045 The Evidence of Faith
James 2:14-26
May 20, 2018
We have now completed our doctrinal study of the SOLAS,
But before we wrap up the study completely
I do think it important to cover a bit of the application side of this study.
And namely I just want to make sure you understand that
These SOLAS should result in the sanctified life.
If your understanding of the SOLAS
Leads you to more apathetic and sinful life
Then it is obvious you did not understand them
And you most certainly have not believed them.
Those SOLAS represent the truth of the gospel
And the gospel should produce righteous living.
Ephesians 1:4 “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.”
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
Or even:
1 Thessalonians 4:3a “For this is the will of God, your sanctification”
It doesn’t get much clearer than that.
Now last week we quickly looked at the reality of SOLA GRATIA and what it should produce.
Paul said it clearly:
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.”
Grace should produce godliness.
If it doesn’t then you have missed the point of grace.
Tonight I want us to look at another SOLA and what is should produce;
Namely SOLA FIDE.
And tonight we look at this passage in James to remind us
That while we are saved by faith alone, true faith is never alone.
It is always accompanied by works; namely works of righteousness.
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.
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
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.
And James says, “What use is it..?”
Another way to ask that is,
• “How much value does your confession have?”
• “What is your worth?”
• “What can your 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 actually alluded to this earlier in his epistle:
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
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.”
We know that true faith requires confession, so whatever it meant that they “believed” it certainly did not result in salvation.
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.
So again, we are confronted by people who “believe” or people
Who have some kind of faith, but they still are not saved.
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”
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.
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.
You are to care for your brother.
You are to treat him as you would want him to treat you.
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.
AND SUCH IDIOCY FRUSTRATES JAMES
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?”
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, though 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
This is NOT what SOLA FIDE was pointing to.
Effortless Compassion Reveals Dead Faith
#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
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 or 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.”
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.”
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.
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 justification of your soul,
He IS talking about justification of your faith.
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.
We remember Abraham’s salvation:
Genesis 15:6 “Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”
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.
Genesis 22:10-12 “Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
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.
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, who claim SOLA FIDE,
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?
And that is also the expectation of SOLA FIDE.
The Reformers fought to the death for the belief
That we are justified by faith alone,
But they always held to the belief that it must be real faith.
And faith is verified by works, namely righteousness.
