Belief in God is pretty strong among Americans. A survey shows that 53% say that they know God exists and they have no doubts. 18% say that they believe in God but they still have some doubts. And 4% believe in God just sometimes.
Another poll found that more than 68% of Americans identify as Christians. You would think with such a large majority professing a belief in God, and nearly as many claiming faith in Christ, that the ethical and moral standards of Americans would be higher. Unfortunately, that is not the case.
Some want to blame our ethics and morality problem on the opposing political party, or social media, or television, but the responsibility actually rests on us as individuals. If 68% of us claim to be Christian, where are our ethics and morality?
I think that the problem is not with what people believe; the problem is that too many of us don't live what we claim to believe. So, what we do does not match what we say we believe. Fortunately for us, James wrote about this problem and he points us to a better way. Today we will be using the writings of James 2.
Prayer. We pick up our story where we left off last week:
James 2:14-17 – “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can such faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.”
James was writing to Jewish believers who came from a strong tradition of hospitality in their culture. The Jewish people were instructed to never turn away a stranger, much less a brother or sister. By their social norms, they were expected to help.
Yet, James gives us an example where no help was offered - only useless words. He gave the example of a desperately poor brother or sister who didn’t have anything to wear or eat. Here was a person needing help, but all he received was encouragement to go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed.
James connected this to faith. People must see our faith in what we do; otherwise, our belief - our faith - is dead. Death was a vivid image! Lifeless and useless. Death gives off an unmistakable stench. James is saying that an inactive faith has the smell of death around it.
Maybe you have stood in a walk-in closet full of clothes and said, I don't have anything to wear. What that usually means in our culture is, I can't find anything that's appropriate for the occasion, or in the right color, or that I feel like wearing.
When James describes this fellow Christian is without clothes, he wasn't implying that he was without nice clothes or without the appropriate clothes. He was without clothes -period! This fellow believer was either completely naked or only wearing an undergarment. He was in a dire, desperate situation.
Not only was this person naked, but he was also hungry. Again, as with the clothing, this person was not merely without good, healthy, tasty food, or even food that he favored at that moment. This believer had absolutely nothing to eat.
Let me interject here for those that may not even know. SEBC has a very active and successful clothes closet. If someone needs clothes, don’t turn them away with only a prayer. SEBC also has a food pantry. If someone is hungry, don’t send them away with only a prayer. These are two of many of the vital ministries of this church.
So James is warning us that we need to do more than just wish them well and tell them we will pray for them. If we have faith, we are being told that we need to put it into action. Inactive faith doesn't merely fail to do good; it makes the situation worse.
In James's examples, the poor brother or sister would leave the church just like they were when they entered, still without clothes and lacking food. Instead of the warmth this person needed, he or she felt the cold wind of apathy. No one really cared. At least they didn’t care enough to offer the help they needed.
As this individual left, the only thing this person was given was the strong impression that those they considered as a brother or sister was lacking love and faith. Again, James reminds us in:
James 1:22 – “But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
James 2:18 – “But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith by my works.”
Like most of Americans in our day, those in James's original audience believed in God. For these Jewish believers, believing in the one true God was essential. It was the cornerstone doctrine of their faith and heritage. But just thinking correctly about God is not enough. (Repeat)
Our faith should connect what we believe to what we do. As believers, we have beliefs, truths, and doctrines that are important to us. But if you want to know what beliefs are truly valuable to a person, think how those beliefs impact or are seen in how we live. It's hard to give credibility to what someone believes if that person's actions contradict their words. Real evidence is seen in what we do, not simply in what we say. “Have you ever heard or thought or said, “They sure don’t act like a Christian.”
That's not much different than the man who complained to police about the speeding cars driving through his neighborhood. Police took his complaint seriously. The next day they set up a traffic control speed trap in the neighborhood. Among the people they ticketed for speeding was the very man who filed the complaint. The man could say publicly he was opposed to speeding but his action said otherwise.
There's no greater possession than a relationship with Christ by our faith, and that faith relationship should be abundantly clear in how we live. Genuine faith and true works should be inseparable. Our works - how we live - are the demonstration of our faith.
James 2:19-20 – “19 You believe that God is one. Good! Even the demons believe—and they shudder. 20 Senseless person! Are you willing to learn that faith without works is useless?”
Can you agree that genuine faith should begin with good theology? But our faith should never end with good theology. Some people's faith consists of agreeing to a set of beliefs, or worse yet, simply saying they agree to certain beliefs. That's a lot different from having a vital, life-changing relationship with God. It's one thing to talk about God and another thing entirely to obey God by putting that faith into practice.
What I am saying is that a living faith goes beyond head knowledge. In these verses, James highlights the difference between an intellectual commitment to a belief with a personal trust that includes obedience. You can have an accurate theological knowledge. You can know the Bible and know it very well. But without works, theology alone doesn't move someone to act. That type of faith falls short; it has nothing to show for itself.
James says, you believe in God. That's good. But know this. The demons also believe and they tremble. They recognize God's holiness and Christ’s deity. The demons don't have a faith that saves, though. Their intellectual knowledge of God goes no further than their head knowledge. It's no different with us.
So we are asked, “Are you willing to learn that faith without works is useless?” Faith without works is not able to accomplish God's will in the world. It is fruitless. The question for us is do our daily habits show our faith? Can someone just watch your daily actions and know that you are a Christian?
James 2:21-24 – “21 Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by works in offering Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active together with his works, and by works, faith was made complete, 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.”
Now let me clarify something. James said, “Faith without works is dead.” But we need to know that our works do not save us. There is nothing that you can physically do that will save you from hell and get you into heaven. James wasn't teaching that faith and works are opposing forces or that works apart from faith can save. No, our works cannot save us.
Faith and works are complementary concepts. Faith is what activates our works, and those works complete our faith. Works are not what we do for salvation, they are what we do because of salvation.
James uses the example of Abraham in offering his son Isaac on the altar. Abraham had waited for years for his son Isaac to be born. But God told him to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering. Abraham obeyed without delay. Abraham had faith in God and fully trusted God. So, he could do what God told him to do, even if it didn't make any sense to him. Abraham's faith led to his obedience.
It almost seems that James’ writings and Paul's writings contradict each other. Paul wrote on the subject of faith and said:
Romans 3:28 – “For we conclude that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 – “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— 9 not from works, so that no one can boast.”
There is no disconnect between James's and Paul's teachings. Paul wrote that salvation comes because of God's grace through faith. He also wrote that the purpose of our salvation is to do the good works that God has planned for us.
Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.”
Good works are the natural result of real faith. To Paul, godly works will always accompany saving faith. I say again, our actions are the result of our faith.
James 2:25-26 – “25 In the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works in receiving the messengers and sending them out by a different route? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”
Now James uses another Old Testament story to stress his point. Rahab was outside the covenant community, but she had saving faith. By faith, she protected the spies that were sent over to scout out the promised land before the Israelites would enter. Because she acted out of her faith, God spared her life and the lives of all in her house when Jericho fell. Rahab believed what she heard about the God of the Israelites, and she chose to trust their God and acknowledge Him as her God too.
Rahab did not merely say she believed; she put her belief into action, risking her life to save God's soldiers that came to her home in response to her words of faith. Because she acted in faith, her life and the lives of all in her house were saved.
So the question for each of us is, does our lifestyle show that we not only have a believing faith in God but an active faith, a working faith in God? People should be able to recognize the goodness of God in us by simply watching our actions. Does God show through in how you act? That's our question as we go from here today.
Before we close any service, we want to make sure that every person has the opportunity to accept Christ as their personal Savior. Do you have faith in God? Do you know that the only way to God is through His Son Jesus Christ? If you have never asked Christ to come into your heart and life, why not do that today? Come now and be saved.
