P a g e 1 James 2 Faith that works James 2:14-19 What does genuine faith look like? What does it mean to be saved? How can I be sure that I have crossed the line of faith? What do I have to do to be sure I am a Christian? In his letter, James takes a close and challenging look at what authentic, genuine faith looks like close up. I remember once being on holiday and perusing a local market. The market stall holder was doing his best to sell me a watch. It s a genuine fake mister! he said to me. I give you Asda price! was his next promise. A genuine fake. Is our faith genuine? Or is it fake? Do we have a genuine faith? How can we know? And what is the connection between what we believe and what we do? Between faith and works? As Krish Kandiah writes: the apostle James is like a faithful friend daring to ask the tough questions about our life in God. (Only the Brave) As we look at what he writes, I want us to consider two things:
P a g e 2 1. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone 2. True faith is demonstrated not just by what we say, but by what we do 1. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9) The Message: Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It s God s gift from start to finish! We don t play the major role. If we did, we d probably go around bragging that we d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. We neither make nor save ourselves. Two images: Birth. Being saved. Birth of our children. They had no role in that. God created them. We conceived them. The midwives and doctors delivered them. [God] saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. (Titus 3:5) New birth, second birth or being born again or what it means to become a Christian a follower of Christ. Quite specific terms and events. Nothing to do with where you go to church, being a good person, being moral, having some beliefs about God.
P a g e 3 There is a way to be saved there is a way that we become a Christian. A clear path. These passages tell us clearly what it is not and what it is. What it is not God saved us. 5: not because of the righteous things we had done Ephesians 2:9 not by works Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. (NLT) not by virtue of any moral achievements of ours (Phillips) It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. (Message) A picture of salvation Picture of person in the sea Imagine you are floundering in the sea on the verge of drowning. You have fallen overboard. Extremely choppy waters. In great distress. To your relief, a helicopter hovers into view and positions itself above you. You are delighted to see the winch start turning and a cable descending. But at the end of the cable is not a rescuer, but a clipboard and pencil. Questionnaire and checklist for you to fill out Terms and conditions for your rescue. Q1. Worthiness to be rescued. On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being the least and 10 being the greatest, how would you rate your worthiness to be rescued. Q2. Ability to contribute to the financial cost of the rescue.
P a g e 4 Q3. Due to cutbacks, we no longer carry out full immersion rescues. Please confirm your ability to rise up out of the water and meet the winch halfway as your personal contribution. There is no meeting God halfway. You cannot save yourself any more than a man drowning in the sea can save himself. Any concept or idea that we can somehow ingratiate ourselves with God, earn his favour, do our bit, contribute to our salvation, pull ourselves up by our moral bootlaces is as ridiculous as a drowning man meeting the rescue winch halfway in the air If you were a drowning person, with a helicopter hovering overhead, you would do nothing more than reach out and grab hold of the ring that was being offered you, as the rescuer the saviour - comes down and grabs you and plucks you out of the water. So this salvation is all the work of God it is by his grace and mercy alone his kindness, his favour, his goodness. You don t deserve it. You never have and you never will. You can t earn it the debt is too great and the price is too high. It is a free gift. A rescue ring hanging in the air. Salvation offered. You just have to accept it. Take hold of it. This is faith. You put your faith and your trust in the rescuer. You grab hold. But here s the thing God, through Jesus his Son, did not just come down and rescue us at the end of a winch. Rescue and emergency teams are amazing and brave people, going into extreme situations to save others but Jesus went all the way and sacrificed his life for us.
P a g e 5 Jesus died to save us. it was while we were powerless to help ourselves that Christ died for sinful men. In human experience it is a rare thing for one man to give his life for another, even if the latter be a good man, though there have been a few who have had the courage to do it. Yet the proof of God s amazing love is this: that it was while we were sinners that Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8 Living Bible) It was according to God s mercy. His amazing love. While we were powerless to help ourselves. I wonder if there is anyone here today who needs the grace and the mercy of God in their life. Who needs to cry out: Save me! You need to give up the pretence that you can save yourself. Give in to the grace and the kindness and the mercy of God. Put your faith in God, and in his Son Jesus Christ. He died so you can live. none of us can point to our own merit, ability or wisdom in becoming a Christian; we can only point to the freely given grace and mercy of God.and accept it in faith. Why Jesus Nicky Gumbel Sorry: Ask God to forgive you for all the things you have done wrong and turn from everything in your life that you know is wrong. Thank you: Jesus died for you on the cross. Thank him for this and for his free offer of forgiveness and new life.
P a g e 6 Please: Accept Jesus offer of new birth and salvation and invite him into your life. 2) True faith is demonstrated not just by what we say, but by what we do James 2:14-19 James is not questioning whether or not we are saved by faith. Instead he is asking: how can we know if we have genuine faith? You re really saved by faith, not by how sanctified you are. But if you re not getting sanctified, then you don t have saving faith. Sanctification is the sign of salvation, but not the cause. (Tim Keller) We are not saved by good works, but we are saved for good works! What does this genuine saving faith look like? It changes us! It changes our behaviour, and our desires, and it produces fruit. It is faith that works Our faith is demonstrated not just by what we say, but by what we do We show our faith ultimately through our lives, not just our words, or what we say we believe. Even the demons believe in God.and shudder!
P a g e 7 we cannot replace our responsibility to demonstrate the compassion and grace of God with ritualistic religion (Krish Kandiah) This is true religion says James to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep yourself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27) Orthodoxy must lead to orthopraxy. That s why many of Paul s letters are in two halves. The first half lays down the doctrine, the theology, the truth of who God is and who we are and what God has done for us in and through Christ But then the second half of many of his letters deal with how to live in light of this truth and gospel how to live worthy of the gospel how to live out and work out what God has worked in and done for us in your marriage, in your workplace, in your relationships, in your handling of finance Home for Good Krish Kandiah Homeless. Destitute. Refugees. Elderly. People with disabilities. Trafficked. Persecuted. In our jobs teachers, those working with children, caring professions, people we interact with daily Ephesians 2:8-9 is followed by Ephesians 2:10: For we are God s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
P a g e 8 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. (1 John 3:16-18) In his letter, James takes a close and challenging look at what authentic, genuine faith looks like close up. 1. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone 2. True faith is demonstrated not just by what we say, but by what we do This is genuine faith. Community group questions and discussion points: 1. Read together Ephesians 2:8-9 and Titus 3:5 perhaps read a couple of different versions, including paraphrases. What do these verses tell us about salvation? What pictures do they provide us with? How are we saved? 2. Perhaps some of the group can share their story of how they came to faith? Was it a sudden moment or a process? How do you recognise the truth of these verses in your own story? 3. In what ways do you think that we are still tempted to earn God s love and favour? How can we truly accept this gift of
P a g e 9 grace and faith without feeling that we have to somehow earn it? 4. Read James 2:14-19 together. What is the essence of what James is saying? 5. What does genuine faith look like? How do faith and works interact? (See for example James 1:27 and 1 John 3:16-18 and Ephesians 2:10) 6. You re really saved by faith, not by how sanctified you are. But if you re not getting sanctified, then you don t have saving faith. Sanctification is the sign of salvation, but not the cause. (Tim Keller) What does it look like to be sanctified? How do you think God does this in our lives? How do we become more like Jesus over time? 7. We are not saved by good works, but we are saved for good works! Consider Ephesians 2:10 together. You are God s masterpiece and he has good works for you to do. What does this look like in your everyday, going-to-work life? 8. What is your one major response or thought in response to James this week? How can you be a doer of the word not just a hearer?