Faith Without Action

 

 

Faith Without Action

James 2:14-26

 

James, the brother of Jesus, set the stage for this lesson by asking the question in verse 14.  

·      “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that Faith save him?”  YES, it's sad, but many a person allows the desire of the world to keep them from acting on their faith. 

 

What is your def. of Faith?

 

What does the Bible have to say about faith?

·      Heb. 11:1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,” is one of the best def. of faith you will find in the Bible

How does a person receive or grow their faith?

·      See Romans 10:17, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”  Without spending time in the Word, your faith will not grow.

 

How do we see faith expressing itself/ look at Gal. 5:6, ”But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Flesh is always in conflict with the spirit.

Do you believe James is talking about salvation in verse 14? “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?”  Stop and give thought to your answer. In a hotel room, I use what faith God had given me to trust Jesus to forgive me and make me a new creation; I had no works.  But what I witnessed in the next few months was a loss of desires, to drink adult beverages, to not use gutter language, and a real thirst to spend time in the Bible.  I also learned that Jesus tells the truth, and my heart desired to seek the truth.

·      Why do you believe he is not referring to salvation? 

·      In verses 15 and 16, James uses the story of a brother or sister in need, and the response is, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled?

o What's wrong with that response? They did not meet the need.

o   What happens if the need is self-inflicted?  That requires one to show mercy, not judgment.

What is this dead faith that James condemns?

·      Would the rich young man in Matthew 19:16-22 have lived or dead faith?  Support your opinion!

o   The rich young man, by his own testimony, had loved his neighbor as himself.

o   He had honored his father and mother

o   He had not murdered, nor did he steal from others

o   He had not committed adultery, nor did he bear false witness

 

In the book of Philippians 3:8, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” We hear this from Paul: what kind of Faith do you see from his words, and how does it contrast with “The rich young man in Matthew 19:16-22?  The young man confesses that he had kept the commandment, but was not willing to give up his wealth to follow Jesus.

 

What about the Faith of a Centurion that came to Jesus in Matthew 8:5-13, did he have faith with works?  Yes, in that he understood that all Jesus needed to do was speak, and his servant would be healed.  Jesus said I will go to your house, but the  Centurion said Lord, I'm not worthy of that, but speak and it will be so. That is faith that works, not by performance, but by believing in Jesus

 

In Matthew, Jesus heals two blind men; did they have faith with works?  Matthew 9:27-30, Jesus asked the two blind men if they believed he could heal them, and they said yes, and it was their faith in Jesus that healed them.  So once more, we see faith that works, not performance.

 

We see evidence that demons acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God, but are not willing to submit to his Lordship.  But they choose Satan rather than God.

 

So, we are back to the passage James has argued that a claim to faith without works is only empty words.

 

Would you agree with this statement: “Works are not an added extra to faith, but are an essential expression of it. “In the end, we must recognize that even our righteous acts come as a result of God within us, not of ourselves. On our own, our “righteousness” is simply self-righteousness, and vain, hypocritical religion produces nothing more than “filthy rags.” (Quote from “Got Question.”)

Let me end with this confession: Often,  I want others to see you as better than both I and God, known to be true?

 

From our Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice