The
final text for our series on stewardship of self comes to us from one of the
most debated texts in all of Scripture.
James 2 has been the battleground for the age-old argument of faith vs.
works. Now, we’ve said in various
studies and discussions that good works are the proper response to our right
faith in Christ, but I don’t want you to fall into the temptation of just
saying that you already know where we’re going and thus there’s no reason to
wrestle with the text that is before us.
I want each of us to spend some time taking in God’s Word written here
by James and examining our own faiths as we try and determine if we are
actually living a salvation by faith life or a salvation by works life. Notice that I didn’t say whether we believe
in one or the other, but how we are actually living. It’s one thing to say something, and an
entirely different thing to put it into practice.
Our
text begins with James asking, “What
good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” After giving some examples of faith without
works, he concludes his opening remarks by saying, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works is dead.” Now, for some reason, this text has been used
to promote the concept of good works and to say that they are in some way equal
to or greater than faith in Christ; it’s used to promote the notion that we
somehow have something to do with our salvation. While good works ought to be promoted, encouraged,
and not overlooked; unfortunately, too many have stretched these verses beyond
their meaning and caused them to say something that they do not. Remember, James, Jesus’ earthly brother, the
writer of this epistle, was a very faithful man. He was a man who trusted in God and fully
claimed Jesus as the Lord. So, when we
read the words of James, we have to remember the larger context that is at work
here. This isn’t a man who is simply a
moral person who doesn’t hold a high view of faith in Christ. This is a man who is a very faithful believer
in Jesus Christ who is calling for something more than just faith, or at the
very least a mere profession of faith.
If we try and separate James’ faith from his ideas about good works,
then we have missed the actual meaning of the text.
What
James is trying to get across to his audience here is the notion that faith and
works are intertwined. That notion is
something that honestly, is sometimes overlooked in our world today. In our Reformed traditional, we boldly
proclaim that salvation comes by grace alone through faith alone in Christ
alone. Now, I’m not differing or
straying from that statement in the least, but it has caused a bit of a
problem. You see, this statement was taken
from Ephesians 2:8-9 as a battle cry of sorts around the time of the
Reformation, which finds its beginnings in 1517 when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the doors of All Saints
Church in Wittenberg. Well, have you
ever told a story and then after some time has passed the story makes its way
back to you but it’s changed some or the understanding about the story isn’t
quite the same? Well, that is kind of
the case here with the concept of saved by grace through faith in Christ. You see, this statement hasn’t changed in
terms of its truth, but it has changed in terms of what it looks like in
today’s world. Unfortunately the
sentiments behind this statement and the understanding of how it actually
applies have been used more as an excuse to do whatever we want instead of a
promoting of how great and powerful our faith in Christ truly is.
Now,
I’m not the type of Christian who gets caught up in outward appearances. There are some that do and that’s fine, I
have no issue with the person who acts in such a manner. I have no problem with the Christian who
removes all habits and behavior that could even slightly be perceived as
sinful. I may view them as going
overboard and they may view me as being too lax about my faith, but I would
hope that we could both see each other as two people who are living for God. However, I am very careful to constantly ask
myself whether my actions are a.)sinful, b.)causing someone else to sin, c.)destructive
to God’s kingdom, or d.)having a negative impact on my Christian witness. If any of these answers are yes, then I am in
need of a change so that my actions or works are not hindering the spread of
the gospel. However, not all Christians
ask themselves such questions. We live
in a world where many profess with their mouths and not with their hearts,
hands, feet, or any other part of their bodies.
They live immoral lives with no evidence of true saving faith and yet
any time they are questioned or opposed about their faith in Christ, they’re
very quick to defend themselves with statements that reflect the notion that we
are indeed saved by faith alone and not works.
Some of the more common statements we hear are: “Well, it’s a personal matter and only God
knows what’s in my heart.” “It’s between
me and God.” “It’s not what we do but
what we believe.” I hear these
statements, and while there is a great deal of truth to each of them, there’s
great shame in them as well. You see, if
the only evidence that someone has that we’re a Christian is what we say we
believe, then is it really a true saving faith?
In our text, James answered this question by saying, “You believe that God is one; you do
well. Even the demons believe—and
shudder!”
Even
demons, those who explicitly serve the enemy, they believe in God and in Jesus
as the Messiah as well. However, theirs
is only an intellectual admission. They
acknowledge God, but there are no good works that flow forth from them and from
their belief in God. We would never say
that such a belief in God is adequate for salvation, but that’s kind of what we
do. When we say that we have faith in
Jesus Christ as our Savior and that his death and resurrection have saved us
but our lives don’t reflect such beliefs, how are we any different from the
demons. What’s the difference between
saying that we have faith and simply believing or acknowledging God’s existence
if neither produces any good works or holy fruit as Matthew Henry puts it? I don’t really think there’s as much of a
difference there as we sometimes think.
The only real difference is that one wording seems a little more
forgiving than the other. To further
convey Henry’s thoughts on a faith professed only with the mouth, he says, “A bare profession may gain the
good opinion of pious people; and it may procure, in some cases, worldly good
things; but what profit will it be, for any to gain the whole world, and to
lose their souls? Can this faith save
him?”
Now,
we have to be very careful of the other side of the coin too. We have to be careful to not look upon
someone who displays great works and who has high moral character and think
without a doubt that their faith and life is to be emulated. I have known many good, honest people who
live their lives seeking nothing but the good of others, yet the gospel has not
impacted them in any way. Some folks are
just good people, but have not come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and
Savior. Now, there are some out there
who will say about these folks something along the lines of, “Well, as long as
you’re a good person, I think that’s all that counts.” While I do agree that being a good person
(whatever that looks like) is desirable, I want to shedding tears almost every
time I hear this statement. Back when we
were walking through John’s gospel, we came across John 14:6, “I am the way and
the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.” Now, how are we to take this statement made
by Jesus in John’s gospel and apply it to the person who thinks that doing
what’s right is really all that matters.
Well the answer is simple, faith is what matters. Faith is the means by which we are saved and
faith alone.
James’
words here are not an argument for good works being an alternate route to
salvation, but showing that a right faith and an understanding of that faith produces
good works. He’s not saying that faith
is nothing apart from works, but that if our faith doesn’t stir us to action,
then is it really a saving faith or is it a dead faith. If the good news of our salvation is
something that we can hear about or think about and it not affect us in any way
or cause us to want to respond with doing good things for God’s kingdom, then
I’m afraid that the message hasn’t been received.
As
we’ve taken time over the past month to look at our responsibilities as
faithful stewards of all that God has given us, we’ve seen many different
things. And I want to try and sum up all
of these past four Sundays into this one concept or idea. A right faith and love for God is a truly
great gift. However, it is a gift that
comes with a fairly weighty burden, but who said that a burden always has to be
a bad thing. I have a burden to provide
for my family because I love them. I
have a burden to care for the needs of my congregation because I love you. And each of you have similar burdens in your
lives for your friends and family. We
all have a burden to see the kingdom of God spread across this earth because we
love not only God, but we love all of his children as well. Friends, our being faith stewards of God’s
graces is not about a vast biblical knowledge, it’s not about adhering to
strict laws in order to gain favor, it’s about our responding to the wonderful
news of the resurrection of Jesus Christ by going out into the world and seek
the lost and serving in any way we can.
I know that there are great things on the horizon for God’s kingdom in
the coming year and I know that there are great things ahead for this
particular church as well. Let me
challenge each of you begin today seeking ways in which you can serve God
more. Let this be a red letter day in
the life of First Presbyterian Church, and a red letter day in your life as
well. Glory be to God; in the name of
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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