“IS YOUR FAITH ALIVE?” James 2:14-26
FBCF – 10/16/22
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Sermon bump video (https://www.sermoncentral.com/church-media-preaching-sermons/sermon-video-illustrations/book-of-james-10149-detail)
Continue our series in book of James – “Faith that Works.” So far, we’ve talked about:
- The tests & trials that come to our lives & how those tests develop steadfastness & spiritual maturity in our lives
- The need for wisdom in our lives & the fact that EVERY Christ-follower can have wisdom when they need it
- The dangerous & deadly progression of temptation & sin – Temptation is real, seems good, leads to death, but God offers us something better – life in Him!
- The command for every Christ-follower to be a doer of the Word & not just a hearer – Commitment: I WILL DO WHAT THE WORD OF GOD SAYS FOR ME TO DO
- Today, ask question, “Is Your Faith Alive?”
Sometimes we hear a community leader or politician wax eloquent about how wonderful the local public schools are but enrolls his kids in an expensive private school. Or an executive w/ McDonald’s claims his restaurant offers the best family meals but is seen eating w/ his family at Burger King. Or a husband proclaims his undying love & faithfulness to his wife while having an ongoing, longterm affair w/ another woman.
In each example there is a difference between what is claimed & what is done. What each person did does not match up w/ what the person said. The actions don’t match the words. The behavior of each person gave a much clearer picture of what they actually believed than what they had said.
This is the issue that we are going to see James take up in the passage we are considering for today. Is your faith for real or is it false? Is it genuine or is it counterfeit? Is it alive or is it dead?
EXPLANATION – James 2:14-26
Read a story about a man who walked into his boss’ office w/ a canned Coke in his hand. He had bought it out of the vending machine for the employees. Put money in, made selection, & can dropped through the door as normal. Can looked perfectly normal. Familiar Coca-Cola colors & logo on side. Tab on top still in place b/c it had not been opened yet. Employee handed it to his boss who immediately recognized that the can was empty. No liquid refreshment inside the can, although everything on the outside looked absolutely normal.
Empty soft drink can is not a big deal. But how many people who claim to be Christians are like that can? Have the right label. Look like all the others around them in a typical church service. But inside they are empty. They’re just an empty can w/ a colorful label. There is no life in them.
In this passage, James is dealing w/ the problem of inward emptiness of many who fill churches every week. It is the problem of faith without works – the problem of dead faith.
At the beginning of this chapter, he came right out of the clear command to “Be a doer of the Word & not a hearer only” into a section teaching on the specific sin of partiality & discrimination in the church. Makes it abundantly clear that this is a sin that cannot & must not be found among God’s people. V. 9 – “But if you show partiality, you are committing sin & are convicted by the law as transgressors.”
On the heels of that clear, practical teaching, he comes into this section that is possibly the most controversial in the book. It’s b/c of this section that Martin Luther detested this book, calling it an “epistle of straw.” He failed to recognize that James’ teaching on work complemented, not contradicted, Paul’s teaching of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. James’ emphasis is our application for today:
APPLICATION – Faith that is alive is faith that works.
Several years ago, the old woman in the Wendy’s commercial asked, “Where’s the beef?” James asks, “Where’s the works?” In other words, “Where is faith that is alive & not dead?”
FAITH THAT IS ALIVE IS ACTIVE – v. 14-17 – This passage is really the trademark for the whole book. James keeps circling back to this subject to remind his audience that a faith that is alive will be a faith that is active.
Was talking to Mama about this passage this week. After we got off phone, she texted me this: “James 2:14-16 James says Faith in Christ is a LIVING PRODUCTIVE TRUST IN CHRIST solid unmoveable trust Your Daddy had faith”
v. 14 – It’s easy to “say” that you have faith. Anybody can claim that & make a statement like that. But James asks a question that has an obvious answer – “What good is it…?” It’s no good at all. Faith that is not active is dead. You can walk this aisle. You can sign a card. You can stand up in front of the church. You can even get baptized. But if there’s not active demonstration of your faith, then all that other stuff was for nothing.
Someone could show up here in the dead of winter, freezing to death, hungry, w/ nowhere to stay & no way to get any food. It would be disgusting if we were to just say, “Well, I hope you get warm. I hope you get some food. I hope you find a place to stay.” That’s a dead faith & shows that our profession of faith was just a bunch of empty words.
If our faith is alive, we will be moved to get them some warm clothes, get them some good food, get them a place to stay out of the cold, even if it means emptying our bank account to do that.
FAITH THAT IS ALIVE IS OBVIOUS – v. 18-19 – James gives another convincing scenario. How else are you going to show your faith unless there are obvious works in your life? You can say, “I have faith” until you’re blue in the face, but if it’s a faith that is alive, it will be obvious to those who observe your life. I’m not suggesting that we do these works so that others will praise US or so that we will please others. Paul spoke to that when he said, “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Galatian 1:10)
Similar thing happened to Jesus – Mark 2 – Friends brought paralyzed friend to Jesus. Lowered through the roof. Jesus first said, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” But when the Pharisees questioned His authority do that, Jesus told the man to pick up his bed & go home. Even Jesus knew that people needed to SEE the obvious works of God. And Mark 2:12 says, “And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, ‘We never saw anything like this!’”
Jesus also said in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works [your OBVIOUS good works] & glorify your Father who is heaven.”
v. 19 – It’s also obvious that demons don’t have faith that is alive even though they say that they believe in God. Just saying you believe but having no obvious works put you on the same par as the demons. What a terrifying reality!
FAITH THAT IS ALIVE IS RADICAL – v. 20-25 – James gives 2 examples that his Jewish readers would readily identify with: Abraham & Rahab. Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum! Abraham, the father of their faith, was called by God to take his son – his only son, Isaac - & offer him up as a sacrifice. What a radical thing to do! Of course, God did not make Abraham go through w/ the sacrifice & provided a ram for him to sacrifice instead. But Abe’s faith was shown to be alive & genuine by his willingness to go through w/ this radical act if God required that of him.
And just in case somebody might say, “Yeah, but come on! That’s ABRAHAM. He was a big-time follower of God. He’s the father of our faith. I’ll never be like him.” Well, how about Rahab – a prostitute! She, too, had faith in God & showed it was alive by her obedience to Him.
Look at the contrasts:
- Abraham: Father of the Jews – a holy man – Was prepared to sacrifice his only son.
- Rahab: A Canaanite from Jericho – a prostitute – Risked her life by protecting Israelite spies.
- Both had faith that was alive & radical.
God calls us to do radical things for Him so others can see our faith, be curious about our reason living such a radical life for Christ, so we can then lead them to Jesus. David Platt in his book, Radical: “We will not wish we had made more money, acquired more stuff, lived more comfortably, taken more vacations, watched more television, pursued greater retirement, or been more successful in the eyes of this world. Instead, we will wish we had given more of ourselves to living for the day when every nation, tribe, people, and language will bow around the throne and sing the praises of the Savior who delights in radical obedience and the God who deserves eternal worship.”
It's a convicting moment when we ask ourselves: How radical is my faith?
FAITH THAT IS ALIVE IS LIVING – v. 26 – May sound redundant but needs to be reemphasized. Each of you is alive today. You are breathing, have a heartbeat, brain activity, able to move around even if w/ difficulty, able to accomplish many of the tasks that are before you.
But there will come a day when you won’t be breathing, your heart won’t be beating, & your brain activity will have ceased. Your body will be a corpse b/c your spirit will have departed from you, either to heaven or hell. The element that makes it a corpse is the absence of a living spirit w/in you. In the same way, faith that is not accompanied by active, obvious, radical works is dead.
How do you make that faith come alive? Do you go out & start doing a bunch of good works hoping that life will come? No, that would be like digging up a corpse & giving it a job at a grocery store in hopes that would bring it back to life.
There is only One who can raise the dead. There is only One who can give spiritual life. There is only One who can make your faith alive. You go to Him. He will give you life.
CONCLUSION – Ask questions:
- Have I truly placed my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior & Lord?
- If so, is my faith active?
- Is my faith obvious?
- Is my faith radical?
- Is my faith living?
