Faithworks Pt. 2

If God’s people would once again
take their Bibles and turn to the epistle of James. The epistle of James, we began
a consideration of this portion of the chapter last week, chapter
two. And we acknowledged even at that
time that this is a difficult chapter, an often misunderstood
chapter that has produced no little theological debate and
even division and led even such a notable individual as the reformer
Martin Luther to all but reject this epistle because he thought
that it was promoting works-based righteousness or salvation by
works. Well, we looked at it and we
began to see that James is not promoting salvation by works.
He is concerned about works. That his ultimate concern is
really the believer’s faith the quality of the believer’s faith
that will inevitably generate these kinds of works. James is
seeking to examine and to have believers examine their faith. And as they examine their faith,
one of the things that must be discovered, must be found in
the Christian’s life is what James calls here simply works. We’ll look more at that in a
moment, but James is not teaching salvation by works. What James
is teaching is that salvation, if it is legitimate, faith, if
it is legitimate, a belief in Christ, if it is genuine, will
produce what he calls good works. It’s not a new section, it’s
built upon those first 13 verses which spoke of that wretched
situation where a poor man wandered into the service and a rich man
likewise came into the service and much deference was given
to the rich man. That is indeed the context. But I don’t wanna throw you off
and suggest that that is exclusively what James is dealing with here. What James is dealing with here
once again is the whole issue of faith and works the whole
issue of works that are the natural product of a believers faith. Regardless of how. vehemently,
how loudly, how clearly we articulate our faith in Christ, regardless
of how sound our doctrinal statement is to which we’re willing to
sign, no matter how great we aspire to be in heaven. If our life doesn’t change coming
to know Christ, then we have good reason to question whether
we’re saved. One pastor put it this way, that
in this epistle there is one theme, faith and works and their
interaction, faith and works, over and over, 10 times he says
it, a living faith will authenticate itself in works. Just another test that James
offers on the genuineness of our faith. It was brought about
by that immediately preceding section, the treatment of the
poor man, but it’s not exclusively about that as we will see this
morning. If you would, and this morning
I want to just. Take a shorter perspective on
the chapter having read and studied the first 13 verses I want to
begin this morning in verse 14 verse 14 all the way down through
verse 26 Regardless of what translation which will be important this
morning regardless of what translation you have read along with me if
you would what use is it my brethren if a man says he has faith and
but he has no works, can that faith save him? If a brother
or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food and
one of you says to them, go in peace, be warmed and filled,
yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body,
what use is that? Even so, faith, if it has no
works, is dead being by itself. But someone may well say, you
have faith and I have works, show me your faith without the
works and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe
that God is one, you do well. The demons also believe and shudder. But are you willing to recognize,
you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham, our father,
justified by works when he offered up Isaac, his son, on the altar? You see that faith was working
with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected. And the scripture was fulfilled,
which says, and Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him
as righteousness. He was called the friend of God.
You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not Rahab
the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers
and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without
the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. We began last Lord’s Day in the
consideration of this section, this unfortunately controversial
section held to be somewhat in doubt. We began last week in
considering faith works, the works that faith does and will
produce undoubtedly. So much so that James can repeatedly
say that faith without works is dead, it’s useless. Verse 17, faith if it has no
works is dead, being by itself. Verse 20, faith without works
is useless. And the third time that James
says it to cap off this discussion, verse 26, just as the body without
the spirit is dead, So also faith without works is dead. We began
last week by looking at this sinful mindset. That is challenged
by James and what he does is introduce it, but he describes
it in great detail. When James quotes this man here,
he writes that the man says that he has faith. It’s his public
testimony. It’s his recurring testimony.
It’s the testimony of his life. It’s a regular feature that he
declares faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He’s a Christian. Or
so he says. He says he’s a Christian. He
says that he believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. James’s characterization
here when he challenges it here in verse 14, it isn’t intended
to point out that this man is a hypocrite. This man sincerely
believes that he has placed his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And as I told you last Sunday, that’s what makes this passage
so frightening. There are many genuine people,
many sincere minded individuals who believe that they’ve placed
their faith in Christ. They don’t believe they’re living
a hypocritical lie. And yet. James, as he begins
to strip away, discovers that it’s quite the opposite. They’re
not hypocrites, but they’re genuine phonies. They’re not real believers. Because a real, genuine, true
believer, one who really and truly places their faith in Christ,
will not remain unchanged. Their life will be touched by
the grace of God. As I said last Lord’s Day, the
same God that saves an individual, that saves a sinner, is the same
God that will begin the process of sanctification. There will
be fruit. As one commentator put it, an
inactive faith may be sincerely held. And that’s what makes this
passage so frightening. That’s what I said last Lord’s
Day, that every single one of us, as we come to this passage,
should be searching our heart, should be examining ourselves.
But may I tell you up front, and I’ll say it again before
the day’s out, we’re not here to examine our works. That was
one of the striking things that I noticed in reply to the message
last week was how many people were focused on. Their works. James isn’t focused on works
and he doesn’t ask you to focus on your works. He doesn’t ask
you to examine your works. He asks you to examine your faith.
If your faith is legitimate, it will produce. these good works. James is not advocating a different
kind of salvation. He’s not against faith. There
must be faith. But that faith, if it’s true
and active and vibrant, it will produce. And so this man, verse 14, says
he has faith, but he has no works. There’s no problem with the man’s
testimony. But the more you know the man,
the more you see his life, the less you see. The less grace
of God you see at work in the man’s life. He has no works.
There is no consistent testimony in his life of the active grace
of God. Something that does something
and changes the sinner from within. It’s a continuous work. It’s
an ongoing perpetual growth in grace. In this particular case. The man is empty, vapid. It’s a worthless life. He’s going
through life and he touches no one. He affects nothing. He does
nothing. Good works should have attended
his testimony and they just plain didn’t. So James challenges that
sinful mindset. But James also goes on in verses
15 and 16 to exemplify that mindset. And when I say that, I’m reminding
you that this isn’t the be all, end all. Giving alms, giving
out of our pocketbooks, feeding the poor, that’s not the end
of works for the Christian. He gives a very specific illustration
here, the very kind of violation that he’s addressing. Faith without
works, an empty faith, a dead faith. And he gives it in plain
and unmistakable language. Look at verse 15. If a brother
or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and
one of you says to them, go in peace, be warmed and be filled,
and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body,
what use is that? It’s an empty faith. But that,
as I said, is just one example. There are many examples that
come forward as we begin to meditate in our heart of what an empty
faith could look like, as we’ll see in a moment. But as one faithful
shepherd put it, Life has evidence. If in that which has the appearance
of a man we find no activity, no pulse, no breath, no vital
heat, we know certainly, however great the resemblance to a living
man and many things, there is no life there. And he comes up
with two possible solutions, remember? It’s either a statue
that looks like a man lying there, in the road or it’s a dead man. He says not less certainly. Then a living man breathes and
a living tree puts forth leaves a living faith. Will prompt to
a holiness of life. A living faith changes us. And
that’s what we come to. In verse 18 through 20. In verses
18 through 20, James is going to give us two great thoughts,
two great perspectives on the issue of good works, faith works,
as I’ve called them. The recurring misconception about
last week’s message in our first look at this passage was that
most people came away thinking that works Good works primarily
refers to giving away money. Or to be very precise, giving
away clothing or food to a brother in need. That’s what most people,
as I heard it articulated, reduced it down to just that. It is that,
but it’s not just that. It’s a great start. But it’s
not all that James has to say regarding good works. It can never be the extent of
our good works to just have someone over for a meal, even if they’re
needy of the meal, to say that that is the extent of good works
towards our brothers in Christ. It’s not as if when all is said
and done, if we’ve leveled out the economic disparity in our
midst, that we have fulfilled the law of Christ. That has been
tried. There have been those communist-minded
peoples in every country that have proposed this kind of forced
leveling, a balancing of the wealth, so to speak, but there’s
more and it’s so much more than just the balancing or the care
of one another in their physical or financial needs. There’s more and there’s much
more to the exhortation to good works here and so I would begin
to describe good works for you, to just write a simple definition
of good works as James uses it here. In James chapter two, I would
suggest that this would begin, we’ll call it a working definition.
We can add to it, we can build on it, we can change it over
time. I would define works here as
a necessary expenditure or effort on behalf of another believer
for his or her benefit and God’s glory. That’s what James means
when he says good works. And such good works, you can
begin to let your mind mull over all of the ways that that could
play out. When you think of what the needs
of the body are, what could possibly be included? Well, certainly
the use, the blessing, the gifting of money certainly could be part
of that. There’s nothing forbidden in
that. That is the primary illustration that James uses to give someone
according to their need. But it would also include kindnesses
of all sorts. service to one another, hospitality
towards one another, a practical love, not just a warm feeling
that a love that actually does something. Service. Bearing one another’s burdens. Is a way of. Exhibiting good
works. A way of letting our faith free. To be examined by others. prayer
for one another, a cultivation of what I would call peace, like-mindedness,
a patience, yieldedness towards one another, a deference to one
another in brotherly kindness, truthfulness with one another.
counsel, wisdom, encouragement, teaching, admonition. And as
I reminded you, James is not calling us to examine our works. He’s calling us to examine our
faith. But if we have faith, it will
produce these things. It will. And so as you begin
to look at your life, if your life does not bear testimony
to those things. Caring for one another, ministering
to one another, praying for one another, serving one another.
If your life does not testify to those things, then James says,
there’s good cause to wonder whether you are truly in Christ.
There’s good cause to wonder not about the quality of your
works. There’s good cause to wonder about the quality of your
faith. And James begins, we see it in
verse 18. But someone may well say you
have faith and I have works. Show me your faith without the
works and I will show you my faith by my works. Now this is
somewhat disconcerting. When I turned to this several
weeks ago and immediately one of the first commentators that
I considered said this is a classically difficult passage. You kind of
shrug that off and bow your head in prayer and hope for the best.
Until you read the next commentator that says it is one of the most
problematic passages in the New Testament. And here’s why. Because as you
look at verse 18, it’s not immediately clear who the someone is that
James is quoting. We don’t know who. It’s secondly, not immediately
clear how much this man says, where his words end and James’
words resume. It’s not immediately clear who
the someone is, it’s not immediately clear how much he says, and it’s
not immediately clear who is referenced by these pronouns
that get bandied about, you and I. And much to my concern, I immediately
learned that there have been at least five main views. Don’t panic. I’m not going to
go through, I’m going to go through them, but I’m going to go through
them very quickly. There have been at least five main views
concerning the identification of the speakers, the people in
this exchange. Listen just to the language,
the way it’s written there in the NAS. Someone, you regarding
your faith, I regarding my works, your faith, and my faith and
works. And so there is a big concern
with who’s talking to who about what? The first view. It’s a way of representing two
types of Christianity, that James uses this funny different little
device to just suggest that he takes a peek in the church and
he sees two people, one that’s really good at works and one
that’s really good at faith. That’s an interesting approach.
The second one summarized years ago by a faithful exegete said,
The second is it’s a direct reference to James. In other words, James
kind of alludes to himself. It’s him that’s doing the talking,
but he makes it sound as if he’s quoting someone else. The third
option is it’s a direct reference to an imaginary speaker. James
isn’t actually quoting anyone per se, but he’s quoting them
in objection to what he’s been saying. So the objector here,
if you note, the objector here in that first line in verse 18,
the objector would be championing works, and that forces James
to be the champion of faith. That’s an option, but both of
those views, both two and three, would position James as championing
faith when he’s clearly been pushing forth and championing
works and the clarity of works in a believer’s life. And so
there’s a fourth option. The fourth option is that this
is a reference to a silent and unnamed third person, not unlike
the third option. But this person agrees with James. He’s not antagonistic towards
James. He agrees with James and he essentially
says the same thing that James says. He’s in complete agreement
with James in that faith without works is dead. And as I promised
you, there is a fifth. The fifth is also a reference
to a third person. different sense in this imaginary
speaker that just seems to meander and he offers a thought that
James then uses to combat, to challenge, to answer. And so the problem is, first
problem that we come across, is that it’s not immediately
clear who James is quoting. And there are two options that
I want to zero in for us this morning. Some people say that
it indeed is a hypothetical person, but it’s an individual who disagrees
and strongly with James. In the Greek, there is evidence
there that there is a strong adversative. We have it in most
of our texts as that little word but. It’s like a stop sign in
the middle of the sentence. And so there’s this suggestion
there that that stop sign throws up in the middle of James’s dialogue,
an objection to what he’s saying from this challenger. It would
go like this. The objector’s words, said one,
are contained in the remark, you have faith, I have works.
The latter part of verse 18 is clearly a challenge to the objector. And so the objector throws out
this line, You have faith and I have works. And we’re both
perfectly good before the Lord. And then that gives James the
opportunities or the opportunity to challenge that argument. Well, I think enough about that
option. The second option, the second
way of looking at this Out of all the many others, as I said,
there are two that really hold water, and the second is this,
that James himself is effectively echoing his argument through
an imaginary friend. This argument must have been
a recurring argument. He had heard it about, and all
he has to do is mention this, and people grasp it. And so what
he points to is not just the first words of verse 18, that
first compound sentence, but the entirety of the rest of verse
18 is this man’s argument, the quote, if you will. We’ll come
back to that portion in a moment. The person that is introduced
here by James holds exactly the same position as James. that
faith without works is dead. And the man who trusts in a life
that is dead of works is building on the sand. He’s living a life that cannot
bear up under scrutiny. As one commentator put it, the
supposed speaker, so far from objecting to what the writer
has said in the previous verse, he here proceeds to provide a
further argument in support of his position. And James utilizes
that right here. He says, you have faith and I
have words. It had probably been overheard
in the sanctuary of his church in many occasions. You have faith,
and I have works. But the quote isn’t finished,
as we’ll see in a moment. Manton was spot on here, by the
way, and he says, the apostle amplifies the present argument
against an empty, solitary faith by supposing a dialogue between
a believer that can manifest his faith by his works and a
boasting hypocrite. that can produce no such effect
and experience so that the dispute lies so much between faith and
works as between pretended faith and discovered works. Manton
says, look, here’s this statement that was very common, had been
heard in the church on many occasions, and James cites it in course
to really make his point. I’ll come back to that in a moment.
In order to objectively evaluate all these different positions,
I had to consider doing something that I almost never do. Disagree with the new American
Standard Translation. You know, I know. Fasten your seatbelts. That’s
because in several places, they have made interpretive decisions
that declare their position on this text. Did you hear what
I said? They made interpretive decisions
on the way they translated it so that we get kind of a interpreted
version of the scriptures. In the translation of the passage,
they’ve had to make some interpretive decisions. and I believe they’re
correct in doing so. But unfortunately, on both points,
they disagree with such noteworthy translations as the ESV, the
King James, and the NIV. I did consider breaking with
the NAS, but if you have the NAS, I just want you to hear
this out. If you don’t have the NAS, you’re gonna have to listen
closely. If you have the NAS, the first interpretive decision
that you see that was made by the NAS translators was the inclusion
of a little word, well. If you have the NAS, you notice
also that the word well is also in italics. The translators use
that device in the New American Standard, I think in other translations
as well, to call attention to a word that is not in the original
Greek. In that, at least they’re honest.
Translators are when they include a little word like that. There
are some translations that go on and on and on for entire sentences
with text that is not in the original. You can ask me afterwards
which translation that is. And so the translators here inserted
into the English translation to aid in clarity. They wanted
us to understand this passage. And I think it’s appropriate
to point out here that none of the other translations that I
mentioned, ESV, KJV, NIV, none of those other translations include
that word well. But before you draw your swords
against the NAS translation, it appears in a sense that the
King James effectively does the same thing when it begins the
passage with the word yay. It’s affirming what he’s preparing
to say. Now, I know what you’re saying. You’re sitting there and it’s
hot. What does it matter that the
NAS included the word well? Well, in this very difficult
passage, the NAS translators have tipped their hand regarding
their interpretation of this passage. And yes, there is a
great degree of interpretation that does take place even at
the translation level. But here, the inclusion of the
word well makes James appear to favor the statement. You have
faith. and I have works. And I think
that’s appropriate. I agree with that interpretation.
I agree with that translation. I do think that James affirms
that statement. Someone may well say, you have
faith and I have works. If it was an objection, If it
was totally counter to what James had been saying, if James was
introducing this as someone who is antagonistic to his position,
would he even begin to say someone may well say. I think it’s appropriate
and in a very unique way, quoting an argument that echoes his own
position, James proceeds to dismantle the faith without works mentality. Well said, James says. Let’s press on to another issue.
There’s still opportunity for the new American standard to
be cut to ribbons here in just a moment. Be on the edge of your
seat. It’s not immediately clear, this
is the other big issue, it’s not immediately clear how much
this man says. where his words end and James
resumes his argument. How much should be included in
what he says? And I have to point out something
else. If you’re using one of the more popular translations,
ESV, King James, NIV, then your translators likewise have made
an interpretive decision here. This isn’t breaking news. In
some cases, this has been in the text since 1611. Take a deep
breath, get some water if you need to. This is really significant,
earth-shaking. This would be worth the price
of admission just today. See the quote marks there at
the beginning of the statement? You have faith. Those are, of
course, what we call open quotes. At the beginning of a sentence,
you remember eighth grade English, right? No? In eighth grade English,
they covered open quotes. At the beginning of the quote,
you put those two little hash marks, and then when the quote
is finished, you put two more little hash marks. I know what
you’re doing. I can already see you looking down. Where did we
end it? Where did my translation close the quote? Lo and behold,
you don’t have to go very far with any of the other three translations
to find it. It’s right there at the end of
the compound sentence. The NIV, the ESV, the King James
all end it after that compound sentence. You have faith and
I have works. End of quote. Well. there are those that say
that the quote only includes the first portion of verse 18,
you have faith and I have works, end of quote. But as I said,
this is how the majority of translations have it, that this person, whoever
he is for the moment, that this person only proffers this one
little compound sentence, and it’s especially helpful if one
takes the position that the statement is one of objection to James’s
position, it makes this first part of verse 18, 18a, if you
will, the argument, and 18b, the whole rest of it, James’s
reply, or perhaps even his affirmation, depending on what position you
take. We’ll come to that in a second.
But we have to acknowledge We gotta be humble enough regarding
our various translations, probably six or more, even in this little
body, we have to be humble enough to acknowledge that quote marks
are not inspired. They’re interpretational. And
in fact, the great majority of any punctuation in scripture
was not inspired. That would include periods, commas,
dashes, question marks, capitalization, none of that. At least very little
of that is included in the original Greek text. So if you’re translating
the sacred scriptures from Greek to English, whether it’s your
life calling or an occasional hobby, you have a decision to
make here. Where does the quote begin? And where does the quote
end? And I will tell you that the
NAS puts the quote mark in a completely different place, it puts it at
the end of verse 18. This whole quote is a quote by
James’ friend who affirms his position, and really James is
just citing this position, probably very common among the congregation,
and it goes simply like this. Someone may well say, you have
faith and I have works. Show me your faith without the
works. And I will show you by faith
by my works. It may be obvious by now that
I agree with the NAS translation here. James is citing this argument
in agreement with his own, and it’s an excellent line of reason. You have faith. And you want
to stand solitarily on that faith and you point out that I have
works. Very well. Go ahead and prove
your faith without the works, and I’ll prove mine with them.
Look at the passage. Someone may well say you have
faith and I have works. Show me your faith without the
works, and I will show you my faith by my works. Show me James
argues by the citation of this individual, show me the kind
of faith that is able to turn the other cheek and ignore a
person in grave need, poorly clothed, hasn’t had the day’s
food. Show me a person that is able
to do that. Show me a person that is able
to disregard the need of a brother. Show me a person who knows that
they should be praying for someone, but doesn’t. Show me a person
who knows of another person’s need for hospitality and does
nothing. The bottom line is you can’t.
You can’t prove your work without faith. You can’t prove your faith
rather without work. Without what James calls works
here, you cannot do it. It can’t be done. Faith can be
seen by God alone. God looks down. He sees your
heart for exactly what it is. But you look about at others
and the only thing that you see is the outward outworking of
their faith. That’s all you see is the works. The clear, unmistakable teaching
of Scripture is that faith brings about real results. It brings
about real change in a person’s life. Without deeds, said one, Such
a demonstration is impossible. This impossibility to demonstrate
his faith will prove that it is not true faith. Faith and
works are inseparable. That’s been James’s point all
along, hasn’t it? And so when he seizes upon this
argument by this friend, unnamed, All he’s doing is is agreeing
with him in his agreement with James that this is a good sound
position. It’s not an either or proposition,
faith and works. It isn’t a matter of even two
equals in the church where one person is allowed to just go
about exercising their faith, living their faith, even though
it has no works at all. While another person is commended
because he is a person of great works. The two are not mutually
exclusive, James says. James says there must be faith.
And works there must be works born out of faith. One. godly pastor put it this
way, the challenge proceeds on the assumption that in true religion
of which faith is the root, there will inevitably be something
visible, something tangible. You will give counsel to someone
in need. You will pray for someone in
peril. You will lend to someone who
has not. You will do something He says,
there will inevitably be something visible and that this or should
be admitted by all professing Christians while the supreme
relations of religion are between the soul and God. See, that’s
the argument, isn’t it? I’m living out my faith with
God and I can do that in the mountains. You know, you hear
that all the time. The supreme relations of religion are between
the soul and God. It is also plainly intended by
God that everyone whom religion has found a power should be exerted
on society. At the very minimum, that means
the church, he says. Jesus says to his people, you
are the light of the world. What kind of a light is that
that does nothing, touches no one, affects nothing, And so James comes into what
I would call a transitional argument in verse 19, 19 and 20. He’s almost taking these things
as if he’s calling on people raising their hands. He’s quoted
this one and dealt with it effectively. Now he wants to go straight to
the heart of the matter. We’re examining our faith, are
we not? And James says, you believe that
God is one. You do well. The demons also
believe in shudder. He essentially in this largely
Jewish audience quotes the Shema. Perhaps there were Jews, even
in their midst, that would come in and in their quoting of this
text of scripture, flaunt their knowledge of scripture and their
orthodoxy because they believed in the chief article. The Shema, Deuteronomy 6, 4,
Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is our God, the
Lord is one. The solitariness of God. It was
the portion of scripture that every Jew was supposed to read
and recite every morning and every evening. This was the cardinal,
the main doctrinal position of the Jewish religion. The unity of God, the God is
one is a solitary being. And James evaluates it right
out of the chute. You believe that God is one.
You want to stand on your orthodoxy. You want to stand on your doctrinal
statement. You want to say that you’ve signed the confession
good. You do well so far so good. That was the primary belief of
the Jewish religion and no less of the Christians. The Christians
believe in one God in three persons. James basically just says that
that’s good, sound doctrine. There’s nothing wrong with that
doctrine. Yay and amen. Preach it. So far so good. But you know something, James
says, the demons have a pretty good doctrinal statement too.
The demons also believe in shudder. That word that he uses for demons
there was often used of the false gods in the Septuagint. Deuteronomy
32, 17, they sacrificed to demons who were not God, to gods whom
they have not known. New gods who came lately, whom
your fathers did not dread. This is the principalities and
powers that Paul speaks of in Ephesians. These are those demonic
forces unseen forces, the henchman of
the devil himself, carrying out his deeds through ideas. We know,
Paul says it in 1 Timothy 4, the spirit explicitly says that
in later times, some will fall away from the faith, paying attention
to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. That’s what they do.
They’re good at doctrine. Really good at doctrine. I would
suggest to you that their doctrine is better than yours. They know exactly who they’re
dealing with. They know God in his fullness.
They just hate him for it. How do the demons respond to
the truth of God? Matthew 8, 29 says that the demons
cried out, what business do we have with each other, son of
God? Have you come here to torment us before the time? They know
exactly what they’re going to get. They know exactly who Jesus
Christ is. They know exactly who God is
and his holiness. They just hate him. They’re perfectly orthodox in
their belief system. But when it says that they believe. Ultimately, they shudder. It’s a graphic word. It means to bristle. That’s the
word that was used when the hair would stand up on the back of
your neck from fear. And it says that they shudder
from fear every time they review their doctrinal statement. Every
time they review that God is holy, that Jesus Christ paid
our penalty on the cross in full, they shudder. They shudder to
know of God’s judgment. They shudder. So don’t come before
God and suggest to him that just because your doctrine is so sound
that you don’t have to bear forth works. That’s James’s point. One pastor put it this way, if
faith is merely reciting familiar words of a creed, although the
words are thoroughly scriptural, it has become a cold intellectual
exercise that has nothing to do with the faith flowing from
the heart. A demonstration of dead orthodoxy that is nothing
more than a series of doctrinal statements accurately for reflecting
the teachings of scripture. In other words, he says your
doctrine can be absolutely perfect. And if it doesn’t touch your
heart and move your heart and change you from within, if it
doesn’t produce good works, then you are as good as dead. Sound doctrine does not save
didn’t save the demons. Spurgeon here is spot on when
he says, if there is a faith, and there is, which leaves a
man just as he was and permits him to indulge in
his sin, it is the faith of devils. Spurgeon never mints his words,
does he? It is the faith of devils, perhaps not so good as that for
the devils believe and tremble, whereas these hypocrites profess
to believe and yet dare to defy God and seem to have no fear
of him whatsoever. But are you willing to recognize
James says in verse 20? He’s wooing this individual. He’s wooing these people, perhaps
even an entire church full that were of the mind that their works
didn’t matter. They had faith. James challenges
it in verse 20. Are you willing to recognize?
Oh foolish fellow, this isn’t unkindness. This isn’t harsh.
He calls him. empty headed. That’s a merciful
call to repentance. Don’t live like that. You can’t
keep doing this. You can’t live a life that ignores
the needs of your brothers in Christ. That kind of a faith, James says
over and over again is dead. It’s useless. It’s unproductive. James is going to put the lid
on this next Lord’s Day. We’ll get to it next Lord’s Day.
In verses 21 and following, because he’s going to bring forth two
clear examples. That prove that faith alone is
not adequate. That faith must produce works
in the believers life. What good would it have done?
If Rahab would have fed the men a meal, shown hospitality, and
turned and run. What good would that have done?
What good would it have done if Abraham would have said, yes,
I hear what you’re saying, Lord, but I’ve got my own plan. And
James will get to that next Lord’s Day. For now, we have to examine our
hearts I told you last week I believe that this touches every single
person in the room. It’s not about. Cultivating a
dead faith. It’s not about cultivating an
orthodox faith. It’s not about trying to save
ourselves by our good works. That’s not what James is proposing.
It’s about examining the nature of our faith based on what we
see in our lives. And you’ve got plenty of data.
I produced a little booklet a couple of years ago. The one and others
of the New Testament. If you have no other means to
examine your heart, examine your life, examine your faith as it’s
working itself out in the body of Christ. If you have no other
means, I have a booklet. I’ll give it to you at the end.
The one and others of the New Testament. Examine your life
in view of that. It will tell you much about your
faith. Let’s examine our hearts. Merciful God, we humble ourselves
in your glorious presence. And in a very real way, we do
not deserve to be here. You have made us adequate to
be here. You bought us with your own blood.
And Lord, you have begun the work of salvation in us. We know
that to be true. Those of us who have placed our
faith in Christ, we’ve begun to see a sensitivity to things
that we never thought possible. We’ve begun to see fruits in
our lives that were never even once desired, and now they’re
growing and ripening and maturing. Lord, we pray that you would
prevent us from the mindset of ever developing an attitude of
trying to add to or earn our salvation by our good works.
What an offense. To the blood that you shed for
us. But Lord, we do pray. That you
would grant us the grace and the means to examine our faith. That if our faith. In the glorious
Lord Jesus Christ is legitimate. Then it will. Bear good fruit,
it will produce good works. Will care about each other. Will
pray for one another. Will serve one another will give. Lord, examine our hearts, we
pray. And if there are any who discover in the course of their
examination that they are not yet truly in Christ, the Puritans
say, let them repent of their repentance and turn again to
Christ. And plead for salvation. It’s
in Jesus name that we pray.