9-10-06- "Real Faith" James 2:1-19
Let’s Pray- Real Faith -James is a challenging letter to Christians- forcing the original hearers and us today to look at what it really means to live out our faith in Jesus Christ.
James emphasizes the need for Christians to be about doing good actions- good works- he says faith without works is dead. This has troubled some- especially Martin Luther- the great 16th century reformer- often called this book little Jimmy and stated at times that he wanted to throw this book out of the Bible- because he believed it confused people on the important issue of salvation- Jesus and Paul seem to state dozens of times in different ways that we are saved by grace through faith- and not by any good works- but by faith alone. James 2:24 "You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.” - Overlapping realities- My understanding/reading of James is that Faith always leads to good works- and cannot be separated from good works. Good works alone is no evidence that God is in your life making you whole- and in the same just saying you believe in God is no evidence that you have surrendered to God and allowed God to change and lead you in a life of doing good to others.
James 2:1-19, 1 My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?
8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!
14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If 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? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18 But 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. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-and shudder.
1. Point 1 comes from verse #1 “My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism.” Talk about hard. The church has struggled with this for a long time. Our human desire to gain worldly riches and to gather people around us that will make us more powerful or comfortable are habits that have always been present in the church- and they have always been wrong.
Churches that supported Slavery and churches that sought to abolish it
Churches and ministries- that have abused and manipulated the poor- and churches and ministries that have cherished and welcomed the poor.
In the name of Christianity many look down on the poor as cursed- wrong headed
WE do not give or withhold hospitality our good acts- based on the material condition of another person or based on the ethnicity of another person
Racism and materialism have no place in a Christian’s life- The message still needs to be said today, “My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism.”
2. Keep the law by practicing- "Love your neighbor as yourself,"
There is no playing favorites when it comes to Christian love.
be impartial when it comes to love- don’t love only the rich or those who will reward you for your love- love isn’t love if you are just doing it to be rewarded or noticed- God is impartial- so should we be What is the “the law that gives freedom”? Of verse 12. Loving God and Loving your neighbors are laws that give freedom- because all the other laws can be fulfilled if you devote your life to living by loving God and loving others.
Mercy triumphs over judgment!
Some make Christianity a sport of judging others- rather than a life of showing mercy.
Rejecting the laws of impartiality- means you reject the authority of God- which is rejecting all of the law. A sin is a Sin is a sin. All it takes is the breaking of one of God’s laws to become a sinner- a lawbreaker- and we have all done it- and we are all in equal need of God’s grace.
Wouldn’t it be great if Christian churches and denominations got in fights about how much mercy we should show to others- rather than the judgment fights we often get into.
Mercy triumphs judgment- if you are going to err in a family life situation err on the side of mercy.
3. True Faith produces deeds- but deeds don’t produce faith
All the good works in the world aren’t going to get you to heaven- that’s missing the point
All the religious talk- the worship attendance, the tithes- aren’t going to get you to heaven- that’s missing the point
Jesus Christ alone brings salvation and healing- trusting in the Son of God- brings new life and salvation and wholeness- and living out His teachings such as love your neighbor as yourself- comes out of your faith/trust in Him
4. Faith is more than knowing the truth- or experiencing a good feeling- it is a life lived in trusting God
CS Lewis: I want God- not an idea of God, I want my neighbor not an idea of my neighbor, I want myself not an idea of myself- how much of life do we spend of being fake- on pretending.
How much time do we spend worshiping an idol of our own making-
What is real to you
Faith is a real thing- with God- how we act in life should be guided by our faith in Jesus Christ
If you are living a life where you talk the talk- but you don’t live it out- you don’t walk the walk- for example you gossip more than you pray, you spend more on vanity products a month than you give to others, you belittle people with nasty words much more than you encourage people- is good or evil winning in your life? Who’s really in charge in your life? You or God
We need to be people who take account of ourselves- and ask ourselves this tough question? Am I doing good? Having a small group or an honest friend give you an assessment- somebody who’d be willing to say to your face, “You are being greedy, playing favorites, being materialistic”- we need tough, honest and Merciful friends- fellow travelers in a faith journey who chastize us because they love us and they know that God is calling us to something more and better.
We are all going to go all different directions this week- to school, to work- to home, shopping, walking- who knows what= here’s your challenge- Do something good- just for the sake of adding some good into this world- show someone some mercy this week- offer someone forgiveness when they least expect it- I don’t know
Let God who in faith lives in you lead you to do good.
James emphasizes the need for Christians to be about doing good actions- good works- he says faith without works is dead. This has troubled some- especially Martin Luther- the great 16th century reformer- often called this book little Jimmy and stated at times that he wanted to throw this book out of the Bible- because he believed it confused people on the important issue of salvation- Jesus and Paul seem to state dozens of times in different ways that we are saved by grace through faith- and not by any good works- but by faith alone. James 2:24 "You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.” - Overlapping realities- My understanding/reading of James is that Faith always leads to good works- and cannot be separated from good works. Good works alone is no evidence that God is in your life making you whole- and in the same just saying you believe in God is no evidence that you have surrendered to God and allowed God to change and lead you in a life of doing good to others.
James 2:1-19, 1 My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?
8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!
14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If 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? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18 But 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. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-and shudder.
1. Point 1 comes from verse #1 “My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism.” Talk about hard. The church has struggled with this for a long time. Our human desire to gain worldly riches and to gather people around us that will make us more powerful or comfortable are habits that have always been present in the church- and they have always been wrong.
Churches that supported Slavery and churches that sought to abolish it
Churches and ministries- that have abused and manipulated the poor- and churches and ministries that have cherished and welcomed the poor.
In the name of Christianity many look down on the poor as cursed- wrong headed
WE do not give or withhold hospitality our good acts- based on the material condition of another person or based on the ethnicity of another person
Racism and materialism have no place in a Christian’s life- The message still needs to be said today, “My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism.”
2. Keep the law by practicing- "Love your neighbor as yourself,"
There is no playing favorites when it comes to Christian love.
be impartial when it comes to love- don’t love only the rich or those who will reward you for your love- love isn’t love if you are just doing it to be rewarded or noticed- God is impartial- so should we be What is the “the law that gives freedom”? Of verse 12. Loving God and Loving your neighbors are laws that give freedom- because all the other laws can be fulfilled if you devote your life to living by loving God and loving others.
Mercy triumphs over judgment!
Some make Christianity a sport of judging others- rather than a life of showing mercy.
Rejecting the laws of impartiality- means you reject the authority of God- which is rejecting all of the law. A sin is a Sin is a sin. All it takes is the breaking of one of God’s laws to become a sinner- a lawbreaker- and we have all done it- and we are all in equal need of God’s grace.
Wouldn’t it be great if Christian churches and denominations got in fights about how much mercy we should show to others- rather than the judgment fights we often get into.
Mercy triumphs judgment- if you are going to err in a family life situation err on the side of mercy.
3. True Faith produces deeds- but deeds don’t produce faith
All the good works in the world aren’t going to get you to heaven- that’s missing the point
All the religious talk- the worship attendance, the tithes- aren’t going to get you to heaven- that’s missing the point
Jesus Christ alone brings salvation and healing- trusting in the Son of God- brings new life and salvation and wholeness- and living out His teachings such as love your neighbor as yourself- comes out of your faith/trust in Him
4. Faith is more than knowing the truth- or experiencing a good feeling- it is a life lived in trusting God
CS Lewis: I want God- not an idea of God, I want my neighbor not an idea of my neighbor, I want myself not an idea of myself- how much of life do we spend of being fake- on pretending.
How much time do we spend worshiping an idol of our own making-
What is real to you
Faith is a real thing- with God- how we act in life should be guided by our faith in Jesus Christ
If you are living a life where you talk the talk- but you don’t live it out- you don’t walk the walk- for example you gossip more than you pray, you spend more on vanity products a month than you give to others, you belittle people with nasty words much more than you encourage people- is good or evil winning in your life? Who’s really in charge in your life? You or God
We need to be people who take account of ourselves- and ask ourselves this tough question? Am I doing good? Having a small group or an honest friend give you an assessment- somebody who’d be willing to say to your face, “You are being greedy, playing favorites, being materialistic”- we need tough, honest and Merciful friends- fellow travelers in a faith journey who chastize us because they love us and they know that God is calling us to something more and better.
We are all going to go all different directions this week- to school, to work- to home, shopping, walking- who knows what= here’s your challenge- Do something good- just for the sake of adding some good into this world- show someone some mercy this week- offer someone forgiveness when they least expect it- I don’t know
Let God who in faith lives in you lead you to do good.
posted by Palouse Fed. Church at 6:25 PM
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