2010.03.21.SERMON.Living Faith
James 2
Beware Of Personal Favoritism
1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the fine clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? (MATT 5:3)
6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?
Matthew 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
The Beatitudes
1 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them saying:
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
The Royal Rule Of Scriptures
James 2 continued
8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become-= a transgressor of the law.
12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
Faith Without Works Is Dead
14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16 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?
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
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.
HOW CAN YOU PROVE SOMETHING? Doesn’t it take some sort of action?
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
Abraham and Rahab, lived out their faith, by doing.
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Paul Says Salvation comes through Faith, not Works
Which means, salvation does not come by doing good, rather, by placing faith, believing in Christ. There is nothing you can do that can grant you salvation, it was only paid on the cross by Christ. You can not work your way into heaven. You must 1st believe in Jesus Christ, and have faith in what he did, that The blood that was shed by him at Calvary and his dying on the Cross for the sins of the world, and his resurrection from the grave, showing us life after death, are the basis of our faith and salvation. Believing these things, and you shall have everlasting life.
But it doesn’t stop there. We can’t just accept that and go and live our lives as uncommitted. We must change, and allow Christ to change us. We must put on the mind to live out our faith. Live as Christ would have us to live. Live a life that is pleasing to God.
We will fall, that is human. But we must also get back up.
(Toby Mac – Get back up)
We lose our way, but its never too late to get back up again.
Jesus is the Truth and the Way
John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
SONG: Read Lyrics
Toby Mac – Get back up
You turned away when I looked you in the eye
And hesitated when I asked if you were alright
Seems like you’re fightin’ for your life
But why, oh, why
Wide awake in the middle of your nightmare
You saw it comin’ but it hit you out of nowhere
And there’s always scars when you fall that far
We lose our way, we get back up again
It’s never too late to get back up again
And one day you gonna’ shine again
You may be knocked down, but not out forever
We lose our way, we get back up again
So get up, get up, you gonna’ shine again
It’s never too late to get back up again
You may be knocked down, but not out forever
You roll out of the dawning of the day
Heart racin’ as you made your little get away
It feels like you been runnin’ all your life
But why, oh, why
So you pull away from the love that would’ve been there
And start believin’ that your situation’s unfair
But there’s always scars when you fall that far
This is love callin,’ love callin,’
Out to the broken this is love callin’
This is love callin,’ love callin,’
I am so broken
This is love callin,’ love callin’
James says Faith without Works is dead.
That is, you can believe, but if you do not do. Then your faith is dead. It means nothing.
In other words, if you believe something, but live like you don’t believe it, then you really don’t believe it.
Believe in a cause vs. Fight for a cause
Believe in Freedom vs. Fight for Freedom
We have freedom because it resulted from a victory
We live as free, with the rights of freedom.
We don’t live as captive. (although our gov’t today may be another thing)
Yet, we are still fighting for this freedom today
We respect the flag. We honor our nation.
How do you feel about those who disrespect the flag?
We have salvation, because it resulted from victory, Christ’s Victory.
How do others see you, if you say you are a Christian, and lie like the devil.
How does GOD see you?
Its like the difference from Chapter 1 of being HEARERS vs. DOERS
Its one thing to hear and believe, it’s another thing to believe and do. (repeat)
Show me your faith, he says. Just because you say you believe. Prove it.
How? By living a life as unto the LORD.
We will fall, and lose our way, but we must get back up and follow the WAY.
These next few weeks, we will celebrate the very thing we believe. Easter. We will celebrate our salvation, come from an act of love. Faith, in action if you will. Jesus lived a life among us, and in order to redeem us, he brought us our faith, by his own actions, by dying on that cross for you and me.
Let us remember Him. And Thank him for what he has done for us…Fairest Lord Jesus.
“THEE WILL I CHERISH, THEE WILL I HONOR….
Can you add to that…WITH MY LIFE!”
Let us put our faith in Christ, into action.
Live like you mean it.
Live your Faith.
Live for the LORD.
