(Audio version; Music: "With All I Am" and "Forever Lifted Higher" by: WorshipMob)
Introduction
In 1899
during a naval banquet in Philadelphia, the Unites States Congressman Willard
Duncan Vandiver from Missouri, who served on the U. S. Committee on Naval
Affairs gave a speech to the Philadelphia Five O’Clock Club. Questioning the
accuracy of a previous speaker’s comments, Vandiver concluded, “I come from a
state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and democrats, and frothy
eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got
to show me.” It’s believed that this is how the state of Missouri came to be
known as the “show me” state. Believe it or not there was a time when
politicians were more interested in commitments supported by actions than
“frothy eloquence.” Not these days. Nowadays all we get is frothy eloquence.
People have become so cynical about our country’s leaders that they’ve become
the butt of many jokes like, ‘How do you know when a politician is lying? When
his or her lips are moving.’ That’s indeed a sad indictment about the political
leadership here in America. But this failure of sincerity doesn’t plague only
our political system. It has infiltrated every area of our lives, including the
lives of those who sit right next to us in church.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking
about people who make mistakes. I’m not even talking about those people whose
actions at times don’t reflect what they say they believe. We are all still
sinners even if we have been saved. No, I’m talking about people who
consistently demonstrate through their actions that their words are lies. We
experience this in our everyday lives if you think about it. Teachers who say
they are impartial yet clearly demonstrate that there are a few students who
are their favorites. Business leaders who say they care about their employees
and then treat them like disposable commodities for the sake of profits.
Husbands who say they love their wives but devote most of their time and
attention to their careers or their hobbies. Wives who say they love their
husbands but devote most of their time to climbing the social ladder or
improving their outward appearance. And as frustrating and hurtful as all this
can be, it is exponentially worse when it involves someone who says they are a
follower of Jesus Christ. We see it everyday in our churches when people
confess their faith every Sunday; some with tears streaming down their faces,
and then during the week can’t jump from one person’s bed to the next fast
enough. We see it in students who are “on fire” for Christ during youth group
meetings but then quickly go back to their lives of lying and cheating when
they return to school. We see it in our co-workers who serve in church and
attend bible studies and then steal time and/or materials from their employer.
After some time, a watching and unbelieving world doesn’t care what you say you
believe because your actions contradict your words. Instead, a watching world
will believe what they see not what they hear. Unbelievers already have to
navigate a treacherous world of immorality, ulterior motives and deception. I
am convinced that what they desperately want to see from Christians is a Faith That Works.
Subject Text
James 2:14-26
14What
good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can
such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without
clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you
well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what
good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not
accompanied by action, is dead. 18But someone will say, “You have faith;
I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by
what I do. 19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the
demons believe that—and shudder. 20You foolish man, do you want
evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21Was not our ancestor
Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on
the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working
together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the
scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to
him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24You see
that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. 25In
the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what
she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different
direction? 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith
without deeds is dead.
Context
James is
writing primarily to Jewish-Christians residing in Gentile communities outside
Palestine. Secondarily, James is writing to all Christians of all times.
Believers were being persecuted and James is concerned for them. In part James
is concerned that their words and their actions are inconsistent. It would seem
from the context that the believers were clinging to the belief that since they
confessed their belief in Christ, their behavior was irrelevant. Perhaps they
thought they could ease their persecution if their actions were the same as
everyone else’s. In that case, what would it matter what they said they
believed about Jesus if they acted the same way as those who didn’t believe in
Jesus. I mean, if I act the same as my neighbor, does it really matter if I say
I believe in Jesus and my neighbor says he doesn’t? This is the issue James is
trying to address in his letter. The message of the Gospel is being
marginalized not by the words of the believers but by their behavior.
Text Analysis
14What good is it, my brothers,
if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
James asks
two very important questions in v. 14.
The answer to the first question seems obvious. When James refers to “deeds,”
he’s talking about actions; behavior. To answer his first question, we need to
have a clear understanding of what it means to be a follower of Christ. The
answer to that question can be found in all of the pages of the Bible beginning
in the first chapter of Genesis and ending with the last chapter in
Revelations. Being an authentic Christian is the lifelong process of becoming “Christ-like.”
That idea of becoming like Christ after we become His followers necessarily
means we weren’t like Him before we became followers. Therefore, the act of
becoming a follower of Christ has always required some type of action on the
part of the follower. However, not in order to demonstrate that we are somehow
worthy to be saved but as a sign of and in response to being saved. Paul says
that when we were saved we became a new creation in Christ and that the old us
is gone (2 Cor 5:17). The old us was selfish. The old us was unforgiving. The
old us was angry all the time. The old us drank to get drunk. The old us had
sex with anyone at any time. The old us did whatever felt good regardless of
who got hurt. The old us got tangled and twisted in every conceivable sin
because we were either convinced no one was watching or didn’t care who might
be watching. However, the writer of the Book of Hebrews says that as followers
of Jesus we are now surround by a “great cloud of witnesses” who have gone
before us. As such, we are called to “throw off all the things that hinder our
faith and the sin that so easily entangles our lives (Heb 12:1)” as new
creations in Christ. The “deeds” James refers to in v. 14 are the new actions
we take as new creations. So let me rephrase James’ question: If a person
claiming to be a follower of Christ exhibits the same old attitudes; the same
old actions; the same old behaviors, could they then be a new creation?
James’
second question in v. 14 has often
been advanced as an argument for a works-salvation. However, that’s taking his
point too far. James is not saying that works, or deeds as he refers to them,
are specifically necessary for
salvation. Let me see if I can explain this because it will be important as we
unpack some of the later verses in our Subject
Text. What James is digging for is authenticity. James is saying that
unless the confession of our faith manifests itself in transformed lives then
we can’t really call ourselves saved. Are we saved by the words, “I believe”
even if our lives are the same as they were before we said the words? What if
you were a convicted criminal sentenced to die but someone stepped forward and
took your punishment for you and was put to death in your place. And what if
you were then set free. And all you had to do was say, “Thank you.” Would you
return to a life of crime? If so, wouldn’t that mean that the death of the
person who died in your place to set you free was in vain? It’s not a perfect
analogy to our relationship with Christ but you get the point. Our sin
condemned us to death but Jesus stepped in and was put to death in our place.
We are saved when we accept that reality. However, acceptance is more than
verbal assent. Acceptance also requires repentance. And repentance means
turning our lives away from sin and turning our lives toward Jesus. Failing to
turn away from sin and turn toward Jesus means we haven’t repented of our sins
and our confession of faith is a lie.
“James is not arguing that works
must be added to faith. His point, rather, is that genuine biblical faith will
inevitable be characterized by works. Trying to add works to a bogus faith is
an exercise in futility, for only by ‘accepting the implanted word’ ([Jam] 1:21)
and experiencing the inner transformation that it brings can one produce works
pleasing to God. James, in a sense, proposes for us in these verses a ‘test’ by
which we determine the genuineness of faith: deeds of obedience to the will of
God.”[1]
15Suppose a brother or sister is
without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, “Go, I
wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical
needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is
not accompanied by action, is dead.
James
provides an illustration in vv. 15-17
with respect to his instructions on a Faith
That Works. It is likely that the Christians to whom James is writing were
being persecuted since he begins his letter referring to “trials of many
kinds.” Although Christians would undergo severe physical trials under the
Roman rule of Emperor Nero from 64-68 A.D., the persecution of Christians at
the time of James’ letter almost twenty years earlier more likely took the form
of ostracizing believers from social benefits. This meant that Christians
couldn’t work, couldn’t sell their goods, and couldn’t provide the basic
necessities for themselves like food and clothing. Therefore knowing that, what
good does it do to wish a person well only to watch them die of exposure
because they lack clothing or from starvation because they lack food? The words
are a nice sentiment and probably make the person saying them appear caring and
compassionate but to the one in need, they are worthless. James says that faith
works the same way. Notice, though, that James does not say our faith must be
accompanied specifically by clothing the naked and feeding the hungry. It
includes both but it is not limited to both. That’s why James says that our
faith must be accompanied by “actions” in general. That means our faith must
govern all our actions in such a way that those who witness our actions can easily
testify that our actions are consistent with what we say we believe.
Let me try
and illustrate my point with an example from my own life. My girls and I did
missions work together in Mexico for 16 years. We built houses and brought
clothing for the families we helped and usually took someone from each of the
families we served shopping for food. We made sure the families knew that we
were there to serve them and care for them in the name of Christ. We wanted
them to have a house for sure but what we truly wanted was for them to know
Jesus loved them and hadn’t forgotten them. The members of the families watched
us very closely every day. What would it have said to them if I had been cruel
and unkind to my daughters or the other missionaries who were working with us?
Or what would it have said to them if my daughters were rude and disrespectful
to me or the other missionaries with us? The families would have received their
home in the end but what would they have thought of what we said we believed
about Jesus? We would have built them an earthly home but were we witnesses
that pointed them toward a better home; a heavenly home? “The witness of [the]
church will flow from the consistency its members have attained individually
and collectively in living out its understanding of the gospel. It will, in
effect, show its faith by means of its works. This includes works of kindness
and charity, the speech and spirit of its members in their interactions with
one another and in the world, and in the degree to which their life choices
reflect obedience to God’s values rather than worldly wisdom.”[2]
18But someone will say, “You have
faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my
faith by what I do.
It’s hard
to argue with James’ logic. Let me tell you exactly what James is saying in v. 18. James is saying that we can
either tell people what we believe with our words or we can tell people what we
believe with our lives. Let me ask you a question, which person’s faith would
be most authentic to you? Both could
be authentic but only one matters in a real and practical way in this life. One
person’s faith informs us which is important to a degree but the other person’s
faith can transform us and isn’t that what is needed if we are destined to
become a new creation? “In contrast to [James’] opponent, who without works
simply cannot prove his faith, James will show his faith by, on the basis of,
or out of his works. We should listen to what James says here: James proves
faith by works. Faith for James cannot be reduced to trust or to creedal orthodoxy;
faith for James flowers into full-blown acts of mercy toward the poor and
marginalized, or it is not saving faith.”[3]
There’s something I want you to pay close attention to in this verse: What
comes first, faith or works? Look at James’ words. James is demonstrating the
faith he already possesses. James’ works are a manifestation of the faith he
has confessed. Without faith, works are an attempt to earn our salvation. With
faith, works are an expression of our salvation. Faith is the driving force
behind works that are approved by God.
19You believe that there is one
God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
I love
James’ argument in v. 19. How many
times have you heard someone say that all it takes to be saved is a confession
of faith? Really? Is that really all it takes? So all it takes is saying I
believe in Jesus and then we can go back to our old life? If you’ve been
reading my lessons then you know a little bit of the history of my faith
journey. I grew up in a Roman Catholic home with a father who was an abusive
alcoholic. We went to church pretty much every Sunday. We went through the
motions of faith at church but underneath my clothes and in my heart, I carried
the wounds of the truth that the faith I learned from my father was a joke.
Words of faith were a poor salve for the wounds he inflicted. I didn’t need
words of faith, I needed to see authentic faith in action. For my father, Jesus
may have been the Savior but alcohol and rage were the lords of his life.
Two years
ago I did an interview with Michael Franzese, a former crime boss of the Colombo
crime family. Michael was a sworn member of the feared La Cosa Nostra—The
Mafia! It was a fascinating interview with an amazing man of God. A transcript
of the interview is part of the lesson titled, “The Worst Of Sinners” at http://seredinski.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-worst-of-sinners.html.
Michael tells about growing up as well in a Roman Catholic home and always
believing in God even during his highly successful involvement in organized
crime. It wasn’t until he met his wife who grew up in an evangelical Christian
home that he learned that there was something beyond intellectual assent to
Jesus as his Savior. It wasn’t until Michael took the final step we must all
take that his life changed. When Michael reached the point that he recognized
Jesus as not only his Savior but also as the Lord of his life that his life
began to reflect what he said he believed. It was then that he left behind his
life as a high-powered crime boss, and at the risk of being killed, began to
devote himself to becoming a person whose actions reflected the faith he
professed.
This is the
principal James is trying to convey in v. 19. Acknowledging that Jesus is
Savior must not be the sole condition for becoming a Christian. If it were then
every demon Jesus encountered would be a Christian because they all
acknowledged who He was. In fact, they were terrified by that reality. However,
the part that defines demons is that they recognize Satan as their lord not
Jesus. “James commended the belief in God’s existence…but then he warned that
mere belief in God’s existence did not bring salvation. Believing in the
existence of God can involve only assent to a creed. People who have only
intellectual faith may uphold orthodox doctrines and support evangelical
principles. The problem is that they have only made a mental commitment to the
belief. They have not involved their wills, and they do nothing to demonstrate
the reality of their faith…Whenever someone sincerely says, ‘I believe in Jesus
Christ as Lord and Savior,’ that person is claiming a commitment to Jesus
Christ. Commitment to Christ involves a willingness to obey him, not merely the
acceptance of right doctrines about him.”[4]
20You foolish man, do you want
evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21Was not our ancestor
Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on
the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working
together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the
scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited
to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24You see
that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. 25In
the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what
she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different
direction?
It’s hard
to tell if James is actually talking to a man in vv. 20-25 or if the man he makes reference to represents, more
generally, anyone who believes verbal or intellectual assent is all that is
needed for salvation. James uses two familiar examples from the Old Testament
to illustrate what true faith looks like. The first illustration is the story
of Abraham’s faith in agreeing to sacrifice his only son Isaac. Abraham, of
course, is the father of the nation of Israel. However, when God first told
Abraham that he would be the father of a great and vast nation, Abraham had no
children. In fact, Abraham’s wife Sarah was barren. When Abraham was
ninety-nine years old and Sarah was ninety years old, at that time, the time
set by God, Sarah became pregnant by Abraham and they had a son, Isaac, and the
beginning of the vast nation God promised Abraham had begun. At some point
while Isaac was still a boy or a young adult, God told Abraham that he must
sacrifice his only son. We learn in Genesis that Abraham goes so far as to have
Isaac bound to an altar where he is prepared to sacrifice him. However, before
he does so, God intervenes and Abraham learns that God was testing him to see
if his faith in God was authentic or just words. Abrahams actions proved that
his faith in God wasn’t just talk. Because he acted in obedience to God, he was
deemed righteous.
The second
illustration James uses is far more interesting to me than the illustration
using Abraham. Abraham seemed destined to be deemed righteous as the one God
chose to be the father of His Chosen People. But Rahab, Rahab was a different
story. Rahab was a prostitute! Not only that, she was an Amorite! How in the
world could an Amorite prostitute be deemed righteous? Maybe you haven’t
thought of it like this before but can you see God’s grace at work in Rahab’s
life? Rahab’s story takes place during Israel’s Exodus from Egypt under the
leadership of Joshua as they entered the territories of the Canaanites. As they
approached the city of Jericho, Joshua sent out two spies on a reconnaissance
mission. At some point, Rahab encountered the two spies and struck an agreement
to protect them and assist in their escape from the city. In cooperation with
the spies, a plan was devised for their escape. Rahab hid the spies from those
who came looking for them and sent them on a wild goose chase. When Rahab
diverted the attention of those looking for the Israelite spies, Rahab gave the
signal and Joshua’s men escaped through a window and disappeared into the night
to rejoin the Israelite encampment. The spies were able to collect important
military intelligence on the fortified city and it’s military capabilities
which they used in the coming days to lay siege to and take control of the
city. Rahab, believed that Israel would prevail because she recognized what God
did to free Israel from Egypt and she acted on that belief and was deemed
righteous. Imagine that—a foreigner and a prostitute deemed righteous! How
about that for grace!
“Abraham,
father of the faithful, is known as a person who ‘believed God;’ yet faith was
more than an easygoing creedalism, a ‘head belief,’…it was proved by action
when he showed the reality of what he
believed by how he responded to the
divine summons. His obedience gave evidence of a sincere faith already held.
Rahab in similar fashion threw in her lot with the people of God and was
considered righteous by a costly expression of her loyalty, arising from her
faith…Abraham and Rahab…both in different circumstances speak of what [James]
strove to maintain, namely that authentic faith shines in true colors when
tested and is a risky venture that unites believers with God’s suffering
people. In both ways it is faith-in-action that counts.”[5]
26As the body without the spirit
is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
The
language James uses in v. 26 is a
little strange so let me say it another way that might make it clearer. James
is saying that in the same way that the spirit gives life to our bodies so do
deeds give life to our faith. Just as the spirit is absent from a dead body, so
deeds are absent from a dead faith. Intellectual assent alone to a set of
beliefs regardless of how noble or virtuous is useless. Being followers of
Christ is not a faith exercised in theory, it is a faith exercised in reality. “A
monotheistic confession, while necessary, is not sufficient for Christian
identity. There has to be more. Christianity moves beyond intellectual
recognition and verbal confession…to a specific ethical program. The character
of this one true God demands a certain relationship between confession and
living. Believers’ works should no more be separated from their faith than
God’s deeds are from his nature [love, holy, kind, compassionate, righteous,
just, perfect, merciful, gracious, faithful, gentle, selfless, etc.]. Since
there is no variance between God’s nature and deeds, there should be none between
a believer’s faith (confession) and works…If there is a separation, faith is
‘dead.’”[6]
Application
There has
been much debate about the apparent contradiction between James instruction
that we are not saved by faith alone but only by the faith the manifests itself
in obedience to God’s commands and Paul’s teaching the we are saved by grace
through faith and not by works lest anyone should boast (Eph 2:8-9). Let me try
and clarify any confusion. Remember that Paul was initially trained as a
Pharisee and a devout keeper of the Law. After encountering the risen Christ on
his way to Damascus, Paul learned that the Law could not save; that we can only
be saved by our faith in Jesus. Paul was always trying to steer people away
from trying to earn their way into God’s favor by the righteous acts. He never
said that people shouldn’t act righteously or shouldn’t act in obedience to
God’s commands. In fact, Paul opens and closes his letter to the church in Rome
with a call for “Obedience to the faith” (Rom 1:5-6 and Rom 16:25-26
respectively). Paul condemned works without faith and James condemned faith
without works. Both men were committed to a faith that was authentic; a Faith That Works.
Let me ask
you something: Are you the same today as a believer as you were previously as
an unbeliever? What makes you a believer? Is it the confession of what you say
you believe or is it the evidence of your life? I had a customer a few years
ago who had no idea I was a Christian let alone a pastor. She was a single mom
with two young children and I did a significant amount of work for her so I was
around her and her kids quite a bit. It got to the point where her kids took
the time to talk to me and tell me what was going on in their lives and the
woman would ask my advice with some difficult life decisions. Eventually, the
woman wanted to know more about me. I told her I was a Christian pastor. She
was speechless for a moment and then she said something to me I won’t forget.
She said, “Really? But you’re so nice.” Ouch! What kind of faith must she have
witnessed before? Certainly not one that inspired her to pursue that kind of
faith for her own life. I’m guessing her experience with believers was
essentially no different from her experience with unbelievers. Does this really
surprise you? In an age when Christians hide the continuation of their sinful
lives by claiming God’s grace as some kind of special dispensation to go on
sinning, is it any wonder that so much of the unbelieving world rejects
Christianity as useless?
Author Max Lucado writes, “Do we
ever compromise tonight, knowing we’ll confess tomorrow? It’s easy to be like
the fellow visiting Las Vegas who called the preacher, wanting to know the
hours of the Sunday service. The preacher was impressed. ‘Most people who come
to Las Vegas don’t do so to go to church.’ ‘Oh, I’m not coming for the church.
I’m coming for the gambling and the parties and wild women. If I have half as
much fun as I intend to, I’ll need a church come Sunday morning.’ Is that the
intent of grace? Is God’s goal to promote disobedience? Hardly. ‘Grace…teaches
us not to live against God nor do the evil things the world wants us to do.
Instead, that grace teaches us to live now in a wise and right way and in a way
that shows we serve God’ (Titus 2:11-12). God’s grace has released us from
selfishness. Why return?”[7]
We have a
saying here in America when someone makes what some might think is an
outrageous claim, “Talk is cheap! Put your money where your mouth is!” What it
means is that your words without proof or action to support those words are
worthless. Let me ask you a question: Could Christians make a more outrageous
claim than saying that Jesus is the Way and the Truth and the Life and that no
one is saved apart from Jesus? Bold Christians make this claim all the time but
a watching world is saying, “Show me! Talk is Cheap! Put your money where your
mouth is!” And not all of those who are watching are unbelievers. Some are
young and immature believers who are still trying to understand what it means
to be a follower of Christ. What kind of faith will you show the world? I
believe the world has had enough of a faith that informs but doesn’t transform.
I believe the world has heard enough about what we believe and are ready to see
what we believe manifest in our lives; in lives consistent with the nature of
the One we claim to follow—love, holy, kind, compassionate, righteous, just,
perfect, merciful, gracious, faithful, gentle, selfless, etc. I believe the
world has seen enough of a faith that is all talk and is ready to witness a Faith That Works.
[1] Douglas
J. Moo, The Letter of James—The
Pillar New Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans
Publishing Co., 2000), p. 120.
[2] David A.
deSilva, An Introduction to the New
Testament: Context, Methods & Ministry Formation, (Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press, 2004), p. 839.
[3] Scot
McKnight, The Letter of James—The New
International Commentary on the New Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: William B.
Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2011), p. 240.
[4] Thomas
D. Lea, Hebrews & James—Holman
New Testament Commentary, (Nashville, TN: B7H Publishing Group, 1999), p. 294.
[5] Ralph P.
Martin, James—Word Biblical
Commentary, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1988), p. 100.
[6] Ralph P.
Martin & Peter H. Davids, eds., Dictionary
of the Later New Testament & Its Developments, (Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press, 1997), p. 421.
[7] Max
Lucado, In The Grip Of Grace,
(Nashville, TN: Word Publishing, 1999) pp. 99-100.
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