Sermon Series: James: Faith & Works

James: Faith & Works

Week 3 - Faith & Works

Big Idea: Faith without works (action) is a dead faith.

Prayer: Lord, I can see how faith and action work together as one. I can see that there are times when I simply get too comfortable in my faith and I forget to walk everyday in righteousness and action. Give me courage and strength to have both faith and works that bring glory to you.

Scripture: James 2:14-26

(All scripture quoted comes from the ESV unless otherwise noted)

Introduction

Good morning Grace-Point Family! Today we’re going to get into James chapter 2 and continue unpacking the main theme of James’ letter which is Faith and Works. If you were with us last week, we learned that James was a good pastor who loved his church family deeply. The church was facing persecution from the outside and suffering from spiritual immaturity on the inside. Pastor James loved them too much to tell them only what they wanted to hear. He loved them them enough to tell them the truth they needed to hear so they would mature spiritually and live God’s best even under the most trying circumstances.

Grace-Point Family, I love you and want you to experience growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. To Grow in love for God and for other people. It was God’s love for people that He gave His beloved Son, Jesus Christ to save by giving His life.

The Holy Ghost moved Pastor James to tell the Saints to count it all joy when they encountered the various trials of life because when when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow and when your endurance is fully developed you will be mature and complete, needing nothing.

Grace-Point you and I aren't facing the same kind of persecution for our faith but we know that the evil one is still active and attacking . We still need endurance and spiritual maturity because we are still in spiritual warfare! We must remember that Jesus has won the victory over the evil one!

Everything that the enemy threatens to do with us on the battleground of this world has already been defeated by the arsenal of Jesus! Now here is what you must understand; in order to realize this victory in the hear and now you we must have faith in the Beginning and End. Our Savior says; “ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” You can continue to let patience have its perfect work so you will mature spiritually as a your endurance grows. You can count it all joy when trouble of any kind comes your way. Everything that the enemy threatens to do with you on the battlefield of this world has already been defeated by the arsenal of Jesus. You can realize the victory in the here and the now because you have put your faith in the Beginning and the End!

We learned together that it’s one thing to listen and receive the word, and it’s another to act on it.

To be living God’s best we’ve got to be people of action who not only hear the word, but respond in righteousness to the word. James elaborates on this idea further in chapter 2 by comparing the relationship between faith and works. And this comparison, rightly so, has drawn the attention of pastors and theologians for hundreds of years;

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “Faith without works is not faith at all, but a simple lack of obedience to God.”

Charles Spurgeon said, “Faith and works are bound up in the same bundle. He that obeys God trusts God; and he that trusts God obeys God. He that is without faith is without works; and he that is without works is without faith.”

And C.S. Lewis said, “Regarding the debate about faith and works; it’s like asking which blade in a pair of scissors is most important.”

So, is there really a debate? It sure seemed so based upon James’ letter to the church in Jerusalem… Is the debate an ongoing one? I imagine it is, but I’ll let you come to your own conclusion after we spend some time learning from James.

Main Teaching

James 2:14-26

New Living Translation Chapter 2

14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? 15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”

19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. 20 How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?

21 Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. 23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. 24 So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.

25 Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. 26 Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.

Interestingly in this section, James makes several comparisons and shares historical examples of people who pursued faith and works. In fact, if you really want to take a deep dive, just read through all the heroes of faith listed in Hebrews 11 and you’ll quickly see that many of those we hold in high regard had both incredible faith and righteous works. Which brings us to the first verse in our passage for the day;

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?” James 2:14.

Saving Faith

These 2 questions, in this one verse, are at the heart of what C.S Lewis referred to as a “debate” about faith and works. And James will start to get into some practical examples next, which highlight the point he’s trying to make.

But before we go on, let me ask all of you today, what good is all the faith in the world if it doesn’t move you to action? Can a person with an inactive faith truly be saved? That’s the part of our first verse that’s so difficult to reconcile. Especially in light of a passage like Ephesians 2:8-9 which so clearly states we are saved apart from the “works” we do:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

So, on one hand it seems clear from scripture that salvation comes through faith alone, not as a result of anything you or I do. And on the other hand, what James is saying is a faith filled person will be a person of righteous action. I’ve heard it said we are not saved BY good works but TO good works. And once you’re saved, the righteous action of a transformed heart and mind will follow.

Thankfully, Jesus himself gives us some divine insight right smack in the middle of the sermon on the mount. Here’s what He said:

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”

You will recognize them by the fruit of their lives… What an amazing insight from Christ himself. So simple. So straightforward. So practical.

While we are not, as Jesus says earlier in Matthew chapter seven, supposed to judge others. We are invited to be “fruit inspectors.” Or said another way, we can expect there will be fruit from the life of one who follows Jesus. And not every tree produces the same fruit, or the same amount of fruit, but it can be expected that those in Christ will produce fruit of some kind and amount.

So it’s not that your works “save” you, but rather once saved, the kingdom works will follow.

Examples to Consider

And this brings us to the next section of James, where he begins making comparisons and sharing examples to substantiate the point he’s trying to make. His very first point, in verses 2:15-16, are about seeing someone in need and doing nothing.

Here’s where James makes it personal… What if you see a brother or sister in need? Someone whom you share faith with… someone from your church body? Not just anyone on the street, but someone whom you are in fellowship with. If you see this person in need and try to warm them with mere words but nothing else, is your faith real? Is your faith impacting your daily walk?

“In the same way,” says James, “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” James 2:17

In the same way, can you imagine staring at a dead fish, but the person standing next to you just keeps saying, “It’s alive! It’s alive,” So you stare longer, harder, more intently… trying to see any miniscule movement or action from the fish but there’s none. At some point, you’ll turn to your neighbor and tell them, “the fish is dead.” You’ll say this because there’s no logical reason to believe the fish is alive.

“But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” James 2:18

There will always be those willing to engage in debate on this and other topics… but here’s a good thing to consider. If I were to say, “show me your faith apart from your works,” what would you show? What would you point to?

“You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” James 2:19

The belief that God is one is a fundamental tenet of Judeo-Christian faith. This is what you would call a doctrinal pillar of our faith. And James is making the point that his original listeners were good to have the right doctrine. But then he makes the point that even the demons believe in the right doctrine, and they shudder because of it.

What James is saying is that you can have the correct orthodoxy but without orthopraxy - the practice of faith - it doesn’t matter. Even demons have the right orthodoxy and they seek to steal, kill, and destroy. Their actions are unrighteous, the fruit of their existence, rotten.

And this is an issue pastor James gets fired up about. In verse 2:20 he says, “Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?” Apparently, whatever was going on in this early church community was wearing on him. Maybe he was tired of trying to inspire people to action? Maybe his congregation was too comfortable in their orthodoxy? Maybe he felt what we’ve all felt at some point, that he wanted to see faith move people.

Whatever the case, his next example is a shot right into the heart of Jewish faith with a look into the life of Abraham who, as we know, was willing to sacrifice his own son in obedience to the Lord.

“Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.” James 2:21-23

Being justified is a biblical way of saying, he was counted righteous. And here the point is made that Abraham had incredible faith, which was active in his works. In fact, his great act of faith is counted as such because he was willing to go to such an extreme.

(Pastor - This could be a great place to share a story of incredible faith within your church fellowship or greater community. The point being to magnify that faith and action were working together)

This is the last of the examples that James shares in our passage for the day, but not the last example he shares in chapter 2. If you feel inclined to read on, you can. However, the point of the passage, and the message seems to be fairly clear at this point.

Faith and works are partners.

As C.S. Lewis made the point earlier, it’s like trying to decide which blade on a pair of scissors is more important. You need both, and you can have both as a follower of Christ. Your works will flow from your faith and your faith will grow as a result of your works. Like the story of Abraham, who in that darkest moment was about to sacrifice his only son, God intervened and his faith grew exponentially.

The various trials of our lives are accomplishing something in us, as we learned a couple weeks ago. Trials force us to lean into God, which in turn grows our faith, which in turn makes us even more courageous and action oriented in other areas of our lives.

If you’ve seen Him show up once, you know He can do it again.

Conclusion

You’ve probably heard faith is like a muscle, and the more you exercise your faith, the stronger it becomes.

But not all of us are inclined to willingly thrust ourselves and our families into situations that would stimulate our faith to grow. Especially in the ways James probably had in mind when he wrote this letter… as the church in Jerusalem was being persecuted.

And yet, these are some of the moments where we see our faith grow the most… In the midst of suffering, pain, hardship, and persecution. Maybe James was trying to inspire his church to keep going, to keep “fighting the good fight” as the apostle Paul says. Maybe it had been difficult enough for long enough that people were starting to lose hope. Maybe a reminder that, “Faith without action is dead,” was exactly the kind of blunt truth this early church community needed to hear.

And maybe it’s the truth you need to hear today as well.

We live in an admittedly “easy” culture compared to the one James was writing from. And it’s no secret that there are other believers all around the world facing very real life-or-death persecution because of their faith. Their experience of faith is markedly different than yours or mine is.

So today, I want to encourage you to find ways this week to put your faith into action. Don’t get too comfortable or worse, complacent in your faith. Allow yourself to enter into situations that will stretch you and grow you as a believer. Pray that God would give you the courage to step out in faith. And remember…

The world is hungry for the good news of Jesus and we are God’s chosen ambassadors to spread the message. Let your faith and your works be co-laborers for the kingdom of heaven.

Let’s pray together

Prayer: Lord, I can see how faith and action work together as one. I can see that there are times when I simply get too comfortable in my faith and I forget to walk everyday in righteousness and action. Give me courage and strength to have both faith and works that bring glory to you.

Here are some questions we can ask ourselves as we examine our hearts:

1. Was there a time when I honestly realized I was a sinner and admitted this to myself and to God?

2. Do I truly understand the Gospel, that Christ died for my sins and arose again? Do I understand and confess that I cannot save myself?

3. Did I sincerely repent of my sins and turn from them?

4. Have I trusted Christ and Christ alone for my salvation? Do I enjoy a living relationship with Him through the Word and in the Spirit?

5. Has there been a change in my life?

6. Do I have a desire to share Christ with others? Or am I ashamed of Him?

7. Do I enjoy the fellowship of God’s people? Is worship a delight to me?

8. Am I ready for the Lord’s return?