James 2:21-26
Notes
Transcript
When someone makes a fantastic claim, how do you know that what they’re saying is true?
-What if you walked into Dunkin Donuts this morning, and you got to talking to the cashier, and he told you that he has the ability to fly
-what would you think about that?
-How would you go about verifying that?
-Well, you’d probably ask him if he could fly around the room for you, or at least levitate a little
What if were walking in your neighborhood, and you met a person, walking around
-he wasn’t dressed very nice
-had worn out shoes
-ratty clothes
-but you strike up a conversation with him, and he tells you that he’s Bill Gates only son
-Would you believe him?
You see, whenever an extraordinary claim is made, it usually takes some kind of visible, tangible evidence for you to believe someone
And what we’ve been talking about last week and this week, is very similar in many ways
-When someone claims to be a Christian, here’s what they’re claiming:
-that they have come to realize that they are a sinner condemned to hell
-but that they have come put their faith in the Risen Christ
-they have come to Him in repentance and faith, and He has changed them completely
-He has washed their sins
-He has adopted them into the family
-He has transferred them from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light
-He has given them a new heart, and changed everything about them!
-That’s an incredible claim!
-And what James is going to talk about today is that if they’re is that kind of faith that is placed in Christ, there must be some evidence of that faith!
-There has to be something real and tangible about it
Review
Review
-Let’s remember briefly where we’ve been last week
-This book is written to believers in churches, and James is primarily concerned with the way a Christian ought to live out their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
-Therefore, the book is filled with practical wisdom, rebuke, and exhortation intended to help Christians live the right way
-We spent time last week discussing how we must allow James to be the one to define what he means by “faith” when he uses that term
-We observed that he begins this chapter by describing Christians as those who “hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ” in vs. 1
-So any accusation that James doesn’t think faith is central to the life of a Christian is simply wrong and rather unobservant
-As we began to work our way through the first 7 verses last week, we came to understand through our study of the text that James is describing a “faith” that is not in anyway accompanied by good works
-It is a “faith” that can look at a brother and sister in Christ who is completely destitute of food and clothing, understand the need, have the resources to help, but simply walk away
-It is this kind of “faith” that James is talking about
-And this kind of “faith,” James contends, is useless, dead, and has no power to save
-James then deals with an objection:
some may continue to insist that in the life of a Christian, faith and good deeds can be separated and compartmentalized
-If that is the case, then therefore it is indeed possible to be a genuine Christian who has faith in Christ, but not have any good works that accompany that faith
-However, James shows that true saving faith is always demonstrated by right actions from a changed heart
-To prove his point, James delivers a crushing blow to the argument of his objector
-Does his objector, the person who thinks you can have true saving faith without a changed life . . . does this person believe that there is only One True God?
-You can almost hear the objector answer with conviction and strength: “of course I do!”
-James nods with approval . . . “good for you . . . so do the demons!”
-As a matter of fact, they have so much faith that there is only One God, that they tremble!
-If there was such a thing of having “faith” that could truly save but not truly change, surely then we would have demons in heaven!
-But since that is obviously not the case, James clearly shows that true saving faith is evidenced in right actions from a transformed heart
-He goes so far as to call those who disagree with him as foolish!
-Not in the fact that they lack intellect, but they certainly lack spiritual sense and reject the clear teaching of the Scriptures, which he will now use as the final left-hook, the slam-bang finish to his argument
Introduction to this Week’s Text
Introduction to this Week’s Text
In our text today, vs. 21-26, James will use two very familiar OT examples to show that what he’s been teaching us is not something that he pulled out of nowhere or invented recently
-He’s going to show that true saving faith has always been demonstrated by the good deeds of a transformed heart
-After each example, he’s going to take a verse to drive home the main point
In vs. 21-23, James chooses Abraham as his first example of a faith that leads to good works
-Then in vs. 24, he reiterates his point
-Then, in vs. 25, he uses Rahab the Harlot as his second example of true saving faith that results in works
-Then he’ll drive his point home one final time in verse 26
ok, are we ready to get into the text?
1. Example #1: Abraham
1. Example #1: Abraham
Look at verses 21-24:
vs. 21-24
Now, on the surface, these verses could seem very problematic if you rip them from their context or if you haven’t been paying attention very well to James’ argument
-And here’s the main reason why:
What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.
But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,
What are we to make of that?
-It seems that Paul is arguing that salvation is by faith and not by works, and he uses Genesis 15:6 as the basis for his argument
-James seems to be arguing that Abraham was justified by works and not by faith alone, and he uses Genesis 15:6 as the basis for his argument as well
What do we do with that?
Well, as I mentioned last week, some people just believe that they contradict
-To these kind of people, there is no reconciling these passages, and it’s an evidence that the Bible has mistakes and contradictions
It’s James vs. Paul, and they believed and taught different gospels
So what do we do with this?
-first of all, are there any places in Scripture where we see James and Paul together?
There are 2:
-The first place is in Galatians 1-2.
-Paul in this section of Galatians (which is all about justification by faith), Paul is explaining how he came to believe the Gospel, was taught by Jesus Christ Himself, and how he came to be appointed as an Apostle
-He says in chapter 1 that he went to Jerusalem to spend time with Peter, and while he was there, he met James as well
So Paul goes to meet with some of the Apostles to show them that he’s been appointed by God as an Apostle to the Gentiles, and that he’s preaching the same Gospel
-Here’s what he says about that meeting:
But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles), and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do.
Let me ask you, does it sound like James and Paul are at odds in their theology from that passage?
No, it doesn’t
There’s one other place they are together:
-Go to Acts 15.
In Acts 15, there arises certain people from Judea that come to the church at Antioch (a largely Gentile church), and they begin teaching these people (mainly Gentiles) that you can’t be saved unless you get circumcised
-So these people are trying to add works to salvation
-You’ve gotta keep the law if you want salvation!
Well, Paul and Barnabas aren’t going to have any of that, so they go toe-to-toe with these people from Judea, defending justification by faith apart from circumcision
-So they decide to take this to the Apostles and the church at Jerusalem
-They have the first ever church council to determine whether salvation is dependent on circumcision and keeping the Mosaic Law
-And who is it that has the lengthiest speech recorded at this church council defending salvation apart from circumcision and keeping the Law?
-It’s James!
He comes in and tells them, “hey, let’s not make the Gentiles try to keep the Law.”
-And so the council determines, correctly, that salvation is by grace, not by works of the Law
-So, from what we know of any interaction between James and Paul in Scripture, does it sound like they are at odds?
-No, not in anyway
-Whether the book of James was written before or after the Council at Jerusalem does not really matter, these two seem to be in complete agreement about what the Gospel is
So, knowing that, how do we reconcile what is going on in this passage about Abraham to what Paul is teaching?
-Let’s start with this passage:
Now, let’s come back to verse 21 after we’ve worked through the following verses.
-The reason we’re doing this is because we’re trying to determine what it is that James means by Abraham being justified by works
-That’s what we’re trying to determine, so let’s see if there are things in his argument that follows that will help us determine what he means by that
-The only thing I want to note right is the specific incident that James is using in Abraham’s life
-God promised Abraham to give him a son, who would then have children who would have children, and it would turn into a nation
-Abraham waited for this promise for 25 years!
-and God finally gives them a literal miracle child
-But God tells Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice.
-Abraham is willing, so he takes Isaac to the mountain and is ready to kill his only son before God stops him
Now, look at verse 22:
vs. 22
-This really is the key, not just to this example of Abraham, but to the entire passage of James 2:14-26 to determine what James views to be the relationship between faith and works
-Here’s what he’s saying: faith and works go together
-They’re synergistic
-How so?
-well first, true faith results in right action, in good works
-If we really believe something, we will act on it
-If I told you, “there is a guy out here on the corner of our property right now who’s handing out rolls of $100 bills to anyone who wants them, and it’s first come, first serve,” how would you react?
-It would depend entirely on whether you believed me or not
-If you truly believed me, you’d probably rush out of your seat right now and run as fast as you can to the corner to get some
-But right now, none of you are making any sudden movements or going out to check
-Why?
None of you believe that it’s actually going on (it’s not)
So we all know and understand that what we do is influenced by what we believe
But that’s not the only way that faith and works affect each other
Look at the verse:
“by works faith was made perfect”
So what I described earlier is how faith affects works, or how what we believe affects what we do
-But James is going to now show how our works affect our faith
-He’s going to show how what we do also affects what we believe!
-So how do works make faith perfect?
-that word can mean “complete” or “mature”
-You may even have a footnote in your Bible that indicates something like that
-So how do works bring our faith to completion or maturity?
-Let me give an example:
-Let’s say you take your 4 year old son to the pool
-you wade out into the end of the pool that’s 4-5 feet deep
-You can stand up in it comfortably, but obviously, he cannot
-You set him on the edge of the pool, and you say, “alright son, jump to me”
-Now, this is a terrifying moment for a child
-They could literally drown if they jump into water that deep
-but you’re right there, perfectly capable and able to catch them
-You’re son is trembling
-he is fearful of the water, but he trusts and loves you and wants to be near you
-so he edges up as close to the edge as he can
-he reaches out and is practically touching you already from the ledge
-And he kind of hesitantly falls/walks into your arms
-And you catch him!
Well, this all is quite fun now!
-So he asks to do it again
-This time, there is less hesitation
-He doesn’t get quite as close to the edge of the pool
-He actually jumps more
-And you catch him again
And this continues, each time he’s getting more and more bold until he’s running and jumping into your arms!
-He’s saying “stand further back!”
-It gets to the point where he trusts you so much that you’re actually scared that he may jump, even when you’re not paying attention to him, he might just belly-flop into the deep end expecting you to catch him
-What’s going on in this example?
-For your son, what he does (the act of jumping off into your arms) actually affected what he believed
-He had enough initial faith to jump into your arms the first time
-And what happened? he found you faithful
-And so that strengthened his faith to jump the next time . . . and the next time . . . and the next time
-His works were bringing his faith to maturity, to completion
-His works were causing his faith to “grow up” and become a stronger, more complete faith
And brothers and sisters, this is how James views faith and works here!
-Yes we’re saved by faith!
-But that faith is brought to maturity and completion through our works
-As you come to church each Sunday as God commands you to
-As you study His Word and pray daily
-As you witness
-As you disciple
-As you give sacrificially like God desires
-As you seek to be a godly spouse and parent
-As you do these things, you find God to be faithful and delightful and altogether satisfying
-And it deepens your faith in Him
Isn’t that awesome??
-Do we see this other places in Scripture
-How about in Philippians 2:12-13 (from the pen of Paul, no less)
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
Look at verse 23
-vs. 23
-We see here that James isn’t denying that Abraham was saved by faith in the sense of his initial conversion
-Anyone who gets transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light does so through that initial step of faith and repentance
-James here acknowledges the primacy of that faith!
-But it’s not a dead faith
-It’s not the kind of “faith” we talked about last week that is useless and lifeless
vs. 24
It’s the kind of faith that produces genuine good deeds from a changed heart
-And here in this verse, James is once again using the word “faith” in the sense of a dead, lifeless faith
-A faith that produces no good works and no change
And so when someone wants to point out that this is the only place in the Bible that uses the phrase “faith only” or “faith alone”, remember from the context what James is talking about
-a “faith” that produces zero change and zero fruit, is not a fruit that saves
-The kind of faith that saves is the kind from verse 22
-the kind that produces good works, and the kind that grows in maturity through the good works that are accomplished
That’s the kind of faith that saves
So look back at verse 21
-What does this verse mean?
Abraham was made right with God initially back in Genesis 15:6 when he believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness
-But he clearly demonstrated that right relationship with God and his conversion and justification in his work of offering up his son
-He was saved by a faith that changed him to the point of willingness to obey God despite the incredible pain that it could potentially bring him, and thereby shown to be a truly right with God
So is there any contradiction with Paul?
For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.
but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
No, there is no contradiction between the two.
-As I heard one preacher put it, people often think of Paul and James as two sword-fighters crossing swords with one another on this issue
-But instead, they’re actually on the same team, standing back to back, each defending the other
-For Paul, he often fights against those who think that they can somehow earn the love and favor and grace of God through their works
-And so he shows from Scripture how we are not saved by our good works and effort
-We can’t climb the ladder of good deeds to reach up to salvation
-And James, dealing with those who perhaps think that they can simply pray a prayer, or claim that “I believe in Jesus”, shows from Scripture that any true saving faith is always accompanied by a changed life
Which leads us to our last example:
Example #2: Rahab
Example #2: Rahab
vs. 25
-You’ll find Rahab’s story in Joshua 2.
-The Israelites are ready to go into the Promised Land, led by Joshua
-God has promised that they will be able to conquer in the inhabitants if they stay faithful to Him
-He has also commanded them to wipe out the inhabitants
-completely destroy them
-Joshua sends to spies into the land, while in Jericho, they draw suspicion and attention
-They end up hiding in the house of a prostitute in the city named Rahab
-Instead of handing them over, she hides them and helps them escape
-Here’s what she says:
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. 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. 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. 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, and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.”
And they do
-When the city of Jericho is taken by the Israelites, all the inhabitants of the city are destroyed . . . except for Rahab and her family
Now, as you look at these two examples, they couldn’t be much more different, could they?
-One’s a male, the other a female
-One’s a Jew (the Jew), the other is a Gentile
-One was called the friend of God, the other is a prostitute
And yet, God saved both of them!
-interesting enough, Rahab too (just like Abraham) is used as an example of faith in your NT
By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.
-And James, just like with Abraham, is not denying Rahab’s faith
-As a matter of fact, she’s picked here because she’s a great example of genuine saving faith that produces works
-Think about it: how many people in Jericho may have also been afraid of the Israelites and believed that their God would give them the land?
-Rahab did say how THEY had heard about the works of God, and how THEY were all afraid because of them
-So clearly there were others who believed that God was powerful and could give victory
-So in a certain sense, there were probably many who had that kind of “faith”
-But only one person acted on it
-Only one person sought out the God of Israel
-Only one person put her neck on the line to protect the spies of Israel
-And consequently, she not only saved herself and her family, she not only was inserted into the line of Christ, but she becomes an example forever of someone who had true, genuine saving faith that resulted in good works
What do you think things would have been like if Abraham and Rahab had not demonstrated true saving faith by their obedience?
-God calls Abraham to leave his homeland and go to place that God would tell him! . . . “no thanks” comes the reply
“I’m very comfortable here in Ur, thank you very much.”
God calls Abraham to sacrifice His son . . . “I’d rather not. I believe in you God, but no thanks.”
Do you think we would ever have heard of Rahab if she hadn’t acted in faith and saved the spies? We don’t know of anyone else that lived in Jericho, so why should we think we would have heard about her
Could they have been true children of God if they never acted in obedience at all?
“I believe you God! But I’m not going to leave my homeland, I’m not going to believe you about giving me a son, I’m not going to go be a pilgrim and a sojourner, I’m not going to sacrifice anything. I’m your child! But I’m not going to obey you in any of these things.”
“I have faith! I really do believe that Yahweh is powerful and will give His people the land! But I’m just gonna chill here in Jericho. I don’t want to risk my life by helping the spies. I’m just going to blend in with all the other Jericho people. But I really do have faith in God!”
Vs. 26
-he’s right, isn’t he?
I’m going to guess that many of you know people with this kind of faith
-The South is full of this kind of “faith”
-There are so many people around us who live in immorality, live in drug use, curse, use filthy language, have had 2-3 marriages, several kids of out wedlock,
-Haven’t read their Bible in years, haven’t been to church in longer, have no desire for holiness . . . but they accepted Jesus as their personal lord and savior at the age of 7 at VBS
“I’ve got faith! I believe that Jesus died and rose again for my sin!”
. . . no fruit though
-no growth
-no love for God, His Word, or His people
what does James say?
-it’s not a saving faith
“preacher, you can’t know someone’s heart!”
-you’re right . . . but we can know their fruit
“Are you saying a person like that isn’t saved?”
-No . . . James is saying it
What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Application:
Application:
-It’s easy to make that kind of application to people outside of these walls
-But James is writing to people like us
-A church like ours
As I looked through this passage, seeking to ground my application in the text, there’s really only one verse in our immediate passage that is the closest thing to a direct application we have:
Vs. 18
-James wants us to know this
-He wants us to learn this:
Faith without works is dead
-He wants to affect our thinking
So if this is to affect our thinking, how will this play out in our lives?
Well first, James is writing this entire letter to encourage Christians to live out their faith
Well first, James is writing this entire letter to encourage Christians to live out their faith
-so this entire letter is filled with application for us!
-Good works matter!
-they bring our faith to maturity
-They evidence God’s saving work in our life!
Brothers and sisters, go home and read this book we have here from James
-He gives us so many ways to live out our faith!
-He tells us to count it joy when we fall into trials!
-He tells us to pray for wisdom
-He tells us to be doers of the word
-he tells us not to show partiality
-he tells us to take care of widows and orphans and remain unspotted from the world
Brothers and sisters, God desires us to be reinvigorated in our efforts for Him!
-Christ has died for us!
-He’s shed His own blood for us!
-Our works matter to Him!
-Let us be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that our labor is not in vain in Him
-This I think is the most immediate and obvious application, but I want to make a few more pastoral applications as we conclude
-Just some things I want us to think through and be discerning in
Secondly, let’s be aware of these truths in our interactions with others
Secondly, let’s be aware of these truths in our interactions with others
-Not everyone who claims to be a Christian is truly born again
-Not everyone who remembers walking an aisle in church, or praying an prayer at VBS is a true believer
-A true believer is someone who’s changed life is obvious by their words and deeds
-the South especially if full of people who are living in unrepentant sin:
-living in immorality
-haven’t read their Bible in years
-haven’t been to church in longer
-look like the world
-speak like the world
-value what the world values . . . but can tell you exactly how old they were when they prayed the prayer of salvation
-Brothers and sisters, we need to be careful and aware of this
-We need to be discerning in how we think of people
-It may be that that person whom you’ve befriended that claims to be a Christian isn’t truly born-again, in which case they need your prayers and your witness
-Let’s be aware of this and seek to win these people to the Lord
Thirdly, I want to encourage us to seek to be discerning in the way we counsel those who are struggling with assurance of salvation
Thirdly, I want to encourage us to seek to be discerning in the way we counsel those who are struggling with assurance of salvation
-I think this can be a difficult one to navigate at times
-So many of us here have struggled with assurance of salvation, and it’s a very discouraging thing to go through
-So I think our first tendency whenever someone confesses to struggling with assurance is to ask them when they prayed the prayer, and then tell them they’re good and they shouldn’t think about it
And I want to encourage us to be wise and discerning in this area
-Because here’s the thing: we want people’s assurance and confidence to be in the Word of God, not in us and our insistence on their salvation experience
So, if someone is struggling with assurance of their salvation, here are some things we should:
-ask them why they’re struggling
-is it because they’re just fearful
-they don’t believe Christ is powerful enough to save them?
-Or is it maybe they don’t see any change in their life
-Seek to ask them questions and try to get to the root of the problem
-Secondly, take them to the Scriptures
-go over the Gospel again with them
-Point them to 1 John, which is written so that people will know that they have eternal life
-You see, when it comes to assurance of salvation, the authors of Scripture don’t take people back to “when did you pray the prayer?”
-They take us to: here’s what a genuine Christian looks like
-Third, help them evaluate the fruit in their life
-take them through the truths of God’s Word that show what a Christian looks like and the change that happens in a person
-If you see that fruit in their life, encourage them in that!
-If there may be sins in their life that concern you, gently bring those up
-The reason they may be struggling with assurance is that they’re living in sin
-In which case God could be really using this lack of assurance to bring them to repentance
-Let’s really seek to be Scriptural in our approach to helping people who may be struggling with this
We’ll end with an exhortation from Paul:
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.