God. The word that is used here is where we get synagogue, because the expectation is that the believers will regularly gather together.

Anyway — One is dressed well, the other not. The one dressed well is distinguished among the brothers. The other is given a lower place because he doesn’t measure up.

James 2:8-10 “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.”

We do the same thing, don’t we? When we gather, do we ignore some people in favor of other people?

Perhaps they did or said something we don’t like, or maybe they are not “the type of people I would normally associate.”

So what we do really does matter! It can seem as though all of James’ words, including those about faith being dead without works, all add up to this: “Do better!” Is that it? Do better? Do better so people can see you’re a Christian? Do better so God knows you’re serious about him? Is that what it is about?

If that’s all James is saying, then why don’t we simply do better?

Why don’t we just do everything God says? After all, God said to do it; just do it! Right? But we don’t. In fact, we can’t.

On our own, we can’t “do better”.

That’s because our sinful nature always has its own selfish agenda.

Our sinful nature always looks out for itself, and not for our neighbor in need;

Our sinful nature always looks for the best seat in the house, even at the expense of others;

Our sinful nature will always try to avoid those we don’t particularly care for within the gathering of believers.

That’s just what the sinful nature is: all out for itself.

But there Is More! Good works begin with God and his calling us into his name.

We don’t have to look far for a hint at where to turn in our confusion. James 2:7 “Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?”

James makes what seems to be just a passing comment in the middle of his encouragement to do good. He refers to the “name by which you are called.”

However, it’s not just a passing comment; it’s filled with the answer to the problem here.

It suggests there was action prior to ours.

That action is the action of the one who called us, for we can’t call ourselves. It’s God, of course, who’s called us.

He’s called us into a relationship with himself that is lived out in relationship to one another. It really is all about order.

The Christian life begins with God’s action toward us, and continues as we live out His action toward us in our actions toward others.

Life begins, continues, and ends in Christ and so do our good works.

To understand, let’s put the shoe on the other foot. What if God made distinctions?

What if God analyzed our worthiness and acted accordingly?

What if God analyzed our works and dealt with us according to what he saw?

What if God kept a record and awarded your place before him based on that record?

Here’s the content of our faith: God does not!

If God did make such distinctions, you and I would be in trouble and left to work out our own salvation.

And as hard as we might work, we would never know if we had done enough. In fact, we will always fall short of God’s standard.

But instead, He has worked out our salvation for us.

The content of our faith is Jesus Christ and his work of salvation on our behalf.

He lived the perfect life we cannot live.

He died to pay the price we cannot pay.

He rose to defeat death and make it possible for his righteousness to become ours.

Our faith is in a work, but it is not our own. Our faith is in a work accomplished on a cross and emanating from an empty tomb.

Our faith, without Christ, is dead!

Our life begins, continues, and ends with him and in him, which is why what we do and what we don’t do really matters.

The life we live is the life God has worked for us in Christ. His life—what he has done for us and what he has given to us—animates and motivates our lives.

Friends, Jesus is the content of your faith and the content of your living. Therefore, He is the content of your works.

Any other understanding of the relationship between faith and works creates an either/or proposition—either faith or works.

Rather, Christ in us and Christ through us creates a both/and proposition—both faith and works; first faith, then works, and never one without the other.

Now, what about when I fail? In the either/or proposition, our failure means one of two things. (A) Our failure means either we have no faith or (B) our failure doesn’t matter.

We know our failures can’t simply be overlooked, so in the either/or proposition, we are sent back within ourselves to do better. We’re left to find our own inner strength. This only leads to despair.

But, my friends, our faith isn’t in ourselves; it’s in Christ Jesus and in his work.

This is where the both/and proposition of both faith and works finds a firm hold on our lives as God’s children.

Because if everything begins with Christ, then he is where we go when we fail. When we fail to live as we should, we’re sent back to Christ.

We’re sent back to his Word and the reassurance of God’s grace given in Baptism as we hear his Word of forgiveness.

We are sent back to feed on Him in his Supper in order to receive from him strengthening of our faith and strengthening of our lives lived in that faith.

We’re sent back to the one true God, who holds no distinctions but died for all. That is, he loves us whom he has graciously called and to whom he has given his name.

His grace is our strength to live lives that look like what they are—Christ in us and Christ through us. His grace is your salvation, and his grace is your strength to live, to live lives that look like what they are—Christ in you and Christ through you.

So yes,

The Christian life begins with God’s action toward us, and continues as we live out His action toward us in our actions toward others.

James 2:17 “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” However, you are not dead. You are alive in Christ, and so you live and work in Christ!