James- Week 7
James 2:14-25
Read vs 14-19
What is this saying? What is more important…..faith in Jesus or the good deeds we do in his name?
Many times, we treat becoming a Christian like joining some new club. ……once it is done we have membership privileges and we can coast now to heaven! Is this true? Why or why not?
But…we are saved by faith in Jesus and what HE DID at the cross…and not our woks though right?
RIGHT……………………….BUT J…….there is more. This is the 1st step. I do not think God wanted us to then just sit back and wait for Heaven while everything else goes to hell….
Lifeguards don’t go to the pool, see a person drowning and just shout “You’ll be ok, I am a lifeguard”…and then lean back in their chairs…. They get in that water and help! That is why they are trained and given the power to save lives…so they CAN save lives!
Yet…how many Christians see somebody dying spiritually or in desperate need and say “You’ll be ok…I have faith you’ll get something to eat”…………………………………….
***Faith without works to back it up is useless!!!!!!!*******
James calls it DEAD FAITH……and listen to this: He even basically says that if you believe in Christ but never put that faith into action…..you MIGHT NOT BE SAVED! What do you think of this?
You CANNOT separate faith and works!------ they go hand in hand
So…if you say you have faith, but don’t have accompanying works….you must have the WRONG TYPE of faith. A Christ-given faith yields action…it believes AND does.
I believe this is what Jesus meant when he gave John these words REV. 3:15-16
Are your deeds on fire?
Now…vs 18-19 he takes it one step further. Seems he’s anticipating an argument, so he takes the other persons’ side for just a second. Like they are saying “God will save me regardless of what I DO…you think we should be working for him..the important thing I that we both believe right? That’s what REALLY counts right..we BELIEVE in him?????????”
James makes this clear: “ You believe? Well whoop-dee-doo! Even demons believe pal…and they are NOT going to heaven!” Starting to makes sense huh……works ARE important part pf faith!
Here is the difficult part. Does God measure our works? Is there a “works chart” that requires a certain number of hours that we must fulfill to “graduate” to heaven?
NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We don’t have to sweat it out wondering if we have done enough. Heaven IS a free gift, thanks to Jesus, and what we’ve always learned is right: we CANNOT earn it.
BUT…once we are saved, it is up to us to take that grace and love and reach out to others!!!!! This SHOULD come naturally if you are filled with His spirit! The good works should simply flow.
If we are in love with our savior, the good works will just be WHO WE ARE
I think that is what he meant in this verse: Matt 7:16-23
Vs 20-26
Still….. James wants to make sure we get it….and he knows it is hard to grasp, so he give us some OT examples. Things that the original recipients of this letter would relate to and understand!
1st…there’s Abe. Remember how they waited for YEARS to have kids? Then when it was hopeless and they were far too old…God said “surprise”!!!! Can you imagine how happy he was? He could now begin to fulfill God’s promise of filling the earth with his descendants! He LOVED that boy. Yet a few years later, God has another surprise….. “Kill your son”
Whoa…hit the brakes! Abraham knew God loved him, and wouldn’t break his promise…yet now was asked to destroy the only hope of that coming true....his beloved boy?!?!?!?!?
But in faith, Abe climbed up that mountain. Built that altar and prepared to kill his boy! His faith was a matter of him saying “I believe in your love and promises God. So I will follow your request”
***** His faith consisted of BELIEVING AND OBEYING
James goes on to say……it was the DOING that made his faith complete! What does that say?
Then there was Rahab the prostitute. Way back in the OT…as Israel was preparing to enter the promised land, they sent spies into Jericho to scout it out. Things got a little hairy there, and they ended up hiding on a Rahab’s roof.
During their discussion she made it clear she believed in God..and that His people would capture her city like He had promised. BUT just believing was not enough…..but because she had believed AND acted (helping the spies escape) when the town was sacked, she was spared! Not only that but she is mentioned in the Bible several times because of this faith! God gave her the honor of being an ancestor directly related to Jesus!
*****All because she had the right kind of faith…one that does NOT just believe, but is also put into action!!!!!! This is TRUE and COMPLETE faith. Faith without deeds truly is useless and dead!