Sermon : Too Sinful To Save Page 1 Too Sinful To Save Text : James 2: 24-26 ; Joshua 2: 1-18 A. Thus far we have gleaned a considerable amount of practical guidance from James and we ve hardly scratched the surface. 1. We ve had lessons about dealing with the challenges of life. 2. We ve learn about the importance of our attitude toward : a. God and His word. b. About our fellowman. c. and the importance of righteousness in our lives. S#2. B. None of this has been controversial, but this coming section is very controversial. 1. In James 2: 14-26 Bro. James discusses the roll of works in salvation. a. Those who deny the necessity of good works, tried to deny this book. b. Martin Luther tried to remove 4 books from the N.T. canon, including James. c. Luther call James an epistle of straw ( Referring to I Cor. 3: 12 ) d. Even today some who teach Once saved always saved refute James. 2. There was much debate before James was included in the canon of scripture. a. God did not give us a list of books of the bible. b. The list books to be included wasn t finished until 397 a.d. at Senate of Carthage. c. We have confidence because of belief in God s providential oversight of His word. 3. None of the existing books of the bible were signed and dated by an Apostle. 4. None of the original manuscripts are still in existence. ( The Codex Sinaiticus is the oldest copy of the bible dating back to the time of Constantine. ) 5. There was a demanding criteria for acceptance as being part of the bible. S#3. a. Can be traced back to one of the Apostles or Prophets b. Written by someone associated with an Apostle or Prophet c. Truthful consistent with the nature of God. d. Consistent with other books of the bible ( no contradictions ) e. Quoted by the Apostles or church leaders ( can recreate N.T. from quotes ) f. Accepted as inspired and used by the churches C. By the next few lessons we will observe that there is no contradiction S#4. between James and the Apostle Paul. We will observe that salvation is totally by grace through faith, but that there is no faith without works. S#1.
Sermon : Too Sinful To Save Page 2 D. By this lesson we will observe that : S#5. 1. God hates sin in every form. 2. God is willing to forgive all sins. 3. No one is too wicked to be saved. 4. Forgiveness depends upon faith. I. God hates sin in every form. ( The destruction of Jericho illustrates this.). S#6. A. God hates sinfulness. 1. There are some people that God does not want around. Prov. 16: 16-19 There are six things which the Lord hates, Yes, seven which S#7. are an abomination to Him: 17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, 19 A false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers. 2. God welcomes those who avoid this kind of evil behavior. S#8. Psa. 15: 1-5 O Lord, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? 2 He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart. 3 He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend; 4 In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear the Lord; He swears to his own hurt and does not change; 5 He does not put out his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken. 3. God does not want His people to be around evil people. ( Psalms 1: 1 ) a. Lev. 20: 23 Moreover, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which S#9. I will drive out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have abhorred them. b. I Cor. 15: 33 Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals." 34 Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning; B. Contrary to much modern thought, God hates sinners. 1. Psa. 5: 4-6 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil S#10. dwells with You. 5 The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity. 6 You destroy those who speak falsehood; The Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit. ( Rm 5:10 Enemy ) 2. Psa. 11: 4-7 The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord's throne is in Heaven; S#11. His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. 5 The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, And the one who loves violence His soul hates. 6 Upon the wicked He will rain snares; Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup. 7 For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face.
Sermon : Too Sinful To Save Page 3 C. A just God must punish sin; they will be exiled from His presence. S#12. 1. Ezek. 18: 4 Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die. 2. Rom. 6: 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. ( Death is separation - thanatos. ) 3. The death spoken of in Rom. 6:23 is eternal separation from God. II Thes. 1: 8-9 dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, S#13. II. God is willing to forgive any and all sin if we will repent.. S#14. A. Our God is a loving and forgiving God. 1. Micah 7: 18-19 Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity And passes S#15. over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in unchanging love. 19 He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will cast all their sins Into the depths of the sea. ( God will not cast sins away while we cling to them. ) 2. He was willing to die to provide forgiveness for us. S#16. Col. 1: 13-14 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. ( cf. Mk 10: 45 / Jn 3: 16 ) B. God will only forgive those who are willing to turn from their sins. S#17. 1. Acts 3: 19 Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; 2. Heb. 10: 26-27 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge S#18. of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. C. After one has become a Christian, God will keep on forgiving him. I John 1: 6-10 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the S#19. darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
Sermon : Too Sinful To Save Page 4 III. No one is so wicked that God will not forgive him if he repents.. S#20. A. Many in the New Testament church had been very wicked people. 1. Acts 2.. The three thousand who were saved had crucified the Lord. 2. Many in the Corinthians church had been vile and perverse. I Cor. 6: 9-11 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the S#21. kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. S#22. B. God wants save, but He demands a life commitment. He requires active service. 1. James uses the example of Abraham. a. Abraham had been faithfully following God for more than 50 years. b. He was counted as righteous AFTER he put his only son on the altar. 2. Faith produces fruit in one s life no fruit, no faith. C. Rahab was a wicked woman who was saved because of her active faith. S#23. 1. Jericho ( 20 miles northeast of Jerusalem ) S#24. a. One of the oldest cities on the planet. Thousands of years old when taken. b. In the valley between the mountains. ( Called the City of Palms ) c. On the main trade route so everyone who passed saw the devastation. d. Near the river and first city that one had to pass when entering Canaan. e. Lower section of outer walls were 46 ft in height. 2. Rahab ( Broad, Spacious, Insolence ) S#25. a. Prostitute and innkeeper ( possibly a dealer in flax or weaver of fabric ) b. An Amorite living in Jericho c. Believed in God and helped the 2 spies d. Married Salmon, begat Boaz of Rahab Matt. 1:5 ( Mother-in-Law of Ruth ) e. Foremother of Jesus ( Great grandmother of David ) D. Rahab developed faith based on stories of God s past acts and acted on it. 1. Joshua 2: 10-11 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the S#26. Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. 11 When we heard it,
Sermon : Too Sinful To Save Page 5 our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. ( commonly people believed in local gods ) a. The crossing of the Red Sea had been 40 years before. ( Our influence can last. ) b. Rom. 10:17 Even today faith comes in response to hearing the gospel. S#27. c. Upon hearing the gospel hearts are revealed, some believe and others don t. Acts 17: 32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, "We shall hear you again concerning this." 2. Based on her faith, Rahab made a commitment. a. By hiding the spies Rahab put her faith into action. Faith produces action. ILL Mechanic tells owner his brakes need replaced; faith replaces, belief delays. b. Her actions put her in direct conflict with her culture and her government. c. By hiding the spies she put her life at risk. 3. Rahab made a commitment anticipating receiving a benefit in the future. a. The spies promised to save her family when the city fell. b. We serve God in anticipation of a benefit in the future. Rev. 2: 10 Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. IV. Forgiveness and eternal salvation depend on a living faith.. S#28. A. Faith motivates one to change, to repent. S#29. 1. Matt. 21: 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. ( NIV ) 2. A change of heart must be accompanied by a change of lifestyle. S#30. Acts 26: 20 So, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance. B. As Rahab totally changed her elegance and worked for God, so must we. S#31. James 2: 24-25 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? C. We must each ask ourselves, What effect has my faith had on my life? S#32. If I was arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict? INVITATION : S#33. S#34. Communion slide
Sermon : Too Sinful To Save Page 6 Lesson Text : James 2: 24-26 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. Joshua 2: 1-18 1 Then Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as spies secretly from Shittim, saying, "Go, view the land, especially Jericho." So they went and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lodged there. 2 It was told the king of Jericho, saying, "Behold, men from the sons of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land." 3 And the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab, saying, "Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land." 4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them, and she said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. 5 It came about when it was time to shut the gate at dark, that the men went out; I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them. 6 But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them in the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof. 7 So the men pursued them on the road to the Jordan to the fords; and as soon as those who were pursuing them had gone out, they shut the gate. 8 Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, 9 and said to the men, " I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you. 10 " For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. 11 When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. 12 Now therefore, please swear to me by the Lord, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father's household, and give me a pledge of truth, 13 and spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, with all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death." 14 So the men said to her, "Our life for yours if you do not tell this business of ours; and it shall come about when the Lord gives us the land that we will deal kindly and faithfully with you." 15 Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall, so that she was living on the wall. 16 She said to them, " Go to the hill country, so that the pursuers will not happen upon you, and hide yourselves there for three days until the pursuers return. Then afterward you may go on your way." 17 The men said to her, " We shall be free from this oath to you which you have made us swear, 18 unless, when we come into the land, you tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and gather to yourself into the house your father and your mother and your brothers and all your father's household.