#9 Without Good Works Your Faith is Dead
Book of James Series
By Pastor Jim May
Tonight we are going to look at one of the oldest doctrinal battles to be found within the church. The battle to decide this issue has raged for centuries. It was an issue which brought turmoil and even dissention in the early church. The Apostle Paul called Peter on the carpet for this issue.
This was also a major issue during many years of Catholic dominated religious rule in Europe and the Mediterranean. Much of the pain and suffering that occurred during the Spanish, Portuguese, Roman and Medieval Inquisitions, when Christians were tortured and murdered at the hands of the church, after having been condemned by a tribunal of religious leaders, also dealt with this issue.
Then came the event that was the straw that broke the camels back and brought the issue into fine focus. It happened on October 31, 1517 when Martin Luther walked up to the front door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany and nailed up his 95 Thesis, serving notice on the religious hierarchy that their days of absolute rule had come to an end. That single act of rebellion, counted as heresy by the Catholic Church, triggered the great Protestant Reformation that has resulted in the myriad of denominations of the church in the world today.
Those 95 Thesis pointed to the act of indulgencies, or payment for sin. The church had declared for many years that a sinner could have his sins forgiven by paying penance, mostly in the form of money, to the church. In other words, you could buy your salvation from the priest by giving an appropriate offering. Martin Luther and many others disagreed with this practice and this teaching.
Some of you came out of that type of belief system. Some of you have paid to have your loved ones prayed out of purgatory and then found out that it was all a waste of time and money because purgatory doesn’t exist in this Age of Grace.
Some of you have recited memorized prayers and attended special services, or masses, that were held for the purpose of paying penance for sin.
Some of you at one time were convinced that a man could forgive your sin and that you could receive absolution just by confessing your sin to a man, or by receiving the communion host.
Some of you at one time were convinced that God had a spokesman on this earth who was completely infallible. Whatever that man said, (he is called the Vicar of Christ, meaning that he is authorized to perform the functions of God as his sole deputy on earth); it was the same as God himself speaking and whatever he said was done without question. Then you read where we have all come short of the glory of God and that there is no perfect man on the earth.
You also were taught that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was the Queen of Heaven and that if you prayed to her, then she could answer your prayer as quickly, or even quicker, than if you prayed to Jesus Christ. You could also have your prayers answered by praying and trusting in certain dead saints.
According to the Catholic faith in particular, there are literally hundreds of Patron Saints who have a direct impact upon certain areas of your life, but there are thousands of canonized saints to whom you can pray if you need help. According to this doctrine, every saint is there to help you all the time. With so many to mediate between you and God, it is no wonder than many people get confused and don’t pray at all. And who do you thank when, or if, an answer comes to your prayer?
Let me give you just a few name of some of the patron saints: Saint Alphonsus Ligouri – vocations and theologians; Saint Anne – Christian mothers, pregnant women or women in labor; Saint Antony the Abbot – patron saint of gravediggers, butchers and basketweavers; Saint Christopher – patron saint of travelers, sailors, people with epilepsy, bookbinders, gardeners and the weather; Saint Isadore of Seville – patron saint of computers, computer users and the internet – and the list goes on and on.
Those in the protestant world, by-in-large, look at these teachings and say, “how can can anyone believe in such things?” Well, the answer is that we will believe whatever we are taught, unless we study the Word of God for ourselves and find that we were taught wrong. Our final authority must always be the Word of God and not the traditions of men.
With only one verse from the Bible the protestant church has discredited all prayers to anyone other than Jesus Christ.
1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
Even though the argument has been going on for such a long time, there are still many who cling to both sides of the issue, and the arguments still abound today.
What is that doctrinal difference that has triggered so much suffering? It is the doctrine of salvation through grace and not by works. There are many, like us here at Victory Temple, who believe and understand that Word of God to say that we are not saved by works alone, but by faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ alone. Then there are many who believe that only by obeying the laws of the church can a soul be saved, even though they may worship Jesus as the Savior. Still yet, there are many who like to ride the fence on the issue and often change like a chameleon when faced by someone from either side.
There are a lot of people who say that they believe in salvation through faith in Jesus alone, and yet when you go to their church, you find yourself immediately face-to-face with a set of rules that the preacher has laid down and if you don’t obey those laws then your faith is dead.
Where do you stand on this issue tonight? Do you trust in good works to obtain a reward in Heaven; or is your faith in the blood of Jesus and its cleansing power to wash away your sin and make you righteous before God?
Think about it now – are good works necessary? Are they needed to please God? Are they needed for salvation? What is their purpose in your life if you don’t think that they save you?
Tonight we will examine these questions and endeavor to give you the answer according to the Word of God, especially through what James, the disciple, had to say under the anointing of the Holy Ghost as he penned the words of this epistle.
On one side of the argument we find people who strictly adhere to the church rules and regulations and they come under condemnation every time they fail in the slightest rule. There is very little freedom and very little victorious living if we try to live that way.
On the other side there are those who feel that works aren’t important at all. Therefore they live any way they want to because they have been convinced that once they accept Jesus as their Savior that no amount of sin can separate them from God again, so they live a very permissive lifestyle.
One critic said he had gone to many churches and heard the preacher say, "Don’t try to impress God with your works," or "Don’t attempt to please God with your merits," or "Don’t try to keep the rules and regulations and thus win your way." He looked around at all the slumbering members of the church who did nothing at all, and at the numerous Christians whose lives were lived in a totally casual manner, and asked himself, “I wonder who the preacher is talking to. It doesn’t look to me like anyone is trying to begin with.”
Another man was in the military and he was leaving to fight for his country when a minister said to him, "I shall pray constantly that you may win." The soldier replied: "I don’t see the necessity of your prayers. If God wants to give us victory, then He will do it without your prayers. And if it is our luck to lose, do you think your prayers could prevent this?" The minister thought for a moment and said, "All right. Take off your helmet. Take off your uniform. Put your rifle away. Go home and rest. It’s not necessary for you to fight. Nor is it necessary for the other soldiers to fight. If God intends to defeat the enemy, He is going to do it anyway without your help or your weapons." The soldier got the point. God helps those who fight, not those who do nothing.
You see, good works are a necessary part of your walk with the Lord, but don’t think that those good works alone will earn you one minute in Heaven. God expects good works from his people, but he expects you to trust in Jesus alone for your salvation.
We often find ourselves failing in good works though. No matter what church you go to you will find these things to be true:
1. We sing Sweet Hour of Prayer and are content with 5-10 minutes a day.
2. We sing Onward Christian Soldiers and wait to be drafted into His service.
3. We sing O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing and don’t use the one we have.
4. We sing There Shall be Showers of Blessing but do not come when it rains.
5. We sing Blest Be the Tie That Binds and let the least little offense sever it.
6. We sing I Love To Tell the Story and never mention it at all.
7. We sing Cast Thy Burden on the Lord and worry ourselves into a nervous breakdown.
8. We sing Throw Out the Lifeline and content ourselves with throwing out a fishing line.
Let’s look at the Book of James and see what the Bible has to say about this issue of faith versus works.
James 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
In order to establish the proper relationship between faith and works James begins by asking a question that demands a logical answer. The question is meant to show us that even though we have faith, if there are no good works as a fruit of our life, then what good is that faith in the end.
What James is saying here is that, if we truly have faith in Christ, then we will perform those things in our lives that prove that this faith exists. Faith in Jesus is an operative faith, not just dormant faith. If its really alive it will spur us into actions and those actions are our works.
Our works don’t make up our faith, but they do prove that our faith is alive and real.
James asks, “Can faith save that man who has no works to prove his faith is real” Does that man, who has no good works of righteousness, have a true faith in God?”
All through history there have been men who professed to have faith in Jesus and claimed to be Christians. But their profession was only in words because their lives were empty of good works. Their lives disproved their claim to faith.
Let’s use Satan himself as our example here. Satan has faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. He also has faith to believe that Jesus Is Lord and Savior. He not only has faith in these things, but he knows absolutely that they are fact.
But does Satan’s faith save him? No, it does not, because it is not saving faith. It is only head knowledge but not heartfelt acceptance. Though he believes and knows, yet he refuses to accept and repent. His existence and his works prove that his faith is not from the heart. His faith will not save him, only condemn him more.
Such it is with a man. We may convince ourselves that Jesus is God, but unless our works line up with that belief and our works prove our love for God, then our faith is in vain.
James 2:15-16, If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
To prove his point James says that it takes much more than just words of profession and words of comfort to prove that your faith is real – it takes action.
1 John 3:16-18, "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth."
If a member of God’s own family is dressed in rags, so that they cannot be clothed decently, or that they are hungry and cannot provide for themselves, then we must not just say to them, go be clothed, or go and be blessed.
Those are words that are empty. Real faith forces us to go to work and to do our best to provide for those in need as God enables us.
But always keep in mind that there must be a balance here too. There are many who will not help themselves but are only looking to live like a parasite on the good graces of anyone who will give to them. That’s when we must also remember what Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, "For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat."
We must be careful to not let those who are truly in need suffer because of those who live by begging. Sometimes it’s really hard to know what to do and all you can do is trust in the Lord and do your best. God will judge it all in the end. He will judge you for the motives of your heart and he will judge those who receive the blessings according to their motives as well.
James 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
Faith, without works to show it is alive, is dead faith. Dead faith is not true faith and cannot save anyone. It is like a lifeless body, when the soul has departed. This kind of faith can only exist in those who profess Christ but truly do not know him. They are still dead in trespasses and sin. Living faith, the kind that saves the soul because of its trust and belief in Christ, will always seek out ways to serve the Lord, and will always produce good works.
James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
If I want to know whether you are living or not I must examine what is coming out of your life. If you are alive you must eat, you must rest, you must work and you will sooner or later move around at least a little bit. People who are still, not breathing, not moving and have no signs of life are declared dead by medical doctors.
The same must hold true for dead faith in people as well. If there is nothing coming out of your life to show that Jesus is alive in you, then we can only assume that your faith is dead and that Jesus is not living in you at all.
The question remains though – what is the proper relationship between faith and works in the saving of a soul?
Do works save us? NO – but if we have no good works then we have dead faith.
Does faith save us? YES – but only if that faith is alive and not dead, and living faith will always produce good works in us.
I quickly discredit the man or woman who walks into the church and declares their great faith in God, but there is nothing in their lives to show that they truly love God. Their faith is dead faith and it produces only a dead spirit. There is no life there at all.
Likewise, a man or woman who enters the church and says, “Look at my good works”, and yet I see no signs of Jesus in their lives, will be judged the same way. Works, without proper faith in Jesus, doesn’t mean anything either and we must judge them as dead.
But, if a man or woman says that they have true faith in Christ, and their good works follow after them for all to see, then we must judge that they are truly Born Again.
The answer is simply this: True faith is a living faith that will produce good works. Why? It’s because true faith is based upon our love and trust in Jesus Christ. If we love the Lord, then we will want to please him, and the best way we can please him is by producing the works of righteousness that he commands us to do in His Word.
Secondly, Good works doesn’t earn one minute of salvation, nor does it give you a ticket to Heaven. Good works are an offspring of saving faith and will be rewarded in Heaven, but you can only get there to receive that reward if your faith is in Jesus Christ alone.
Matthew 7:16-23, "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
By their fruits ye shall know them – by their good works born of true faith, you shall know those who love the Lord, but all the good works we can do won’t mean a thing unless we first accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and obey the Word of God in living a holy life before Him.
