Would you turn to James, chapter 2. Now when we look in the Book of James we find a lot of straight talk. James does not beat around the bush. But he says something in the passage that we’re about to study, something very startling, because it almost seems, and a careless reading would make us feel that James is saying that we’re saved by good works. But if you know anything about Christian doctrine, you know that is not true. We’re saved by grace alone, in faith, in Christ alone, by faith alone. That’s what the Bible teaches. And yet, I want you to listen to what James says. And, by the way, many false cults will use this passage of Scripture because they do not understand it, to show that salvation is not by grace, but, at least, it is a mixture of grace and works.
Well, let’s read it, and then we’re going to look at it. Again, I want to tell you that the title of our message tonight is “The Autopsy of a Dead Faith.” Here’s what James asks. “What does, what doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? 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 for the body, what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works; show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well. The devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham, our father, justified by works, when he had offered Isaac, his son, upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and be works was faith made perfect? 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. Ye see, then, how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise, also was not Rahab, the harlot, justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
Now, that’s a passage of Scripture that we’re going to have to reckon with. It seems, casually, that James is saying that people are saved, justified, made right by works.
Well, if that is true, there is a direct contradiction in the Bible. Now, just hold your place there in the Book of James, and I’m going to direct you to the apostle Paul. It’s almost as if James and Paul are having an argument. In Romans, chapter 4, verses 1 through 6. Remember, James is just talked about Abraham being justified by works. You read that here, in the passage of Scripture, verse 21: “Was not Abraham, our farther, justified by works…” Now listen to what Paul says in Romans, chapter 4, verse 1: “What shall we say, then, that Abraham, our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath he hath whereof to glory, but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counter for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works.” Do you see what is happening here? Do you see the seeming contradiction? Do you see the seeming confusion? It’s like James is saying one thing and Paul is saying another. Now Paul, the mighty apostle, makes it plain that works, a little or a lot, do not save and they do not help save. And another passage of Scripture is Romans 11, and verse 6. Paul, after saying we’re saved by grace, says this: “And if by grace, it is no more of works; otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, it is no longer, it is no more grace, and otherwise work is no more work.” Paul is saying, “Make up your mind. You can’t be saved by grace and works. If it’s by grace, works don’t have anything to do with it. If it’s by work, grace has nothing to do with it.” That’s Romans 11, and verse 6.
Now, we are saved, I want to say emphatically, clearly, without stutter, stammer, apology, and fear of contradiction, salvation is by grace alone. (Amen from congregation) Now, listen. Grace is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. Our faith is the only faith in the world that has the message of grace. God has cornered the market on grace. You are saved by the grace of God. It is the sheer gift of God. You could no more save yourself by works than this young man could do what I’m going to ask him to do. Greg, come over here just a minute. You’re an athlete. He doesn’t know I’m going to do this. But you’re an athlete. He is. He’s a great athlete, so I want you to do this. I want you to reach down and put your hands underneath your shoes (Laughter from congregation). Just go ahead. You can bend, you bend your knees. Now, lift yourself off the ground. (Laughter from congregation) Impossible. Thank you. All right. He can’t do that. He, You could not save yourself by works anymore that he could lift himself off the ground by putting it, or if a drowning man is drowning could reach up and grab himself by the hair and pull himself out of the water. That is absolutely, totally impossible. You’re not saved by works.
As a matter of fact, we had something called the Protestant Reformation that is based on this entire truth that salvation is by grace. There was a Roman Catholic, monk, a priest, a scholar whose name was Martin Luther. And back in the 1500s Martin Luther was trying to be justified by works. And he was in that great cathedral, in Saint John’s Cathedral in Rome. He was on the stairs they call the Santa Scala, the Holy Stairs, thought to have been the stairs that Jesus ascended in Pilate’s judgment hall. Martin Luther was on his knees, doing penance, trying to pray, trying to be right with God, and praying on every stair as he went up, trying by works to be justified before God. And he had been studying the Book of Romans and the Scripture burst upon his heart and he read to himself again that we are justified by faith, Romans chapter 1, verse 17: “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” You’re not saved by works, but you’re saved by the grace of God, and it is faith that brings that grace into your heart and into your life.
Well, is there a contradiction then between James and Paul? Well, no. James and Paul are talking about the same thing but from a different viewpoint. There is no contradiction here, but it is heads and tails of the same thing. So many times we do get confused about these things.
Some years ago, I had the privilege to be with the former President, George Bush. And I was sitting in his library in his home. He was Vice President at that time. And I had in there with me, or we had together, Jerry Falwell, Charles Stanley, Jim Kennedy, and Adrian Rogers, and the Vice President. We’re sitting in his library. So he’s sitting there with the four spiritual laws (Laughter from Congregation). And we’re talking, and the subject of faith came up and salvation. And somebody asked the question, “Tell us about your faith.” He said, “I’ll tell you very clearly.” He said, “I believe that my only hope of heaven is the fact that Jesus died for me on the cross, and I have put my faith in Jesus Christ and I am trusting Him to get me to heaven because He died for me and paid for my sins on the cross.” Well, that sounded very, very wonderful. And Kennedy asked him the diagnostic question. He said, “No disrespect, Mr. Vice President, but if you were to stand before God and He were to say to you, ‘Why should I let you into My heaven?’ what would you say if you were to suddenly die?” He would say, “I would tell Him, I’ve trusted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior, and I would also tell Him that I have endeavored to live by the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount.” Well, when he said that, the light went off in Mr. Kennedy’s head and he said, “Now, Mr. Vice President.” He said, “Keeping the Ten Commandments and living by the Sermon on the Mount have nothing to do with it. You’re saved by the grace of God.” George Bush said, “I disagree with you. Do you mean to tell me that a man can say that he believes in God and it doesn’t change his life?” He said, “I believe when a man is saved, when he becomes a Christian, it will show up in his life. You’ll be able to see it. It’s going to change his life.” Mr. Kennedy said, “Well, if you’re talking about that, I’ll have to agree with you. I was just simply saying those things don’t save you.” And the Vice President said, “Well, if you put it that way, then I will agree with you, but I believe that a man’s faith ought to change his life.” And Mr. George Bush was absolutely correct. And I appreciated what he had to say. And I appreciated he knew more than just simply saying, “I believe is what it is that shows a man’s true faith.”
Now, what you have in Paul and what you have in James is the difference between Jim Kennedy and George Bush in that library that night. Let me, let me explain it to you. Paul is speaking of faith before God; James is speaking of faith before men. The key is in verse 18. Look in verse 18: “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works; show me thy faith….” James is talking about the kind of faith that you can see, and he’s talking about a show-so faith. Paul is talking about a know-so faith. Paul speaks of the root of our salvation; James is speaking of the fruit of our salvation. Now the root is beneath the ground, but the fruit is above the ground. Paul is speaking of the foundation of our faith; James is speaking of the building that is built on that foundation. Paul is speaking of that which is inward; James is speaking of that which is outward. Paul is speaking of the provision of our salvation; James is speaking of the proof of our salvation. Paul speaks of the means of our salvation; James speaks of the marks of our salvation. James, Paul speaks of a know-so salvation; James speaks of a show-so salvation.
Now, what is wrong with the kind of faith that some people have that has not changed their life? James says it is a dead faith. Look, if you will, in verse 14: “What doth it profit, brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and hath not works? Can faith save him?” The literal Greek is, “Can that faith save him, can that kind of faith save him?”
Now, we’re going to do an autopsy on a dead faith, and I want you to notice three marks of a dead faith, the faith that cannot save. First of all, it is a Profitless, a Profitless Profession. Begin, again, in verse 17, verse 14 and read through verse 17. Now look at it. “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and hath not works?…” Now notice it is a profitless profession. A man says he has faith, and he has not works. “Can faith save him?” Notice, again, “can that faith save him, that kind of faith.” James is not saying that we’re not saved through faith. He’s just saying, “Can that faith save him?” Hello. And he gives an illustration. Here’s the illustration. “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 for the body, what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” Now notice that the key word is say “…though a man say he hath faith…”
What people say is not necessarily a fact. Remember the old story. Lincoln asked a boy if a dog has four legs and you call his tail a leg, then how many does he have? And the little boy said five. He said, “No, he still just has four legs. It doesn’t matter what you call his tail, it’s still a tail.” Huh. You can call it a leg if you want to. If a man says he has faith that doesn’t mean that he has faith. It is possible to have profession without possession. Repeating words to a hungry person cannot warm them and fill them. Also, the mere repeating of words can’t save a life.
I was in a hospital, witnessing and praying with someone, when I heard a voice say, “Come and see me, too.” I wondered if they were really talking to me. I thought maybe someone was calling a nurse. So I went on ministering and the voice said, “Come and see me, too.” And it was someone in a room across the hall. They heard my voice in the hospital across the room. Joyce tells me, “Adrian, if you don’t want it heard, don’t say it.” She said, “People can hear you all over the restaurant.” (Laughter from congregation) And, and that it true because I was not talking that loud, but my voice had just kind of carried across that hall. And I said out loud, “Are you talking to me?” She said, “Yes, come see me, too.” So after I finished ministering in this one room I went across the hall. And there was a lady. And if you’ve ever seen people about to die, especially of some malignancies, this person had an ashen look. Her gray hair was spread out on her pillow and, and death was written on her face. And she said, “I am about to die. Can you help me? I don’t know God. I don’t want to die without God.” I said, “Yes, dear lady, I can help you.” And I took the Bible and I explained how Jesus Christ died on the cross for her sins. And I told her if she would ask Jesus into her heart and pray, that He would save her. And then I led her in a prayer. And she prayed after me. “Dear God. (Dear God), I’m a sinner (I’m a sinner). I’m lost (I’m lost). I need to be saved (I need to be saved). I want to be saved (I want to be saved). Come into my heart (Come into my heart). Forgive my sin (Forgive my sin). Cleanse me (Cleanse me). Save me (Save me). And she prayed that. I opened my eyes and I expected to see a smile of joy on her face, but she had an anguished look, distraught look. And she looked at me and she said, “But I don’t see how just saying that can do any good.” And I said, “Lady, you are absolutely, 100% correct. Just saying that can do no good, but if you will believe it and receive it, He’ll save you.” And I said, “Let’s to it again. This time don’t say it, pray it. Mean it from your heart. Trust Him to save you. And when you say the words, do what you’re saying.” And we prayed it again. And I said, “And I trust You to save me.” And she said, “And I trust You to save me.” When I looked up she had the glory of God on her face, and she had come from just saying so and, and repeating words, to really receiving Jesus Christ as her personal Savior. I read, shortly after, in the paper where she died, and I expect confidently to meet her in heaven. And what James is saying is what that woman was saying. Just repeating words does not change a life. “…If a man say he hath faith…” Just saying so is not the answer. And so, what he’s talking about here is, first of all, as he does an autopsy, he finds, number one, a Profitless Profession. Pious platitudes will not get you to heaven.
Now here’s the second thing. Not only is a Profitless Profession. It, therefore, follows that it is a Barren Belief. Look now, beginning in verse 18, and read verses 18 and 19: “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works; show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well. The devils also believe, and tremble.” Now he’s talking, not only about your profession, but your belief. And he says, “You can believe in an orthodox way and go to hell.” Your belief can be a barren belief. There are some people who count that on the fact that they are orthodox and they go to a Bible-believing church to get them to heaven, and yet they have no more real faith than the devil
himself. As a matter of fact, the devil is more orthodox than some ministers I know. I’m serious. Let me show you what the demons believe, and you get out a pencil and write these verses down. And, by the way, the Bible says, “…the devil, the devils believe and tremble.” The word tremble here has the idea of standing up straight. It’s, it’s like if you, you get frightened and the hair stands up on the back of your neck. It, it has the idea of, of shuddering. Listen to these Scriptures, talking about the devil.
When Jesus was here in His earthly ministry, Matthew, chapter 8, beginning in verse 28: “And when he [that is, Jesus] was gone to the other side, go, in….” I’ll start again. “And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, there met him two possessed with devils…” And, by the way, any time in the King James you see the word devils, plural, it means demons. There’s only one devil and many demons. “….coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man may pass by that way. And, behold, they cried out [these demons] saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?” They knew that Jesus was the Son of God and they knew that He is the judge, the jury, and the executioner of all righteousness and justice. They knew that. These demons knew that.
And then look, if you will, in Mark 1, verses 23 and 24: “And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; [that is, this man was possessed of a demon] and he cried out, Saying, Let us alone! What have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? We know who thou art, the Holy One of God.” That’s what we sang about – the Holy One of God. We were talking tonight about the holiness of God. And this demon-possessed man said, “We know who You are, the Holy One of God.” These are demons speaking.
Luke 4, verse 41: “And devils came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art the Christ, {that is, the Messiah] the Son of God. And he, rebuking them, he, rebuking them, suffered them not to speak; for they knew that he was Christ.” Pretty good theology. Pretty good theology when you, when you see that He is, is the Holy One. He is the Messiah. He is the Son of God. That’s what James says, “…the devils believe and tremble.” Yet you’ll not meet them in heaven. Why? They’ve never put their faith, true faith, in Jesus Christ.
Suppose the devil wanted to join Bellevue Baptist Church, and suppose one of our deacons… He walks down the aisle now. Takes human form, walks down the aisle. He’s coming down and one of our ministers greets him and hands him off to one of our deacons, and they go back there in the counseling room. Or the Welcome Center is a better term for that. So they sit down and they, and they say, “Well, Mr. Diablo, may we ask you, may I ask you a question? Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God? “Oh, yes, I do.” “Do you believe He was born of a virgin?” “Oh, yes, I believe that very much. Yes, I believe in the virgin birth.” “ Well, do you believe He died on the cross?” “Oh, yes, certainly. I, I do believe He died on the cross. Yes, sire, I believe that with all of my heart.” “Well, do you believe He was raised from the dead?” “Yes, siree, I believe that. I believe He walked out of that tomb.” “ Mr. Diablo, that’s, that’s very wonderful. Mr. Diablo, if you, if you come into Bellevue Baptist Church will you be a good member? Will you be willing to work in the church? “Oh, yes, I’d be very happy. As a matter of fact, I’ll serve as a deacon if you’ll elect me. (Laughter from congregation) I’d be glad to sing in the choir. I would, I’ll be glad to do all kinds of work. Why, you’ll think I’m an angel of light. Yes, I’ll be glad to do all of that. As a matter of fact, I will be happy to fill the pulpit anytime the pastor is absent.” By the way, one time when I was preaching, a little boy came up to me after the service and he said, “Preacher, that was a good sermon.” He said, “When you up there preaching I could see the devil just as plain.” (Laughter from congregation) “Do you believe that He’s the Son of God?” “Yes.” “Do you believe He’s the Messiah?” “Yes.” “Do you believe He was born of a virgin?” “Yes.” “You believe He was raised from the dead.” “Yes.” “Do you believe all of these things?” “Yes.” “Will you work in the church?” “Yes.” “One more question, Mr. Diablo. Will you bow your knee and confess that He is Lord?” “ No, I will not.” He never has and he never will. They believe, they tremble, but they do not have saving faith. You know this word tremble, as I say, says to make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. What does saving faith bring? It doesn’t bring fear; it brings peace. Romans, chapter 9, chapter 5, verse 1: “Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Now, what, what have I said? It is this kind of faith, this dead faith, this faith that does
not save; it is a Profitless Profession. It is a Barren Belief. The same kind of belief that the devil has. And thirdly, it is, therefore, a Fatal Faith. Now, continue to read. Look in verse 20: “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” It is fatal. “Was not Abraham, our father, justified by works, when he had offered Isaac, his son, upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 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. Ye see, then, that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.” It almost sounds like a, James is arguing with himself in verses 23 and 24. “Likewise, also was not Rahab, the harlot, justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?” Now get to the bottom line and here it is. “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” It is a fatal, a dead, a fruitless faith. Now the man with this kind of faith, therefore, is still in his trespasses and in his sin. The difference between the man that James is describing and the man that Paul is describing is life. A person who has Christ in him has the light of God in him. I want to say it one more time. We are saved by faith alone, in grace alone, ob, in Jesus alone. But, listen. The faith that saves is never alone. We are not saved by faith and works; we are saved by faith that works. Not faith and works. It’s all by grace. Remember, Ephesians 2, verses 8 and 9: “For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God – Not of works, lest any man should boast.” You’re not saved by works. “…Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works….”
If you remember your high school English, remember what a preposition is. And I want to give you three prepositions that are found in Ephesians 2, verses 8 and 9 that will clear this up crystal clear. By the way, I shared these with President George Bush. Three prepositions. And it is by, through, and unto. By, through, and unto. “For by grace as ye saved,” – by grace, “…through faith, unto good works.” Not by good works. By grace, through faith, unto good works. You’re not saved by good works, but good works display your faith. James is saying, “Show me your faith without your works. I’ll show you my faith by my works.” It’s unto good works. I cannot work my soul to save, that work my Lord has done. But I will work like any slave, for the love of God’s dear Son.
Now James gives us two examples and one illustration. And with those two examples and one illustration we’ll come to a conclusion tonight. What are the two examples he gives? First of all, he gives the example of Abraham. And in verses 21 through 24 he says, “Was not Abraham, our father, justified by works, when he had offered Isaac, his son, upon the altar? Seeing thou how, Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 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.” Well, when, when did this happen? When Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Did that happen when he offered Isaac upon the altar? No. It happened thirty years before that, thirty years before that. In Genesis, chapter 15, and verse 6, the Bible says over in the Book of Genesis, “And he believed God, and it counted unto him for righteousness.” I mean, when he, he, God speaks to him and tells him His plans and of His love and His sovereign grace, and Abraham says, “God, I believe You.” At that moment God says, “All right. You’re justified. It’s counted unto you for righteousness.” Then, thirty years later, in Genesis 22, he offers up Isaac. Now, what’s he saying? All, all James is saying is this: That when Abraham offered up Isaac, he showed that what happened back there in Genesis 15 was real. It didn’t make it real. No. It, it, it was not the means of his salvation; it was the mark of his salvation. The Amplified Bible says, “Abraham was shown to be justified by works.” And I think that is right. That’s one illustration.
And there’s no real contradiction between Abraham, excuse me, between Paul and James concerning Abraham. Remember that Paul is talking about a know-so salvation; James is talking about a show-so salvation. Paul is talking about the root and James is talking about the fruit.
Now he uses another illustration – Rahab in verse 25. Look at it. “Likewise, also was not Rahab, the harlot, justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?” Now if you read about Rahab in Joshua, chapter 2, you’re going to learn this Shady Lady of Jericho went from a streetwalker to a saint when she believed God and trusted the Lord. And because she was saved, she got on God’s team and helped deliver those spies that went sent out by Joshua to spy out the land. Again, what James is saying is, “Talk is cheap.” I tell people, if your religion hasn’t changed your life, you’d better change your religion. “Any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new creature.”
Now, those are the two illustrations James uses, for examples. But then he gives a classic illustration, and with the illustration we’ll close. And the illustration makes it very clear. Here’s the illustration in verse 26: “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” Now, let’s visit the mortuary. And there is a body, a cadaver. It is dead. Do you expect that corpse to do any work? Do you expect it to do anything, to get up and walk around the room, to do the dishes, to vacuum the floor, to preach a sermon, to sing in the choir, to do anything? No. Why? It has no life. And, and a body without the spirit is dead. Now, let’s look at somebody else who has the spirit within them. They are alive. They are not a lifeless body. They have life in them. Now, they can vacuum the floor, they can do the dishes, they can sing in the choir, they can take the offering. They can do all of these things. Why? Because they have life in
them. Friend, it is not the works that bring the life; it is the life that brings the works.
Just that clear. They do what they do because they are what they are – alive. Now, you can’t, you can’t take a, a dead body and say, “Get busy, and, therefore, when you get busy then you’ll be OK. When you begin to do something. Show us. Become a living person by doing something.” He can’t. He’s dead, he’s dead. Only when he has life can he have works. Now, the works don’t produce the life; the life produces the works. “For by grace, through faith, unto good works.”
Paul is talking about a know-so salvation; James is talking about a show-so salvation. Now, let’s wrap it right now. I want you to beware of any kind of works righteousness. Don’t get the idea that good works can save you. They can’t save you anymore than works could give life to a dead body. It’s impossible. “For by grace are ye saved, through faith….” “And if by grace, it is no more of works; otherwise grace is no more grace…”. Remember Romans 11:6. It. Don’t try to save yourself. You can’t do that anymore than Greg could lift himself off the floor or a drowning man could take hold of his hair and lift himself out of the water. It is by the grace of God.
And it’s amazing how we try to put certain qualifications on salvation. And we have these prayer benches here, but I don’t put them here for the reason that some people have what they call an altar in the church, that you come to the altar to get saved. And there at the altar somehow you pray through. A man in a country church, who ultimately became a Christian, said, “I went to that old-fashioned church and got down at the altar, trying to find God, trying to do something to get right with God. And one dear brother came and kneeled beside me and he said ‘Brother, hold on, just hold on.’ He said, ‘Hold on till you get saved. That’s what I did’ And so I, he said I was there praying, trying to hold on. He said a sister came and kneeled beside me. She said, ‘Oh brother, Oh brother, let go. You’re never going to be saved till you let go. I had to let go before God saved me.’ And then he said another got up, and she got up and another came to that old-fashioned altar and said, ‘Look for the light. Look for a bright light. I saw a bright light when I got saved.’’ And this poor man said, “You know, between trying to hold on, let go, and look for that light, I almost didn’t make it.” (Laughter from congregation) Listen. The Bible doesn’t say anything about holding on or letting go or looking for a light. The Bible says sweetly, simply, sublimely, surely “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you’ll be saved.” “For by grace are ye saved through faith….” Don’t try to mix these things. Don’t get the idea that good works, little or a lot, will save you or help save you. It’s the grace of God. Now beware, therefore, of trying to mix works and faith. But also beware of a dead faith. Beware of just simply giving assent to certain facts, professing certain things. That is a Profitless Profession. That is a Barren Belief. And, therefore, it is a Fatal Faith. It has no life. You have no more religion that the devil. People say, “Oh, yes, I’m saved. I know the plan of salvation.” Precious friend, you’re not saved by the plan of salvation; you’re saved by the man of salvation. His name is Jesus. And don’t be like that woman in the hospital who said, “I just, I don’t see how just saying that can do any good.” She’s right. Put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and I promise you, on the authority of the Word of God, He will save you. And if there’s somebody here tonight and you’ve had a Profitless Profession, you have had a Barren Belief, and you have a Fatal Faith, I want to ask you to put your trust in the Son of God. Trust Him to save you and He will save you. And I’ll tell you something else. It will show up in your life, it will.
Let’s pray together. Heads are bowed and eyes are closed. “Father God. I pray that You will seal Your Word to our hearts tonight, and, Lord, teach us, teach us, Lord, to have the kind of faith in You that is transformational and not mere hollow profession and barren belief. Deliver us, Lord, from dead faith, which is really not faith at all, to a living, vital relationship with Jesus. Lord, I just pray tonight if there’s somebody here in this service who is not truly saved, that tonight they will say an everlasting yes to Jesus Christ, and come to Him in repentance and faith and trust Him. In Your dear name. Amen.”
