Faith that Lives 3
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
The devils believe, but their hope is based upon a lie that Lucifer has deceived them by - they hope they can win!
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
Faith that lives will complete
Faith that lives will complete
Living faith completes
James 2:21-22
Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
Justified - declared righteous - He was right
Gen 22:1-18
And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
God instructed Abraham to offer his only son, Isaac, as a sacrifice
Abraham obeyed
CHAIR going to - Travelled
CHAIR preparing to sit - preparation
CHAIR sitting down - sitting down
Heb 11:17-19
By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
Because of Abraham’s works, it declares to us that he was right! Our God, Whom Abraham hoped and believed in and through Abraham’s faith we see the perfection (which means completion of faith)
Coming to the chair, speaking about the chair, and then sitting in the chair - I was right!
This shows the perfection or completion of faith
It is little wonder that Isaac followed God also - he saw his father’s faith completed in his life
Pro 25:14
Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift
Is like clouds and wind without rain.
Living faith builds
Jam 2:23
And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
This is a quote taken from before the story we just looked at in Gen 22 ever happened:
Gen 15:6
And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
This is just after Abraham has come back from a victory in battle with kings from the east:
Rescued Lot and his family from slavery
Gives Melchisedek tithes of all
Resists the deceitful gifts the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah
Watches as Lot leaves and goes back to Sodom in his backslidden condition with his children
As things quiet down, God comes to Abraham:
Count the stars. Can you number them?
Your family is going to be greater than the stars of Heaven
God gave Abraham a covenant that was based solely upon Himself
At this point, God has not stated that this promise would be fulfilled through a child from Sarah specifically
Instead of waiting for God to make good on His promise, Abraham listened to Sarah advice and married Hagar. This was a terrible mistake. Hagar gave him a son, but it was Ishmael and not Isaac.
13 years later God would give a greater and grander covenant to Abraham.
Exploring the Epistle of James: An Expository Commentary a. The Case of Abraham the Hebrew (2:21–24)
James takes up the Genesis 15 incident. To him, it was a perfect example of faith going hand in glove with works. There is a sense, of course, in which even the unfortunate affair with Hagar was proof that Abraham believed that God was going to give him a son. God had not actually stated, at that time, that the promised seed would come through Sarah.
Paul commends Abraham’s faith:
Rom 4:16-23
Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
Testimony that was built by faith
Friend of God
2 Chr 20:7
Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?
Is 41:8
But thou, Israel, art my servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
The seed of Abraham my friend.
God heart desires friendship with us
John 15:13-14
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
James 2:24
Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
Justified - declared righteous
Chair - I have faith - never exercises that faith - it is dead
Sitting in the chair - faith that builds
1 Cor 3:13
Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
Every work done through faith in God’s Word will be justified:
Every work outside of the God’s Word will be condemned
Faith that lives completely protects
Faith that lives completely protects
Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
James has illustrated the acting of faith through:
Abraham:
See his “muscle” of faith strong with his obedient sacrifice of Isaac, his son
See his faith increasing through hoping and believing in the promise of God regarding having a son when he did not yet have a son
Faith builds and grows:
This is public
I made the statement last week that one that did not have a public faith demonstrates no faith in God.
This wasn’t accurate:
One that does not publicly, before others (family, friends, neighbours, etc), follow Jesus examples:
Doesn’t hope or believe in Jesus - decided to put their faith elsewhere
Does hope and believe in Jesus, but their faith is lacking. A lack of faith is speaking of a weak faith that is not confident or has backslid from their walk with the Lord
One who begins to workout - they want to lift the weights others can, and begin to work out
No evidence yet, but the muscles will be showing
One who gives up on working out, multitude of reasons why, but they stop building the muscle tone they once desired
This is a Christian that James implores us not become like. A Christian that doesn’t read his Bible, gets away from prayer, stops coming to church and listening to the teaching and preaching of God’s Word
SONG - Read your Bible pray every day - grow
Don’t read you Bible, forget to pray - shrink
And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there. And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country. And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country. And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were: And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof. And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate. And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof; And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the Lord, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father’s house, and give me a true token: And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death. And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the Lord hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee. Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall. And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way. And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear. Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household, home unto thee. And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him. And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear. And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window. And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not.
James here gives us an illustration to understand the action of faith
He uses the great, great ancestor of David, future king of Israel - Rahab the harlot
Rahab was without hope. She did not know God, without Christ, and under the sentence of death with no prospect of escape.
The moment came when she recognised that these 2 men were from the camp of Israel! Finally, she saw hope and seized the moment by bringing these men to her home.
The king heard of these men and the police reported that the 2 men had been to Rahab’s home. The police came, and she told the police that they had left as the sun set.
This was a daring thing for her to do. If her house was searched and the men found out, she would be executed as a traitor.
Yet with this very act she demonstrated brazenly where her hope and belief now was placed; in the Lord God.
This was faith - she acted upon her hope and belief in the Lord that the Lord had already given Jericho to Israel and she acted in faith.
She then let the men down by a scarlet line - the men said if this scarlet line is here when we come back with the army of Israel, then you and everyone in your house will be saved.
Certainly this line hanging on the wall of Jericho created questions. For at least nearly 3 weeks - (men hid for 3 days before returning to the camp, they discussed strategy for 3 days, crossed Jordan, waited for at least a week or more, before then walking around the city for an entire week and then the walls falling down.
Yet, she kept the scarlet line dangling from her home on the wall
She hoped and believed in the Lord. She acted upon faith!
What happened?
Joshua 6:22-23
But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot’s house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her. And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel.
Joshua 6:25
And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
God attributes to Rahab what saved her:
Heb 11:31
By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
How do we know Abraham hoped and believed in God - his works justified (declared righteous) his faith - Abraham was right about God!
How do we know Rahab hoped and believed in God - her works justified (declared righteous) her faith - Rahab was right about God!
Their works validated their proper placement of faith in God!
Rahab’s faith protected her!
James gives us Abraham as an example to keep building our faith, and Rahab as an example of how faith protects!
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Notice Paul here doesn’t say that the shield of faith can only protect against some of the fiery darts, but ALL of the fiery darts!
Just as faith protected Rahab, faith will protect you! It’s a shield we can use in the battle!
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Spirit - pneuma - wind or breath
A body with breath is dead.
Faith without works (action) is dead
Faith is action. If there is no action; then that faith is dead.
dead ⇔ useless adjs. — having no beneficial use or incapable of functioning usefully; conceived of as being without life.