What Kind of Faith
James 2:14-26
* I suggest we live in the “MENU AGE.” That is to say, we desire to have a choice about anything we do. We drive up to McDonald’s, are asked “what would you like” only to say, “Wait a minute, let me look at the menu.” As a culture, we have decided that we ‘deserve’ to have a choice. Maybe this is good and maybe it’s not, but it’s true – we want to choose.
* Sadly, too many are carried this idea of ‘the menu’ into matters of faith & church (and yes, there is a difference). More than ever before I encounter people who make decision of faith & family based on ‘their’ menu for God, church, and even eternity. (Give examples)
* Tonight, let’s consider matters of ‘faith’ in the menu driven culture of which we are a part. When it comes to faith, James tells us that some options exist, but only one will have the desired outcome.
* It’s like going into a restaurant & looking down the menu to decide that one thing which will satisfy your hunger. You are in the mood for something different, something new, & something special, so you order what you have never eaten before. The food is served & with the first bite you know that you have made a huge mistake. This is not what you want to do with faith.
* Let’s read our text and ask the question, “What Kind of Faith do I Have?”
* (READ) I submit that verse 26 be burned into our spirit.
* “What good is it?” That question is a tough & can be a sarcastic question. How many times in our lives have we had someone to ask us this question? Most of the time this question possesses a negative feeling as if to says, “There is really no or nothing good at all.” James asks, “What good is it, brothers (he keeps the family connection) if someone SAYS (don’t miss this inflexion) he has faith, but does not have works.” Bound up in this question is that this individual says one thing with his mouth & lives out another thing with his life so he asks, “Is this a saving faith?”
* Remember that an authentic faith is one which saves a soul, changes a life, connects us to God through Jesus, and motivates us to service for Him. This is authentic faith. This is what James is calling us to and calling us to check out. That is to see what kind of faith we have. In this text, He list 4 types;
1. A Dead Faith – After asking the question is faith without works a faith that saved, he gives us a conclusion and then repeats it to indicate the level of his revolve on the matter. Verse 17 says, “Faith, if it doesn’t have works is DEAD by itself,” verse 26 once again he writes, “Faith without works is DEAD” & KJV even says ‘dead’ in verse 20 as opposed to useless.
* Verse 17 & 26 uses the same Greek word meaning ‘lifeless, deceased, departed, on whose soul is in Hades, & destitute of life. The implication is that this faith is not a saving faith. Rhetorically, James asks, “Is this a saving faith?” understanding the answer to be “No, it is not.”
* This faith is exhibited in the person who knows all the right words, quotes all the right verses, & prays all the right prayers; but their walk does not match their talk. They ‘say’ they have faith, but their faith is never observable in their lives. I submit it is only an ‘intellectual’ type of faith as it is only in our minds & our mouths.
* James is so plain that even I understand the power of his words. 1 John 1:6 says, “IF we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we are lying and not practicing the truth.” KJV says, “We do not DO the truth.” This means that we are not living it, letting people see it, & showing Jesus to others. 1 John 5:12 says, “The one who has the Son has life. The one who doesn’t have the Son of God does NOT have life.”
* A dead faith in a counterfeit faith which gives you plenty to say & nothing to do. A dead faith needs an event to bring it to life. When your battery dies in your car, you either replace the battery (worse case) OR you jump the battery off with another battery. Dead faith is the same way.
* Warren Wiersbe says, “No man can come to Christ by faith & remain the same, anymore than a man can come into contact with a 220-volt wire & remain the same.” The dead faith is dead & kills many.
2. A Demonic Faith – Does it surprise you to hear that “demons have faith?” Well it shouldn’t. After Jesus calmed the sea in Matthew 8 & they landed in the Gadarene country. Two demon possessed men met them and the demons shouted, “What do you have to do with us---SON OF GOD?” Do you hear this recognition? They know who Jesus is! Furthermore, they have a clear understanding that one day Jesus will rule and reign. How do I know this? Because the last question they ask is this; “Have you come to torment us before the time?” The demons know that ONE DAY, Jesus wins out. James tells us that they have a faith of knowing (intellect) but they also have emotion attached to their faith. Knowing what they know brings a chill to their spine. IN other words, it frightens them. The text says, ‘they shudder.’
* Several years ago, on a Sunday night, I preached a message entitled, “Stirred but not changed.” I remember this so clearly because afterward Randy Steinlage came down, took me by the hand, and said, “That is where I have been – stirred but not changed” & he let Christ change him.
* This is the epitome of a demonic faith. That person has knowledge of God’s word and can be stirred by his emotions but he/she is still forever lost. From the pages of scripture think about the activities of the demons. They are either dormant & seemingly dead, or active being hyper, stirring people up, and leading people away from the Son.
* A demonic faith works in his own strength for his own glory & for his own end. Candidly, this type of faith does not save as demons are not saved & not going to heaven, but this faith bleeds into the third kind of faith.
3. A Deceived Faith – Verse 20 is sobering as he begins, “Foolish Man”. KJV translates ‘foolish’ as ‘vain.’ We think of ‘vain’ as being ‘stuck on one’s self’ and while this may be partially true, the words actually means ‘empty.’ In other words to be stuck on one’s self is to be empty. The foolish, vain, or empty person believes themselves to be right with God. They have the intellect to know all the right things & the emotion to sell themselves to others as authentic, because they are self-deceived.
* Look at this penetrating question in verse 20, “Foolish man!” James zeros in on the one who is deceived. “Are you willing to learn?” What should I learn? Faith without works is “USELESS, DEAD, DEPARTED, & DECEASED!” Are you willing to learn this? Most of the time, this individual is so deceived that he is not willing to hear. This may well be THE MOST difficult type of faith for God to reach. It is the “I am good enough” syndrome and it is killing the Church & Christianity in America.
* The deceived faith would have short-circuited Abraham saying, “God I believe you, but I’m not sacrificing my son for you.” And the justification would have been, “Lord, do you know who Isaac is? Do you know how long we’ve waited? Do you know what we’ve done? Do you know how important he is?” Of course God knew, but also, “God KNOWS.” The deceived faith believes that life continues as usual after meeting Jesus & rejects the idea that the Lord does & will continue change him for life.
* So, a dead faith is intellectual & has no works with it, a demonic faith has intellectual & emotional ties but still no substance, and a deceived faith has one believing that all is well—no change required. DON’T MISS THIS: NOT ONE OF THESE FAITHS WILL GET YOU INTO HEAVEN or allow you access to the Father. NONE of these are from Jesus.
4. A Dynamic Faith – Three words in this passage illustrate a dynamic faith, “Abraham believed God.” Within these three words lies the secret of a dynamic faith. He didn’t believe God for everything BUT his son. He didn’t believe God for everything but his location.
* Abraham believed God, PERIOD! Believing God is demonstrated in obedience to God, and obedience to God leads action for GOD. God leads us to be and to do. Abraham believed God so he followed God’s word to take his son, at this point of his life the one person he prized more than anything else, up on the mountain. What if Abraham had said, “Why on the mountain? Why not here?” Obedience requires response. Then on the mountain what if Abraham had said, “We are up here where no one can see, why not get a wild ram to offer up?” Obedience requires response. Obedience is the requirement for belief.
* Abraham demonstrated His dynamic, saving faith by his works. Rahab did the same.
* A dynamic faith is a faith that depends on Jesus. It begins, lives, and ends with Him. It is a saving faith, a sanctifying faith, & a serving faith. As the dead faith touches the mind, the demonic & deceived faith touches the mind & emotion, so does the dynamic faith touch the mind, the emotion, and the will. That will is found in one’s soul. We do what we ‘will’ (or want) to do.
* Faith is not like gasoline that runs out as you use it, but is like a muscle which grows stronger as you exercise it.
* In April 1988 the evening news reported on a photographer who was a skydiver. He had jumped from a plane along with numerous other skydivers and filmed the group as they fell and opened their parachutes. On the film shown on the telecast, as the final skydiver opened his chute, the picture went berserk. The announcer reported that the cameraman had fallen to his death, having jumped out of the plane without his parachute. It wasn’t until he reached for the absent ripcord that he realized he was freefalling without a parachute. Until that point, the jump probably seemed exciting and fun. But tragically, he had acted with thoughtless haste and deadly foolishness. Nothing could save him, for his faith was in a parachute never buckled on. Faith in anything but an all-sufficient God can be just as tragic spiritually. Only with faith in Jesus Christ dare we step into the dangerous excitement of life.
