Saving Your Soul
Bob Gomez
James 2:17-20
The X Movement
A free copy of this message on video can be obtained at
www.xmovement.net.
Introduction:
A. Turn with me in your bibles to James, chapter 2.
1. We’re going to look today, at what it means to have real, saving faith.
a. This is such an important topic because the eternal state of our souls depends of what kind of faith we have.
- This is one area we don’t want to be fuzzy on.
b. Because the fact is that we are all going to die one day and stand before God in judgement.
- And everybody wants to make it in... at least most people, they want to go to Heaven... they want eternal life... they want to pass.
c. And since we don’t know when that day of death is, we want to be ready.
- We need to be sure... we need a salvation that is secure based on what God says in his word.
- Not based on what we made up... or what we picked up from this religion, or that tradition, or our parents.
d. This isn’t Burger King... we can’t have it our way.
- God is very clear about what true saving faith should look like, and what it doesn’t.
- And it’s really not all that complicated... so it’s important that we get it right.
- Look James 2:17-20.
I. James 2:17-20 (NLT) "So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”
19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?" (NLT)
A. If you ask most people today, they would say that they believe in God.
1. Especially in our country, we have a strange spiritual species called cultural Christians.
a. These are people who believe in God, they celebrate Christmas, they have crosses hanging on their walls, they might even go to church.
- They own a Bible, they are good and moral, they provide for their families, and on the surface it looks like they have it all together.
b. But the question is, is that enough?
- Is that really what it’s all about?
- Is it possible to have all that and miss the whole point?
c. Nearly 80% of people in America today claim to follow Jesus, and yet our country is in moral disarray.
- Most people own a Bible, but few actually read and understand it.
d. But this is nothing new.
- Cultural Christian are around today, and they were around during James’ time as well.
e. So James sends out a warning saying that believing in God isn’t enough.
- Someone might argue, "Aren’t we saved by faith alone, through Christ alone."
- The answer to that is yes... of course.
f. But that’s not the end of the story.
- That’s only one side of the coin.
- And if we don’t take the time to address the rest, then our faith is really not complete.
2. So, James uses the example of demons to make his point.
a. This is a very interesting line of thought.
- I mean, if someone wants to encourage people to have faith in God this isn’t necessarily the first place one would look to for an example, because demons are Satan’s angels... they are evil.
- And yet look at how this unfolds.
b. Again, James 2:19
"You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?"
- James says that demons believe in God in that they recognize the truth of who God is.
c. There’s a great example of this found in Mark 1:23-28 NLT (I’ll just read it to you, you don’t have to turn there).
23 Suddenly, a man in the synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit began shouting, 24 “Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One sent from God!”
25 Jesus cut him short. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. 26 At that, the evil spirit screamed, threw the man into a convulsion, and then came out of him.
27 Amazement gripped the audience, and they began to discuss what had happened. “What sort of new teaching is this?” they asked excitedly. “It has such authority! Even evil spirits obey his orders!” (NLT)
d. Did you notice how the demon addressed Jesus?
- "I know who you are—the Holy One sent from God!” (Mark 1:24)
- So demons believe in the existence of God.
- They have an intellectual understanding of who God is.
3. So, the point James is making is that demons have a greater belief than some people.
a. I mean there are some people who don’t believe in the existence of any god at all.
- And then there are many others who do believe that there is a God, but they have no reverence, no fear of God.
b. But not demons.
- Not only do they believe, but they even take it a step further by "trembling in terror" before God.
- In Mark 1, the demon even feared that Jesus would destroy him.
c. We see than that demons believe that God is holy, and mighty, and all- powerful.
- They believe that he rules over all things.
d. We can even take this example even further because sometimes Demons can even pretend to be friendly spirits (2 Corinthians 11:15)
- At times they help people accomplish certain things.
- They answer questions, they predict the future.
e. In Acts 16, there was a demon possessed slave girl who was predicting the future for people.
- She was making her masters a lot of money.
- In one sense you could say that the demon was doing somebody some good.
f. So, if belief alone could save a person (and add in a certain measure of good deeds) then demons could be saved.
- It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway, demons don’t go to Heaven.
- They cannot be saved... their fate is sealed for all eternity.
g. They are the Devil’s servants... they are evil, vile creatures.
- They aim is to deceive, destroy, and devastate.
- They know who God is and they live in rebellions to Him, even though they fear, respect, tremble, and believe in Him.
B. That point has profound implications in our own lives?
1. There are many people who believe there is a God.
a. They have a certain amount of respect and fear for God.
- They say the right things, they try to do good and help others when they can.
- And whether they verbalize it or not, they hope that in the end their good will outweigh their bad.
b. Again, that alone is not enough.
- Just believing isn’t enough... even demons do that much.
- Just going to church isn’t enough, because going to church doesn’t make a person a Christian any more than eating at Whataburger makes you a french fry.
c. That is not the way to Heaven.
- That isn’t even the right road.
- So a person can excel at being moral, and religious, and be outwardly successful... but without Jesus at the center of all that, then the farther they go down that path... the more distant they become from the Father, because they are moving in the wrong direction.
2. ex. I don’t want to make light of this, but there’s a funny story about a man who went to the doctor after weeks of symptoms.
a. The doctor examined him carefully, then called the patient’s wife into his office.
- The doctor told her, "Your husband is suffering from a rare form of anemia."
- "The bad news is that without treatment, your husband will be dead in a few weeks."
- "The good news is that with proper nutrition, he should get better."
b. Here’s what the doctor told her to do.
- "You will need to get up early every morning and fix your husband a hot breakfast - pancakes, bacon and eggs, the works.
- He’ll need a home-cooked lunch every day, and then an old-fashioned meat-and-potato dinner every evening.
c. It would be especially helpful if you could bake frequently.
- "Cakes, pies, homemade bread - these are the things that will allow your husband to live."
- "One more thing. His immune system is weak, so it’s important that your home be kept spotless at all times."
- It would also help if you are intimate with him several times a week."
d. So the wife walks into the examination room with a sad look on her face.
- The husband, sensing how serious this is asked her, "It’s bad, isn’t it? "What’s going to happen to me?"
e. With tears welling up in her eyes, the wife blurted out, "The doctor says you’re going to die!"
- She was about to do all of that stuff!!
3. That’s not real love.
a. When a couple is getting married they are making vows to each other on their wedding day, there’s no counting going on.
- At the altar, she’s not asking the preacher, or priest, or judge... "Now, how many times am I going to have to serve this fool... is it like twenty... thirty times."
- She’s not asking, "How many times am I going to have to forgive this guy... can you give me an estimate... is it like 80... 90 times?"
b. A relationship that’s based on love doesn’t count how much, or how long, or how many times.
- Because the cost has already been counted, and now the bride is giving all of herself to this relationship.
- And the husband is also pledging / promising himself to her.
c. And you know as well as I that there is a whole lot of forgiving that will need to take place as time goes by.
- There is a lot of serving. and self sacrifice that will be required.
- But that’s what love is.
- You just do it.
d. You love, and give, and honor, and forgive, and remain faithful, and show respect, to the one you are devoted to
- And the glue that holds it all together is love.
C. The moment it becomes a chore, an obligation, a duty, a burden, those are red flags that there is something wrong.
1. That’s not how a true love relationship is meant to be.
a. When it comes to saving faith it’s the same idea except in this case we’re dealing with someone who is perfect, and pure, and holy.
- You see, here is the simple reality.
b. We were all on a path to Hell.
- Our sin made us all guilty and without any hope of ever making it to Heaven.
c. So God, motivated by love, paid the ultimate price.
- He sacrificed his only Son on our behalf.
- Jesus came and shed his blood on the cross to save our souls.
d. So when we talk about placing our faith in Christ, we don’t ask, "How often am I going to have to go to church... how often am I going to have to pray... how much do I have to give."
- It’s not about that.
- We don’t do things out of duty, or obligation.
- We do them out of love.
2. Look ultimately, this is about a God who gave the very best he had in order to save our souls.
a. And when we place our trust in Jesus and look to him as Savior and Lord, our hearts should well up with gratitude.
- He cleansed us, he made us whole, he forgave our sin.
- He has equipped us with every spiritual resources we need in this life.
b. He gives us hope and a purpose.
- He fills our hearts with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.
c. So when we talk about real, saving faith we aren’t talking about being devoted to certain traditions and teachings.
- We’re not talking about being committed to certain doctrines or denominations.
d. The true test of our belief is obedience to God’s word.
- That’s the follow through of our faith.
2. It isn’t enough to just say that we love God.
- It’s about following through in obedience.
- This is where faith and good deeds now work side by side.
- Our love compels us to live in submission to God’s word.
b. Now, that doesn’t mean we won’t sin.
- We will stumble and fall at times, but the idea is that we are on the path of righteousness.
- Though we may have some pitfalls, but when we look at our lives in their entirety, you will find in true follower of Christ a consistent pattern of righteousness.
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c. Christlike perfection is our ultimate goal, but we won’t reach that goal until we die and go to Heaven.
- This isn’t so much about our perfection, it’s about our general direction.
- That means we strive... we try... we long for righteousness.
d. The big word for it is sanctification.
- God is sanctifying us, he is making us more and more like Jesus as we walk with Him in humility and obedience.
3. I John 2:3-4 (NLT) "And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. 4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. (NLT)
a. One the characteristics of a true believer is that the moment you realize you have sinned, the moment you realize you have broken on of God’s commands, you confess and repent of that sin.
- That’s the evidence that we are his true children.
b. We grieve over sin, we develop a hatred for sin, we work to prove our love to him and give Him glory.
- Anything less than that, no matter how religious one may be amounts to nothing.
c. You often hear people say, "Don’t doubt your salvation... once saved always saved."
- That is true.
- But the Apostle Paul said 2 Corinthians 13:5 "Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves." (NLT)
- 1 John 3:6 (NLT) says, "Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is." (NLT)
- People have been told that if you just walk the aisle, sign a card, raise your hand, say a prayer that makes you a Christian.
- There’s nothing wrong with any of that... but the question then becomes, - "Where your follow through... are walking in obedience?"
II. Listen to what Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23 (NLT) says, “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. 22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ (NLT)
A. On the Day of Judgement, there will be many self deceived people.
1. To these Jesus will say, "I never knew you..."
a. That doesn’t mean that Jesus forgot who they were.
- He’s not snapping his fingers thinking, "I remember his face, but I just can’t remember his name."
b. He knows exactly who they are, they are the ones who did their own thing.
- They lived in continuous, habitual disobedience to Christ while professing to follow Him.
c. Notice, they did things in his name.
- They prophesied in his name.
- They cast out demons and performed miracles in his name.
d. They were religious and devoted.
- They taught Bible classes, they served, they gave.
e. But it was for all the wrong reasons.
- It was for their own self-esteem, for their own status, to soothe their conscience, or to receive the praise of men.
- And while people may applaud what’s happening on the outside, God sees the heart.
2. Do you realize that the people Jesus condemned most during His earthly ministry were the religious leaders?
a. And it was the religious leaders who had Jesus killed.
- During his earthly ministry Jesus ate with tax collectors and those who didn’t have the greatest of reputations.
b. He met them where they were.
- He shared meals with them, he spent time with them.
c. He did that because those sinners knew they were lost and openly admitted it.
- They knew they were spiritually sick and in need of a doctor.
- They were hungry and in need of food.
d. The problem came with those who were lost, and yet hid behind a mask of religion.
- They hid behind the wall of their piety, but it was all just pride.
d. These self deceived people were around in Jesus day, and they are still around today.
- That’s why so many cultural Christians are spiritually impotent and ineffective.
- They know the books of the Bible, they have the knowledge, they know the words to say, yet their lives don’t reflect surrender, obedience, and holiness.
2. ex. Loyd Neal was mayor of Corpus Christi from 1997-2004, and has served as Judge for Nueces County
a. Regardless of how you may feel about him politically, a while back they wrote a great story about him in the Caller-Times.
- Fresh from active duty in the U.S. Army, Neal began his civilian career in 1962 selling boxes of soap to small family-owned grocery stores in the ethnic Asian neighborhoods of San Antonio.
- His job was simple: sell as much soap as possible.
b. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t move his product.
- Confused and discouraged, he consulted his boss, who told him he had a problem he would need to overcome.
- His size.
- At 6-foot-5 and 248 pounds, Neal is a formidable man.
c. The boss told Neal his smaller customers were intimidated by Neal’s height.
- Neal, then 25, took the advice, and began kneeling when he tried to make a sale, bringing himself eye-to-eye with his customers.
- It was an important lesson in humility - one Neal said he carried with him during his four terms as mayor.
3. That is a picture of what spiritual humility looks like.
a. Humility bows down.
- Only in our case, we’re not selling soap.
- We are submitting ourselves to the Savior of our souls.
- That’s humility.
b. Jesus set the example for us.
- The King... the Creator... stepped into our world and surrendered himself on our behalf.
- He got down to eye level so that we could see... so that our spiritual eyes could be opened.
c. When we look at our relationship with God in that light, the real question is not, "are you religious... do you know about Jesus... do you have the facts... do you own a Bible?"
- The real question is "Has your life changed?"
- "Are we walking in humble submission and obedience to God’s word?"
d. Because the fact is, that we cannot have a genuine encounter with the living God of the universe and our lives not change.
- We cannot have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within us and our lives not change.
e. If our faith in God doesn’t affect the way we live, then it’s a dead and useless faith.
- If our lives don’t reveal a conformity to what we say we believe, then we had better re-evaluate our spiritual condition.
B. Listen to what Jesus said in Luke 6:46-49 (NLT) “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? 47 I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it."
48 "It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. 49 But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.” (NLT)
1. Maybe you’re one of those people.
a. You have tried to be a good person, you have done a lot of nice things, you have tried to succeed in life.
- But deep inside, there is still a pervading emptiness.
b. In your life there has been no transformation.
- There’s been no fruitfulness, no increasing desire for righteousness, no hatred for sin, no obedience to the Word of God.
c. You have built your life on sand and you know deep down inside that it could all come crumbling down at any moment.
- The stock market can crash, war can break out, a loved one could get sick, or death could knock on your door... and that’s it.
- Game over!
- In the end everything will "collapse in a heap of ruins." (Luke 6:49)
d. If that’s you, then what you have is not real Christianity in a Biblical sense.
- What you have is deception.
- And if you died today, you would stand before God on judgement day as a guilty person.
2. ON that day, God won’t be checking to see if we behaved, or if we raised good kids, or if we made lots of money.
a. He won’t be asking if we were good and moral.
- All of that is nice.
- But what He will want to know is, "Did you obey my commands... did you follow my Laws... did you do my will?"
b. And the fact is, that we have committed what we can call spiritual crimes.
- We have all broken his laws... none of us are perfect.
c. Because of that, we deserve death, and Hell, and judgement because of the wickedness in our hearts.
- That’s the bad news.
d. The good news is that, that’s exactly why Jesus came.
- He came to take our place.
- He shed His blood... He gave His life... He willingly laid it down just for you and me.
3. By placing our faith in him we can be saved from eternal destruction.
a. We don’t have to be captive to sin.. we don’t have to live a purposeless life... we don’t have to spend eternity in Hell.
- God has made a way through His son Jesus Christ.
- To the blind he gives sight... to the hungry he gives food... to the thirsty He is a well of living water that never runs dry.
b. By placing our faith and trust in Jesus as our Savior and Lord we can be saved.
- It’s that simple.
c. Don’t delay another day.
- No one is guaranteed a tomorrow.
d. Don’t let your self be deceived... don’t let pride stand in your way.
- Place your faith in Jesus and make Him your Savior and Lord.
