James Series | Faith & Works | James 2:14-26

dear brothers, this week we are looking into the book of James chapter 2 from verses 14. Lets look at the last time we looked at the dangers of partiality. Why does James say that it is wrong to be partial? There is a reason for it. It is because the Church is a family. We are not partial in our family, so should we not be in the Church. 

James explores this topic even further in this section.

14.  What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 
• Look the the verse from Ephesians 2:8-10. We are saved by faith and not by works so that no one could boast. What is Paul saying? Paul is saving that aa person becomes a believer by faith and that salvation is a gift and not a reward for good behaviour. Paul explains early on that salvation cannot be attained by human will or wisdom. This echos what John said too. Not by the will of man (John 1:13) or by the desired but by will of God. We see that statement and we believe it.
• How then does James say this statement? Are we saved by works? No, we are not. James is telling us something even as important.
• To understand this statement we will have to go through a few quotes

“Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjacks' wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices. Grace is represented as the Church's inexhaustible treasury, from which she showers blessings with generous hands, without asking questions or fixing limits. Grace without price; grace without cost! The essence of grace, we suppose, is that the account has been paid in advance; and, because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing. Since the cost was infinite, the possibilities of using and spending it are infinite. What would grace be if it were not cheap?...

Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.

Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.

Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: "ye were bought at a price," and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.”

― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

• What was Bonhoeffer saying here. He is hinting at the Church that looks at grace and the price of Jesus's blood cheaply. This is why he spoke on grace being cheap.
• Why should we be aware of it? It is because we have a wrong understanding of salvation and there by extension the Church.
• When grace is cheap, all are members of the world and members of Church. There is no distinction.
• Should we then stop preaching grace?
• No we should not
• The early Christians were accused of being Christian because Judaism was hard. They were accused of antinomianism. Antinomianism means a believer is ok to sin because there is grace. Does the Bible teach that? No, but a religion of grace has that a a trigger factor. The early Church were in a world where their good and bad works were to be balanced. Only when the good stuff outweighed the bad, would they be eligible to salvation. This was what was taught. 
• This is why Paul in Romans 6:2 say "Shall we keep on sinning so that we get more and more grace". Read through the chapter and you would see how Paul works this out and guides us

“If your preaching of the gospel of God's free grace in Jesus Christ does not provoke the charge from some of antinomianism, you're not preaching the gospel of the free grace of God in Jesus Christ.”

― David Martyn Lloyd-Jones

• So we shall preach grace
• How then shall we bring these topic together?
• James explains it below.

15. If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 
• a believer sees what it means to be in the family
16. and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 

• A believer is serious about helping. He is not one who clicks "like" on facebook to pray, He sits down to pray. Brothers, if someone has asked you to pray for them, do it now. Call them if you can and spend the time in prayer. You see brothers, faith - true - living and active faith is serious about its expression. You cannot hide it. You cannot run from it. If is God's will in your life and you are serious in it. 
• Remember Simon the Sorcerer from Acts 8:9-24. What did he want? Faith and Salvation and gifts without God. He wanted the experience without sacrifice. 
• Brothers, we must be aware of our heart condition.

17. So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
• James is therefore saying that faith - for the sake of faith is useless. We are not saved by being born in a Christian family. We are saved by being born in Christ. 1 Peter 2, in that chapter, Peter tells that we are dead and buried in with Christ. This is the place of joining with Christ. We are raised with Christ in baptism. This is the new life. Therefore brothers, we cannot claim our faith based on our understanding of reformers, theologians or church doctrines but on Christ. This faith is not a certificate on a paper but on your heart. 
• See this quote my brothers from Paris Reidhead (10 Shekels and a Shirt)

This is how to become a fundamentalist: Believe in the inspiration of the Bible! Believe in the deity of Christ! Believe in His death, burial, and resurrection! And thereby become a fundamentalist.”

And so it wasn’t long until it got to our generation, where the whole plan of salvation was to give intellectual assent to a few statements of doctrine. And a person was considered a Christian because he could say “Uh huh” at four or five places when he was asked. If he knew where to say “Uh huh,” someone would pat him on the back, shake his hand, smile broadly, and say “Brother, you’re saved!” So it had gotten down to the place where salvation was nothing more than an assent to a scheme or a formula, and the end of this salvation was the happiness of man, because humanism had penetrated. If you were to analyze fundamentalism in contrast to liberalism of a hundred years ago as it developed—for I am not pinpointing it in time—it would be like this:

The liberal says the end of religion is to make man happy while he’s alive, and the fundamentalist says the end of religion is to make man happy when he dies.

• You see brothers, the modern day church and all its evangelical endevors have reduced the work of Christ into a statement where you just have to say yes and you are given the approval of your salvation. Really? This is wrong. And this is exactly what James is saying here.
18. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 
• James is saying that there cannot be a believer who does not have works.
19. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 
• James is just saying what we saw in Paris Reidhead's statement. The Jews (the primary audience of the letter) had often said the Shemma or the prayer of faithful -- Heat oh Israel, the Lord your God is One. ( Deut. 6:4–9, Deut. 11:13–21 and Num. 15:37–41) Sh'ma Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Eḥad
• James is saying that if you just can recite Bible verse and say that is the definition of faith and not have any works then you are just like the Demons
• The demons know God is one, and they are scared of him. If your religion or faith is just that knowledge then you are at the level of demons.
• Brothers, we are children of God (1 John 3:1), then our faith must not just be a statement.
20. Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 
21. Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 
22. You see that faith was active along with his works, 
23. and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 
24. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 
25. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 
• In the example of Abraham and Rahab, James explains that there was faith that was more than just words. Are we not Abraham's children (by Spirit) and the original readers by blood? This is what James wants to emphasise here.
• There was once a story of a church that prayed 40 days for rain and expected God to send rain on the 40th day. All came to church on the 40th day to pray without an umberalla except a child. Why? The child expected God to send rain. 
• Brothers, take the example of a chair.
• We can write an essay detailing the wood and the wood work of the chair
• We can tell people how wonderful it smells
• We can draw paint and narrate the beauty of the chair and the stability
• We can even explain with Math and science why this is the best chair there is
• Yet, if we are scared to sit on it, there is no purpose to it.
• Brothers, we have to sit on the chair. That is the only way to prove that you understand the purpose of the chair.
• Faith is not empirical, yet it is showable. We cannot tell how much faith we have. We have to move from our safe corner of calculated risks and stand on the chair of faith. 
26. For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
• This is why James concludes this section saying Faith results in works.
• What works?
• Change of habit
• Change of passion
• Change of pride
• Producing repentance
• Desire for holiness
• Dependency on the Holy Spirit.