“Wanted dead or alive”
James 2:14-26
Intro- Good morning church
We have been in a series “Faith without works is dead”. We have been looking at what happens in our life after we have accepted Christ as Lord of our lives.
Sadly for some, they do not change very much.
In fact, some people we do not even know for sure if they have had a salvation experience because their life hasn’t change very much.
They still hang with the same friends and do the same things and when in a push to explain their faith they cannot even acknowledge Jesus as Lord.
The first week, we looked at surrender- total surrender. The kind that throws the white flag and says it is all about you and not about me. What I do from that moment on will be to please you and not me.
Last week, to be good stewards of what God has given us.
Everything we have that is good has come from our Father up above.
We acknowledge him as our source and provider and if he would want to take back anything for any reason, he has our permission to be able to do that.
This week- works. Our faith that produces works (good deeds). Sermon title-Wanted; dead or alive
Again without apology-I am purposefully saying that you cannot earn your salvation by works. It is by the grace of God through Jesus Christ less anyone can boast.
You cannot work hard enough to go to heaven.
There will be no balance sheet with your good and bad things you have done and you sit in wonder how the scale will tip for you for eternity. Jesus on the cross has provided all that we need for salvation, but what happens after we are saved?
Faith has really gotten messed up- some don’t know what they believe
What kind of faith do you have?
Hebrews 11:1- “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and evidence (assurance) about what we do not see.”
There are a lot of religions that offer no hope- you are not sure of the outcome
I want to talk to you about faith.
Faith is an action word
What is it about faith that makes some express themselves -Others lock up their thoughts and don’t want anyone going there
What is it about faith that there seems to be so many answers for
Why do some excel at faith, some plummet, why does it come natural for some and some really have to work at it.
Some have no trouble believing, some spend their whole lives chasing faith
2 Corinthians . 13:5-
“Examine yourselves to see wither you are in the faith” Test yourself
James 2:14-26 Read from Bible
Some people want to get all beside themselves because the apostle Paul talks about “God’s grace”...not by works less any man should boast.
James teachings about faith with works.
I shared with you awhile back that Martin Luther was so convinced that James was wrong that he felt the whole book of James should not be part of the bible.
I want you to see this morning that they were talking about the same thing but from two separate angles, and speaking to different situations.
Did you ever notice when they want to sell something they put “New and Improved” on it. They also put “Real” in front of what they want to sell.
Real coffee, real leather, real lemon added.
Now they have reality TV.- I am sorry but they do not think like everyone
There are phony ideas about faith, and there are phony reasons people serve God.
People take the word of God out of context to say what they want it to say
The book of James is a practical book of the bible. We can relate these things to our lives.
This portion is often misunderstood and cults have used it to prove that you have to work your way to heaven.
People going door to door for salvation
Apostle Paul- addressing the people of Rome was fighting a REAL problem- legalism
“you have to be circumcised, you have to obey the over 600 laws.
James- who is addressing for no better way of saying “lazy” believers, I’m saved praise God
I’ll just be right here waiting for Jesus to return
Paul -is saying- how that you can be sure you’re a Christian
James- is saying- how you can show you’re a Christian
Let’s look at dead faith first
(V14)- James says what good is it-faith that has no deeds or good works
(V16)- If one of you say to him (a person in need) go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about his physical needs- WHAT GOOD IS IT?
Illustration
A personal manager rejected a job applicant because the firm was overstaffed, but the would be employee persisted, “the little bit of work I’d do won’t even be noticed”
Some people will do anything to be able to do nothing !
Illustration-
Story of an old mountaineer and his wife were sitting in front of the fireplace just wasting away the time. After a long period of silence the wife said, “Jed, I think it is raining, get up and go outside and see” the mountaineer thought for a minute, “Awe…, why don’t you just call the dog in and see if he is wet.”
Real faith is more than an empty confession-
George Gallop did a poll and found that 50 million Americans say “I’m born again” even if nothing in their lifestyle would suggest it.
The bible says that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God
“Some are so full of the word of God they are ready to explode, but they have no avenue of sharing it with anybody else.
There is .....Dead faith
Little faith
Weak faith
Obedient faith
Working faith
Strong faith....
Luke 18:8 says “Nevertheless, when the son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth.”
It is obvious that he will be coming back to see faith in action in the life of his followers
Faith is not just something that you say, something you just talk about
Not everyone who has a Christian bumper sticker is a Christian
Not every professor of Christianity is a possessor of Christianity
Talk is cheap- “what value does this kind of faith have”
Illustration-
A young boy on an errand for his mother, had just bought a dozen eggs. Walking out of the store, he tripped and dropped the bag of groceries. All the eggs broke, and the sidewalk was a mess. The boy tried not to cry. A few people gathered to see if he was okay, and to tell him how sorry they were. In the midst of the works of pity- one man handed the boy a quarter. Then he turned to the group and said, “I care 25 cents worth, how much do the rest of you care”
You get the point
Dead faith has no legs
Dead faith has no action
Dead faith is thinking “I was born into the church”
Dead faith is waiting on the porch for Jesus to return
Faith that is alive and active
This passage is why we have Bountiful Blessings.
Suppose someone is needing food, needing clothing, what good is it to do nothing !
To tell them about Jesus- you have to show them Jesus
We cannot say we love the lord, accept the grace of God for our lives and not live out our faith in the lives of others
We are not talking just about our salvation-
If you truly accept Jesus into your heart, and believe that he died for your sins, you are on your way to heaven/you are a child of God
It is not about what you have to do to get it, it is a free gift, bought and paid for by Jesus. !
What I am saying is that when you have an encounter with the lord, there is a transformation in our lives,
We are thankful for what the lord has done in our lives, and we want to spread that love to those that are around us. Including the saints of God in the church.
William Booth-Salvation Army
“Faith and works should travel together side by side, step by step. First faith, and then works, and then faith again, and then works- until William Booth-Salvation Army can be scarcely distinguished which one is one and which is the other....”
James says that faith without works is dead! That is self explanatory- we may not like to hear it...ooops there it is!!
Are you saved by what you do- NO ! Hear me clearly, no, but when you have an encounter with the living God, you have a living faith
For some faith is intellectual- head knowledge
study it, debate it, talk about it
They can quote it, study it, debate it, they just cannot live it
James says do something with it-
Real faith is generous- it wants to give back to God and God’s people.
Real faith takes initiative- when you become part of God’s family, you have family responsibilities.
Real faith is visible- the word believe in the Greek means “to trust in”, “to cling to”, “to rely on “, “to commit yourself completely”
It is more than head knowledge
Actions speak louder than words- our behavior shows what we really believe.
“Examine yourselves”
Closing:
Think about these things-
Do you have a relationship with the lord Jesus Christ? More than just knowing of him
That is a direct yes/no question!
Is your faith active? Or are you waiting on the porch for Jesus?
Illustration-
An old boatman painted the word “faith” on one oar of his boat and “works” on the other. He was asked his reason for this. In answer, he slipped the oar with “faith” into the water and rowed. The boat of course made a very tight circle. Returning to the deck, the boatman then said, now, let’s try works without faith and see what happens. The oar marked “works” was put in place and the boatman began rowing with the “works ‘oar. Again the boat went into a tight circle but in the opposite direction.
When the boatman returned to the wharf, he interpreted his experiment in these strong and convincing words, “you see, to make a passage across the lake, one needs both oars working. simultaneously in order to keep the boat in a straight and narrow way. If one does not have the use of both oars, he makes no progress either across the lake nor as a Christian.
Ephesians 2:8-9
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.
God’s grace. God reaches down. He says “I want you to know me. I want to have a relationship with you. “That grace, and you look up and say “I want to know you, lord. I want to have a relationship with you. When God’s hand of grace comes down and your hand of faith goes up, that’s salvation. That’s what it means to be a believer. Saved by grace, through faith to do exactly what God made you to do in the first place. He has a plan for your life.
It has been a little over two years since Becky went home to be with the Lord and I still get people who say how could you do her funeral? I did it by the Grace and mercy and strength of my Lord and savior Jesus Christ! I did because I was her husband for many years but I was also her pastor. I did it because I know that as a child of God that she is enjoying the promises of God.
I realize that many of you are in similar situations at different varying time tables. When you had your conversation with God and He said trust me- you took it that He was going to do a miracle in your life or in the life of your love one and it didn’t happen the way you thought-
He said trust me! Trust me! Trust me. He did not say trust what you want and if you don’t get it- you will not trust me anymore.
The same God that gave me strength the instant she went home to be with him is the same God that says trust me and will continue to give me strength to live out my life for Him and make an impact to those I come into contact with.
I don’t know what exactly you may be going through- maybe your struggling with the loss of a loved one like me- maybe it is something different but I will say the principal is still the same and that a faith that is going to work is a working faith. You will have to move one step in front of another and trust Him to give you the next step as you take a step. A faith that is dead and inactive is a faith that will never see what God has in store for you because you are not stepping out to him in trust but asking him to do what you want him to do.
Altar call:
