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“The Christian And Their Faith” • 5.6.18
• Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
- In chapter 1, James gave his people the keys to enduring trials and to
escaping temptation.
- They were to see the end of their temptation
as death, their God as having their best interests in mind, their lives as
expressions of God's Word and their duty to those that less fortunate than
them.
- This last point carries us into this present
moment and another practical lesson. This time, James wants to make sure that
they know what it means to have faith in Jesus Christ.
- We'll learn as they did, that having faith is
a much more tangible experience than we think. Let's begin at verse 1.
Text
• James
2:1-4 : "My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Lord of glory, with partiality. For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold
rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy
clothes, and you
pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, 'You sit here
in a good place,' and say to the poor man, 'You stand there,' or, 'Sit here at
my footstool,' have
you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil
thoughts?" : It is worth noting that this is
written to believers who have faith in Christ, who are saved. With great
authority, James writes them in command language.
- This isn't a suggestion for his brothers.
It's a command from His Lord! Do not take possession of the Lord's faith if you
are not willing to consider each person as an equal in Christ.
- "Partiality" is made up of two
Greek words which literally means to "face take." It's widely
translated by the words "favor" (NLT) or "favoritism" (NIV)
and "respect of persons." (KJV)
- The idea is to accept or deny a person based
upon the superficial, external presentation of themselves. The faith of Christ
and that spirit of partiality cannot co-exist.
- The example we are about to consider is based
upon financial disparity. But that isn't the only point of discrimination that
we need to beware of. One might very well discriminate against the rich!
- There are racial, social and even age factors
that have formed dividing lines in churches. It's an outrage when it is
tolerated, given the Name that is supposedly represented!
- If the Lord of glory did not act that way,
how can we who say we belong to Him, act that way?
- Certainly, it would besmirch His character to
do so and it would reveal a profound ignorance of the Lord's ministry and the
grounds of His election, which includes all classes of men!
- Pastor James gives an illustration that might
have happened right in front of him. Two people come to visit the church, the
first of which is rich.
- He quite literally is adorned with rings,
perhaps even on each one of his fingers and is dressed in the finest clothing. This
man is filthy rich. The other is just filthy.
- His hands aren't glittering with gold.
They're rough, barely clean and his clothes are thread bare. Neither is
anything to anyone. They have both entered in and are both seeking to worship.
- The galling difference comes from the
response to the two people. The first is escorted to the best seat in the
house, while the other is set aside to the humble seats.
- Listen to the language that James employs. "You
sit here." "You stand there." There is comfort and preference
for the rich man. He is catered to.
- For the poor man, there is is direction and
condescension. The poor man is tolerated and barely that.
- It's bad enough to think to treat someone
this way, worse to actually treat someone this way and it's even worse to
collude together to act this way! "They have become judges!"
- The have legislated among themselves, apart
from the Lord's example or His Word, to deal with these situations in this
manner. Their thoughts seem right to them but are evil to God!
- James won't mince words and neither should I:
If you believe that your prejudice toward another person is grounded in some form
of honor toward God, He accounts that as wicked!
- Are you something more than a blood bought
sinner, who is saved solely by grace? To harbor such an attitude is a denial of
the faith of Jesus Christ! Verse 5.
• James
2:5-7 : "Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this
world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who
love Him? But you have dishonored the poor
man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? Do they not blaspheme that noble
name by which you are called?" : James
brings them back to reality. He commands them to pay attention to this. Their
faith reveals a much different reality than the one that they are catering to.
- God has chosen the poor to be His! That
doesn't mean that poverty is necessary for regeneration, nor is every poor
person saved.
- Those that are poor within the congregation,
that love Jesus Christ, are rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom!
- Think of the earnest prayer that he has
uttered to the Lord and the testimony of God's provision for him. He is wealthy
indeed and is in fact, an heir of the Kingdom!
- God's Kingdom is his inheritance because of
the love that this person has for the Lord! This is the man that you would put
to shame?
- I can't help but think that James is thinking
about how Jesus was treated by the Pharisees.
- The church that Jesus bought with His life
cannot be allowed to be like that!
- Whoever is beside you, if they love the Lord,
it'd be best to keep this in perspective: They are much more than they seem! To
have Christ is to have everything!
- James can hardly bring himself to believe
this was happening. In those days, it wasn't the poor that caused anyone
trouble during the week. It was the rich!
- They were oppressive, always guilty of
wielding their power against the people. The NIV uses the phrase, "Is it not the rich who are exploiting you."
- They oppress and harass, using their
resources to bring them before the judgment seat! This is the person that you
would show preference to? Be careful!
- These are the same people that insult the
Name of the Lord! James isn't telling them this to form a new prejudice against
them. This was a reality that they were forgetting.
- All who come to worship should be treated the
same, and given the opportunity to be trusted as they show love for Christ, not
for how they appear. Verse 8.
• James
2:8-10 : "If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, 'You shall love your neighbor as
yourself,' you do
well; but if
you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as
transgressors. For
whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of
all." : Can you hear the inner protests of
the recipients of this letter? "C'mon James. Is this really that big of a
deal?"
- James anticipates their objection and reminds
them of the law that they subscribe to, that they had learned to live by. It is
the "royal law," the law of the Kingdom of God.
- James has already called it "the law of
"liberty" in 1:25. They
understood that they were not without a law, but that the law had been
simplified.
- They were no longer under the Mosaic law,
which governed foods and ceremonies. Those had been fulfilled in Christ.
However, they were, as we are, tied to the Moral law.
- In fact, you will find that with the
exception of the law regarding the sabbath, every one of the 10 commandments is
repeated in the New Testament!
- Christ has fulfilled the law in our place and
given us His Spirt, who fulfills the law through us.
- Our main concern is to love the Lord with all
of our heart, mind and soul and to love our neighbor as themselves. This verse
is found originally in Leviticus 19:18.
- Paul picks up on this very same thought in Romans 13:8-10, noting that if you love
your neighbor, you won't steal from him, commit adultery with their spouse,
etc. Love fuflfills all!
- There were many times in the gospels when the
religious community sought to test Jesus with difficult questions. On one
occasion, Jesus was asked what the first commandment was.
- This referred not to to it's chronological
order, but it's order of importance among the laws of God. Jesus answered with
the Shema of Israel. "Love the Lord your God will all your mind,
etc."
- Then, He said that the second was like it, on
par with it, and that was to love the neighbor as one loved themself. (Mark 12:28-31) Listen to how the scribe
answered the Lord.
•
Mark 12:32,33 : "So the scribe said to Him, 'Well
said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no
other but He. And
to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul,
and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more
than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.' Now when Jesus saw that he answered
wisely, He said to him, 'You
are not far from the kingdom of God.'" : The
scribe spoke for most within the believing Jewish community. They knew this and
how much more, the church of Christ!
-
They paid lip service to this doctrine, but in the example furnished by James,
they failed to actually love the poor man. Acting in a prejudicial way against
the poor man would be a sin!
-
This wasn't an error in judgment or a short sighted mistake in policy making.
This was a sin!
-
The law stands up to convict them as transgressors, violators of the law of
God! He is telling them that in breaking this single law, they have become
guilty of breaking the whole of the law!
-
They were guilty of looking at a single law and setting it aside, as if it were
not as important to God as the others! But breaking one has the same effect in
the sight of God as breaking another!
-
I've often explained it this way: If you are dangling from the side of a cliff
by a ten link chain, which of those links in the chain is least important?
"Oh, that one is unnecessary!"
-
That is the proper way to look at God's law! "If we fall at one point, we
are subject to the law's demands from all." Think about who authored the
law. James does in verse 11.
•
James 2:11-13 : "For He who said, 'Do not commit adultery,' also said, 'Do not murder.' Now if you do not commit adultery,
but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as those who
will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy.
Mercy triumphs over judgment." : God
wrote commandments against adultery and murder. He penned both of them on the
same tablets of stone.
-
He doesn't view one as dispensible and the other as valuable! They both belong
on the same level of importance to the Lord. There is one standard before the
Lord!
-
We will be judged by the law that brings freedom. That is quite the
consideration.
-
James is not referring to the judgment for non-believers, the great white
throne where every unbelieving man will appear and be sentenced to an eternity
apart from Christ's favorable presence.
-
James is referring to the "Bema seat," the place where believers are
furnished with the rewards due to them for their actions related to their
faith.
-
Therefore, on account of that principle, it's wise to show mercy to those that come
into our assembly regardless of their status. In that way, mercy wins out over
judgment!
-
Is James saying that we will be judged on account of our works? In a way, yes!
Our works speak directly to what sort of faith that we have. He explains
beginning in verse 14.
•
James 2:14-17 : "What does it profit, my brethren,
if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and
destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Depart in peace, be warmed and
filled,' but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body,
what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." : What advantage. What benefit is there is making a statement of
faith without having anything to show for it?
-
If I make a claim to have something and then fail to reveal the substance of
that claim, what has that claim done for me? Take that into the realm of
salvation.
-
"I have faith in Christ that doesn't affect anything in my life!"
James asks very pointedly and rhetorically what you should ask presently:
"Can my non-working faith save me!?"
-
I hope that nobody is confused by this. It's a rhetorical question anticipating
an understood answerer! Non-working faith cannot save a person!
-
He brings us right back to where we started. Here comes a man into our
assembly.
-
Please note that he is not a stranger, nor is "he" only a
"he." We are talking
about a brother or a sister, a member of the household of faith.
-
He's not describing a person that meets you at random in the streets. The
people in this example are Christian family and they are lacking in what they
have need of. They are "naked."
-
The word refers to clothing worn for the gymnasium, which in those days, would
have been minimal. Those "clothes" could hardly be suitable for
regular apparel.
-
They are also destitute of daily food. They are lacking in need. This is easily
discerned by their looks, but it is also a matter of conversation and
understanding.
-
This is assumed by the response made to them, which is tepid to say the least,
and truly cruel to say the most!
-
"All you can say is 'have a nice day!?' Hope things work out for
you!?'"
- What good does that
do? Sentimentality and well wishes aren't enough!
-
How is it that your faith doesn't demand that you provide the things that they
need physically? That kind of faith is useless! Indeed, any faith that doesn't
produce action is dead. Verse 18.
•
James 2:18-20 : "But someone will say, 'You have
faith, and I have works.' Show me your faith without your works, and
I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God.
You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish
man, that faith without works is dead?" : James
can hear the argument coming but he reverses it. There were those that would
look at people like James as ones having faith, but there were others who
pointed to their works.
-
In their mind, you had one or the other. The argument seemed to be that the
people who had faith complemented the people that had works and vice versa.
-
But the separation of the two is not only unnecessary, it's unbiblical! What
does your faith mean without works? In fact, James says that what he does
reveals what he believes!
-
That is true of every single person that has ever lived! They can say all day
what they believe, but only their actions truly tell the tale!
-
He turns the table back around at those that claim to have faith without works.
He compares them to another class of individuals that have that same belief:
Demons!
-
Demons are theoligically correct! They know the truth about who God is. When
they hear His Name, they rightly shudder. We might even use the phrase, "a
chill runs down their spine!"
-
Demons believe correctly, but they can never be saved! James wonders out loud,
"Do you even want to know this?" The sense this phrase is the
question of demonstration.
-
"Do I have to show you conclusively that faith without works is
dead!?" Apparently, the foolish man nodded, because James unloads. Verse 21.
•
James 2:21-24 : "Was not Abraham our father
justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working
together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled
which says, 'Abraham
believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.' And he was called the friend of
God. You see
then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only." : Wait a minute James! God declared Abraham righteous when He
believed God back in Genesis 15:6,
before he even had a single child!
-
The events of Genesis 22 were at
least, 35 to 40 years after the fact! And that is the point.
-
God saw that Abraham believed Him in Genesis
15:6. The world saw that Abraham believed God in Genesis 22! Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son to the
Lord at His command!
-
Faith and works were not exclusive to each other. His faith caused him to work.
That work revealed that Abraham's faith was completely in God, affirming the
declaration of God 35 years prior!
-
God had declared, justified Abraham positionally when Abraham believed. When
Abraham acted, the faith that he possessed was vindicated.
-
James is referring to the second definition of the word "justified,"
which says, "to show, exhibit,
evince, one to be righteous, such as he is and wishes himself to be considered"
-
Abraham's claim to have believing faith was demonstrable, tangible and God
looked upon Abraham with friendship. "This is the kind of person I want to
be friends with," God says!
-
Do you not understand the argument yet? Our works reveal that a true heart
condition of faith exists. He gives another example in verse 25.
•
James 2:25,26 : "Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot
also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out
another way? For
as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." : Think about who James is linking in his argumentation. On the
one hand, the Father of the Jews.
-
He is venerated by three religions on planet Earth. And then, there is Rahab, a
Canaanite woman, who ran a brothel on the wall of Jericho! These are both
paradigms of faith!
-
In the same way, Rahab the harlot claimed a belief in God and His ability to
destroy Jericho based upon all that she had heard.
-
She had heard of His victory over the Egyptians, and the more recent defeat of
King Og. She had come to believe. But then the rubber met the road.
-
Did she personally believe that God would defeat Canaan? Did she believe enough
to put herself on the winning side?
-
The land of Canaan was on such high alert that two spies couldn't walk into a
bar on the outskirts of the city without and the government being able to get
agents there within the hour!
-
Rahab, with her life on the line, revealed her belief by sending the spies out
from the side gate! Her claim was vindicated by her actions.
-
How close is the relationship between faith and works? It is as close as the
body and the spirit of a man. If that spirit is dead, the body is dead! Faith
without works doesn't work at all!
Conclusion
- Do you have
faith? The Holy Spirit says, "Show me, don't tell me! It will be revealed
not by high minded belief in principles alone, but in practical expression.
That's the faith that saves!
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