"The Verdict Is In - Faith Works
Bridge The Gap!"
TEXT: JAMES 2:14-26
Both lawyers with great skill have presented their cases and with precision eloquence concluded their closing arguments. The defense and prosecuting teams stand - the jury is escorted out and the wait for the verdict begins....
Our message today has a long title made up of 3 parts, The Verdict is In -- Faith Works - Bridge the gap!
Now I’ve always enjoyed good lawyer shows. As a kid I watched re-runs of Perry Mason (Della Street, Paul Drake and poor Hamilton Burger).
One show I enjoy most of the time today is law and order...
I also like to read Grissom’s books - he is a master at developing characters, weaving a plot, and putting you on the edge of your seat waiting for a verdict.
The passage that we are about to study today is an important passage, that is, if we consider the Biblical teaching of salvation and justification from our sins an important topic.
It is also, a very controversial passage. (Martin Luther), one of the leaders in the reformation movement had serious problems with this passage. It was this passage that caused the reformer to say the following about the God inspired letter from the Apostle James, "he referred to the book of James as an epistle of straw, he said it had , "no gospel character in it", and he added " I will not have it in my Bible..." (it is said that it tore it out of his Bible). It is also his reaction to this passage in James that led to his unjustified addition of the word "only" to Paul’s letter to the church at Rome, "man is justified by faith alone.." (Rm 3:28).
In these 12 verses in James, the Holy Spirit through the inspired writer, shoots down the most prevalent doctrine within religious groups today, and that doctrine is the doctrine of "faith only". These verses are like a well machined cruise missile that when understood, can with great precision annihilate the destructive strongholds of false teaching of "faith only."
Today, as we study James chapter 2 we will see "THAT THE VERDICT IS ALREADY IN (as a matter of fact it has been in for 4,000 plus years)" -- "Faith Works!!! Therefore, that we need to bridge the gap!!
James in these powerful verses is telling all believers in God, that we must "Bridge the Gap!" And here is what the gap is, > The gap that exist is a gap between theoretical religion and dynamic Christian living.
> A gap between what we think and what we do.
> A gap between faith in theory and faith in practice.
> A gap between what I call head faith and feet faith.
James wants God’s people to understand That FAITH IS WHAT WE ARE, NOT WHAT WE THINK. It is what we do - not only what we believe.
Now when I mention the "faith only" doctrine, immediately many will think about those who reject the Gospel’s plan of salvation throwing out biblical baptism and replace it with the unbiblical practice of praying Jesus into their heart.
But there is another aspect of this "faith only" doctrine, perhaps one that hits closer to home -- and this is where one who claims to be a Christian, one who has obeyed God’s plan of salvation, yet doesn’t think it matters if he really lives the life that he professes to believe, as long as he or she believe the right things.
James in these verses is taking to task that kind of thinking, every bit as much, as he is refuting the pray Jesus into your heart type of faith only.
You see, faith & works as you will see today, when properly understood are contradictory terms, they are not in opposition to each other... they belong together, they are meant to be inseparable -- In fact, to have one without the other is extremely dangerous.
Faith & works are like the 2 chemical ingredients of salt, which is composed of 2 poisons, sodium and chloride. If we ingested either of them alone we would die, but when we combine them properly, we have NaCl which is common table salt - that gives flavor to our food and indeed life and health to our bodies...
Many times throughout his public ministry when presenting an important and penetrating truth Jesus would say, "He that has ears, let him hear."
The teachings in this passage are clear, and they are extremely important, they are literally a matter of life and death, faith and works are inseparable.
[JAMES 2:14-26]
As we study this passage today we are going to do it a little different. I am going to present this text in the format of a court case.
And the defendant, the thing THAT IS on trial, is the "FAITH ONLY" DOCTRINE.
James is acting as the prosecutor, and he is representing God.
And we, we are the jury, and we must decide who we believe James or the defendant (will we conclude that a theoritcal religion is enough or that God requires a dynamic Christian life of submission and obedience); THE actions that we take once we leave the courtroom will be governed by the verdict we bring.
I. JAMES PRESENTS HIS OPENING ARGUMENT
The prosecutor, James the half brother of Jesus, stands up and walks over to, and stands in front of us, the jury. He looks each of us in the eye and he says:
"What good is it my brothers, if a man claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such a faith save him?"
A. James’ opening argument is composed of 2 statements that are put into the form of questions. The arrangement of the words and logic of the sentence, demands that the only possible answer is "NO"!
What profit is it to claim that we have faith and yet have no Works? The answer is an emphatic, "No Profit!"
Can a faith that does not have works save us? Again an emphatic, "No!".
B. James’ opening argument is a direct hit, it’s bold, it’s strong and it certainly gets our attention.
We have been, and are constantly being bombarded by "FAITH ONLY" MISSILES, fired at us from nearly every direction . And When these missiles of destruction, impact with our theology, they tell us in no uncertain terms, that works, faith, and salvation have absolutely nothing to do with each other. As a matter of fact if we mention works and salvation in the same breathe, we are often called a legalist who is adding to the blood of Christ and we are condemned for preaching false doctrine.
C. But yet, here in James 2:14, James (the ½ brother of Jesus, the key leader in the Jerusalem church, a man inspired by God)says that not only is it okay to mention works and salvation in the same breathe, but He quite strongly declares, that if works are missing, there is no salvation for us.
Can such a faith save us? NO!!
Can faith w/o works save? NO!
D. There is a vital concept that we must understand, And that is what does James mean by the term "works".
1. Paul say’s in Romans 3:28:
"We are justified by faith a part from the law."
In Romans 4:2;
"If in fact Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about -- but not before God. What does scripture say? `Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness."
In Eph 2:8,9;
"It is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God - not by works, so that no can boost..."
Yet, James says works are essential and that we are justified by works and not faith alone.
2. Are James and Paul at odds with each other? What are we to do with what on the surface appears to be a great contradiction?
There are several options:
a. We can just ignore or avoid it (some do)
b. We can try to hide it (I believe that is what the translators of the NIV did when they translated the same word that was translated work in Romans, as deeds in James.
c. We can attempt to twist it; one famous theologian (John Calvin) of the 16th century said, "it is faith alone that justifies but faith that justifies is never alone". At first it almost sounds good, but it blatantly contradicts James.
d. Or we could just simply pick out the one that we like best (most have done this, and have chosen, "faith alone justifies" AND THEREFORE IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT I DO).
3. In my opinion none of these are satisfactory. Both James and Paul were inspired writers, the words they wrote the Bible says were literally God breathed. And therefore neither Paul or James ever wrote a line that conflicted with THE other. All truth is God’S truth and it THEREFORE harmonizes. (God’s word is not a Ryan’s buffet)
4. Now, The solution to this problem, is not that difficult, It is quite obvious from the context that Paul and James are talking about a different kind of work. Paul in Romans 3 and 4 is talking about works of merit, the works of the law, works performed in an effort to earn our own salvation. Works that are complete in and of themselves and therefore need no Savior.
When James refers to works, he is referring to the surrendered life, that goes far beyond the mere conviction that Jesus is the Christ, but moves in humble submission and obedience. Although it is indisputable that the works that James is referring to are necessary, It is also clear that these works earn nothing.
The terms justified or reckoned themselves, mean to credit or impute something to ones account that does not belong to him. It is therefore not earned but is a gift of God.
Let’s also note, that Paul frequently uses the word works, in the same way James uses it,
in: Philippians 2:12;
"continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
Eph. 2:10, Paul says we are created for good works.
1 Thess 1:2,3; "we always thank God for all of you mentioning you in our prayers. We continuing remember you work produced by faith..."
And Paul in an effort to keep his readers from understanding him begins and ends the book of Romans clearly stating the necessity for obedience to be coupled with faith.
Romans 1:5 in talking about Jesus says; " through whom we (apostles) have received grace and apostleship to bring about THE OBEDIENCE OF FAITH AMONG ALL THE GENTILES, for His name sake."
Romans 16:26 (when talking about his purpose and mission) "so that all nations might believe and obey him".
JAMES’ OPENING ARGUMENT IS THAT FAITH WITHOUT WORKS CAN AND WILL NOT SAVE ANYONE. AND IF THAT IS THE KIND OF FAITH WE HAVE WE ARE IN BIG TROUBLE.
I am sure that James certainly got the attention of his readers with it, and I am confident that he has our attention as well. Let’s continue in our study as we listen to James continue to present his case.
II. IN VERSES 15,16 JAMES ILLUSTRATES HIS ARGUMENT WITH AN ANALOGY
[15,16]
A. James gives a simple illustration here. He uses as an example a person who we in the church, should love the most, The word Of God says in Gal. 6:10, "do good to all men, especially those who belong to the family of believes". So we have here a brother or sister in Christ coming into the church and they are in serious need of clothing and food.
And a person with; "faith only, workless faith"; sees the brother in need, he acknowledges the need, he says a few nice pious words "I’ll pray for you...", but does absolutely nothing to help fill that need. James says what good is? Has it done anything to help this poor brother? No it has done no good, the words ring hollow and the brother goes home hungry and naked.
III. NOW JAMES RESTATES HIS ARGUMENT [17]
Faith that is not accompanied by works is dead. People with dead faith substitute words for deeds. They know the correct vocabulary, they can quote the right verse of scripture, they may even score a 100 on a theology examine. But their walk does not live up to their talk, they think words are as good as works, and they are dead wrong.
Faith without works is dead, it is the works of obedience that give life to our faith. Listen, A dead faith is not going to save anyone anymore than dead words are going to clothe or feed anyone. It’s just that simple, it is black or white.
IV. IN VERSE [18a] THE OBJECTOR OBJECTS
"but some will say, `you have faith I have works..."
The "faith only" defense attorney stands up and says, "I OBJECT, Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, my opponent seems to be belittling faith, surely you would agree that faith in the one true God is no small matter.
"Now unlike my opponent I do not stand here to condemn one who has works -- I am not even say works are bad - because they are not. But what I am saying or asking, is that w not become so judgmental and stop this judging of one another for making a personal choice, Some choose faith and others choose works... Both are fine choices. Therefore faith alone is good, it is noble and very righteous."
And then takes his seat.
V. JAMES RESPONDS, OBJECTION OVERRULED
James responds in these verse with 3 pieces of evidence that clearly prove beyond any reasonable doubt, that faith without works is dead.
A. EXHIBIT A, "THE DEMONS"
[18b-19]
"I agree with my opponent that a belief in the one true God is a good thing. And if we were to ask the defendant, "THE FAITH ONLY DOCTRINE" to show us his faith, this would be the extent of his evidence, his intellectual or theoritcal belief in God, because he has no works."
"Though I do debate the importance of this faith (because it is the basis upon which all saving commitments to Christ are made), it is not enough and must not stop there. And if you will bare with me, I will show you why."
"We know from the Scriptures that even the Demons believe in God, and I am confident that even my opponent would agree that Demons are not saved."
"What is the difference between the "faith only doctrine" and the faith of Demons? None, they are the same. Both lack the surrender of both life and deed to Jesus.
B. EXHIBIT B, "ABRAHAM"
And if that is not enough evidence to convince you, consider Abraham.
[20-24]
The life of Abraham was characterized by faith and obedience working together.
In Hebrews 11 we read;
"By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went"
"By faith Abraham when tested by God offered Isaac as a sacrifice".
James says that Abraham’s faith was made complete by what he did, by his works. And that Abraham was justified by what he did and not by faith alone. Let me read 24 again, " You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone".
If Abraham would have had the attitude that is so prevalent today, "O Yes I believe you God and some day I will obey", the story would have been different and Abraham would not have been justified.
Obedience today, is looked upon by many as an after work, a result of salvation, that which comes after faith rather than that which builds faith.
Many would like to re-write James to say; "the moment a man really believes, before he ever obeys at that moment God justifies him."
The only faith the Bible even considers is an obedient faith. Those listed in the Bible’s Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11 are not there because they had great intellectual faith by because they had obedient faith - works of faith.
"By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice..." (11:4)
"By faith Noah...built an ark" (11:7)
"By faith Isaac blessed...(11:20)
"By faith Moses parents hid him..." (11:23)
"By faith Moses refused to be know as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.. He choose to be mistreated along with God’s people... He left Egypt..." (11:24-27)
"By faith they: administered justice, gained what was promised...shut the mouths of lions...they faced jeers and floggings... were stoned... were sawed in to...." (11:33-37)
Does this mean that they and Abraham earned his justification, certainly not! The only way to be justified is through the free gift of God’s grace.
But obedience is important, it is essential. God ordained in his omniscience to work his grace through obedience. (Naam)
James clearly shows here that salvation is by a faith which expresses itself in humble and unquestioning obedience to the will of the Lord as expressed in his word.
Many today because they are so afraid of the word works, have left obedience completely out of God’s plan of salvation. God is not so inclined"
"Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and once made perfect, he became a source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him." Heb 5:8,9
"Not everyone who says Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my father in heaven.." Mt 7:21
And on the day of Pentecost, when Peter preached the first gospel sermon and convicted his listeners of their sin and need for Christ. How did they reponed to Peter, did they say what should we believe", no they said what should we do?
You mean we must do something to be saved? sure looks that way.
Did Peter say, "No my brothers stop!! you are not to do anything, because if you do anything then you would be earning your way into heaven".
Is that what Peter said? No it isn’t, Peter told them what to do, "repent and be baptized".
Understand we can do something to receive the gift of salvation w/o earning it....
And Let me say it is ludicrous to even imply (as many do), that baptism is not necessary for salvation, because it is a work to earn our way to heaven.
Does anyone seriously think that being immersed into water earns salvation?
"...and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you- not the removal of dirt from the body but a pledge of a good conscience toward God. It (baptism) saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ..." 1 Pe 3:21
Only the death of the perfect lamb, Jesus Christ God the Son, was sufficient to pay for our sins, But God does, and always has worked through obedient faith to apply His grace.
AND OUR OBEDIENCE AND SUBMISSION TO THE WORD OF GOD, MUST NOT END AT THE BAPTISTERY.
JAMES WANTS THE CARELESS/LAZY CHRISTIAN, WHO IS DEPENDING UPON HIS FAITH IN JESUS AND IS NOT WORKING, OBEYING, LIVING, ACTING LIKE A CHRISTIAN --- TO UNDERSTAND THAT WORKS OF OBEDIENCE ARE AN ESSENTIAL PART IN CHRISTIANITY. THAT IF THEIR FAITH IS NOT ACCOMPANIED BY WORKS, THEIR FAITH IS DEAD AND A DEAD FAITH IS NOT SAVING ANYONE.
One commentator has said, "FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS LIKE PARENTS WITHOUT CHILDREN, UNSATISFIED, FRUITLESS, VOID OF ITS FUNCTION. FAITH LEADS US ON, BUT WE TRAVEL THE JOURNEY ONLY BY OUR WORKS. TO HAVE FAITH WITHOUT WORKS WOULD BE LIKE BEING LED, YET NOT GOING ANYWHERE. THE WISE MEN SAW THE STAR IN THE EAST AND BELIEVED IN ITS PURPOSE. THIS MY BE COMPARED TO OUR FAITH. THE WISE MEN WERE LED BY THE STAR AND ACTUALLY TRAVELED TO SEE JESUS. THIS TRAVELING IS LIKE OUR WORKS. FAITH WITHOUT WORKS WOULD NOT HAVE TAKEN THEM TO SEE king JESUS. BOTH ARE NECESSARY.
C. EXHIBIT C, "RAHAB" [25,26]
James again clearly says that Rahab was made righteous by what she did. She didn’t earn it, she was made righteous by the gift of God. But her obedience was where she received the gift.
Both Rahab and Abraham bridged the gap between theoretical religion and Dynamic Godly living.
VI. THE CLOSING ARGUMENT [26]
CONCLUSION
IT IS EXTREMELY HARD TO READ THIS PASSAGE AND MISS THE POINT, FAITH AND WORKS ARE ESSENTIAL, 7 TIMES IN 12 VERSES THIS TRUTH IS AFFIRMED. NOW YOU THE JURY MUST DECIDE WHAT YOU WILL DO.
THE NON CHRISTIAN WHO HAS HEARD JAMES PRESENT HIS CASE, MUST NOT BE CONTENT TO ASK, "WHAT MUST I BELIEVE TO BE SAVED", BUT LIKE THOSE ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST ASKS "WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? B-R-C-B
THE CHRISTIAN WHO HAS HEARD JAMES PRESENT THIS CASE, IS FORCED TO THE CONCLUSION THAT A GENUINE LIFE OF OBEDIENCE ,AND A SURRENDER OF OUR LIVES TO THE WILL OF CHRIST IS NECESSARY FOR JUSTIFICATION BY GRACE.
DOES THIS MEAN WE MUST BE PERFECT, OF COURSE NOT, BUT IT DOES MEAN WE MUST BE STRIVING TO OBEY AND SERVE CHRIST DAILY, WE MUST BE STRIVING TO PICK UP OUR CROSS DAILY AND FOLLOW HIM TO BE COUNTED WORTHY. THERE IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE A GAP, WE WILL NEVER COMPLETELY LIVE UP TO WHAT WE BELIEVE.
REMEMBER GOD DID NOT REQUIRE PERFECTION HE GAVE IT, WHAT WE DO IS OUR FAITH.
THE CONCLUDING ARGUMENTS HAVE ENDED... BOTH THE DEFENSE AND THE PROSECTOR STANDS... AND YOU THE JURY ARE BEING ESCORTED OUT... WHAT WILL BE YOUR VERDICT?
