Faith You Can See – Part 1
James 2:14-26 (14-18)
November 9, 2014
As you know we are working through the book of James
And we are listening as he reveals what a real Christian looks like.
• We know that they count trials as joy
• We know that they persevere through temptation
• We know that they hear the word of God and do it
• We know that their religion is not self-serving
• And we know that they don’t show favoritism
Tonight we continue working our way through James’ list
And I think it is obvious that James ups the stakes a little here.
You can feel his passion grow as we dive into the middle of this second chapter.
Tonight James specifically targets your faith.
He wants to know if it is real or not.
And it all stems on this one belief of James:
FAITH IS NOT INVISIBLE
I don’t know where the idea came from
That all spiritual attributes were invisible.
People just sort of want to spiritualize everything and make it all personal and private.
But that just isn’t Biblical.
The Christian life is a life that is to be put on display.
No verse sums that up better than:
Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
Philippians 2:14-15 “Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,”
We are lights shining in darkness.
You never were meant to take your light and hide it under a basket.
Your faith is not meant to be invisible.
And that is precisely what James is talking about here
Throughout the end of chapter 2.
Look down at verse 18:
“But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; SHOW me your faith without the works, and I will SHOW you my faith by my works.”
Look down at verse 22:
“YOU SEE that faith was working with his works…”
Look at verse 24:
“YOU SEE that man is justified by works and not by faith alone.”
It is clear that James is talking about FAITH YOU CAN SEE
Now it is true that in many cases the Pharisees were hypocrites who put on an outward display of religion that did not match their heart.
They had works, but they had no faith.
But don’t let their bad example push you to faith with no works
That is the opposite extreme and it’s just as wrong.
While you can have works without faith
You cannot have faith without works.
And that is where James is taking us here.
There are three main points to this passage
As we examine different types of faith.
#1 EFFORTLESS COMPASSION REVEALS DEAD FAITH
James 2:14-18
James wastes no time with two very penetrating and important questions.
“What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works?”
You really need to key in on the word “says” there.
• James is referring to the person who claims to be a Christian.
• James is referring to the person who claims to believe in Christ.
They SAY they believe, but if it wasn’t for their outward confession,
You’d have no idea that they were a Christian.
They are the type of person who says, “I’m a Christian”
And it really sort of shocks you because you would have never guessed it.
And James says, “What use is it..?”
Another way to ask that is,
• “How much value does it have?”
• “What is it worth?”
• “What can it accomplish?”
And if you want to know specifically what James is getting at,
Look at the next question:
“Can that faith save him?”
Now we’re getting to the heart of the issue.
You have a verbal faith that is void of any other evidence…
What can that faith accomplish?
Well, here’s a few things it can do
• It can make you feel better about yourself
• It can also get those evangelistic nuts off your back
• It can help your reputation around other Christians
• It might even gain you access into Christian circles
The reality is that there is value in faith that is only verbal.
The problem is that it has no eternal value.
For all the things that it can do for you,
One thing it can’t do is save your soul from hell.
It may gain you access into the church, but it will not gain you access into heaven.
It may get the evangelist off your back, but it won’t keep you out of hell.
Namely because it is not the kind of faith that God accepts.
James already alluded to this earlier:
James 1:27 “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
Even in that verse James revealed that there is a definite MEASURABLE ACTION side that is required in our faith or our religion.
He spoke of VISITING orphans and widows and KEEPING oneself unstained.
And that is the type of religion that God accepts.
But religion or faith that has no action and is not measurable
Is not acceptable to Him.
And so it is not a faith that can save.
And please let this sobering reality sink in a little tonight.
THERE IS SUCH A THING AS FAITH THAT CANNOT SAVE
And man how many times did we see that type of faith in the Bible?
John 12:42-43 “Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.”
What was that?
• Well salvation requires confessing Jesus as Lord.
• So I don’t know what their faith was, but it wasn’t saving faith.
Here’s another:
John 2:23-25 “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”
Again, there is a group of “believers”.
I don’t know what type of faith they had, but whatever it was,
It was clear that Jesus didn’t accept it.
He would not give Himself to them.
John 8:31-32 “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
There again, they claimed belief but Jesus wouldn’t buy it.
He wanted to see obedience.
It is worthy to note that later in that very chapter he revealed that those same people:
• Seek to kill Him (37)
• They do not accept His word (37)
• They cannot hear His word (43)
• They are children of Satan (44)
• They are not of God (47)
So again, we are confronted by people who “believe” or people
Who have some kind of faith, but they still are not saved.
I don’t know about other denominations, but Baptists need to hear this.
In our quest to simplify the gospel
We came up with those clever little A,B,C’s of the faith.
(You know – Admit, Believe, Confess)
And it got to such a point that if a person would say
They believed in Jesus, then we would pronounce them a Christian.
And then because we believe in security of the believer someone would tell them, “You’re saved and don’t worry, you can never lose it.”
DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO SPELL FALSE ASSURANCE?
Baptists should, because it is has become
One of our main contributions to American Christianity.
Friends – Just because someone says they believe in Jesus
Does not mean they are saved.
Just because you believe in Jesus does not mean you are saved.
Sentimental faith is not enough.
It must be a divine, supernatural faith, God accepted faith.
HOW DO I KNOW IF I HAVE THAT KIND OF FAITH?
When that faith arrived, did it change your life?
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
If it didn’t change your life, then it isn’t saving faith.
And that is what James is trying to say.
Your faith cannot be this surface only intellectual claim,
It must be verifiable.
It has to be something that can be seen.
HOW ABOUT A “FOR INSTANCE”?
(James likes hypothetical illustrations)
“If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food”
Now there is the hypothetical
1) You have “a brother or sister”
• This isn’t even some pagan
• This isn’t even your enemy
• This is a fellow “brother or sister”
2) And they are “without clothing”
Look at that
James doesn’t say they don’t have the latest fashions,
He says they are “without clothing”
They are either exposed to the elements
Or exposed in an indecent manner.
This isn’t someone with a discontentment this is someone with a need.
And that isn’t all.
3) They also need “daily food”
Now in our culture we don’t know much about “daily food”
We have deep freezers and refrigerators and our food is packed full of preservatives that let it survive on the shelf for hundreds of years.
But when the Bible says “daily food” it means food for today.
They have nothing to eat.
They are a fellow believer, they are naked and they are hungry.
That is a real situation.
And I shouldn’t have to tell you what a Christian should do there.
The word is COMPASSION
And Scripture is clear about it.
Look at the Old Testament:
Exodus 23:10-11 “You shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield, but on the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the beast of the field may eat. You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.”
God demanded compassion to poor, and that wasn’t even really asking for that much – bare minimum to say the least.
Listen to John the Baptist:
Luke 3:11 “And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.”
Listen to Jesus:
Matthew 25:34-36 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’”
Or:
Matthew 9:35-38 “Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”
Listen to the apostles:
Galatians 2:9-10 “and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. “They only asked us to remember the poor — the very thing I also was eager to do.”
Look at the early church:
Acts 2:44-45 “And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.”
Acts 4:32-35 “And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.”
So at this point everyone is fairly clear on what a Christian should do for “a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food.”
You should give them some of your clothing
And give them some of your food.
That is obvious.
But here is what the person with fake faith did.
(16) “and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,”
Your answer to their dilemma was
To SPEAK A BLESSING OVER THEM
There is some more of that WORD-FAITH junk
We see floating around today.
How many TV preachers have we heard do the exact same thing through their programs?
• We see some preacher dressed to the nines,
• Standing on some elaborate stage,
• Asking for offerings of money from the poor
• In return he speaks a prophecy of blessing over them.
• “I bless your finances in the name of Jesus”
• “I proclaim food in your pantry”
• “I declare clothes in your closet”
• “I speak favor into your bank account”
But if you’ll pay attention the exchange of money
Between them and the poor is all flowing the wrong direction.
They should be sending out checks, not receiving them.
Now granted they are some of the easy examples,
But any time we bless people
But ignore their needs it is the same thing.
And look, I do want to differentiate between people who have a sense of entitlement who are just disgruntled and those who are really in need.
It is true that Scripture tells us that the brother who won’t work is sinning
And needs to be disciplined not provided for.
But at the same time we are talking about the legitimate need
And the fact that true faith always helps that need.
I remember a missionary story I heard about a mission group in a third world country attending a church in need of financial help.
I don’t recall the need, but the solution of one of the team members was, “We’ll pray that God will provide the money that you need.” Instantly a different member of the group responded, “God has provided! Everyone on the mission team get out your wallet!”
But stories like that are not the norm.
And James is frustrated.
Do you want to know about useless faith?
“one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?”
What you did for that poor brother is just about as pointless
As telling God you believe in Him.
It isn’t verifiable – it isn’t real
And to that James makes a solid point.
(17) “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.”
You have faith that consists of effortless compassion.
James as a word for that kind of faith – “DEAD”
I don’t know what you have, but it isn’t saving faith.
• You have religion without compassion
• You have religion without love
• You have a belief that has thus far been unable to rid you of selfishness and fill you with divine love.
If you don’t have measurable compassion for the poor,
Then you have a major problem.
1 John 3:17 “But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?”
Or how about this story?
Luke 10:25-37 “And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” And he answered, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE.” But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. “And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. “Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. “But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. “On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’ “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”
Now there was a guy who wanted to know the same thing
We are talking about.
“Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
(Notice Jesus did not say, “just believe”)
Instead that man realized that selfless love was the requirement
And that birthed the story of the Good Samaritan.
And again you get the point.
Faith that is void of compassion is not saving faith.
AND HERE IS THE KICKER
If all you have is verbal faith with no works
ANYONE CAN SHOOT A HOLE IN THAT!
(18) “But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
This isn’t James challenging you,
This is James giving you another hypothetical.
James says, “lets suppose all you have is that verbal faith that is void of any measurable compassion.”
You claim to be a believer, thought it is hardly evident.
Do you know how easy it is to prove you a fraud?
“someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
In other words, all someone has to do to discredit your faith
Is walk up to you and say, “Do you have faith?”
You’d say, “Yes”
And they say, “Show me”
Perhaps you answered, “That’s not possible for faith is spiritual and private and invisible.”
And then they will answer, “I will show you my faith by my works.”
This man basically said – “Put up or ___________”
DO YOU SEE THE PROBLEM?
You have a faith that cannot be verified
This does no good for your mission in the world
This does no good for your eternal hope of heaven
Yesterday Carrie and I bought a new vehicle (hardly new, but new to us)
• We had been approved for a loan before we went,
• But once we decided to buy the car we had to activate the loan.
• At one point during the process a man from the bank said we need to put you
through a verification process. We need you to prove you are who you
say you are.
• They asked me to verify the ages of Bryan and Cheryl Mosley
• Now that wasn’t a hard question, any genuine and true son ought to know
those facts.
But suppose I couldn’t answer,
Do you think they are going to loan me the money?
Nope – because my identify would not be verifiable.
And this is precisely the problem.
We have all these people today claiming to be children of God
And expecting to be effective in their witness
And that they have access to heaven when they die.
BUT THEIR FAITH IS NOT VERIFIABLE – IT IS DEAD
And James wants to know – can you verify your faith?
DO YOU HAVE SIMPLE MEASURABLE COMPASSION?
Luke 6:30-35 “Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. “Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. “If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. “If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.”
Jeremiah 22:16 “He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy; Then it was well. Is not that what it means to know Me?” Declares the LORD.”
It is measurable faith and a verifiable relationship.
Now there are two more that James has for us over the remainder of the chapter, but I think it is valuable to simply let this one sink in.
Is my faith verbal or verifiable?
Do I have to tell people I am a Christian, or can they see it in my actions?
And if you want an action to examine tonight,
Look at your compassion on those less fortunate.
God loves the poor
John the Baptist defended the
Jesus loved the poor
The apostles remembered the poor
The early churched helped the poor
If we don’t (especially our brothers and sisters)
Then I don’t know how we make a claim to be one with them.
Now you should also understand that
This is not a sermon about going out and helping the poor.
You know,
• You hear this sermon,
• Fall under conviction
• Run out and buy a bunch of non-perishable items for the Parks Group food drive
• Just so you can feel good about yourself.
This sermon is not about helping the poor, it’s about faith.
And if your faith has yet to produce genuine measurable compassion,
I’m not telling you to give to the poor,
I’m telling you to question your faith.
The issue is not the poor here,
It is whether or not you have a faith that will bring about salvation.
If so far in your Christian life you’ve said you have faith, but you’ve had no works, what kind of faith do you really think you have?
You don’t need to add works – you need to add genuine faith.
(it will add the works)
Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
