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Text from James 2:14-26
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Text from James 2:14-26
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James continues his challenging words about faith and deeds. He asks if someone claims to have faith but does not have any actions to back it up, can that faith save them? James gives examples of how faith without action is useless. He compares it to demons who also believe in God but do not have deeds. James also mentions Abraham and Rahab as examples of people whose faith was demonstrated through their actions. There seems to be a contradiction between James and Paul's teachings on faith and works, but they are both speaking about the same faith. Paul focuses on justification while James focuses on sanctification. Both teachings are important and should not be disregarded. James emphasizes the importance of putting our faith into action. For the reading of Scripture, we continue in James. Today, we're in chapter 2, starting with verse 14, and we'll read to the end of the chapter. So James has had some challenging words for us and challenging he continues with today. We'll have to put our thinking caps on a little bit for this text, but it's good word indeed for us. So James 2, verses 14 through 26. And this is God's word. What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, go, I wish you well, keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself. If it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, you have faith, I have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God, good, even the demons believe that, and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does, and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies, and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Please be seated. So today, we consider in James' text the demonstration of faith. What does faith look like? Can you see it? Is it tangible? Do you know it when you see it? What does faith look like today, the demonstration of faith? And when we study this particular text, we'll look at a few things. First in verse 14, we ask the question, must our profession display practice? And then verses 15 through 25, there's some examples there of faith on the testing grounds. And then verse 26, the end of the chapter, our profession must display practice. James has asked some challenging statements leading up to this point, and now he doubles down on the challenge. And today we read of what is probably James' most noted statement, the statement with which the church has over the centuries found difficulty, found challenge. If you just look at verse 26, faith without deeds is dead. Or if you're a King James reader, faith without works is dead. You know that some people over the centuries have not cared for James' apparent line of thinking in these verses. As the New Testament canon was established and was received by the Christ followers over the early centuries of the church, the epistle of James was one of the last writings to make it into the collection that we know as the New Testament. A number of early church fathers advocated for its exclusion. And even into the 1500s, Martin Luther expressed his dislike for James' letter. And in many cases, it was verse 26 that threw people for a loop. So here we certainly must be right to perceive that there must be some disagreement, some contradiction in Scripture. And we think we see it, especially here when we compare the writings of James with the writings of Paul. Throughout his writings, Paul wrote of his view of salvation, and he presents his view in a consistent manner. So, for example, the Apostle Paul writes to the Church of Rome, he says, God credits righteousness apart from works. Or Paul would also have to consider the words of the believers in Ephesus. He wrote there these words, And then Paul tells the Galatian church of the common bond shared by Christ's followers. He writes, And then in Paul's first letter to young pastor Timothy, Paul encourages Timothy to always remind his church to fight the good fight of faith, take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you did a bunch of good works. No, Paul says, that was when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. So it seems that James and Paul don't see eye to eye. Apparently, Paul promotes a salvation which is completely reliant on grace, while it appears here that James is teaching that our salvation is at least partly reliant on works. Well, both cannot be true. It seems what we have here is a failure to communicate. We could push back and we could say something like, well, you know, this is a theological argument that I don't really want to get into. I don't really need to get into this. Can't I just say that I love Jesus and move on? But the question of faith and works is not just some irrelevant theological argument. It's not just some academic discussion that really doesn't matter. The question certainly does matter. And we live in Napanee and we deal with the question of faith and works constantly. We see it every day going by our door, riding through town. Is that a matter of faith and works? We have to ask that question. The question matters for our entire relationship with God hangs in the balance. Either Jesus completed the work of salvation on the cross, or you and I better hurry up as we have yet much work to do. Now, we know that this certainly cannot be the case, because, of course, one of the rules for canonicity would have to be agreement. For the words of Paul and the words of James to be considered scriptural, they would have to be consistent. They cannot be in opposition. So we have a big puzzle we have to figure out here. How are we going to make this work? How do we understand this? What's really being discussed here? Well, let's go back again to verse 14 and let's dig into the text and let's see if we can figure out what James is really saying. And we don't want to twist the Scriptures. We don't want to force them to make something that suits our ears. What's the truth? Let's get to the truth today. What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Now, let's first remember James' primary audience. He recognizes the audience again here. James' questioner posed to my brothers. Anyone can read James' words. They're available to believers and unbelievers. And while this is true, it is clear that the content is aimed at the believers in Jesus, men and women, sisters and brothers in Christ. So now let's reconsider the perceived conflict between James and Paul. Doesn't Paul write to the same audience? Yes, he certainly does. James writing to the brothers. Paul directly references the brothers in every one of his letters except for one. The Pauline epistles are all addressed to particular churches, but we recall that Paul instructs the churches to pass the letters around to other churches. James' epistle is regarded as one of the general epistles. That means it's for all the churches. So the audience is the same. Both Paul and James write to the believers in the churches. And would we say then that Paul and James speak about the same faith? Maybe it's a different faith that they would speak about. Maybe James has one kind of faith and Paul speaks about another. Is it the same faith? And we would say yes, they most certainly speak about the same faith. Because in Christ, there is only one faith. Ephesians 4, verse 4 and following, there is one body and one spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. And it is true that the Bible remains as the written depository of this one true faith? Yes, it is. It is. Jude, verse 3. I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith, the faith, that was once for all entrusted to the saints. And is it also true that the counsel of God's word is that we would maintain this faith? Yes. Malachi chapter 2. Guard yourself of the spirits and do not break faith. So we know that the audience is the same for Paul and James and further we know that Paul and James speak of the same faith. But yet, Paul's message and James' message are clearly not the same. There's something different about them. So what else can we say? Well, what we know and understand is this. We know that Paul comes to us as an evangelist and a missionary and a church planter. And so his ministry has always been about people making an individual profession of faith in Christ. That was Paul's whole thing and we know that to be true. Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 9, he says, I have become all things to all men that by all possible means I might save some. So Paul is absolutely right when he says, first by grace you've been saved and not by works so that no one can boast. At the same time, the apostle James appears here as a leader of the apostles perhaps even maybe considered as the informal leader of the apostles. And the content of his letter displays teaching that is intended for the further instruction of believers to counsel believers as they grow in faith. We saw this last week. James said in chapter 2, verse 12, he said, Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom. Part of James' teaching. So a way to characterize this difference is to say that Paul's mission is to teach concerning justification while James' mission is to teach concerning sanctification. Both men are right. Both men are each passionate about an aspect of our faith which cannot be skipped and it cannot be disregarded. And both men teach truth which we would do well to understand and to employ. And the words of both men are properly biblical. So James asks the question we find in verse 14. What good is it, my brothers and my sisters, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? So now let's approach the matter from another angle. James is asking the question concerning the faith that saves and whether the faith that saves must also be accompanied by obedience. So in other words, must our profession display practice? Or, if a person's faith is not accompanied by obedience, can that faith really save? Can such a person truly be a child of God? What James is saying is this. Either truth faith, faith that saves, is accompanied by obedience or it isn't true faith. Either it's accompanied by obedience or it isn't true faith. Now, let's clarify and let's nail down one thing. When we're talking about obedience, we're talking about the command of God for you and for me and for everyone who believes. We also confess that we are not the most obedient of individuals. Well, I don't know about you. I know about me. And I know that I am not the most obedient of individuals. I know that about you as well. We know that. We fail and fall short. Sin no longer reigns over our life, but it does remain. We would long to be obedient. We try to be obedient. We want to be obedient. We know we still have work to do. We could put it that way, right? So whenever we hear the word obedience, we're going to hear that word a number of times in today's text. Let's kind of keep that in mind. So let us be certain and convinced of this. James is not offering an alternative way of salvation. Nor is James advocating an acceptance of a faith plus works mentality. What James offers to the church is this. It's a truth that he offers. The faith that saves is also the faith that produces a life with particular characteristics. The life of the believer will be distinctive. The life of a child of God, the life of a believer in Jesus will be a distinctive life. It will be a changed life. It will be a different life. There should be something in the life of a believer in Jesus that is apparent, that is visible, that is tangible, that correlates somehow or another with the word of God. It should demonstrate somehow in our life. The life of the believer must be distinctive because the life of the believer will possess evidence of the one who has faith in God. We come to verses 15 through 25, and we see here in the text that James has given us four illustrations, four examples of the life lived with the distinct characteristics of one who is a Christ follower. We could say that these four illustrations are all examples of faith on the testing grounds. But we do well to remember that the tests here are not something out of a textbook. What pops in my mind, as you all know, is the math test, and I hated math tests. And I'm sorry for anybody that's a math major or a math teacher. I hated math tests, and I didn't like them, and I still don't like them. That's why I went to seminary, so I wouldn't have any math tests. I made sure when I went to seminary, I said, tell me there's no math tests here at seminary, and they assured me that was the case. So we would do well to remember the tests, though, are not textbook. The tests of God are not arbitrary. God's not just kind of sitting around, stroking His beard, saying, I wonder what that individual will do. I don't know. Let's just test them and find out. That's not what God is saying. The test that God offers represents God's call of devotion and service. The test is the real test, not an arbitrary test. It's a real one, in real circumstance, with real life and real implications. God's call of devotion and service. Now, the first illustration, found in verses 15 through 17. Here, James reminds us again of the need of believers to care for the impoverished. We talked about this last week. We talk about it again here a little bit today. But as we'll see, the text calls for faith that brings definite and certain action. Notice the text. It says, suppose a brother or sister was out clothed in daily food. If one of you says to him, go, I wish you well, keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? And in the same way, faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead. James has communicated similarly to us in the previous texts. The church has been faithful to serve the impoverished over the centuries. The church continues to do so today. James reminds us that mercy triumphs over judgment. And so we will set aside, we will forsake judgment, and we will indeed maintain a practice of mercy, and we will certainly do so for those who are also professing faith in Christ. In verse 17, we see that we are called not just to work, but to action. Not just to work, but to action. What's the difference? Well, the difference is this. The work we must do must be physically manifest. It must be visible. It must be tangible. And the work we do has a particular goal in mind, doesn't it? If you have action, then it moves towards a target, and it does so with an expectation of reaching that goal. And besides the obvious reminder of our moral obligation to those in need, James here points out that in whatever context, faith will have a visible display of action. Faith will manifest itself in some measure. And then a second illustration, found in verses 18 and 19, and here James declares to us that true faith in God has to possess and display the resulting works. Faith always elicits a response. Verse 18, But someone will say, You have faith, I have deeds, show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. Here James points out the weakness of the person who claims to have faith even though no deeds are present or visible. James says, So you're a believer? Remember that even the demons are believers because they know that God exists. And in fact, demons also display physical evidence of their faith, do they not? You believe that there is one God? Good. Even the demons believe that, and they shudder. Even the demons display visible evidence of what they know to be true. They shudder. In other words, all faith, whatever your faith is in, all faith elicits a response. If your faith is in God, it elicits a response. If your faith is in your own bank account, that elicits a response. If your faith is in the academic degrees that are hanging on your wall, that elicits a response. If your faith is in your good looks, that elicits a response. If your faith is in your name or your lineage, that elicits a response. Whatever your faith is in, it does elicit a response. Now the third and fourth illustrations given here by James are also stories pulled from the pages of the Old Testament. So they're stories that everyone who claims to be a believer should know. We went to Sunday school, we know those stories. Just as James would say, you guys know these stories. Our third illustration, verses 20-23, one of the most challenging stories, of course, found in the Bible, the account in Genesis of God's call to Abraham to offer his son Isaac on the altar, which stands as an example of faith and action which glorifies God. Now unfortunately, time doesn't permit us today to dig into the details of the story. You can imagine this story. We would spend weeks on the story of Abraham and Isaac. But let's just consider one aspect. Look at verse 21 of James' text. He writes, James here points out that Abraham's faith and his actions were working together and that his faith was made complete by what he did. God used this moment on the mountain to bring maturity to Abraham's faith and Abraham responded. And he responded with obedience. What was the overriding determination of this story? Does James say that Abraham was thus confident of himself and pleased with his meeting the challenge? Does Abraham celebrate his obedience and his goodness? No. Here's the overriding determination of the story. Abraham believed God. Abraham believed God. Faith and action coming together to do what? To glorify God. Faith and action coming together to glorify God. And we come to verse 24. And we notice that James here is certain that the first three illustrations, they've made the convincing argument. James thinks your soul on this. Look what he says in the verse. He says, In fact, he used the same language in verse 22. He said, James thinks it's pretty obvious to us. James does not say something like, and he doesn't say something like, He doesn't say that. That's nothing of the sort. James is offering these illustrations, but the illustrations speak for themselves. And with these illustrations, especially the recall of the story of Abraham and Isaac, the truth is clear. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. But now James offers us one more illustration. And this is in verse 25. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? Now for homework this week, you can read about Rahab in Joshua chapter 2, Joshua chapter 6. You can read that first section of Joshua and find out everything you need to know about the story of Rahab. Here we see the contrasts, and it seems that they cannot be greater. While Abraham is a major character in the Old Testament, and he's mentioned a lot in the New Testament, Rahab, of course, appears in the text only as a minor player. Abraham will be the father of many nations, but if Rahab is a mother, then the father of the children will remain unknown. And Abraham is respected, while Rahab is disreputable. And, of course, the obvious difference, Abraham is a man, Rahab is a woman. But here we see that faith and action know no hindrance. Faith and action know no hindrance. Because we compare the story of Abraham and the story of Rahab, we notice this. Both our father Abraham and the prostitute Rahab were considered righteous by God. Did you notice that in the story? So there's the two examples, the two stories, the story of Abraham and Isaac, and the story of Rahab. And in both texts, in both stories, it tells us that both individuals were considered righteous by God. Father Abraham, the father of many nations, and Rahab, the prostitute, and both were considered righteous by God. Now, remember this truth, as we will revisit it in a moment, but isn't this thought amazing? So here's the story of the judge of the universe who looks upon the lowest of women, the lowest of individuals, and considers her righteous. We come to verse 26, the final verse in chapter 2, in our concluding verse for the day. And the text says, As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. In other words, just as a person's spirit is essential along with a person's body for that person to enjoy human life, James teaches that deeds are essential along with a person's faith in order to enjoy life and live life as a child of God. Faith plus works stands then really as an oversimplification and a mischaracterization of what James was teaching. It's not that it's faith plus obedience, rather it is that it's faith that drives obedience. Our profession must display practice. And so a faith that does not drive obedience is not faith. And a faith that doesn't drive practice is not faith. So the faith that saves is also the faith that pushes us forward into obedience. And the faith that saves is also the faith that pushes us forward to glory. It's the same faith. But please don't take my word for it. Instead, let us turn to the Word of Truth, the very Word of God, because my attempt to explain and elaborate would certainly prove to be futile, and why would I need to further explain this and make the attempt to do so when God's Word perfectly does so, demonstrating faith and action. Let's see what God's Word says on the matter. So turn with me please to Hebrews chapter 11, beginning with verse 1. Now we're going to read through this text, and it'll take a few minutes, so you may want to kick your shoes off and turn off your cell phone if you haven't already done so. Hebrews chapter 11, and this is the text that describes faith and the way it then produces or drives obedience. Hebrews chapter 11, verse 1. Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. By faith, Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith, he was commended as a righteous man when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith, he still speaks even though he is dead. By faith, Enoch was taken from this life so that he did not experience death. He could not be found because God had taken him away. But before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith, it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. By faith, Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear, built an ark to save his family. And by his faith, he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. By faith, Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith, he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise, for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder was God. By faith, Abraham, even though he was past age and Sarah herself was barren, was enabled to become a father because he considered himself faithful, who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand of the seashore. And all these people were still living by faith when they died. They didn't receive the things promised, but they saw them and they welcomed them from a distance and they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they'd been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. By faith, Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. And Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from the dead. By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future. By faith, Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons and worshipped as he leaned on the top of his staff. By faith, Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones. By faith, Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born because they saw he was no ordinary child and they were not afraid of the king's edict. By faith, Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as a greater value than the treasures of Egypt because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith, he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger. He persevered because he saw him who is invisible. By faith, he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. By faith, the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land. But when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned. And by faith, the walls of Jericho fell after the people had marched around them for seven days. And by faith, the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised, who shut the mounds of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword, whose weakness was turned into strength, and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned. They were sawed in two. They were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted, and mistreated. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains and in caves and in holes in the ground. And these were all commended for their faith. Yet none of them received what had been promised, because God had planned something better for us, so that only together with us would they be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Let's bow our heads and pray, shall we? Heavenly Father, we believe, we pray that you would help our unbelief. You have taken us far. You have made us new creations, and we are not what we once were. However, we have far to go. It often seems that the closer we get to you, the farther away we are. I don't know why that is. I don't know why we sense that, because we know that your presence is real, and you never fail nor forsake your children, and you have promised to be with us always, and so for this we are grateful. Father, you've called us to be people of faith, and you've called us to live our faith in our daily lives, and you've called us to live our faith in a way that would be visible and tangible, and you've called us to live our life by faith in a way that would be visible and tangible so that you would be glorified. Father, be glorified in us today. Allow us, Father, we pray, to so live our lives that we would set aside the garbage of this world and the sin of our own hearts, and we would cling to you, and we would have lives shaped, truly shaped and directed by you. Thank you, Father, that you are fitting us and readying us for glory. For this we praise you and we give you glory. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
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