Chico Alliance Church
Pastor David Welch
“Faith/belief that works"
Welcome to our fifteenth appointment in front of God’s mirror. The whole Bible serves as a mirror that accurately reflects the true nature of our faith in Jesus. James called his readers to not only gaze into this divine mirror but do something about what it exposes.
Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. James 1:22
But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. James 1:25
James talked the primary faith testing aspect of life in a broken world; trials.
I. Faith’s response to trials 1:2-27
II. Faith’s response to partiality and prejudice 2:1-13
To prefer or prejudge someone based on some external criteria or association with a specific group is sin. To judge someone based on nationality, color, economic status, intelligence, looks, ability, is sin.
But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. James 2:9
The divine family rule is to treat those who love Jesus equally. The rule for all people is to love others as we love ourselves.
INTRODUCTION
Today we tackle what some see as a giant theological controversy in James’ letter. Some say it caused Martin Luthor to consider this letter the “straw epistle.” James wrote about the nature true of faith. James wrote to make sure that those who claimed to genuinely believe in Jesus truly demonstrated that belief by their corresponding behavior. When we started this journey through James, I suggested several descriptive titles for the letter i.e. Behavior of Belief, Ten Tests True Trust (Faith), Faith that Works, The Practice of Righteousness,
Faith that is real. Faith in Action.
III. Faith's True Nature 2:14-26
Here we encounter the core concept of the book. James address the nature or characteristics of genuine faith or belief. Before we dive into the text, I want to spend some time trying to understand the basic concept of faith.
To do that, we begin with the word itself.
The verb form is used 248 times and translated believe, trust or commit.
The noun form is used 244 times and is translated faith or belief.
That makes nearly 500 references to the act of believing or the concept of faith.
The core concept has to do with an inspiring persuasion concerning a person or proposition. This is true on a natural level as well as a spiritual level. Here is my attempt at a general definition of faith.
Faith is sufficient intellectual and emotional persuasion regard a person or proposition to inspire ready response.
There are several factors to consider in this definition.
What is the source of the persuasion?
What is the level of persuasion?
Does the persuasion captivate both intellect and emotion?
Is the persuasion sufficient to inspire eager action on my part?
What is the level of integrity of the person I am persuaded to trust.
What is the level of veracity of the proposition I am persuaded to believe.
Most actions that require faith have to do with people or propositions. Biblical propositions requiring some sort of action appear all through the Bible.
Let’s consider some examples.
The Bill Gates Give Away Scam
Some time ago and email was circulating claiming that Bill Gates was testing a way to give away million of dollars to those participating in an email experiment. Some were persuaded to act on the email and forward it on to all their friends. Technically the object of the trust had the money to fund such and experiment. The source of the persuasion however was highly suspect.
Scientists persuade people to embrace the lie of evolution all the time.
Philosophers persuade people to stop believing in God.
False teachers lead people astray from the truth of the Bible all the time.
People develop anger toward God and stop trusting Him because He did not do what some preacher told them was in the Bible. If you just have enough faith you can fulfill all the desires of YOUR heart despite the fact it was not God’s desire.
Faith is rarely blind. We respond based on data or experience. Our response hinges on the trustworthiness of our source of persuasion. Faith also must have an object. Faith is only as effective as the object of our faith. The level of persuasion has little to do with the outcome. Take this dilapidated chair. A normal person would access his knowledge base to discern that the structural integrity of this chair leaves something to be desired. Yet a skilled manipulator might manipulate my mind and emotions to convince me to eagerly, with great faith, sit on the chair with disastrous results. A high level of persuasion but a faulty object.
Here is another example. ICE.
One pond is labeled “Thick Ice” the other “Thin Ice”. It doesn’t matter the amount or strength of my faith. The point is that I became sufficiently persuaded that I could walk on the ice. The result of my action does not depend on the strength of my faith but the condition of the ice.
The point of faith happens the moment I have sufficient persuasion to actually step out on to the ice.
I can whole-heartedly believe that God promises to heal everyone of all diseases, but the proposition is unbiblical. They rationalize that the lack of results was due to sin or insufficient faith.
Many have been highly persuaded to believe in other gods but the integrity of the object of their faith is faulty.
Every day we make faith-decisions based on the best information we possess.
We can be persuaded to buy a certain vehicle.
We can be persuaded to try a certain food.
We have faith our car will start.
We have faith that the doctor knows what they are doing, or the pilot knows how to fly the airplane.
Faith is sufficient intellectual and emotional persuasion regarding a person or proposition to inspire ready response.
Let’s turn this into a Biblical oriented definition.
Faith is sufficient intellectual and emotional persuasion regarding the promise, person, power and purpose of God to inspire ready response.
God promised to bless the whole world through a son not yet born to Abraham and Sarah his 90+ year old wife.
Scripture says that Abraham believed God and God counted it to him as righteousness. The New Testament adds significant insight.
Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Romans 4:19-21
Abraham acted on the word of the object of his faith. How do we know that Abraham really believed God’s promise? God made the promise and Abraham believed in Genesis 12. Later, after Isaac became a teenager, God tested that faith. He asked Abraham to sacrifice the promises son to Him. Abraham’s persuasion concerning God’s promise was sufficient to inspire Abraham to fully obey God’s direction.
The Holy Spirit (Heb 11) reveals Abraham’s thinking through this test of his faith.
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. Hebrews 11:17-19
Genuine faith requires sufficient level of intellectual and emotional persuasion to readily respond. Genuine faith generally involves some level of mystery and risk. We are called to trust without seeing the whole picture.
We are called to accept some level of risk. Many today claim to believe but don’t exhibit the level of persuasion to eager respond or follow through. Full faith engulfs the mind, emotions and will to the point of response or action. Only this level of trust in God saves us. Only this level of trust in God sanctifies us.
Conversion comes by believing in the person and work of Jesus for us.
Completion comes by believing in the person and work of the Holy Spirit in us.
Initial regeneration comes by believing in the person and work of Jesus for us.
Daily renewal comes by believing in the person and work of the Holy Spirit in us.
The Galatians missed this point.
O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? Gal 3:1-6
We hear the truth and belief it for salvation.
We hear the truth and believe it for sanctification.
The number of occurrences of the word belief (faith) and believe demonstrate its the importance.
• Without it there is no salvation. (Gal 3, John 1:9)
• Without it there is no spiritual growth. (Gal 3)
• Without it you cannot please God and even stir His wrath. (Heb 11, 3:17; Ex 3-4)
• Without it there is no rest. (Heb 3-4)
• Without it there is no life. (Gal 2:20)
• Without it there is no victory. (1 John 5:4)
• Without it there is no endurance. (James 1:2)
• Without it there is no answered prayer. (James 1)
• Whatever we do without it sin. (Rom 14:23)
• Without it there is no hope, joy or peace. (Rom 15:13)
• Without it there we are unprotected and vulnerable (1 Pet 1:5; 2Tim 1:12; Eph 6)
Faith is sufficient intellectual and emotional persuasion regarding the promise, person, power and purpose of God to inspire ready response.
The big question then is then, “Where does this inner persuasion come from?” Since we are spiritually dead in our trespasses and sins, we need a work of God.
Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word (rhema) of Christ. Romans 10:17
This Greek term for the “word” focused on a spoken witness. I believe that God implants a witness in the heart that persuades us to respond to Him. He draws us to Jesus.
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. John 6:44
As a reaction to some abuses, many have discounted the wonder of God’s implanted witness or inner persuasion to trust Him. One TV talking head dared say that those who claimed to hear Jesus were insane.
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God… Romans 8:16
Faith is the gift of God’s implanted persuasion to believe that He can bring about in my life what He has spoken to my spirit.
He persuades me to trust in the work of Christ for my eternal salvation.
He persuades me to believe that He can empower me to live righteously.
He persuades me to confidently face and conquer impossible obstacles.
He persuades me to patiently endure seemingly unbearable difficulties.
The Process of full faith
• We sense a need for help outside of ourselves. (Struggle)
• We sense an inner persuasion concerning who might fill that need. (Enlightenment)
• We believe that is our source of help base on that persuasion. (Decision)
• We feel motivated to embrace that source. (Energizing)
• We readily embrace or respond (Obedience)
• We experience growth and are motivated to continue to embrace (Growth)
ILLUS:
• I need to get to Australia
• I am persuaded that Qantas airlines is the best choice (research, advertising, data)
• I decide to fly with Qantas (belief)
• I am energized to book the flight.
• I board the plane
• I arrive in Australia safe and sound reinforcing my trust in the airline.
How would someone know that I trust Qantas or believe that Qantas is the best option? Because I told them I had faith or because I actually flew with them?
I think we are now ready to tackle our passage in James. I intentionally choose not to get bogged down in the detail of this passage. James drives home one important point regarding faith.
I will read it and make a few comments.
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
James purposes to test the genuineness of one’s faith. Saying you have faith does not make it so. We have learned that faith goes beyond cognitive assent and includes a strong inner persuasion that motivates a ready response. You cannot divorce intellectual or even emotional persuasion from response. James is not advocating salvation by works. James insists on a faith that motivates response. If there is no response, it is legitimate to question the level of persuasion (faith). Many claim to believe in Jesus but exhibit little or no sign of actually trusting Jesus.
If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Mere verbal acknowledgment of someone’s need does nothing to alleviate the need. Mere verbal acknowledgement of my belief without response is not biblical faith.
But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
James insists that you can’t convince me of your faith without some empirical evidence. I have no idea the reality of your belief if there is no outward evidence of it. On the other hand, I don’t even have to tell you I have faith if there is obvious outward evidence. The whole book of James details what kind of evidence should be evident in those who claim to believe in Jesus. I could tell you I ate chocolate cake and you would have to take my word for it. However, if I came in the room with chocolate cake still all over my face you would know without me even telling you. You really should have to tell people you are a Jesus follower. They should readily know that by how you live. That is why the Bible keeps repeating the importance of living godly in an ungodly world.
You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
Mere intellectual acknowledgment of a fact does not constitute faith. Demons acknowledge certain truths about God and even respond. But demons don’t have a level of inner persuasion that motivates them to respond and embrace Him. They fear Him, but they don’t embrace Him.
Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
James offers some examples of his premise that faith without response is not really faith at all.
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works (response)and not by faith alone.
And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
Rahab believed those messengers were from God and that the God was about to destroy Jericho.
She proved the level of persuasion by hiding them and arranging their escape.
For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. James 2:14-26
If the spirit leaves the body it dies. If response leaves belief, it is no longer belief. Believe and response cannot be separated. Neither is valid without the other. The whole point of James is to probe the heart for true faith.
We have all the right elements for genuine life changing faith.
We have the right source of persuasion – the word of Christ.
We have the right object of our faith – Christ Himself.
All we need is the ready response to what He tells us.
Faith is sufficient intellectual and emotional persuasion regarding the promise, person, power and purpose of God to inspire ready response.
If response is lacking from our belief it is not true faith. There are yet many questions to explore regarding faith.
How do we hear the persuasion of Jesus? How do we strengthen our faith? How does faith apply to everyday situations?
