Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos
Pulpit Series Volume 18, Issue 10, March 30, 2008
Part VII “How To Have Real Faith”
James 2:14-26 “What does it profit, my brethren, though a man say he has faith and has no works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say to them, Depart in peace, be warmed and filled; notwithstanding you give them not the things they are in need of, how does that work? Even so faith, if it has not works, is dead, being alone. Yes, a man may say, you have faith, and I have works: show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God; you do well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But will you know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son on the altar? See how faith wrought with his works and by works faith was made perfect. And the scripture was fulfilled which says, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. You see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
The apostle Paul throughout the New Testament teaches that we are saved by faith alone. “By grace, through faith, we are saved.” Then James comes along and says, “It's not just faith, but faith and works.” Who is right, James or Paul?
Actually they are both right, because they are talking about different things.
Paul addresses legalism while James deals with carelessness saying “It doesn't matter what you do as long as you believe.”
When Paul uses the word “works” he's talking about Jewish laws. James on the other hand is talking about the lifestyle of a Christian.
Paul focuses on the root of salvation, what happens internally. James focuses on the fruit of salvation, what happens on the outside.
Paul is talking about “how to know you’re a Christian.” James is talking about “how to show you’re a Christian.”
Paul is talking about “how to become a believer”. James talks about “how to behave like a believer”.
I appreciate that James actually shows us five ways to tell if you’ve got real faith.
1. Real faith is not just something you say
Verse 14 “What good is it my brother if a man claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such ‘faith’ save him?”
It doesn't say he actually has faith, he just claims to have it. He talks about it.
Real faith is more than just talk. Jesus said, “Not everybody who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ is going to enter into heaven.”
2. Real faith is not just something you feel It’s more than emotions. You can be emotionally moved and never act on it.
Verse 15 “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him ‘Go, I wish you well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?”
If, after church, you’re getting into you car and you happen to slam your fingers in your car door, and as you’re standing there in agony, bleeding on your shoes, I walk up and say, “Man, I really feel for you!” Does that help? Real faith is more than just sympathy, feelings and emotion. Real faith takes action.
Know that James is talking about Christians here. When you become a part of God’s family, you take on some family responsibilities. A true believer cares about other believers.
I John 3:17 “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?”
· Who can count on you in a crisis?
· How many Christians have the freedom to call you up in the middle of the night if they are in an emergency?
I John 3:14 says that one of the proofs of salvation is that we love other Christians.
Real faith, James says, must lead me to share with others.
Verse 17 “In the same way, faith by itself if it's not accompanied by actions is dead.” If I don't feel like helping other Christians, my faith isn’t sick, it’s dead.
James is laying it on the line. He says, your faith has to be more than just something you say or feel.
3. Real faith is not just something you think For some people, faith is an intellectual matter to be studied, debated, talked over and discussed.
James imagines someone saying, “You’re into faith, I’m into works”. “Show me your faith without deeds and I will show you my faith by what I do.”
Real faith is visible. If you are a Christian, people should be able to see it. James says, “Show me”. Somebody said, “Faith is like calories. You can't see them but you can sure see the results.”
If you claim to be a Christian, I’ve a right to ask you to prove it by looking at your lifestyle.
It doesn't matter what I say. What counts are my actions. Real faith is more than just something you think. You can point it out and see it in people’s lives.
II Corinthians 5:17 “Any time a person becomes a Christian he becomes a new person inside, the old things have passed away. All things become new.” Not necessarily overnight, but they start becoming new.
How can somebody as big as God enter your life and it not change you?
4. Real faith is not just something you believe “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that, and shudder.” The Greek word is actually ‘to bristle’ - meaning ‘their hair stands up on end’.
There are a lot of people who have strong beliefs in God, the Bible, about Christ. They recite creeds and catechisms. James says, “big deal”! Just saying you believe in God is not enough to get you to heaven. Even the devil believes.
A lot of folks are going to miss heaven by 18 inches. They’ve got it in their head but not their heart.
5. Real faith is something you do
Verse 20 “You foolish men. 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. His faith and his actions were working together. His faith was made complete by what he did.”
You probably know the story. It was the ultimate test where God asked Abraham to give up his own son. He took his son up, cut the wood, built the altar and was ready to sacrifice his own son. But Abraham had said to his servant, “We will return”.
His works proved his faith. He held nothing back from God.
Our faith is not determined by
what we do or say,
it is demonstrated by what we do.
In a very real sense God is saying, talk is cheap. Put your money where your mouth is. Our faith is demonstrated by our actions. Actions speak louder than words.
An old boatman in Scotland had the job of taking passengers across a lake in his rowboat. One day, a passenger inquired concerning the oars the boatman was using. One oar had the word FAITH carved on it and the other WORKS. The old man said, “I’ll show you.” He put one oar into the water, the one marked FAITH and began to row. The boat just went in circles. Then he took the oar out and put in the one marked WORKS and began to row. The same thing happened only in the opposite direction. Then he picked up both oars, FAITH and WORKS placed them in the water and began to row. As he pulled these oars together, the boat began to move forward in a straight line. To the passenger who questioned the oars he said, “That is the same way in the Christian life - one is no good without the other.”James is not saying you work your way to heaven. Nor is he saying works bring salvation. But what he is saying is that works demonstrate our faith.
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, for a life of good works God has already prepared for us to do.” He has a plan for your life.
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