How To Have Real Faith Series

A. We have been hearing a lot during the past year about “FAKE NEWS.”

1. FAKE NEWS is either a news story that has been completely FABRICATED or EMBELLISHED to the point where there is very little TRUTH left in the story.

2. I am always double-checking NEWS STORIES that I see on FACEBOOK or on GOOGLE NEWS to

try to DETERMINE if, indeed, it is REAL.

ILLUSTRATION:

I am very careful in REPOSTING news stories on FACEBOOK and using SERMON ILLUSTRATIONS that are supposed to be REAL—to be TRUE—when, in fact, I can’t PROVE it. If it’s a TRUE STORY I will tell you, if I don’t know for sure I will usually preface it by saying something like: “There’s a story that was told…”

B. In our text, James is COMPARING the differences between REAL FAITH and FAKE FAITH.

1. There’s a lot of RELIGIOUS PHONIES out there—people who SAY they are Christians but certainly

don’t LIVE like it.

2. So, James has set out to show his readers the difference between REAL and COUNTERFEIT Christians—AUTHENTIC believers and FAKE believers.

C. This passage is one of the most CONTROVERSIAL and MISUNDERSTOOD in the book of James.

1. In fact, it is so CONTROVERSIAL that some believe that it directly CONTRADICTS the writings of

the Apostle Paul to the Roman church regarding Christian FAITH.

a. The controversy is whether we are “saved by faith” or “saved by what we do (works)”.

b. Romans 3:28, 4:1-3 (READ) and James 2:20-24 (READ)

COMMENT:

Do you see the PROBLEM? At first glance, it does look like Paul and James are teaching contradictory CONCEPTS. And if that’s the case, they both can’t be TRUE.

ILLUSTRATION:

Martin Luther who left the Catholic Church because of their emphasis on WORKS SALVATION found what he thought was a solution to the PROBLEM between Paul’s and James’ writing. When he read Romans 3:28 he wrote in the margin of his Bible “Sola Fide” which means “Faith Alone.” Then he wrote that the book of James SHOULD NOT be part of the Bible.

D. James’ writings are just as INSPIRED by God as are Paul’s WRITINGS—there are no contradictions.

1. Let’s analyze what Paul and James are teaching:

EXPLAIN GRAPH:

Paul (Romans 3:28) & James (James 2:24)

Problem: “Legalism” “Laxity”

Works: Jewish laws Christian lifestyle

Focus: “Root of salvation” “Fruit of salvation”

(What to do to be saved) (Because I am saved)

Purpose: How to BECOME How to BEHAVE

a Christian as a Christian

2. Paul was dealing with the problem of people seeking to be JUSTIFIED by God—to be SAVED—on the basis of their WORKS of GOODNESS.

a. We cannot EARN our SALVATION by our GOODNESS, or WORK our way into HEAVEN.

b. Ephesians 2:8-9- “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

3. James was dealing with the problem of people who “claim” to have FAITH, and therefore already SAVED, but who exhibit no EVIDENCE of that FAITH in an ACTIVE Christian life.

a. FAITH always requires ACTION.

b. We are not SAVED by our WORKS, but because we are SAVED we involve ourselves in the

WORK of the Lord

c. Ephesians 2:10- “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,

which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

COMMENT:

GOOD WORKS are the natural FRUIT of REAL SAVING FAITH in our lives. So, if our lives do not evidence CHRISTIAN SERVICE and GODLY CONDUCT and LOVE for PEOPLE, then we have need to question whether we have REAL FAITH at all, and that is James’ point precisely!

MESSAGE:

I. DEAD FAITH- James 2:14-17 (READ)

A. The first thing we must point out is that this “DEAD FAITH” that James talks about IS NOT FAITH

AT ALL. It is not REAL FAITH—it is FAKE!

1. It’s not James who calls this “FAITH”.

a. In v. 14 James points out that a man “claims to have faith”, but he is asking, “Okay, show

me.”

b. The kind of FAITH that the man claims to have substitutes WORDS FOR DEEDS—TALK FOR ACTION. Yet, TALK IS CHEAP.

2. It is no different from what Jesus said in Matthew 7:21- “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he WHO DOES THE WILL of my Father who

is in heaven.”

COMMENT:

Just because a person claims to be a CHRISTIAN doesn’t make him a Christian. Not everybody who WEARS a CROSS around their NECK or has a JESUS FISH on the back of their

CAR, is a BELIEVER.

It’s only by TURNING your LIFE over to God through Christ, SERVING Him, DOING His will, OBEYING His commandments . . . will a person be SAVED.