Faith You Can See – Part 2
James 2:14-26 (19-26)
November 16, 2014
Well last time we met we started looking at
This very penetrating passage in the book of James.
James is concerned about one thing primarily, and that is that you
“BE REAL”
It is important to him that those who claim to follow Jesus actually live like Jesus.
• He wants them to count their trials as joy
• He wants them to walk in wisdom
• He wants them to endure through temptation
• He wants them to hear the word of God and do it
• He wants them to serve the least
• He wants them to not show favoritism
And obviously those are all attributes of Christ.
And from James’ perspective, those aren’t just things Jesus taught,
That is exactly how James saw Jesus live His entire life.
And now that James has come to the faith
He expects other Christians to walk like Christ.
AND IN THIS PASSAGE JAMES IS TALKING ABOUT YOUR FAITH.
And the main point to this passage is that
If you have faith, it ought to be evident.
Your faith ought to be verifiable.
James wanted nothing of this concept of a “private faith” or a “private relationship”
• James understood that true light is not hid under a bushel
• James understood that true salt was meant to be tasted
• James understood that as Christians our faith should be evident to all.
And if it isn’t, then maybe you don’t have genuine faith.
And we even talked about a little last week that
THERE IS SUCH A THING AS FAITH THAT DOES NOT SAVE.
• We saw in John 2 those “believers” whom Jesus would not entrust Himself to.
• We saw in John 8 those “believers” who turned out to be children of the devil.
• We saw in John 12 those “believers” who would not publicly confess Him.
In all of those passage we saw people who claimed to “believe” in Jesus,
But their works clearly evidenced that whatever they had, it wasn’t faith.
And this has always been a real “hot-button” issue with me,
Especially since I lived 11 years of my life just like that.
At 8 years old I asked Jesus into my heart.
• Did I believe He was real? Yes
• Did I believe He died on the cross? Yes
• Would I tell you I believed in Him? Yes
But I wasn’t saved until I was 19.
(even though countless people would tell me I was)
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN YOUR SALVATION OCCURRED?
That is easy
The presence of the Holy Spirit, and the evidence of a changed life.
We have done people a real disservice in Baptist circles in that all we really every ask people is “do you believe in Jesus?”
And when they say “Yes” we say, “Then you are saved.”
Will it surprise you if I tell you that claiming to believe in Jesus
Is NOT sufficient proof of salvation?
I mean, James is going to prove that here in just a second:
(19) “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”
Believing that Jesus lived, died, rose, and ascended
Only goes so far as to put you in the company of the demons.
Claiming to believe is NOT the Biblical evidence of a saved life.
The presence of the Holy Spirit is.
Romans 8:14 “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
2 Corinthians 13:5 “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you — unless indeed you fail the test?”
The presence of the Holy Spirit is the validation of
Whether or not your faith is saving faith.
Ephesians 1:13-14 “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”
Genuine saving faith results in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
And here is the important part.
The Holy Spirit will 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.”
My point to all that is this.
• Simple belief in Jesus is not what we are looking for.
• We are looking for a life transformed by the indwelling Holy Spirit.
That is how we know a person is saved, not by their claims.
Now we started this concept last week as we looked at the first point of James.
#1 EFFORTLESS COMPASSION REVEALS DEAD FAITH
James 2:14-18
Here was a person who “says he has faith but he has no works”
And James wants to know “Can that faith save him?”
In other words, do you really suppose a faith that doesn’t evidence itself in a changed life is a faith strong enough to save your soul?
You shouldn’t
And then James gave an example of this type of faith.
(15-16) “If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and 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?”
James gives a hypothetical situation where you have a genuine believer
Who is totally void of daily essentials for living.
This isn’t a discontent brother, this is a poor brother.
And he needs enough to get by today.
But instead of giving him what is necessary, you say, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,”
Instead of helping him, you chose to speak a blessing over him.
Now if you want the full effect of James’ point, reverse the roles.
Let yourself be the starving naked brother and you go to someone for help and they say, “Go and may God bless you”
SO WHAT DID THEY DO FOR YOU?
(nothing)
Then comes James’ point:
“EVEN SO faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.”
If your faith isn’t verifiable by works, then it is nothing.
It is as useless as a blessing to a starving man.
Furthermore it is easy to punch a hole in your faith.
• Because anyone can come up to you and say, “So you have faith? SHOW ME”
• Now you can answer, “No, my faith is a private affair.”
• And they will answer, “I will show you my faith by my works.”
So James’ first point is clear.
There is a verbal faith that has no power at all.
It is just about as powerful as effortless compassion.
It is a DEAD faith.
And we covered that last Sunday night.
Tonight we want to move on to James’ next point.
#2 EMPTY CONFESSION REVEALS USELESS FAITH
James 2:19-20
James is still speaking of that faith with no works.
He is talking about that man who “says he has faith but he has no works.”
And James really squares in on the religious here.
He is referring to people who make an outward claim “that God is one”
Where did he get that statement?
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
Israel was steeped in a world of polytheism.
All of their neighbors believed in numerous gods
Even in Egypt (where they had just left)
There were various gods for almost everything.
And God told Israel – There is one God, Me! And you should give Me all your love.
So a good Jew quickly learned that “God is one”
Or that there is only one God.
James’ problem was not their lack of belief in Deuteronomy 6:4,
It was in their LACK OF adherence to Deuteronomy 6:5
In which they were to love God with all their heart, soul, and mind.
That was the problem.
And it is a real problem even today.
People all over our culture, people all over our churches who say,
“I believe in God”
James says “You do well;”
Of course the problem is this:
“the demons also believe”
I’ll tell you something about Satan and his demons.
They are monotheistic.
• They believe in the one true God.
• They know God is real.
• Satan is more sure of the nature and work of Christ than anyone.
If you tell a demon there is only one God, they will agree.
But where a condemned demon goes even farther than most who claim to believe in God today, at least they “shudder”
At least they fear God.
Matthew 8:29-31 “And they cried out, saying, “What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” Now there was a herd of many swine feeding at a distance from them. The demons began to entreat Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.”
Mark 5:7 “and shouting with a loud voice, he said, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!”
Those demons believed in Jesus, they believed in the judgment,
They knew there was only one God – they even swore by Him.
And James’ concern is that most of the “believers” he sees
Don’t even do that.
(20) “But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?”
And boy does James hit the nail on the head!
What he reveals is precisely the problem
People are unwilling to “recognize”
That faith without works cannot save.
People so badly want to pronounce their friends and family “saved” simply because they claim to believe.
But their friend of family member
• Exhibits no love of Christ,
• No faithfulness to His church,
• No commitment to His word,
• No desire to share His truth,
• No concern for His commands.
• No evidence of His Spirit
• No hunger for His righteousness
But they hold relentlessly to the fact that one time in VBS as a child
They claimed to believe and was even baptized.
They are unwilling to even consider the possibility
That their faith may not be genuine.
And James says that is “foolish”
That is to make a mockery out of faith
That is to disregard the requirements of God
That is to dispense false assurance by the bucket loads
And attitude like that won’t glorify God or save the lost – it is foolish!
Instead you ought to recognize what Scripture teaches,
And that is that genuine saving faith is accompanied by works.
1 John 2:3-6 “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”
John 15:5-8 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.”
Deuteronomy talked of loving God, well that is evidenced by works too.
John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”
John 15:10 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.”
1 John 5:1-3 “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.”
2 John 6 “And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.”
And the fact of the matter is, that God doesn’t just expect some sort of intellectual sentimental faith from you, He expects works.
Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
Titus 2:11-14 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”
And if you don’t have those works, I don’t see any way in the world
You can actually believe your faith is real.
In fact it would be “foolish” to assume it is.
James says the faith that you have is “useless”
Effortless Compassion reveals Dead Faith
Empty Confession reveals Useless Faith
#3 EVIDENT CONVICTIONS REVEAL PERFECT FAITH
James 2:21-26
Now here comes the fun part of the text.
(In fact these verses nearly kept the book of James out of the New Testament)
On the surface it can seem very contradicting
To other passages of Scripture.
For example:
(21) “Was not Abraham our father justified by works..?
Romans 4:1-5 “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.” Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,”
Paul said Abraham was justified by faith,
And James just said he was justified by works.
(24) “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.”
Romans 3:28 “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”
And if we wanted to go farther we could talk about how both Abraham and Rahab are listed in Hebrews 11 in that “Faith Hall of Fame”
About those people the writer of Hebrews said:
Hebrews 11:1-2 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval.”
The writer of Hebrews said they gained approval by their faith.
And yet James here says it is by works.
You have to admit it appears to be quite a contradiction.
But it isn’t.
In fact I would go so far as to tell you that Paul, James, and the writer of Hebrews would all stand in perfect agreement with one another.
TURN TO: HEBREWS 11
Now you know the writer takes you through
Example after example of people with faith.
Let me ask you a question as we look over this group of people.
HOW DO YOU KNOW THEY HAD FAITH?
Abel (4) – “Abel OFFERED to God a better sacrifice”
Enoch (5) – “he OBTAINED the witness…”
Noah (7) – “PREPARED an ark”
Abraham (8) – “OBEYED by going out”
Abraham (9) – “LIVED as an alien”
Sarah (10) – “CONCEIVED”
Abraham (17) – “OFFERED up Isaac”
Isaac (20) – “BLESSED Jacob and Esau”
Jacob (21) – “BLESSED each one of the sons of Joseph & WORSHIPED”
Joseph (22) – “GAVE ORDERS concerning his bones”
Moses’ Parents (23) – “HID Moses”
Moses (24) – “REFUSED to be called the son of…”
Israelites (29) – “the PASSED through the Red Sea”
Rahab (31) – “she had WELCOMED the spies”
And the writer goes on and on.
DO YOU CATCH THE POINT?
The writer of Hebrews certainly believed that it was by faith
That the saints of old gained approval before God.
But he was under no misconception that their faith
Was some sort of empty, useless, dead, intellectual claim.
Their faith had weight, it was verifiable, you could see it.
And Paul would have been right on board with this.
I read it to you earlier, but Paul said:
2 Corinthians 13:5 “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you — unless indeed you fail the test?”
Well what do you think you were supposed to test?
What do you think you were supposed to look at?
All of these men believed in verifiable faith.
SO HOW DO YOU SETTLE THE APPARENT CONTRADICTION?
Here it is:
Both of those men would wholeheartedly agree
That you are justified before God by faith.
What James wants you to know is that you don’t have works,
Then you don’t have the type of faith that justifies.
When James talks about being justified by works, he is not talking about how to be saved, but rather, how to tell if your faith is real.
And that is what he is about to show you.
He gives two examples.
(21-24) “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.”
James first brings up that famous event in Abraham’s life.
He brings up the event where Abraham offered up Isaac on the altar.
James says that when Abraham did that, “the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.”
In other words, what Abraham did on Mt. Moriah
Proves that Abraham really did believe.
Now we’ve been in Genesis for a while now,
But turn back with me and let me remind you of the time frame here.
TURN TO: GENESIS 15
(Read 15:2-6)
That is the day when Abraham was saved. We know that because that is the day that God gave him righteousness.
Now, God can see the heart and so He knew Abraham’s faith was real.
But if God hadn’t said so, based on that passage, how would you know that Abraham really believed God?
You wouldn’t.
In fact, if God hadn’t said so, you’d be really concerned about Abraham
Based on what is coming next.
• Chapter 16 he goes in to Hagar
• Chapter 17 he laughs when God tells him Sarah will conceive
• Chapter 20 he passes off Sarah again
• Chapter 21 he tries to keep Ishmael even though Sarah knows he has to leave
I mean let’s face it, if God hadn’t said he was justified, we would see nothing in his life that gave us any indication that it was true.
But then we come to CHAPTER 22, and God gives that command to sacrifice Isaac, which Abraham does.
And look down to verses 10-12
Did Abraham save himself when he offered up Isaac?
No, Abraham proved that he was saved.
In that act of obedience “the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.”
And to that James says, (24) “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.”
That is to say, WORKS ARE ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY
AS A VALIDATION OF YOUR FAITH.
If you don’t have works, then you don’t have faith.
And that is where we place things like baptism, or evangelism, or assembling with God’s people, or reading your Bible, or prayer.
None of those things can save you regardless of how often you do them.
But, if you don’t do those things, can you really claim to have faith?
I’ll never tell a person that they need to get baptized so they can be saved,
But a person who claims to be saved that won’t get baptized, is confused.
Do you see?
Well, let’s look at the next example:
James is making that same point again, “In the same way…”
(25-26) “In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”
Take Rahab for an example.
She “received the messengers”
Did that save her before God? No
(It did save her from destruction)
But Rahab’s actions were because of her faith.
Let me show you:
Joshua 2:8-13 “Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, and said to the men, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you. “For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. “When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. “Now therefore, please swear to me by the LORD, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father’s household, and give me a pledge of truth, and spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, with all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.”
She believed, she trembled, and her action proves that.
Her faith was proved real.
And the reality is that James could bring up every single person
In the faith hall of fame and ask the exact same question.
• Was not Able justified by works when he offered up a better sacrifice than
Cain?
• Was not Enoch justified by works when he lived righteous in a pagan land?
• Was not Noah justified by works when he built the ark?
Do you see?
Through their works “faith was perfected”
And then comes the conclusion:
(26) “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”
And what an analogy.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT WE CALL A “BODY WITHOUT THE SPIRIT”?
A corpse.
And with that you understand his point.
“What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?
It is a question geared at the mass of people who claim to be Christians,
Who claim to believe in God,
But whose lives have no verifiable evidence of that claim.
And the question is,
Are you prepared to ride that type of faith into eternity?
Tonight let me simply encourage in this manner.
• Don’t say you trust Christ – trust Him
• Don’t say you believe God – believe Him
Do what He says, follow His leading, give Him control
Don’t proclaim your faith, practice it!
Otherwise you are nothing more than a dead body
Covered in makeup
That “sure looks good”
But has no actual life in it whatsoever.
