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Visible Faith - Part 1
Introduction
Hello everyone, and welcome to a Bible study on a very familiar topic – Faith. The title we have given this study is “Visible Faith,” and this will be a two-part lesson. Four passages in the Bible are nearly identical that speak to how we are to live as Christians.
The first reference is found in the Old Testament in the book of Habakkuk. In Habakkuk 2:4, we see the following: "Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith.”
The next three references are in the New Testament, and the first one is Romans 10:17, which says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” The second reference is in Galatians 3:11. It says, “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for 'the just shall live by faith." The last New Testament reference is found in Hebrews 10:38: “Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him."
In these passages, the Bible is clear: we are required to walk by faith, and the only way we can do that is to have faith which comes through the Word of God. And this is critical because of what we read in Hebrews 11:6. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
In this lesson, we will be building on this thought as we talk about how our faith, real faith, is visible to others. Faith requires something of us, and that something is action. Second Corinthians 5:7 says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” As we go through these lessons, we want you to think about that word “walk.” Walk implies action – moving forward. It is the opposite of standing still. Our faith is not dormant – it is always in action, and because of that, others can see it, and the Amplified Bible’s rendering of this verse emphasizes this. “For we walk by faith [regulate our lives and conduct ourselves by our conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, with trust and holy fervor; thus we walk] not by sight or appearance.”
Do you remember how Hebrews chapter eleven verse one defines faith? We are going to
read this verse from the Amplified Bible because it will further support what we are going to
be reading in the book of James. It says, “Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality, faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].” (Hebrews 11:1)
As we consider the necessity of our faith being visible to others, the writer of Hebrews
explains how this happens. He says faith is our assurance of things we hope to receive. The
writer further states that faith is the evidence of things not yet seen, but we have the
conviction that they do exist. Do you see the connection here? Our faith becomes visible
when we believe God when He says something exists that has yet to be physically
manifested, and we act as if we already possess it. This is what others see in us when we
believe God for something before we receive it. They witness our faith in action.
The Bible says, once we believe something, our actions give proof to our faith. And our faith becomes more visible when we believe God for something that others do not understand. There are many times when others do not understand why we can believe God for the impossible versus just accepting what is. That is the foundation for our faith being visible. People see something in how we act and respond to situations that they do not see within themselves they question it. This is why Hebrews 11:6, which we will read again, but this time from the Amplified Bible, says, “But without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him.”
When we say that we believe God exists, then our faith is evident in how we act. We “act” like we believe God exists, and we begin to seek out what God has to say about how we are to live. Are we living for ourselves, or are we choosing to live for Him because of our professed faith in Him? This is the point that James brings out in his epistle. Our foundation Scripture for these lessons on Visible Faith will be James 2:14-26, and we will crisscross through the Bible to further explain the examples that James uses.
But, before we read the passage, we want to remind you of who James was, because
understanding this will add another layer of understanding as to how he came to his
conclusion about faith. James was Jesus’s half-brother. He was the son of Mary and Joseph,
and the brother of Judas, Simon, and had other brothers and sisters as well. James was
initially skeptical of Jesus's claims, and we see this recorded in John 7:3-5, which says,
“(3) His brothers therefore said to Him, Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.
(4) For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.?
(5) For even His brothers did not believe in Him.”
Barry, I find it interesting that Jesus did not do the works that He did to gain a following or to
gain recognition or to prove who He was. The works He did flowed from His heart of love and
obedience to doing His Father’s will. But we don’t see that today in some of our Church
leaders. Too many want to be followed. Too many want recognition. They don’t have Jesus’s
heart for people, and I have seen this too many times during my forty-plus years in ministry.
The Faith/Works Connection
After Jesus’s resurrection, James became a believer and an Apostle. He also became a
leader in the Church and played a prominent role in the Jerusalem Council. So, this James,
who wrote the epistle of James, became a believer, a man of faith, after Jesus’s resurrection.
This is the same man who wrote about faith being visible to others. Now, let’s read what he
wrote. Please turn to James chapter two, and we will begin reading with verse fourteen.
Again, these verses in James provide the foundation that we will keep coming back to with
the other examples in Scripture.
We will be reading James 2:14-26 from the Amplified Bible.
(14) What is the benefit, my fellow believers, if someone claims to have faith but has no [good] works [as evidence]? Can that [kind of] faith save him? [No, a mere claim of faith is not sufficient – genuine faith produces good works.]” James asks what benefit is there for someone to say they have faith but they don’t have works as evidence of their faith.
This is the first statement of proof that our faith must be visible to others. Remember what Jesus said in John chapter fourteen when He was preparing His disciples for His departure? Thomas said that they did not know where He was going and asked how they could know the way. Jesus the explained to them again Who He was and His relationship with the Father.
But it's verses ten through twelve that we want to call your attention to. Jesus said,
(10) Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to
you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.
(11) Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.
(12) Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” (John 14:10-12)
Jesus said that if for no other reason, they should believe His relationship to the Father because of the “works” that He had been doing. Those works were evidence of His faith and relationship with the Father. The same applies to us and this is what James was stressing.
No Work, No Faith
Let’s continue in James with verse 15.
(15) If a brother or sister is without [adequate] clothing and lacks [enough] food for each day, (16) and one of you says to them, „Go in peace [with my blessing], [keep] warm and feed yourselves,? but he does not give them the necessities for the body, what good does that do? (17) So too, faith, if it does not have works [to back it up], is by itself dead [inoperative and ineffective].
James gives the example of a Christian who knows a Christian who needs food and clothing but doesn’t offer help when they can do so. Instead of providing what they need (evidence of our faith in Christ), we tell them to go away in peace–with our blessing–and be warmed
and fed. How are they supposed to do that without our help? James asks what good is that
profession of faith when we don’t see any works of faith to back it up. He says that faith
without true works to back it up is dead, inoperative, and ineffective.
And this also applies to the Church. We build massive sanctuaries and pay large salaries to
Church staff members, and then we have no funds to help those within the congregation when
they are in need. This flies in the face of what Paul wrote in Galatians 6:9-10, which says,
(9) And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
(10) Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (Galatians 6:9-10)
The Church’s faith, as a whole, is on display when we witness how it treats its members (family), guests, and their community.
James continues in verse 18.
(18) But someone may say, „You [claim to] have faith and I have [good] works; show me your [alleged] faith without the works [if you can], and I will show you my faith by my works [that is, by what I do].
(19) You believe that God is one; you do well [to believe that]. The demons also believe [that], and shudder and bristle [in awe-filled terror--they have seen His wrath]!
(20) But are you willing to recognize, you foolish [spiritually shallow] person, that faith without [good] works is useless?
James says that one person “claims” to have faith in words only, while his faith is
proven by the works that he does. There is a difference. But we want to call out what he says in verse nineteen. Many people claim to believe in God, thinking that belief in God is enough to save them. James makes it clear that just believing in God is not enough. He said the demons believe in God and shudder as they have seen His wrath when they were kicked out of heaven. In verse twenty, James asks again, very pointedly, if they are willing to admit that faith without “good” works is useless.
If you are wondering what the difference is between works and “good works,” here’s the difference. You can do work in a religious service that aids no one. You can read your Bible,
which is work, and not believe it by failing to do what it says. Your work, therefore, is useless.
But good works are those things done in faith that impact the lives of others. Those works will
aid those in need and bring others to Christ. So, something for you to think about: what kind of work are you doing in your faith walk?
Abraham’s Example of Faith With Works
James continues by giving us two examples of faith with work. The first one pertains to
Abraham. He says,
(21) Was our father Abraham not [shown to be] justified by works [of obedience which expressed his faith] when he offered Isaac his son on the altar [as a sacrifice to God]?
(22) You see that [his] faith was working together with his works, and as a result of the works, his faith was completed [reaching its maturity when he expressed his faith through obedience].
(23) And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND THIS [faith] WAS CREDITED TO HIM [by God] AS RIGHTEOUSNESS and AS CONFORMITY TO HIS WILL," and he was called the friend of God.
(24) You see that a man (believer) is justified by works and not by faith alone [that is, by acts of obedience a born-again believer reveals his faith].”
We know this story very well. God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, and he obeys.
Abraham did not ask God why, nor did he attempt to clarify or remind God of the promise that
He had made to him about Isaac. No, Abraham said “yes, sir” and was obedient. Have you
ever wondered why Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son to God? The writer of
Hebrews tells us why. Hebrews 11:17-19 says,
(17) By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
(18) of whom it was said, „IN ISAAC YOUR SEED SHALL BE CALLED,?
(19) concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he
also received him in a figurative sense.”
Abraham believed God! Abraham believed God when God said he would have a son in his
old age. Abraham believed that God, through his son he would become the father of many
nations. Now, because he believed God, he knew that if God asked him to slay his son, then
God would surely raise him because there was a promise attached to Isaac. Do you see
how Abraham’s faith was visible? James says that because Abraham was obedient, God credited, or laid to his account, righteousness. Abraham’s faith was visible in his obedience and his actions.
And I want to make one additional observation about Abraham’s faith. It appears Isaac also
had faith in God or, at least, in his father. The Bible records Isaac asking only one question:
“Where is the lamb for the offering?” But if you consider his age compared to his father’s, it
makes sense to believe that Isaac, once he learned that he would be the sacrifice, if he
wanted to fight back and get away, he could have. But that is not what the story tells
us.
The story tells us that Abraham was stopped by the angel of God. Had he not been stopped, Abraham would have offered Isaac as a sacrifice. Isaac saw his father’s faith in God and yielded to him. He, too, knew there was a promise attached to him, so he believed his father and therefore believed God. His faith was also visible in that moment.
Rahab’s Example of Faith With Works
Now let’s look at Rahab. James says this of Rahab,
(25) In the same way, was Rahab the prostitute not justified by works too, when she received the [Hebrew] spies as guests and protected them, and sent them away [to escape] by a different route?
Do you remember Rahab’s story? For a lot of people, the only thing they know about Rahab is that she was a prostitute. But there is a whole lot more to this story. We are going to read a little about how a prostitute became a woman of faith and what her faith led to. Turn to Joshua chapter two. The first verse says, “Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from
Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, Go, view the land, especially Jericho.? So they
went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there.” (Joshua
2:1)
Joshua sent two spies to check out the land of Jericho. When they came to the city, they
went to the home of a harlot named Rahab. Being a resident of the city, she should have
immediately turned them in to the authorities, but she didn’t. It was told to the king that the spies had come to the city and were in her home. The king sent men to capture the spies, but Rahab didn’t turn them over. She lied. She said that the men had already left the city before the gates closed when, in fact, she had hidden them on her roof.
Now, why did she do this? Let’s pick the record up with verse eight, and we’re going to read
through verse 14.
(8) Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof,
(9) and said to the men: „I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you.
(10) For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.
(11) And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any
more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.
(12) Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the LORD, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father's house, and give me a true token, (13) and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.?
(14) So the men answered her, Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the LORD has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.?”
Rahab tells the spies that Jericho knows that it is already defeated. The people had heard the
story about how Israel’s God had delivered His people out of Egypt, how He takes care of
them, and how He fights for them. And now they were terrified – no courage, no mental or
emotional strength to fight (“our hearts melted”). This is what they felt, even though they lived
behind a wall that had protected them from other armies.
Now understand this, when Rahab tells the spies that Jericho had heard how the Lord had dried up the waters of the Red Sea for Israel, she was talking about an event that had happen 40 years before! She was talking about an event that might have happened before she was even born. Think about how Jericho hears about the Red Sea. Egypt was a little over 6,500 miles from Jericho. That’s like making a round trip from the West Coast to the East Coast here in the US.
In a span of 40 years, Jericho had heard about Egypt’s destruction from different travelers.
After the Lord delivers the nation of Israel by bankrupting Egypt (Exodus 7-12) and destroying its army in the Red Sea (Exodus 14), the people with firsthand knowledge of the events began to migrate to other parts of the region. They would talk about the incredible events with relatives and friends, who in turn retold the stories with their neighbors and friends, who did the same.
Because of the mind-boggling destruction of Egypt, one of the most powerful kingdoms in the
region, the stories were told again and again and again for years. Think about how family
members would get together and the older members would tell stories they had heard about
the destruction of Egypt – the plagues and what happened at the Red Sea. This story was
shared in every household in Jericho to the point that when the Children of Israel finally arrived at their doorsteps, even their famous wall did not provide them with much comfort. Rahab specifically had settled in her heart that if the God of the Israelites had given them into
the Israelites' hands, then no wall could stop them from taking the city. It was a done deal!!!
This is an example of what Paul wrote in Romans 10:17 – “...then faith cometh by hearing...” Imagine hearing the stories about Egypt’s destruction at the hands of the God of Israel for 40 years. Would you not start to believe it when you heard the “same” story over and over and over? I mean, there is room for doubt when the stories are not the same, but what they were hearing from different people was the same story. When you hear the same story from different sources, it adds a level of credibility to the story.
Jericho had heard about the destruction of Egypt enough times that it produced in the people
a terror of Israel and their God. Jericho had come to the place of believing – of having
absolute faith in – the fact that what happened in Egypt truly happened! In 40 years, Jericho had heard the same story from different travelers again, again and again. For the people of Jericho, repeatedly hearing what had taken place, even though they did not witness it themselves, was enough for them to fear – to believe that they would suffer the same fate
as Egypt. The more times they heard the story, the more real it became to them. This is what
prompted Rahab.
The spiritual principle of “faith comes by hearing” is being demonstrated dramatically today in our country and around the world. We have seen examples of how what is reported in the news as not being entirely accurate is causing people to question the truth. This principle of faith works both ways. You can hear something false for so long that it becomes your truth even in the face of reality. While the people of Jericho had heard about the God of Israel and believed the reports, they also heard all the reports from the builders of their walls about how secure they were and that no one could get through.
But Rahab believed that their walls could not stop the God of the Israelites. Even though she
heard the same reports about the security of their walls, she believed the reports coming out
of Egypt because the things that happened there had nothing to do with man. Man could not
separate the Red Sea or cause a plague, or kill all the firstborn in one night. Only a God
could do that!
Rahab saved the spies’ lives that evening in return for her life and the lives of her family.
When Rahab sent the spies away, she knew Jericho would be destroyed. She knew friends
and acquaintances would die. But she also knew that if she did what she had agreed to do,
her family would be spared. Understand that her role in the whole deal did not stop once she
let the spies go. She had to make sure that ALL her family was under her roof when the city
was attacked. That was her guarantee – no one under her roof would die.
But she also had to do one final “work” to ensure her and her family’s safety, and it was the
most important. We see that work in verses 17 and 18.
(17) So the men said to her: We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear,
(18) unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers,
and all your father's household to your own home.” (Joshua 2:17-18)
Without the scarlet cord in her window, Rahab and her entire family would have been killed. The scarlet cord was truly Rahab’s “work of faith.” She believed the promise of the spies and she acted upon that belief. That is faith! If her family members were not under her roof when the attack came and she had not placed the scarlet cord in the window, they would be killed. So, she had to make sure that they were – this was her responsibility.
Conclusion
Before we close part one of this lesson, which we will conclude next month, we want to share
with you what is recorded about Rahab, beyond the fact that she was a harlot. Hebrews
11:31 records “By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe,
when she had received the spies with peace.”
Rahab is remembered for the faith she demonstrated in believing in the God of Israel, which led to all of her family being saved. That is her testimony. But it does not end there. You see, Rahab was a Canaanite woman who came to believe in the God of Israel. Her faith was visible when she accepted the spies into her home, hid them, helped them escape, and negotiated for the lives of herself and her family. She did all of this because she believed what was being said about the God of Israel.
Rahab believed and because of her faith, Matthew 1:5-6 records, “(5) Salmon begot Boaz
by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, (6) and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.” Rahab, because of her faith, is one of five women listed in the genealogy of Christ. She was King David’s great-great-grandmother and therefore part of the bloodline of Jesus’ mother and earthly father. One last point about Rahab before I close, Rahab at one time was a prostitute, but her acceptance and belief about what she heard of the God of Israel changed her. God used her and, through her bloodline, brought His Son into the world. Visible Faith! Let’s finish with what James said.
James closes out this chapter by saying, “(26) For just as the [human] body without the
spirit is dead, so faith without works [of obedience] is also dead.” (James 2:26) The
physical body dies at the point of death, but not the spirit. This physical death is caused by
the soul and spirit leaving the body. The body returns to dust, and the soul and spirit of the
righteous go to heaven to await the resurrection. With this understanding, James says that as
surely as the inner man leaves the body at physical death and is no longer with the body, so
is faith without works is dead (separated) and powerless.
Faith is visible because of the works that we do. When we “walk” in faith, the walking is action.
The Bible says we “walk” by faith, not “sit” by faith. Sitting is a “non-moving” action. The
action happened when you moved to take the seat, and from that point forward the action is
you staying upright. But when you walk, you are moving. You are going someplace. We walk
by faith and not by sight. If you are sitting on your faith right now and have no work visible of
your faith, stand up! Stop sitting on your faith and get to work. We will conclude this study
