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James Session Four 7.3.19 · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  We are going through the book of James. If you guys are new with us for this week, we're in our fourth week on this study of the book of James. We are going to be in James chapter 2, verses 14 through 26 this evening. The first three weeks of this study, we have seen that the mature man has patience in trials and seeks wisdom not to waste the trials set before him.
• 0:24
  We have seen that the mature man practices true religion, that is, to serve widows and orphans. The mature man is a doer of the word. Last week, Sam called us to be men who honor others. The mature man honors people, honors our kids, honors our wives, our brothers and sisters. And the mature man does this with no preference to income or appearance.
• 0:54
  James truly is a handbook for the path to test one's maturity. How mature are we in Christ to gauge ourselves and see how we are walking in step with the Lord or if we are simply talking about our faith. James calls the Christian man to live in an understanding that we are but a mist. That we must seek the Lord's will and His direction.
• 1:23
  walking in step with him, allowing our faith to be perfected in the trials and blessings that come to us. This evening we are going to be in James chapter 2, as I said. This section is one of the key difficulties that Martin Luther had with the book of James. If you guys are familiar with Martin Luther's life, he struggled immensely with the book of James because he tried to reconcile...
• 1:50
  The truth that Paul taught and what he felt like he was reading in the book of James. And that was this idea of faith and works. And specifically James chapter 2 verses 14 through 26. This section has no shortages of controversy and opinions. Many a scholar and person has come to this section to try and prove a works salvation for the Christian.
• 2:18
  And as I said, this is why Martin Luther struggled with this section of Scripture as he sought to find the true gospel apart from the erroneous teachings of the Catholic Church. The study tonight is going to focus on three types of faith that I think James portrays here in this section, two of which do not save, and one that beautifully and completely does.
• 2:49
  We're going to consider this evening what this means in connection with James' opening statement of verse 14. What good is it, my brothers? What good is it, my brothers? While we will certainly address some of the difficulties that are involved in this passage, my main hope, my main thrust that we take away from this is that the Christian, the mature man, has a faith that acts.
• 3:18
  It'll be easy for us to get distracted in some of these topics and get confused, but I pray that we are clear in our understanding that faith alone is what saves us. What we are going to look at tonight is what proves that faith, shows that faith, demonstrates that faith. Our three main points for this evening are dead faith, emotional faith, and active faith. We're going to examine those each tonight.
• 3:48
  I want to ask you guys to access your memory banks right now and remember with me one of my favorite movies of all time in the series of Indiana Jones. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Definitely the best one. It's a bit of a misnomer now that they made another Indiana Jones because it wasn't his last crusade. But that aside, it is definitely my...
• 4:19
  favorite of the three. We won't even talk about the fourth one. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is where we get a little bit more of a backstory on who Indiana is, how he came to be. We even find out how he got his scar, right? He cracks the whip when he's a kid and he cuts himself across the chin.
• 4:40
  It takes us into the backstory, and we get to actually know that he's got a father, and they've got this really humorous relationship, and he's got the coolest dad because it's Sean Connery. Who doesn't want Sean Connery as their father? They're trying to, in this, trying to search out the Holy Grail, right? And his dad has all of these clues that he's written down in his journal. We get to the end of the movie, and as, of course, throughout the Indiana series, there's the Nazis who are always the bad people.
• 5:09
  They have to try and push him towards taking this difficult trial of figuring out these three paths that he has to cross. They shoot his dad. His dad is dying. And that's what motivates Indiana now to try and escape or pass through these three paths that no man has been successful to so they can get to the Holy Grail. And you guys remember what the first one is? Huh?
• 5:41
  Yeah, but what does he have to do? Only the penitent man will pass, right? So he ducks and he doesn't lose his head. So then he gets past that and then the next one and all the while his dad is back there and they're like having this like mind meld moments, right? Where his dad is saying something and his Indiana is figuring it out and he has to figure out the name of God, right? The name of God and he starts with J.
• 6:08
  and jumps on the J and nearly falls to his death because in Latin, Jehovah is spelled with an I, right? And so they both have this moment again. And then we get to the last path. He comes to this cavern, this big space, right? It looks like this almost like bottomless pit, this cavern that he comes to, and across it is the other cave, right?
• 6:36
  And he comes to this past and he's sitting there and he and his dad continue to have these realizations together. And he's trying to work this thing out. Indy is trying to work this thing out. How do I get past this? And he suddenly realizes that it's a leap of faith. He has to take a leap of faith in order to pass this. And so he does this really big.
• 7:04
  I don't know why he has to do it so dramatic, but he takes this really big step, right? And he just closes his eyes, he holds the book, and he steps forward. And what happens? The bridge all of a sudden appears, right? So then he can cross. This leap of faith brings this bridge that extends across, and he makes it to the other side, to the cave where the grail is. Now that whole illustration, that leap of faith is going to make sense as we tie that together at the end.
• 7:38
  As we talk about these three kinds of faith that we can have, dead faith, emotional faith, or active faith, we're going to come back to that. So hold that in your minds, that moment where Indy has just crossed over. He has exercised this leap of faith that has built this bridge. And we're going to jump into first what is described as dead faith in verses 14 through 17. Let's read those.
• 8:05
  James says, what good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food and one of you says to them, go in peace and be warmed and filled without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself.
• 8:35
  if it does not have works, is dead. There are several connections in the book of James with the book of Matthew, and here I believe we find another one, and actually several connections. As we begin to look into these first few verses, we see that even in the early church, there were those who claimed to be of the faith, to have faith, and yet did not have faith that was saving.
• 9:03
  Warren Worsby says of this section, wherever there is true, you will find counterfeit, meaning that wherever you find true saving faith, true believers, you will find that there are in fact counterfeits in that same area. Jesus, in the book of Matthew, talked about this reality in chapter 7 of the gospel. Jesus warned the crowd that not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord.
• 9:33
  will enter the kingdom. It is in this section that we find this negative example of faith. That is to say, we see that the immature man would have faith that is dead. It does not act. It does not move him to action. A faith that does not act. This is seen in verses 15 through 16 where...
• 10:01
  James talks about a brother or sister who is poorly clothed, lacking food, and all they do is say, what? Go and be warmed. Be filled. As if their words had some kind of meaning, as if the actions didn't, as if they didn't need them to help them if they could not afford food. We see here that James is talking to people who were just about words, just about talking. The brother,
• 10:37
  or sister in Christ comes and is in need, they are disheveled, they are hungry, they look as one might picture one on the street corner, dirty, but a brother or sister in Christ nonetheless, as He calls them brothers and sisters. It is this person whom these immature believers say, go in peace, be warmed and filled. As believers, brothers, we have...
• 11:07
  an obligation, an opportunity to meet the needs of the people around us, no matter who they are or what they look like. Remember what Pastor Sam taught us last week, as well as what Paul says in Galatians chapter 6, where he says, So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
• 11:35
  this opportunity is such because as we Christians do so, we live out the truth. Paul writes in Galatians 5, 6 and Ephesians 6, 23, where he admonishes the people to love in faith, love in faith. That is to say, to act out our faith in loving response. James and Paul then.
• 12:02
  show themselves to be in agreement with each other on this subject as well as with John. John in 1 John 3, verse 18 says this, Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth. Coming back to James 14-17, James ends this portion with this statement, What good is that faith? What good is that? Verse 17 says,
• 12:36
  He says, so also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. Now, to consider why this is such a big deal, why James would bring this out, I want us to look over at, just flip a few pages over to Ephesians 2. Ephesians 2, verse 10. Ephesians 2, verse 10 comes right after Ephesians 2, verse 8, right? It talks about we are saved by faith alone.
• 13:06
  Not of our own doing. And we are saved to something, Paul says. Ephesians 2, verse 10 says this, For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for what? For good works. Which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Why does Paul have such a harsh warning to these people whom do not take action on the faith they profess to have?
• 13:46
  Because Christ did not come to save us only from hell, but to save us to something. Ephesians 2, verse 10 tells us He saved us to good works. We are created new in Christ for good works. Not just to be saved from hell. James is connecting this truth, I believe, that we are saved not from something, but to something. James reveals then,
• 14:17
  That the person whom has this dead faith has only an intellectual faith. Faith that is only in the mind. This person knows that God exists, knows the doctrine of salvation, but has never submitted their will to God. Or else they would act, they would do good works. This man knows the right words to say.
• 14:47
  As Christ said in Matthew, they prophesied in His name, yet they did not know Him. Here, then, James gives a swift warning to be aware and beware of mere intellectual faith. The reality is, brothers, that no man can come to Christ and stay the same. God is the God of change. We have crossed over from death to life, and thus our lives should reflect a change.
• 15:19
  saving faith it is counterfeit and it is dangerous to the church and thus James warns us and especially to us tonight we must be mindful because this dead faith can lull us into a false confidence as those who called on Christ at the judgment seat saying that they had prophesied yet Christ tells them they did not know him brothers beware of false
• 15:50
  Beware of faith that is dead. Faith that does not change our lives. That is verses 14 through 17. Dead faith. Next, we come to verses 18, chapter 2, verses 18 and 19. James says this, But someone will say, You have faith. I have works. Show me.
• 16:22
  Your faith apart from your works. And I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe and shudder. Titled this faith emotional faith. James here calls the emotional faith the same as what the demons have. Why do I call it an emotional faith? It's because this faith elicits an emotional response.
• 16:51
  even from the demons. It tells us that they shudder. And the Greek word for shudder there means fear. They have fear for God. They know who He is. They fear Him. But we will see that this is not a saving faith. The emotional response is done in connection with actually what is true. They know that God exists. They know that He is one God. It says here,
• 17:23
  That God is one. You do well, even the demons do. This is a reference back to Deuteronomy 6.4 where it says, Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is one. To this knowledge of the reality of God, James says, great, great. You know that God exists, that God is one. There is only one God and He is true. Great. Even the demons believe that. Good for you. You have a fear of God. He makes you shudder. Great. Even the demons believe in God.
• 17:54
  And shudder. You see, the demons are not atheists. The demons are not agnostics. They believe in the deity of Christ. And in fact, they even believe that they're going to be judged and there's a place of judgment. Luke 8.31 tells us that. James, in connecting the knowledge that God exists with the knowledge that the demons believed the same and tremble, shows some implications here. The demons are not saved.
• 18:26
  by this knowledge and emotional response. Correct? Just because they have an emotional response, just because they fear God, because they know He exists and they're going to be judged, they're not saved. They're still going to experience judgment. The implication is that we can have a knowledge of God, we can have a fear of Him, and yet not pass to saving faith, putting our trust in Him.
• 19:01
  A person can know something is true and even be stirred emotionally by that knowledge and still not decide to act, right? We can drive by somebody on the corner and be stirred with emotion, feeling compassion for somebody who is in need and still not do anything about it. You can have an emotional response without taking action. Going back to verse 18, James says,
• 19:30
  Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. Again, for our understanding of this, let's consider this statement in connection with Ephesians 2, verse 10, that we are created new in Christ for something, that something being good works. And I love the way that Warren Worsley talks of these two verses, particularly verse 18. He says, you receive the life.
• 19:58
  And then you reveal the life. We have been given life in Christ. We've been created new in Christ. And then we have an opportunity to reveal it. James admonishes and warns us then, brothers, that the mature Christian man does not only have an emotional response, not only an emotional faith, he has something deeper, something more impactful.
• 20:29
  And for that, let's look at verses 20-26. So we have dead faith. Faith that does not act. We have an emotional response and yet is still not compelled to act to place our trust in Christ. Verses 20-26 say this, Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified?
• 20:59
  by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar. You see that faith was active along with his works and faith was completed by his works and the scripture was fulfilled that says Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works not by faith alone and in the same
• 21:28
  was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way for as the body apart from the spirit is dead so also faith apart from works is dead we see here James talk of an active faith James now describes and leads us to the end
• 22:00
  of his argument in this section as he tells us of these three types of faith that we can have. Verse 22 says that you see that faith was active. Active faith is based on the Word of God because we are made new through hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Romans 10.17 tells us that. Galatians 3.2, Paul states,
• 22:30
  Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? James describes what active faith looks like as he calls the reader and thus our attention this evening to two people from the Old Testament, Abraham and Rahab. And I don't know about you guys, but as I read those two names, the realization that James could not have picked two more different people.
• 23:00
  to talk about in connection with this idea of active faith than Rahab and Abraham. Their backgrounds, their life choices, yet they are linked here by James as he begins to show us what active faith looks like. If we are to understand the truth of James' intent in this passage and thus truly understand what saves us and then what life as a saved, regenerated man is to look like,
• 23:33
  We should take note that here James could have chosen a number of people, right? There is no shortage of people in the Old Testament that he could have referred to to show this truth, yet he chooses two very different people whom exercise their faith in God. He chooses a man...
• 24:06
  who God promised his lineage would be as vast as the stars in the sky. Genesis 15 describes this promise. James refers to Rahab, on the other hand, as the prostitute. She was a harlot. In choosing these two people, I believe James is putting the focus on what active faith is, and it is something real, apart from your background or experience in life. That is to say that James is pointing us to
• 24:40
  The truth that salvation is for all people. The Abrahams and the Rahabs are all offered salvation and all can show this active faith. Active faith is something that involves our will. The surrender of it and thus the whole person plays a part in active saving faith. Warren Wiersbe says again of this,
• 25:19
  The minds understand truth. Our minds understand truth, right? We can have an intellectual understanding of what truth is. The heart or our emotions can desire it, can desire truth, but the will upon it. Brothers, the mature man has active faith. Active faith is not believing despite evidence we see. Active faith is obeying.
• 25:53
  despite the consequences. I believe we see this very clearly depicted in the life of Rahab. I believe that's one of the reasons why she is chosen. But let's consider these two people a little further that James has chosen. Abraham, a Jew. Rahab, a Gentile. Abraham, a godly man. Rahab, a sinful woman. A harlot, a prostitute. Abraham would have a lineage because of God's promise as vast as the stars, as I said.
• 26:20
  and was a friend of God. He's spoken of as a friend of God here in verse 23. Rahab belonged to a people who were the enemies of God. In fact, were going to be destroyed. Their city was going to be destroyed. But both are listed here because they both had faith that acted, saving faith. Now, in this section, talking of Abraham, we see a familiar word.
• 26:50
  from James, the word counted. Do you guys see that there? It says that it was counted for him in verse 23. Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. This is the same word that is used in the first section I taught on in James 1 where it talks about counting it all joy, my brothers. That's that financial term that James is using again, meaning that
• 27:20
  Abraham was counted righteous, justified. So as James is saying here, when he references this of Abraham, Abraham was a sinner. His account was empty because he was a sinner, yet he trusted God and thus was counted, credited a balance of righteousness. He was declared righteous, justified because of his faith. If you want to see a very clear depiction of this reality, read,
• 27:53
  Romans chapter 4 to get a deeper explanation of this credit, this faith that Abraham had. Abraham's example here speaks directly to how we ought to understand this admonition from James regarding faith and works. Abraham acted on his belief. Abraham's example is
• 28:30
  Set here, I believe, because an active or saving faith proves itself in daily living our lives as we surrender and walk in step, as Ephesians says, with the Lord. Titus also speaks to this tension between dead faith and a faith that actually lives out our belief. He says in Titus, Paul says in Titus chapter 1 verse 16, they profess.
• 29:01
  to know God but deny Him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work. Consider that verse, unfit for any good work, in connection with Ephesians 2, verse 10, that we are saved to something. We are saved to good works, to exemplify what we have received in Christ.
• 29:33
  Now Rahab's example, Rahab could have had dead faith. She could have had an emotional faith. She could have wished the spies safety. She could have said, best of luck to you guys. I wish you guys all the safety and that you can get out of the city without being harmed and go and be blessed. She could have done that, right? She could have done what James references in verses 14, 15, and 16.
• 30:02
  She could have had an emotional faith. She could have had fear because she knows that judgment is coming on the city, right? She understands that these spies are coming, that God has sent them. She could have had fear for this and not acted, right? Not acted on that reality. Not believed that what was being told was going to come true. But she was stirred. Her will was moved. And at the risk...
• 30:33
  of dying herself, she takes in these spies and helps them, thus showing her faith or belief in their God to be true. Now brothers, it is important here for us, I believe, to stop and take a moment to ask to really examine ourselves, examine our hearts. In fact, to pray as David did for the Lord to examine our hearts.
• 31:03
  to ask ourselves if we have the same act of faith that Abraham and Rahab had. Paul calls us to this kind of examination in 2 Corinthians 13, verse 5, where he says, examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Christ is in you, unless you fail to meet the test?
• 31:34
  We ought to examine ourselves. Brothers, please know that my intent tonight is not to beat us up, to look at the fact that we probably don't act as we ought to all the time, right? We don't always exemplify the faith that we have received. I don't believe that that's the point that James is trying to make as he calls us to live out our faith.
• 32:07
  to do the good works that were created new in Christ to do, that Ephesians 2, verse 10 says. But it is, as I believe James' intent is, to admonish us, to challenge us, to examine ourselves, to ask the Lord to reveal to us where we are at. Have we trusted and acted on that trust? Do we desire to live out our faith in daily submission?
• 32:39
  To the Lord. I want to go back to where we started. That scene where I left us with Indiana Jones. Indy has taken that leap of faith. He's even walked. The walkway has appeared and he has now walked across it to the other side. Do you guys remember what he does when he gets to the other side? He's taken the leap of faith. That's right. Rob just made the motion. That's right. He throws sand across the walkway.
• 33:12
  He's taken a leap of faith. He's seen the bridge. He's made it across to the other side. And he turns around and he throws sand across. The reason why I think that is so significant is because it is so, so easy for us to forget the incredible power that God has displayed as he has passed us over from death to life, saved us, given us salvation, and yet we can turn around.
• 33:41
  after taking that leap of faith, placing our trust and our hope in Christ Jesus' death and resurrection for our salvation, for our eternal destination, we can turn around, grab a hand of sand, and we can throw it back across that bridge and trust in the fact that we can now see that bridge rather than the fact that we trust the God in heaven who made that bridge. If we are Christians, we have exercised an act of faith
• 34:19
  called us to here. You're a believer. You've crossed the cavern. You've walked across the walkway. Brothers, may I encourage us, may I challenge us, may I admonish us not to make the same mistake that Indy did and allow our faith in the God of salvation to dwindle. May we not rely on the sand as evidence of the path.
• 34:47
  Instead, let us continue to trust the God of our salvation, showing ourselves to be men of faith, showing ourselves to have faith that acts out our love and appreciation for our Lord. May the faith the Lord gave us to believe be exercised in our daily lives. May we not wish the widow and poor
• 35:21
  without actually loving them. The mature man has active faith. Faith that demonstrates his belief in a God who has saved him. There's some discussion questions I want you guys to consider. The first, and honestly, brothers, the most important, and I believe the reason why James writes this is to remind us to examine ourselves. To consider.
• 35:53
  If we have really truly placed our faith and trust in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, I'd encourage you to take a moment, just look at that first question, and consider it quietly to examine your heart. Because tonight can be the moment of your salvation. If you have not placed your faith and trust in Christ, tonight can be that moment. And if you have,
• 36:24
  Tonight can be a reminder of how beautiful that is. What a tremendous gift it is.