Faith That Lives
Notes
Transcript
Faith that lives must be complete
Faith that lives must be complete
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
In order for us to fully understand this portion of Scripture, we must understand what makes faith:
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Faith is made of 2 ingredients:
Hope
SUBSTANCE - hypostasis - assurance or a confidence - the sense in which God uses it here is that of a title (deed) n. — a legal document to effect a transfer of property and to show the legal right to possess it.
Buying a home - you get the deed showing that that property is belongs to you - you HOPE in that document - you know what it says, and to whom the property and the home belongs
Salvation - relationship God uses marriage as a picture of salvation - that is the closest picture we have that speaks into the depth of what salvation brings
Calls us His bride
Married Holly - she had not fulfilled her marriage vows yet - I did not know she would be faithful, would love me, would cherish me, would respect me, etc
I hoped she would.
God gives us His promises -
Believe in Me:
Hath life
Hope of eternal life
Never perish
Become a son of God
Make all things new
Belief
Evidence - legal term meaning a convicting evidence n. — evidence that makes someone fully agree, understand, and realize the truth or validity of something; especially based on argument or discussion.
Confronted information in front of me that I must choose what to do with:
Accept it or reject it
Exchanged marriage vows with Holly - I heard her repeat the vows - I heard her commit before the Lord - I was confronted with information - I had a choice:
I do OR I do not
I made a choice based upon what our relationship had been to that point:
She demonstrated her faithfulness in dating
She said she loved me
Every indicator directed my heart to believe that she wanted to be my wife
This is what we did when we got saved
God demonstrated to us:
His faithful promise:
Never destroy the world with a flood - rainbow and evidence that the world has never flooded world-wide since Noah
Said He would bless Israel, and He has like no other family on earth
Said He would send His Son - He sent Jesus
Said Jesus would rise again - Jesus, God Himself, did rise again
His love:
He came to the earth to be:
Rejected
Mocked
Die unworthily
He says He loves me
He laid down His life for me - No greater love
Every indicator I see directs my heart to believe that Jesus wants to take the punishment for my sins away, save me from Hell, and restore me to HimselfI cannot see Heaven. I cannot see Jesus. I cannot see the throne room of God.I do see His Word that He has preserved. I do see His creation that speaks of the Creator. I do see the proven, indisputable historical facts of Jesus Christ.
Upon this I chose to either say “I do” or “I do not”.
Saying “I do” is faith
Faith is the result of hope and belief. It is hoping for eternal life and the penalty of sin to be removed, believing that Jesus is the answer, and then calling upon Jesus for salvation.
Faith is moved by the motor of hope and the gearbox of belief - these 2 joined together make faith.
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
Notice how the HS led James to pen these words:
You believe in God - Good!
Compares this to the devils position
The devils also believe
They know God is real
They know He is powerful
They know His holiness
His glory
His majesty
They are fully aware of Who God is, where He is, and what He can do
As they see God they tremble
Tremble - to shake, to shudder to shiver
And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.
Torment - unbearable pain or torture
They knew what Jesus, God Himself, could do - they believe
This was a tempting moment as well for Jesus for the devils knew Jesus could be the Lion of the tribe of Judah in a time that God the Father sent His Son as the Lamb of God
The first time Jesus came to this earth is as a Lamb - fulfill the sacrifice of our sins
John 1:29
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Revelation 15:3
And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.
Revelation 19:9
And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
Revelation 21:22
And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
The second time Jesus comes at the battle of Armageddon to set up His reign on earth will be as a Lion
Rev 5:5
And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
Even in their belief in God, they demonstrated that their is no hope for God in their hearts
Yes, they feared and trembled, but even in their fear they attempted to tempt Jesus to move out of the will of His Father
Faith is living when both HOPE and BELIEF move one to action - that action is faith
Faith is not something you accumulate into an account, but rather a muscle that moves one to action
But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
Wilt - for will:
Exploring the Epistle of James: An Expository Commentary C. The Application (2:19–20)
Two main words are used for “will” in the New Testament. The word thelō means “to wish” or “to desire.” This word embodies the emotional element, emphasizing desire that leads to resulting action. The other word is boulomai, which conveys the idea of deliberate determination. This determination might be in accordance with the original wish or impulse, or it might be quite contrary to it. In any case, thelō is a stronger world than boulomai because the natural impulse is frequently stronger than the reasoned resolve.
Thelo - Thell - o
Boulomai - boo - low - my
James is questioning our will and motive - God wants to not simply do something because it is right, but to act upon our hope and belief with a heart-felt desire
The difference between these 2 is like:
Holly - making the bed
Helped a little - Just to not get into trouble
God wants to help our neighbour - Poor - need some money to pay a bill
Ok. I’ll help because it’s what I’m supposed to do
I want to help because it’s what God wants me to do.
Telling someone else the Gospel:
I’m supposed to tell others about Jesus
Instinctively because you want to tell them