Rev. David Holwick S Book of James series
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
May 29, 1994
James 2:14-26
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I. Most people want to be saved.
A. Main feature of most religions and philosophies.
B. Many work hard at it.
1) Medieval "Flagellants."
2) Hindu holy men who sleep on nails.
C. Most Christian groups - Jesus/God PLUS our hard work.
At Billy Graham crusade in Central Park I was handed a tract
by a fundamentalist group.
This small booklet said that Christians must produce works
of righteousness in order to be saved.
"Faith only" is a lie, and the "sinner's prayer" is a
perversion of theology.
There are two types of faith: saving faith and dead faith.
Saving faith is an obedient faith.
It is not enough to receive Jesus as your Savior - you also
have to live without sin.
It was an interesting tract, not only because it went against
so much of what we believe, but because some of it was
correct.
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1) Results of two extremes:
a) Hard work - then smugness, or defeating doubts about
adequacy.
b) Just believe - low commitment, lax morals.
2) Even many evangelicals confused, and James is a key.
II. Does James contradict Paul?
A. James has a very practical definition of faith.
1) Saving faith must include works. 2:14
2) Faith by itself, without works, is dead. 2:17
3) Biblical faith is best defined as active obedience. 2:19
a) Every person in the Bible who honored God by their
faith was actively obedient.
4) Faith cannot be mere intellectual belief. 2:26
B. Comparison with Apostle Paul.
1) Justified by faith, without works of law. Rom 3:28
2) Abraham is not justified by works. Rom 4:2
3) Salvation is grace, not obligation. Rom 4:4
C. Same Old Testament passages, same language, different conclusions.
1) Luther castigated this passage, and all of James.
a) "Right strawy epistle." (not worth paper written on)
2) Has caused much confusion, but close study leads to a deep,
unifying truth.
3) Three key terms must be understood:
a) Faith.
b) Works.
c) Justification.
III. Through different glasses.
A. James and Paul are addressing different problems.
1) James is attacking superficial faith, with no effect on
the life of the person who claims to believe.
2) Paul is attacking self-righteous legalism, those who
think they can earn their way to heaven.
B. What are "works"?
1) James: acts of love and charity, motivated by the Spirit.
2) Paul: works of the ritual Law, to earn favor with God.
a) Acts of love are important in salvation. Eph 2:10
Gal 5:6
b) Those who claim to have faith, but don't
follow it up, are not "saved." Gal 5:19-21
C. Justification is being made right with God.
1) Paul focuses on beginning of Christian life.
a) God does it, and our works cannot earn it.
b) God makes our salvation genuine.
2) James focuses on the rest of the Christian life.
a) He writes to those who already are believers, and
encourages them to back up faith with obedience.
b) Our acts of love show our faith is genuine.
D. For both Paul and James, faith that produces no good deeds is
incapable of saving a person. Gal 5:6
IV. The essence of faith.
A. To modern people, faith is private and internal.
1) Keep it to yourself, and divorce it from real life.
One of the best examples of this kind of faith comes from
the high-wire performer Blondin.
Back in 1860 he strung a cable across Niagara Falls.
The cable was 1000 feet long, and 160 feet above the raging
waters.
As more and more people and media converged, he did more
death-defying feats.
Blondin walked to the middle and did a backward somersault.
Another time he stood on his head.
Then he took a chair to the middle and sat on it, balancing
on the back two legs.
Later he went across on stilts.
For his greatest stunt, he asked the crowd if they thought
he could take a man across on his back.
They all cheered and said they knew he could do it.
So Blondin went into the crowd, picked out one man who had
been particularly vocal, and said, "Get on my back."
The guy's face turned grey and he said, "NO WAY!"
He believed in Blondin, but only up to a point.
Blondin never did take a person across on his back.
Instead, he pushed a wheelbarrow across while blindfolded.
No man was brave enough to get in it.
So he took a woman.
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2) Believe certain facts, with no evident change.
a) Most of U.S. believes - why so many problems?
b) (Compolo robbed in Philadelphia -
"I'm a Baptist minister."
Robber: "Really? I'm a Baptist too!")
B. Faith is never purely mental in Bible.
1) It cannot be put in a separate compartment. 2:18
2) Good theology is not enough. 2:19
a) Even Satan's demons "believe."
1> Often characterized as purely intellectual faith.
2> "You believe that..." rather than "believe in"
points to intellectual assent rather than
personal commitment. P.Davids
b) Not so! They believe (Shema), and shudder.
1> Thorough conviction.
2> But not saving faith, because they don't submit.
3> Saving faith involves the whole inner man and
expresses itself outwardly in a changed life.
C. Faith is not merely a private matter.
1) Faith must be open, though not head-bashing.
2) Genuine faith will be noticed.
a) It cannot be invisible.
b) James - "I will show you my faith by what I do." 2:18
V. The patriarch and the prostitute.
A. Abraham. 2:21
1) Declared righteous for what he did.
a) Yet sacrifice of Isaac may have been 30 years later.
b) What he did then, fulfilled his faith in Gen 15.
c) Without good deeds, his faith would have been:
1> Incomplete. 2:22
2> Useless. 2:20
3> Dead. 2:17
2) He was called God's friend. 2:23
B. Rahab. 2:25
1) Also considered righteous for what she did.
a) Unlike Abraham in every way: pagan, woman, prostitute.
2) On faith, she chose to identify with Israel.
a) Instead of being dead, her faith moved her to risk
her life to protect the spies.
b) Her immorality is not commended, but her living faith is.
VI. How does your faith stack up?
A. Faith in Jesus' blood alone gets us to heaven.
1) But faith in the blood leads to a changed life.
2) Without fruit, our faith will be called into question.
B. Faith is not just something you say you have.
1) May not even be what you THINK you have.
2) SHOW that you have it.
C. Make your faith concrete.
A young boy, on an errand for his mother, had just bought a
dozen eggs.
Walking out of the store, he tripped and dropped the sack.
All the eggs broke, and the sidewalk was a mess.
The boy tried not to cry.
A few people gathered to see if he was OK and to tell him how
sorry they were.
In the midst of the words of pity, one man handed the boy a
quarter.
Then he turned to the group and said, "I care 25 cents worth.
How much do the rest of you care?"
James points out that words don't mean much if we have the
ability to do more.
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D. Many in churches have superficial faith. Not going to heaven.
1) No evidence of righteousness in life.
2) Theology is OK, but faith is downright dead.
a) Isaiah: "Honor with lips, hearts far away."
3) Are you genuinely saved, or mouthing platitudes?
a) How does your faith stack up?
==================================================
Original sermon of 10/25/87, West Lafayette, Ohio:
I. Uncertainty over the future.
A. Stock market crash of 1987.
B. Most important security is not financial, but spiritual.
1) Are you certain you belong to God?
II. Most people want to be saved.
A. Main feature of most religions and philosophies.
B. Many sincerely think they have spiritual security.
1) They put effort into it.
a) Catholic "Flagellants."
b) JW's and commitment to door-to-door evangelism.
2) Most groups - Jesus/God PLUS our hard work.
3) Even many evangelicals confused.
a) James is used as ammunition.
III. James and Paul.
A. James' argument:
1) Faith alone cannot save. 2:14
2) Faith without works is dead. 2:20
3) Abraham justified by works. 2:21
4) Faith and actions working together. 2:22
5) Conclusion: works justify, not faith alone. 2:24
B. Easy to see how people conclude works save them.
1) Luther castigated this passage, and all of James.
a) "Right strawy epistle." (not worth paper written on)
C. Comparison with Apostle Paul.
1) Justified by faith, without works of law. Rom 3:28
2) Abraham is not justified by works. Rom 4:2
3) Salvation is grace, not obligation. Rom 4:4
D. Same OT passages, same language, different conclusions.
IV. But talking about different things.
A. "Justification" viewed differently.
1) Paul discusses beginning of Christian life.
a) Justification is being made right by God.
2) James, rest of Christian life.
a) Justification means our faith is active and real.
b) Abraham already accepted by God when Isaac offered.
c) Sacrifice showed his faith was genuine.
B. "Faith" viewed differently.
1) Paul - faith is initial acceptance of God.
2) James - faith is ongoing trust in God.
V. Modern view of faith.
A. Never purely mental in Bible, or for Paul or James.
1) The way we live shows what we believe.
2) James 2:18 - Faith and deeds cannot be separated.
B. Even true of Satan.
1) Often characterized as purely intellectual faith.
2) Not so! They believe, and shudder.
C. Faith is not merely a private matter.
1) Common delusion in modern America.
2) Faith must be open, though not head-bashing.
3) Genuine faith will be noticed.
VI. "Fruit" does not get us into heaven.
A. Faith in Jesus' blood alone does this.
B. But without fruit, our faith will be called into question.
1) Faith is not just something you say you have.
2) (Illustration of boy dropping eggs. "I care $.25 worth.")
3) What kind of fruit should you be producing?
Paul A. Cedar
I. James has a very practical definition of faith.
A. Saving faith must include works. 2:14
B. Faith by itself, without works, is dead. 2:17
C. Faith cannot be mere intellectual belief. 2:26
D. Biblical faith is best defined as active obedience. 2:19
1) Every person in the Bible who honored God by their faith
was actively obedient.
II. What are "works"?
A. Works of the flesh. Gal 5
B. Works wrought by the Spirit.
III. Three main arguments concerning faith and works.
A. Our faith must include appropriate works.
1) Sensitive illustration of helping the poor.
2) Illustration- Christian speaker asks how many friends we
have in church we could call on in middle of night. No
one raised their hand.
B. Our faith must be accompanied by action.
1) "You have faith; I have works." Argument they can be
divorced?
2) Satan believes, and shudders. Faith is not merely intellectual
but must be accompanied by appropriate action.
C. Faith without works is dead.
1) Example of Abraham.
2) Example of Rahab.
3) Works are the "spirit" of faith.
============== Leftovers from sermon ========================
I. He speaks hypothetically.
A. Person claims to have faith alone, which is impossible.
B. Hyperbole - naked stranger.
II. Justification is the out-working (living) of faith.
A. Justification means our faith is active and real.
B. Abraham already accepted by God when Isaac offered.
C. Sacrifice showed his faith was genuine.
III. James - faith is ongoing trust in God.
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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