Living Out Our Faith Openly - v. 26
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
We are back to our verse-by-verse, paragraph-by-paragraph study of the book of James this evening. We will be concluding our verse study of chapter 2 this evening. Next week, as the Lord wills, we do a summary of this last paragraph. The week after will do a complete look of the chapter 2 in light of the context of the book of James. However, for this evening, we have verse 26 which is the last verse of chapter 2 before us.
Let’s begin by reading the verse. In our Pew Bibles, the page number is page 720.
James 2:26 (KJV 1900)
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Word & Grammatical Study
Word & Grammatical Study
Verbs
Verbs
Is (used 2 times) – to be; to have the quality of being
Nouns
Nouns
Body – refers to the entire physical person, living or dead
Spirit – usually refers to the Holy Spirit, the spirits of humans, or immortal beings; occasionally refers to breath or wind
Faith – may refer to the basis of belief, the act of believing, or the content of what is believed
Works – refers to a task or set of tasks that is accomplished by someone
Adverbs
Adverbs
So – in the way indicated
Adjectives
Adjectives
Dead (used 2 times) – refers to the condition of being lifeless, either literally regarding physical death or with reference to being motionless as though dead
Conjunctions
Conjunctions
FOR AS – for just as
Prepositions
Prepositions
Without (used 2 times) – apart from
Spiritual Application
Spiritual Application
What is the Holy Spirit talking about?
What is the Holy Spirit talking about?
As we already know this entire paragraph is center upon the relationship between faith and works.
What is the Holy Spirit saying about faith and works?
What is the Holy Spirit saying about faith and works?
He is sums up His entire instruction from this paragraph with this one last verse. The essence of which is that faith cannot be alive unless there is works. The comparison is to a body without a spirit is dead. Thus, in the same way, faith without works is dead as well.
James 2:26 (KJV 1900)
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Scripture teaches us that at Creation we, as humans, were made in God’s image. Just as God is triune being God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit yet one God, so God created Adam body, soul, and spirit as one creature. Our bodies, as we know, is the house in which a person’s soul and spirit reside. The soul is the living essence of each person. Remember it was God who breathed into man and made him a living soul. The spirit is that part of a person by which they are able to communicate and commune with God. Christ told the woman at the well...
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Initially, before the fall of man, Adam was able to fully communicate and commune with God. Each day God would come down to walk and talk with Adam. There were no complications in man’s relationship with God. Man was created perfectly as God had intended. In fact, it was God who said that He that all He created was “very good.” We also know that man eventually fell to Satan’s temptation. At that moment, man’s perfect relationship with God ended. It was no marred by sin and selfish pride. Man’s disobedience to God’s simple command resulted in God’s judgment upon man. God dismissed man from the Garden, placed an angel with a flaming sword to prevent man from returning, and then cursed man so that he had to work harder than he had ever done before. If you remember, God’s promise to man at the beginning was if they disobeyed they would surely die. Death came to man in two ways. Man experience spiritual death immediately. No longer was he allowed the same fellowship with God that he once enjoyed. Man also, after some time, experienced physical death. Man no longer had access to the tree of life which could sustain his physical life indefinitely. Thus, the words of Romans 5:12 ring true.
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Men today are born into this world already spiritually dead. In essence, they are body and soul without a spirit capable of communicating with God. They are born with a body that is in a constant state of decay. They are born with the knowledge that one day physical death awaits them. They are born with a soul. A soul that will live forever. However, their soul’s destination is already been predetermined by their sin. Spiritually, however, they are born already dead. Note these Scripture passages.
All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, And all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: Because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: Surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: But the word of our God shall stand for ever.
And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
Obviously, we were not dead physically or without a soul when we met the Savior and accepted Him. Thus, it stands to reason that we were dead spiritually. We were completely incapable of knowing the things of God or having any fellowship with Him. We were bodies without a spirit and we were dead to God.
No one truly lives until they have the Holy Spirit living within them. To have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit means a person must open their hearts and minds to Gospel message. When a person does so then faith comes. Faith then becomes the mechanism through which God’s grace is able to work in a person’s life transforming them and giving them a spirit that is capable of once again communicating with God. Listen to words of Romans 8.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
You see God is the one who places a new spirit within us restoring us back to our original design in the sense of body, soul, and spirit. The spirit that He gives to us is not a spirit of bondage. It is a spirit of adoption. We become His children and join-heirs with Christ. It is also a spirit by which now His Spirit which indwells us is capable of “bearing witness” with ours. Thus, we now have the ability given by God to know the things of God and to commune with Him once again.
That is why the Holy Spirit says to us in James 2:26
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
A person who possess a body without a spirit is indeed truly dead. They are dead spiritually. They will die physically. And, if they do so without Christ, they will die eternally as signified by the coming judgment.
Revelation 20:11-15 “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
Now the comparison.
James 2:26 “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
Faith in God is that believing faith by which a person fully accepts all that Christ had done for them at the cross as they realize their hopelessness and helplessness in their current state. A person who has truly done so is a person who then will seek after the Lord Jesus Christ with their words and their deeds. It will be obvious to everyone around that they truly love the Lord and follow Him. That is why Christ said...
If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
Each of these verses support James 2:26.
A person who is truly a person of faith is a person who will keep Christ’s commandments, will forsake even family if need be for Him, and will spend their entire life to know Him, the power of His resurrection as well as the fellowship of His suffering as they seek to be conformable unto His death. The actions of such as person will leave no doubt that is the purpose of their life. Any person whose actions speak differently is not a person of faith. That is the bottom line.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Let me finish with this thought. Just this week I found myself studying and reviewing Romans 12:1-2 which says...
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
These two verses come after 11 chapters of the Holy Spirit driving home the fact we are sinners and are in need of a Savior. A Savior, by the way, who did everything for us on the cross. He became sin for us that we might live. Throughout the first 11 chapters, we learn about how we are justified by Christ, given a new identity in Christ, are currently under God’s grace because of Christ, given God’s Spirit to indwell as await Christ’s return, given daily help to overcome current infirmities with Christ interceding for us, knowing that one day we will be like Christ, and live each having full confidence in Christ’s faithfulness. All of those are because of God’s mercy. You can say they are the “mercies of God.” When we come to Romans 12, God beseeches us by His mercies (all that He has already done for us and continues to do) that we willfully with complete surrender to Him be a LIVING sacrifice unto Him. LIVING meaning that we are not dead. We are alive physically and spiritually to serve Him proving everyday God’s will for us and all that would accept Him. After these two verses, the rest of Romans is instruction about how to live each day serving Him and proving His will. In other words, now that you are spiritually alive, go out and show it to the world by being different. Be the person that says “I will shew thee my faith by me works.” (James 2:18)