“Do You Have A Counterfeit Faith?”
Counterfeit faith has four characteristics
1. No compassion
2. No conviction
3. No confidence
4. No courage
No Compassion
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
James is talking about people who claim to be Christians, but have lifestyles which do not support their claim. They have counterfeit faith. His questions therefore, are rhetorical and should be answered in the negative. “It is no good” and “It cannot save him”.
He then illustrates the ridiculous nature of having a “said” faith, of just giving lip service. When the phony Christian sees someone in need, they have no compassion. They just mutter a few words, but they ignore the needs.
(1Jn 3:17-18) If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
But is James saying that we are going to get to heaven because we did good works? Didn’t Paul say that we are saved by faith and not by works in the letter to the Ephesians?
(Eph 2:8-9) For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- 9not by works, so that no one can boast.
James is not contradicting Paul. Paul is talking about salvation-getting on the path, James is talking about sanctification-walking down the path.
Adrian Rodgers
Paul: The root of our faith is below ground, invisible
James: The fruit of our faith is above ground, visible
(Eph 2:10) For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Works aren’t worth anything if they aren’t preceded by faith!
Faith isn’t worth anything if it isn’t followed by works!
Two Oars
A familiar story tells of an old Scotsman who operated a rowboat to transport passengers. On one oar he had written the word Faith, while the other bore the word Works. The point of the story, of course, is that pulling on either oar alone would simply make one go around and around in circles. Both oars must be used to make any progress at all.
But counterfeit faith can been seen in the lives of some, because they live by the phrase “WHO CARES?”
Instead, try volunteering your time once in a while—visit a shut-in, call someone in the hospital, write a check to help starving children…put yourself in their shoes, wouldn’t you want someone to do that for you?
No Conviction
18But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that–and shudder.
20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?
James states that the Christian lifestyle is a testimony that we are God’s children. People can see our faith by the way that we act.
Those who have a general faith in some distant force or higher power are far from being children of God. We can see that another aspect of counterfeit faith is having no conviction about who God is.
The devil has enough conviction about who God is that he trembles!
What do the demons believe?
• Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ.
• "Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!"
• "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?"
The demons shudder because they know they will spend eternity in hell, but the phony Christian does not seem to care about where they will go when they die. They have no conviction, they think that living for God is only about as important as the color of their socks.
So the person who merely says they fear God and believe He exists is only on par with the demons, because they do the same thing. Neither the demons nor those who just talk about their faith are really born again.
It isn’t hard to tell the difference between the person who has true faith and a phony faith. It isn’t only when you hear the foul language, or see the argumentative spirit. Counterfeit faith is seen in their lack of commitment to the church, their Bible sits on the shelf, they never talk about Jesus Christ—only about the things of the world, their checkbooks also reflect the fact that they do not care about the needs of the poor or the needs of the church, their life motto is summed up in three other words “ME ME ME!”
(Mt 7:17-23) Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
21 "Not everyone who says to me, ’Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, ’Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ’I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Faith—Just Do It!
No Confidence
21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God’s friend. 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
James switches to two people who did show their faith by their works. Abraham and Rahab are two of the most dissimilar believers in scripture, but they had a visible faith in common. Let’s start with Abraham. Why did Abraham offer Isaac? He had confidence in God. He knew that no work done for God will go unrewarded unlike counterfeit Christians who put their confidence in themselves.
Abraham was positive that God had a reason for making this unusual and difficult request, and despite sleepless nights wrestling in prayer, he followed God’s directions because he had authentic faith.
Abraham was called God’s friend. Without true faith, a person will never have the confidence to do much for God. They look for excuses for why they cannot give to the poor, or for why they cannot come to church, or for why they cannot do much of anything for God. “IT IS IMPOSSIBLE!”
In Genesis 6 we read of the wickedness that prevailed upon the earth. The evil deeds and thoughts of mankind grieved the heart of God to the point that He decided to destroy them. But there was a man named Noah who walked with God, and the Bible says “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” If Noah had not added the work of building the ark and just had faith, he would have drowned with everyone else. God is looking for people like Noah who have faith that does something.
Get alone with God in prayer and ask Him what He wants you to do. Ask for a dream, a goal, a vision that you can accomplish for Him before you die! You are never going to outgive the Lord. The Bible says that the LORD blessed Abraham in everything he did, and He will bless your work as well….but you need to do something! The Lord cannot bless nothing.
No Courage
25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
Rahab was a prostitute. She did the same thing that the girls do on Liberty Avenue, she slept with real men for real money. But God saw her for what she could be. Perhaps your life has been a series of bad choices and wrong turns. You feel guilty every day and think that while it would be nice to do something for God, He could never use you. Rahab totally disproves that attitude. Her life is like a living sermon of what it means to go from the armpit of sin to the mountain of salvation.
When God led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, he told them of the promised land that he would give them. When Joshua sent spies to scout out the city of Jericho on the way, they were led to the house of the only person in that land that believed in God and had the courage to act upon her faith.
She hid the spies…
“TOO RISKY” Take a chance. The reason that so many people find church to be boring is because they only spend one hour a week working for the Lord, and spend the other 167 on their own pursuits. They focus on the cost, not the benefits.
Peter was like that. Peter told Jesus that he’d left everything to follow Him, but Peter was wrong! Jesus said “No one who has left houses…”
Our rewards will not only come in this life. You are laying up rewards for all eternity right now. Some of us only have a short time left, while others have more time, but no one in after entering heaven will ever say “I wish I hadn’t done so much for the Lord! If I’d only spent more time ignoring Him and doing my own thing!”
Genuine faith is always accompanied by good works. Don’t accept counterfeit faith…it has no compassion, no conviction, no confidence, no courage. Instead, make a new start in your Christian life to attempt great things for the God who has done great things for you!
