Recognizing Genuine Saving Faith

I don't know how many of you still have a landline phone in your house.

A few years ago, it would have been a really strange thing for someone not to,

but now it's not quite so common.

I have one that is rarely used.

When it rings, I know there are two possibilities.

One, that it's my mum.

Or two, that it's someone trying to sell me something.

But many of those calls are questionable.

They make a claim about who they are.

They say that they are from HMRC, from Microsoft, from my bank, without naming it.

They tell me about the problems that apparently I'm having with my broadband,

about the warranties about to expire on my 20-year-old fridge,

or about the fraudulent activity on my account.

But it only takes a few seconds of hearing them talk,

to know that they are not who they claim to be.

Who they say they are, and what they say does not match up.

As we look at tonight's passage, we'll see that James presents a question

about how to recognise genuine saving faith.

Then he gives four illustrations to try and help us understand the issues,

and ultimately to demonstrate the fundamental misunderstanding behind the original question.

So for those of you who like headings, we'll first be looking at a fundamental question in verse 14.

And then we'll look at the four illustrations.

The futility of meaningless words in verses 15 and 16.

The faith of demons in verses 18 and 19.

The faith of Abraham in verses 20 to 24.

And the faith of Rahab in verse 25.

And finally we'll conclude with James' two summary statements,

verses 17 and 26.

Which I guess if you want more alliteration you could call a frank answer.

And so let's start off with that fundamental question.

In verse 14.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters,

if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds?

Can such faith save them?

This question is what this passage is all about.

And it's an important question.

But for many of you, this question will already be setting off a klaxon in your heads.

For some it will be a theological klaxon.

Are you questioning salvation by faith alone?

Surely this goes against everything we believe.

Everything that Paul teaches us.

Everything the great reformers stood for.

But for others it will be a more personal klaxon.

Are you questioning my salvation?

Are you questioning if I'm really saved?

But this is the question that's central to the whole argument

of James' letter.

Because it's a letter filled with instruction to action.

To do this and not to do that.

It talks a lot about how we speak.

About how we treat others.

And it's full of warnings against hypocrisy.

Against saying one thing

and living in a completely different way.

Back in chapter 1 verse 22 we read the warning

Do not merely listen to the word

and deceive yourselves.

Do what it says.

And we see that this passage continues with that theme.

This letter is primarily written to an audience

that have probably come to Christianity

from a Jewish background.

They have grown up with the Pharisees

teaching them on all the many rules

that they must follow to be right with God.

And then they have heard

this message of salvation

by grace

through the finished work of Christ.

And it seems that they may have thought

great.

That's me off the hook.

I can now just sit back and relax.

I can do whatever I want.

I don't need to worry about those sacrifices and rituals.

I also don't need to worry about

helping the poor

or loving my neighbour either.

And James wants to make it crystal clear

that that is not the gospel.

And so we come

in verses 15 and 16

to the first of these four illustrations

the futility

of meaningless words

where James writes

suppose

a brother or sister

is without clothes

and daily food

if one of you says to them

go in peace

keep warm

and well fed

but

does nothing

about their physical needs

what good is it?

While throughout the letter

James frequently

refers to the care of the poor

I don't think

that is actually

primarily

what his focus

in these verses

is about.

Instead

this scenario

is given

to illustrate

the futility

of meaningless words

how it's possible

to say things

that sound great

but have nothing more

behind them

than vague sentiment.

what good is it

to tell the person

you need

to be warm

and well fed

and then

do nothing to help

despite the fact

that you could?

It's pointless.

It is just

meaningless words.

You would have been better

saying nothing.

And I think

this is key

to understanding

that question

at the heart

of the passage

because James

asks

what good is it

if someone

claims

to have faith?

If someone

makes a claim

to have faith

but it goes

no further

than mere words

then it's pointless.

It's just

meaningless words.

They say

that they are

a Christian

but there is

no evidence

of the reality

of it.

They may

have confessed

with their mouth

but they have

not believed

in their heart.

It means

nothing

to them.

I think

probably

this is most

likely

to happen

in cultures

where

some form

of Christianity

is expected

of you.

At one point

that would have

been the case

here.

It still is

the case

in some parts

of the USA

where not

being a Christian

is seen

as a hindrance

in society.

We saw

in Acts

recently

how at first

many people

wanted to be

associated

with the early

church

until things

started getting

serious

and then

they began

to keep

their distance.

Then the only

people that

chose to associate

with them

in the temple

courts

were those

who had made

the decision

to follow

Christ

and to become

one of them.

In our society

in 21st century

Edinburgh

there is

nothing

really to be

gained

by claiming

to be a Christian.

In fact

it may well

be a hindrance.

In some

countries

it would be

a literal

death sentence.

But I think

we have to be

careful.

while there

may be

no pressure

in our

culture

at large

we all

live within

our own

microcultures

our own

bubbles of

people that

we associate

with.

And in our

social circles

it might be

the done thing

to say that

you're a Christian.

In particular

the children

in our church

grow up

in a culture

where being

a Christian

is the

norm.

We need

to be careful

that we

don't encourage

them to say

all the right

things just

to make us

happy without

it going any

further than

being mere

words.

I remember

one of the

guys I grew

up with in

church

recounted how

one of the

old ladies

in the church

would encourage

him to get

baptised.

it was

completely

well-meaning

but what

she didn't

realise was

that he

wasn't a

Christian at

the time.

He only

came to

church

under

duress

because his

parents forced

him to.

He later

came to a

real saving

faith

but until

then

it would

have been

easy for

him to

say and

do all

the right

things and

to fit in

but it

would have

been pointless.

It would

just be

meaningless

words and

James makes

it clear that

meaningless words

do not

save.

They are

futile.

And so we

come on to

our second

illustration in

verses 18 and

19 where we

see the faith

of demons.

Here James

challenges those

who say that

they have

faith to

show it.

I think it's

helpful here if

we remember

that there's

nothing special

about the

word translated

here as

works,

deeds or

acts.

This is not

some deep

theological term

with huge

amounts of

theological

baggage.

It's just a

normal everyday

word which

means what it

says.

Things that

people do.

And so James

challenges them

to show their

faith without

doing anything.

And he will

show his

faith by what

he does.

The faith that

they claim to

have cannot be

seen.

But their

actions can.

And how they

live betrays the

reality beneath

the surface.

then we see

that James

anticipates their

response.

Their response

but I

believe.

Surely,

surely that's

all that

matters.

And he

comes back

with a

stinging

retort.

You believe

that there is

one God?

Good.

Even the

demons believe

that.

Well done.

Your faith

is as good

as the

demons.

We're told

very little

about demons

but we can

expect that

they have a

far greater

knowledge of

spiritual realities

than we do.

And they

hate it.

As James

says, they

believe and

they shudder.

I think this

is a very

important distinction

that has to be

made.

And we're

perhaps not

always very

good at

expressing it.

believing in

God is

not what

matters.

Trusting

him is.

It's not a

matter of

intellectual

assent to

an idea

like believing

in extraterrestrial

life or

something like

that.

Rather,

it's about

trusting in

that God

and relying

on his

goodness

and in

particular

his mercy

shown to

us through

the death

and resurrection

of Christ.

Recently, we

had a talk

from Ash

Cunningham

on atheism.

And he

told a story

of someone

that he had

met at a

student outreach

who at the

beginning of the

week was an

atheist.

It only took

him until

Tuesday to

be convinced

that there was

a God

God and

even to be

convinced

that the

biblical

claims about

God were

true.

It took

him the

rest of the

week to

decide that

this God

was good

and that he

wanted to

trust him.

To quote

Ash, he

said,

his atheism

was not built

primarily on

the idea that

God could not

exist.

It was built

on the

supposition that

God was not

worth following.

And James

wants his

readers to

know that

they have

to make

that step.

They have

to move

from believing

truth about

God to

trusting in

him,

acknowledging

his goodness

and acknowledging

their need

for him.

And so

then we

come in

verses 20

to 24 to

the third

illustration where

we see the

faith of

Abraham.

James

writes,

you foolish

person,

do you

want evidence

that faith

without deeds

is useless?

Was not

our father

Abraham

considered

righteous for

what he did

when he offered

his son Isaac

on the altar?

You see

that his faith

and his actions

were working

together and

his faith was

made complete

by what he

did.

And the

scripture was

fulfilled that

says,

Abraham

believed God

and it was

credited to

him as

righteousness

and he was

called God's

friend.

You see that

a person is

considered

righteous by

what they do

and not by

faith alone.

God

said,

this illustration

at first

seems the

most problematic

part of the

passage,

but actually

it's the

most helpful,

particularly

because there

are several

other passages

that deal

with the

exact same

events.

Because in

particular,

Paul writes

about Abraham's

faith in

Romans 4,

where he

says,

what shall

we say

that Abraham,

our forefather

according to

the flesh,

discovered in

this matter?

If in fact

Abraham was

justified by

works,

he had

something to

boast about,

but not

before God.

What does

scripture say?

Abraham

believed God

and it was

credited to

him as

righteousness.

Now to the

one who

works,

wages are

not credited

as a gift,

but as an

obligation.

However,

to the

one who

does not

work,

but trusts

God who

justifies the

ungodly,

their faith

is credited

as righteousness.

Paul takes

the exact

same quote

from Genesis,

that Abraham

believed God

that was

credited to

him as

righteousness,

to show

that Abraham

was not

made righteous

because of

his works,

but that his

righteousness

was through

his trust

in the

God who

justifies

the ungodly.

Paul makes

it explicitly

clear in the

surrounding

chapters that

living a

good enough

life is

impossible,

and also

that no

number of

religious rituals

of sacrifice,

penance,

or dedication

could ever

compensate for

our failure.

people.

But Paul

continues

further down

the chapter

to say,

the words

I was

credited to

him were

written not

for him

alone,

but also

for us,

to whom

God will

credit

righteousness,

for us who

believe in

him who

raised Jesus

our Lord

from the

dead.

He was

delivered over

to death

for our

sins,

and was

raised to

life for

our

justification.

faith is

not some

sort of

vague,

fuzzy,

religious

feeling,

but is a

life-changing

belief in

and reliance

on the

completed work

of Jesus

for our

salvation

through his

death and

resurrection.

So what

does James

mean when

he takes

the same

verse to

show that

faith without

deeds is

useless?

I think

the passage

that was

read to

us in

Hebrews

11 may

help our

understanding,

because almost

every sentence

in it begins

by faith.

It is by

faith that

Abraham left

his home.

It is by

faith he

made his

home in

the promised

land.

It is by

faith that

he offered

Isaac on

the altar.

All of

these actions

were a result

of his

faith.

His actions

demonstrated

what he

believed.

His actions

showed that

his faith

was real,

that his

trust in

God was

not just

academic,

but that it

was what he

was basing

his life

upon.

Now,

that does

not mean

that Abraham

lived a

perfect life.

Far from

it.

That's the

great thing

about the

Bible.

It gives

us a

warts and

all view

of these

heroes of

the faith.

We see

that their

lives are

a mess.

We see

that at

times they

doubted

God,

that they

thought that

they knew

better,

but his

life gives

evidence that

his faith

is real.

We see

that James

said that

Abraham was

considered

righteous when

he offered

his son

Isaac on

the altar.

In the

context,

it's clear

that James

is not saying

he was

made

righteous

before God

by these

actions,

but that

he was

shown to

be

righteous.

James makes

it clear

that his

righteousness

was credited

to him

when he

believed.

And if we

look back at

Genesis,

where that

quotation comes

from,

we see that

there are

decades between

these events.

That

Abraham's

actions when

his faith

was tested

showed the

reality of

his faith

that he

has lived

with over

decades.

But I

think what

James is

saying is

that if

Abraham had

believed

God,

went back

in Haran,

but had

decided just

to stay

there because

he was quite

comfortable

there.

If Abraham

had believed

God and

never acted

on it,

if nothing

about his

life had

changed,

he would

have to

start asking

serious

questions about

the reality

of Abraham's

faith.

And so it

is with

us.

If we are

striving to

work our

way to

God by

our good

deeds,

by going

to church

as often

as we

can,

having

non-stop

worship

music playing

in our

headphones,

helping out

with the

food bank,

giving to

everyone we

can,

opening our

homes,

sharing

amazing

hospitality,

giving a

listening ear

and a

shoulder to

cry on,

and just

hoping that

it might

be enough,

we need to

give up now.

You can't.

It's a

hopeless task,

and it's not

what James is

teaching.

You need to

run to

Jesus.

You need to

run to him

with your

failure,

your inadequacy,

your guilt,

and then,

trusting in

him,

you can go

out and

act in his

strength.

by his

spirit,

and live a

life of

service,

out of

love and

gratitude,

instead of

out of

guilt and

fear.

But if

instead you're

thinking,

yeah,

I'm fine.

I said a

prayer at an

SU camp 20

years ago,

but,

you know,

since I

left that

camp all

those years

ago,

I've not

really given

another thought.

my faith

doesn't really

feature anywhere

in how I

live my

life.

Nothing

changed,

and to be

honest,

you're quite

happy that

way.

If that's

you,

then I

think that

is exactly

who James

is addressing.

And he's

saying that

the faith

you claim

to have

is useless.

If your

faith is

in no way

affecting your

actions,

then you

need to

really start

questioning

the reality

of your

faith.

And

likewise,

you need

to run

to Jesus.

You need

to run

to him

with your

hypocrisy,

your pride,

your laziness,

and your

fear.

You need

to ask him

to change

you from

within,

to give

you new

life,

to put his

spirit within

you,

and to

give you

the power

to live

for him.

But for

many of

us,

we will

know that

our faith

is real.

We know

that God

has really

moved in

our lives,

and that

we are not

the person

that we

once were,

and certainly

not the

person that

we were

headed to

become.

We know

his spirit

is at work

within us,

and yet

we see

so little

change.

We see

that our

actions

are barely

distinguishable

from those

around us.

We see

that we

have become

complacent,

that the

sins we

used to

struggle

with,

we no

longer

struggle

with,

not because

they're not

there any

longer,

but because

we've just

accepted them

as part of

our lives.

we know

that we

are walking

contradictions,

that what

we declare

on Sunday

and what

we live

on Monday

are far

too far

apart.

And

firstly,

we need

to have

confidence

in our

salvation.

We should

rest secure

in the

saving work

of Christ,

that he

who begun

a good

work in

us will

be faithful

to complete

it,

and that

no one

will snatch

us out of

his hand.

But we

too must

run to

Christ.

We must

repent of

our sin,

our apathy,

our hypocrisy,

and we

must ask

for his

strength

to live

for him

each day

as he

slowly

transforms

us into

his likeness.

We will

fail

again

and again,

but he

is faithful.

He will

pick us

up,

dust us

down,

set us

on our

feet again

and help

us take

one more

step.

And then

in the

final

illustration

in verse

25,

we see

the faith

of Rahab.

James

writes,

in the

same way

was not

even

Rahab

the

prostitute

considered

righteous

for what

she did

when she

gave

lodging

to the

spies

and sent

them

off

in a

different

direction.

We have

lengthy

accounts

about

Abraham's

long

journey

of

faith,

but we

know very

little

about

Rahab.

We have

an account

of this

one event

in her

life in

the book

of Joshua.

Then she's

mentioned

briefly here

and in

Hebrews 11

and she

also

probably

gets a

name

call

in the

genealogy

in

Matthew's

Gospel.

Rahab

is a

prostitute

in the

city of

Jericho

when the

people of

Israel are

approaching

under the

leadership of

Joshua,

following their

years of

wandering

in the

wilderness.

And the

people of

Jericho

have heard

that they

are approaching.

As Rahab

explains,

I know

that the

Lord has

given you

this land

and a

great fear

of you

has fallen

on us

so that

all who

live in

this country

are melting

in fear

because of

you.

We have

heard how

the Lord

dried up

the water

of the

Red Sea

for you

when you

came out

of Egypt

and what

you did

to Sihon

and Og,

the two

kings of

the Amorites

east of

the Jordan,

whom you

completely

destroyed.

When we

heard of

it,

our hearts

melted in

fear and

everyone's

courage

failed because

of you.

For the

Lord,

your God,

is God

in heaven

above and

on the

earth below.

So we

see that the

people know

that the

Israelites are

approaching

and are

terrified.

They've

heard how

their neighbours

across the

Jordan,

the Amorites,

were unable

to stand up

against them.

But as

well as

what happened

recently,

they know

of what

happened

about 40

years ago

when the

Israelites

left Egypt.

But what's

really terrifying

them,

what's causing

them to melt

in fear,

is they've

also heard

that they're

coming with

the protection

of a powerful

God who's

working miracles

for them.

and it's

into this

context that

Joshua has

sent two

spies into

the city

to see the

lie of the

land and

they've sought

shelter in

Rahab's house.

In that

situation,

when the

authorities came

looking for

them,

she decided

to hide the

spies and

let them

later escape

in secret.

In return,

the spies

promised that

she and her

family would

be saved

when they

come and

destroy the

city.

She had the

exact same

evidence as

everyone else

in the city.

She even

had the same

belief that

their success

was because

the Lord,

their God,

was with them.

And based

on that

information,

based on what

she believed

she had a

choice to

make,

would she

stand with

her people

in defiance

of the

Lord and

put her

faith in

the strength

of their

walls and

their armies,

which would

be quite

reasonable.

It was one

of the

greatest

fortified

cities of

the time.

Or would

she put

her faith

in the

Lord?

Would she

acknowledge

him as

God in

heaven and

on earth

below and

side with

him?

and put

her life

into his

hands?

She was

putting her

life in

danger if

she had

been caught,

and yet

she saw

where real

security lay.

Faced with

that choice,

she had to

make a

decision about

whose side

was she

on.

And it

couldn't just

be an

academic

decision.

She had

to act

on it.

Whatever

she chose

would

determine

the

trajectory

of the

rest of

her life.

Faith

was not

to believe

that the

Israelites

were coming

with the

power of

God behind

them.

Faith

was not

even to

believe that

on balance,

all things

considered,

she would

be better

off siding

with the

Lord instead

of against

him.

Faith was

to step

out and

make that

decision

reality.

She

couldn't

do

nothing.

That

wasn't

an

option.

She

couldn't

remain

passive.

Either

she would

hide the

spies or

she would

hand them

over.

Either she

would trust

God or

she would

trust the

armies of

Jericho.

And like

Rahab,

we have a

decision to

make.

As Peter

reminded us

this morning,

we can't

choose two

contradictory

options at

the same

time.

We're

called to

choose this

day who

we will

serve.

And like

Rahab,

such a

decision is

a life-changing

decision.

Like Rahab,

it can't

remain an

academic

question.

It's going

to affect

our lives.

It's going

to affect

our choices,

our words,

our actions.

It may

affect our

career choices,

what we

do with

our

weekends,

what we

do with

our

money.

It could

completely

mess up

our

plans.

In his

autobiography,

A Better

Ambition,

Tim

Farron,

the former

leader of

the Liberal

Democrats,

recounts his

struggles to

be a

faithful follower

of Christ

within the

world of

national

politics.

when he

finally

decided that

he could

no longer

continue in

that role,

he finished

his resignation

speech like

this.

I want to

say one

more thing.

I joined

our party

when I was

16.

It is in

my blood.

I love our

history,

our people.

I thoroughly

love my

party.

Imagine how

proud I am to

lead this

party,

and then

imagine what

would lead

me to

voluntarily

relinquish

that honour.

In the

words of

Isaac Watts,

it would

have to be

something so

amazing,

so divine,

it demands

my heart,

my life,

my all.

Whatever you

think of his

politics,

or of how he

dealt with

some of the

challenges that

he faced,

that is what

we are called

to, to a

life that gives

everything,

as the

only reasonable

response.

And so,

having looked at

these four

illustrations,

what is

James'

conclusion?

What is

his frank

answer?

What is

his answer

to the

question,

can faith

without works

save?

In verse

17, he's

pretty blunt.

Faith by

itself,

if it is

not accompanied

by action,

is dead.

And just

in case you

had a

different meaning

of dead

in mind,

he's even

more explicit

in verse 26.

As the

body without

the spirit

is dead,

so faith

without deeds

is dead.

James makes

it clear here

that when he

says dead,

he does not

mean resting,

inactive,

not ideal,

but still

faith.

He means

dead.

He means

it is not

faith at

all.

And so,

what's his

answer?

Can such

faith save?

I think we've

seen through

the examples

that his

answer is a

big no.

Such so-called

faith

cannot save.

But we

have to be

clear,

this is not

because we

need something

extra,

something

additional,

as well as

faith.

He's not

saying,

yeah,

faith is all

very well,

but for

salvation you

need works

as well as

that.

He's saying,

if it doesn't

change your

life,

it's not

faith at

all.

Because he's

shown us in

the first

example that

mere words

will not do

us any

good.

He's shown

us through

the example

of the

demons that

intellectual

belief on

its own

will not

save.

He's shown

us through

the example

of Abraham

that we are

saved by

faith,

not by our

works,

but that

how we

will live

will show

the reality

of our

faith.

It has

shown us

through the

example of

Rahab that

we have a

choice to

make.

We have to

decide who

we will

follow,

and that

decision will

change our

lives.

James goes

on in the

rest of the

book to

detail some

aspects of

what a life

lived for

Christ will

look like,

a life of

humility,

careful speech,

of helping the

needy.

But as I

come to an

end, I'm

very conscious

that dealing

with this

passage, that

some things I've

said may be

troubling to

some of you.

If anything I've

said has not

accurately

communicated what's

in the passage,

then I'm sorry,

forget what I've

said.

But if what is

troubling you was

not my words,

but the words of

scripture that

we have read

together, then

you should take

it seriously.