James (Part 3)
Some examples of faith and works
Abraham (Heb. 11:8-19). Abraham believed and acted! His faith in God's promise that through Isaac the nations of the world would be blessed, was so strong that he believed that God could raise his son from the dead if necessary; so he was prepared to sacrifice his son in obedience to God.
Ezra (Ezra 7:10). "Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach it in Israel". Ezra not only studied the Law - he obeyed it, and then taught it! We need a balance between "theology" and "doing" – neither can save by themselves!
James 3:1. "Let not many of you become teachers ..." We need to be very careful of knowing, teaching, but not doing!
The wise man "hears these words of Mine and does them", Jesus said. The foolish man hears but does not heed (Matt. 7:24-27) – in fact, does he really hear?
What we do shows what we really believe. "Don't tell me – show me!" “Actions speak louder than words.” "Your actions speak so loud that I can't hear what you are saying!"
Jesus. "... all that Jesus began to do and teach” (Acts 1:1). Jesus not only preached – He practised what He preached. That is the true preacher and a true example – living daily what He preached! E.g., Why did Jesus’ disciples say "Lord, teach us to pray?" Because they saw Him praying! (Luke 11:1). It wasn't because they thought it would be good to have an intellectual discourse on the theology of prayer!
Paul. "What you have ... heard and seen in me, do" (Phil. 4:9). Paul followed in the steps of his Master.
A lot of what Jesus did would not be regarded by many Christians today as being very "spiritual" – He fed the hungry, raised a widow's son from the dead, healed the sick, gave Peter money to pay taxes. But Luke 4:18-19 is both physical (practical) and spiritual: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He has anointed me to preach Good News to the poor; He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind; to set free those who are oppressed and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
We have (wrongly) separated the spiritual and the secular. E.g., clergy and laity; church and home or work; our spiritual lives and ministries versus our secular activities. This is not Scriptural. All I have, and all I do, belong to God. Every minute, every dollar, is a gift from God. He is always Lord; I am always His servant – the steward of His gifts. I am just as responsible for the way I spend my Friday and Saturday nights as I am for the way I spend my Sunday mornings! I am just as responsible for the way I spend "my" 90% of my income as the way I give my tithe!
It is not faith versus works; it is a FAITH THAT WORKS!
Jesus said "Not everyone who says to Me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in Heaven" (Matt. 7:21).
Jesus really showed up spiritual hypocrisy in Matthew 23 (e.g., verses 1-12). What do our lives show?
Ephesians 2:8-10 shows very clearly the place of both faith and works in our lives:
1. We are saved by God's grace
2. This grace is received through faith
3. It is a gift of God
4. We are not saved by our good works
5. We are created in Christ Jesus for good works
Good works and good fruit, follow as a result of God's saving grace flowing through our lives (cf. John 15:1-8).
True faith leads to good works, done by the Holy Spirit, through us. Thus God gets the glory (see Matt. 5:16; 2 Cor. 4:7).
To put it another way: good works are the fruit of faith:
· no faith implies mere human effort
· no works implies "dead" faith (if such a thing exists!)
Actually, faith is ACTING on the Word of God; it is not a passive, mental acceptance of fact.
Faith and works are like the two wheels of a bicycle:
· like the front wheel, faith steers and provides the direction
· like the rear wheel, works powers the bicycle
One without the other is useless!
Partiality 2:1-13
Partiality is favouring some people over others, thereby treating “the others” as inferior. Why is partiality so wrong?
(a) Because it elevates some people, leading to pride and having to maintain an often-false image, so that they are not natural. Pride leads to a fall.
(b) Because it puts other people down, making them feel inferior, inadequate and that they cannot achieve things for God (cf. 1 Cor. 12:12-26).
(c) It encourages wrong motives: we do things, not out of a pure desire to bless and help someone, but because of what we hope we will get in return.
Luke 14:12-14. As Christians we are encouraged to give rather than to lend. To give is not to expect repayment; to lend is to expect something back, perhaps with interest!
We are called to give to those who can never repay us – the poor, the handicapped, the lonely, the unlovely, the elderly, the weak, the sick, the disadvantaged.
(d) Partiality helps to destroy unity. If we favour some people and not others, then pride (on the one hand) and jealousy (on the other), come in, and unity is destroyed. It also breeds competition between people – competition to be one of the favoured ones!
(e) It is dishonouring to God. God did not make everyone the same and He never intended to. The rich, "fortunate" though they may be, will find it much harder to enter the Kingdom of God:
· because of their riches (Matt. 19:23-24)
· because the Kingdom of God is entered humbly – like a little child (Luke 18:17)
· because more is required of those who have more (Luke 12:48)
· because often their riches have been gained at the expense of the poor, and they will have to answer to God for this (James 2:6)
· because it is usually the poor (in this world's goods) who are rich in faith (James 2:5). e.g., Where are revivals occurring in the world today? Africa, Asia, Latin America, China, etc., not in the rich West!
We are called to unity, humility, equality; to help and love people from pure motives, no matter who those people are!
The tongue 3:1-12
Watch your tongue; guard your lips. What many people have said has got them into much trouble!
The tongue is small, but powerful. Like fire, it has great potential for both good and evil, but it must be controlled if it is to be used for good and not evil!
Jesus said we will be judged by every word that comes out of our mouths (Matt. 15:10-11, 17-20; 12:33-37). One of the greatest evidences of self control is the ability to control what we say. If we can do that, then self control in other areas should not be much of a problem!
One of the great hypocrisies in the church is that we use our tongues to bless God – worshipping, witnessing, praying – great acts of FAITH; but then we go out and slander, use filthy talk, gossip, lie, swear, hurt other people with our words – bad WORKS!
This gross inconsistency should not be!
Rather, let us, in word and deed, by faith and works, bless the Lord and all those whom He has created, and give no place to the devil in our lives, our thoughts or our words.
In Romans, Paul gives the balance:
Romans 1:17 "The just/righteous shall live by FAITH".
Romans 2:13 "It is not the hearers of the Law who are just/righteous before God, but the doers of the Law (those who do good WORKS) who will be justified". And good works includes speaking what is good, true, edifying and pleasing to God!
QUESTIONS
1. To what extent is your life a good balance between faith and works?
2. How is your faith demonstrated? How are your good works demonstrated?
3. What is meant by “a faith that works” and by “works that show faith”?
4. In what way are faith and works like the wheels of a bicycle?
5. Is there partiality in the church? What have you seen?
6. Why is it so important to “bridle (tame, or control) the tongue"?