{"id":18692,"date":"2021-01-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-06T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/james-011-clearing-up-the-confusion\/"},"modified":"2022-01-12T17:13:29","modified_gmt":"2022-01-12T23:13:29","slug":"james-011-clearing-up-the-confusion","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/sermon\/james-011-clearing-up-the-confusion\/","title":{"rendered":"James 011 – Clearing Up the Confusion"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[104],"series_event":[514],"sermon_service_type":[474],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18692","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-james","series_event-james","sermon_service_type-wednesday-evenings","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"James 011 - Clearing Up the Confusion","sermon_date":"20210106","sermon_month":"1","sermon_year":"2021","sermon_notes":19920,"sermon_slides":19921,"sermon_mp3":19922,"sermon_id":"1621221754868","series_or_event":514,"service_type":[474],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":104,"chapter_and_verse":"2:14","sermon_transcript":"James 11:\u00a0 Clearing Up the Confusion \u2014 James 2:14<\/strong>\n\n\u00a0<\/strong>The Book of James<\/u><\/strong> was written by James who was the half-brother of Christ.\u00a0 Probably the most important thing on the list of Eleven Questions was #3 that he wrote to the believing<\/em><\/strong> Jews in the dispersion, with the key word being \u2018believing<\/em><\/strong>,\u2019 because what you believe about believing<\/em><\/strong> controls how you interpret the passage we will start looking at tonight \u2014 one of the most abused passages in the whole Bible, James 2:14-26<\/u><\/strong>.\n\nHe wrote his book from Jerusalem.\u00a0 This is the very first New Testament book ever written, the earliest letter that we have, and it isn\u2019t really so much a book about how to get saved, but about how saved people should live.\u00a0 So, it isn\u2019t a book about positional righteousness but about practical righteousness; how our practice as Christians catches up with our position.\n\nThe Book of James<\/u><\/strong> essentially has two parts:\u00a0 the first part of it is faith, and there it isn\u2019t so much talking about faith in how to become a Christian, but it is dealing with the subject of faith in terms of how to keep trusting God in the midst of life\u2019s difficulties.\u00a0 These folks here who he was writing to were going through a lot of difficulties; they had been pushed out of Jerusalem by Saul of Tarsus, and you can imagine being pushed out of your house, your home, your city.\u00a0 You are a brand new Christian and under physical persecution, so how do you manifest a practical righteousness that pleases God?\u00a0 James' first half of the book is: \u2018you keep trusting God in the midst of life\u2019s problems<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 These people had a lot of problems.\u00a0 So, the first half of the book then is about continuing to trust God in the trials of life.\u00a0 That is what he deals with in James 1:2-18<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 There we learn that when trials hit, we are to rejoice, and then he gives all of the reasons in 1:2-12<\/u><\/strong> on why the Christian should rejoice in the midst of trials.\u00a0 Then beginning in 1:13<\/u><\/strong>, it is very tempting in the midst of trials to charge God foolishly, to say that God is trying to destroy you.\u00a0 So, James, beginning in 1:13-18,<\/u><\/strong> deals with a command to follow about not charging God foolishly in the midst of trials.\n\nFrom there, he moved on to obedience to God's Word in 1:19-27<\/u><\/strong> which involves slowness to speech and anger in 1:19-20<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 The need to take in and obey God's Word in 1:21-25<\/u><\/strong>, and the need to practice true religion, which is helping widows and orphans in their distress and keeping oneself unstained by the world.\u00a0 All of that goes under the category of obeying God.\n\nFrom there he switched to the subject that dealt with the topic of favoritism.<\/strong> There was a situation there occurring in the early churches that were meeting in synagogues, and they were showing preference to the wealthy. The wealthy were given privileges that those who lacked resources were not given, so James explains that this isn\u2019t how to please God in their daily lives.\u00a0 So, there is the command not<\/em><\/strong> to show favoritism in James 2:1<\/u><\/strong>; there is a situation described where the wealthy are given privileges in these synagogues, and then James goes on there, in III, per the slide on James Structure,<\/u><\/strong> and he explains why favoritism is contrary to God's character and purposes.\u00a0 In other words, when showing favoritism like that, we aren\u2019t emulating the character of God.\n\nSo that is a fly-by kind of explaining what we have studied thus far in the Book of James<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 Now, we begin in James 2:14-26<\/u><\/strong> which says, 17<\/sup> \u201cEven so faith, if it has no works, is dead [nekros]<\/u><\/strong>,\u2026\u201d <\/em>\n\nWhat I would like to do is to give some background to this paragraph.\u00a0 If you don't understand the background, you will be pulled into all kinds of confusion concerning what it is teaching because most people, in fact, 99% of the teaching you get on this, if I can be so bold as to say this, is inaccurate.\u00a0 You will notice 2:17<\/u><\/strong>, 17<\/sup> \u201cEven so faith, if it has no works, is dead [nekros]<\/u><\/strong>,\u2026\u201dbeing by itself\u2026 20<\/sup> But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless [argos]<\/u><\/strong>?...26 <\/sup><\/em>The end of the paragraph says \u201cFor just as the body without the spirit is dead [nekros<\/u>]<\/strong>, so also faith without works is dead [nekros<\/u>]<\/strong>.\u201d<\/em>\n\nSo, what 99% of the Christian world believes that this text means is that if you don't enough works following your alleged conversion to Christianity, then you really never were a Christian to begin with.\u00a0 Has anyone heard that interpretation before? \u00a0I\u2019d say that this is the dominant interpretation out there.\u00a0 For whatever reason it has the dominant market share, and almost everybody across the theological spectrum, when they teach this passage, that is how they present it.\u00a0 Let me give you some examples to show you how pervasive this teaching is, and when I bring up names, I'm not trying to out people and say, \u2018Let's burn their ministries to the ground<\/em>;\u2019 there are a lot of good things in these ministries, but what I am trying to show you is the inaccuracy of this interpretation across the spectrum and the pervasiveness of what I think is the wrong view.\n\nJohn MacArthur in the MacArthur Study Bible<\/u><\/strong> makes a comment about \u2018faith by itself is dead<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 He says, \u201cfaith by itself\u2026is dead:\u00a0 Just as professed compassion without action is phony, the kind of faith that is without works is mere empty profession, not genuine saving faith.\u201d<\/em> So, if you have a person who claims the name of Christ, yet they don't have the works that we think we should see in them, then there are grounds for saying they're not a Christian.\u00a0 John MacArthur, in his book, Faith Works<\/u><\/strong>, says, \u201cFaith in this context, [<\/em>commenting on our passage here, James 2:14-26<\/u><\/strong>], is clearly saving faith.\u00a0 James is peaking of eternal salvation.\u00a0 He has referred to \u2018the word implanted, which is able to save your souls\u2019 1:21<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 Here he has the same salvation in view.\u00a0 He is not disputing whether faith saves.\u00a0 Rather, he is opposing the notion that faith can be a passive, fruitless, intellectual exercise and still save.\u00a0 Where there are no works [<\/em>now, <\/em>who makes that call?\u00a0 John MacArthur makes that call, right?, as if God can't be at work in someone\u2019s life in a way that you can't see\u2026He says that], \u201cwe must assume no faith exists either.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>So that is the typical interpretation of \u2018faith without works is dead<\/em>.\u2019\n\nEven people who are closer to our theological camp than John MacArthur, people who I really like in a lot of ways, Charles Swindoll, in the Swindoll Study Bible says virtually the same thing.\u00a0 When Charles Swindoll is commenting on our passage, he says, \u201cFirst, Paul is looking [<\/em>now he is comparing James and Paul, which we will do in just a second]\u2026 at the root of our salvation, while James is looking at the fruit of our salvation.\u00a0 Paul emphasizes the point that at the time of conversion, the root of salvation is faith alone.\u00a0 James sees that the faith that saves us does not remain alone, though we are saved by faith alone.\u00a0 After salvation, there are things that will inevitably happen<\/em> [that word \u2018inevitably\u2019 is important; he is saying it is unavoidable]\u2026 in our lives that show the reality of our salvation\u2026Can a faith that is not validated save?\u00a0 The answer is clearly implied by James' argument:\u00a0 No, that phony kind of faith cannot save anyone.\u201d <\/em>\u00a0So, if there is no corresponding works, then the faith that is professed on the front end is just professed but not possessed, not authentic saving faith.\u00a0 Again, the dominant view from people on this particular paragraph.\n\nHere is an individual who is more on the level, not of the popular commentator like some I have read before, but more of a scholar, Douglas J Moo in the Pillar New Testament Commentary<\/u><\/strong>, says, \u201cIn what way is such faith \u2018dead\u2019?\u00a0 In the sense that it does not attain its purpose:\u00a0 it cannot save (v.14) or justify (v.24).\u00a0 Critical to understanding the argument of the section and integrating it successfully into a broader biblical perspective is the recognition that James is not arguing that works must be added to faith. [<\/em>At that point, I completely agree with him, but he goes on]\u2026 His point, rather, is that genuine biblical faith will inevitably [<\/em>there is that word again] be characterized by works\u2026James, in a sense, proposes for us in these verses a \u2018test\u2019 by which we determine the genuineness of faith:\u00a0 deeds of obedience to the will of God.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>So, if there aren\u2019t deeds of obedience to the will of God, then you never had saving faith to begin with, which is the typical interpretation.\n\nHitting a little closer to home is one of my favorite commentaries is the Bible Knowledge Commentary<\/u><\/strong>, and Ron Blue did the James Section, and he said this concerning James 2:14-26<\/u><\/strong>, \u201cJust as the law of love gives no excuse for respect of persons, so the possession of faith gives no license to dispense with good works.\u00a0 A believer must not only demonstrate his love by ready acceptance of others, but he must also demonstrate his faith by responsible aid to others.\u00a0 James went on in his letter to emphasize the expression of true faith, to outline the evidence of true faith, and finally to cite examples of true faith\u2026 <\/em>Here is his direct comment to James 2:14<\/u>. <\/strong>Can such faith save him?\u00a0 A negative answer is anticipated in the Greek.\u00a0 Merely claiming to have faith is not enough.\u00a0 Genuine evidence is evidenced by works.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>So, it is the same basic interpretation of modern-day Christendom.\n\nNow this one hurts because I quote Arnold Fruchtenbaum favorably 99.9% of the time, and I always recommend his materials to people, but notice what he says in his The Messianic Jewish\u00a0 Epistles<\/u><\/strong>, where he is dealing with the epistles written to Hebrew Christians, one of them is James, and he makes a Comment on James 2:14<\/u><\/strong>. \u00a0Fruchtenbaum says, \u201cThe meaning of justification:\u00a0 for Paul the word justification meant acquittal, and Paul was concerned with legal justification in that no man can gain justification by means of works, specifically the works of the Law, for Jacob\/James, the meaning of justification was vindication, and he was concerned with the justification of one\u2019s profession of faith in that his claim must be demonstrated by his works, specifically the works of love and faith\u2026Fourth, Jacob\/James' point is a faith that saves is a faith that is expected to produce works.\u00a0 Fifth, a living faith will authenticate itself in the production of works.\u00a0 Sixth, while faith and works are two opposing elements insofar as the means of salvation is concerned, they are, nevertheless, both involved in salvation.\u00a0 One is the means of salvation and the other is the evidence of salvation.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>Comment on James 2:15-17<\/u><\/strong>:\u00a0 Faith without works is a dead faith.\u00a0 It is dead in itself; it is not merely outwardly barren, but it is dead inwardly. It is lifeless.\u00a0 It shows that it is not true saving faith because true saving faith will reveal itself by works, which are the fruits of faith. This very same concept is taught in the Sermon on the Mount<\/em> (Matthew 5:14-16<\/u><\/strong>).\u201d\u00a0 So again, Fruchtenbaum is sounding like everyone else here where he believes James is saying that if there are not works, there never was saving faith to begin with.\n\nThis one hurts because I just gave my Ryrie Study Bib<\/u><\/strong>le to my daughter for Christmas.\u00a0 I love the Ryrie Study Bible<\/u><\/strong>, but as you probably know, the notes are not inspired by God.\u00a0 Amen.\u00a0 A study Bible by definition is a work of man so it will have things in it that you will agree with or may not agree with.\u00a0 But I think Ryrie actually gets it wrong here in James 2:14<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 Ryrie says, \u201cCan a non-working, dead, spurious<\/em> [a key word because what they're saying is if there\u2019s not corresponding works, then the initial faith that one had is not true faith; it\u2019s a false faith; an inauthentic faith; a what they call a \u2018spurious<\/em>\u2019 faith]\u2026faith save a person?\u00a0 James is not saying that we are saved by works [<\/em>I mean, he is right there]\u2026but that faith that does not produce good works is a dead faith.\u00a0 James was not refuting the Pauline doctrine of justification by true faith [<\/em>Amen?]\u2026but a perversion of it.\u00a0 Both Paul and James define faith as a living, productive trust in Christ.\u00a0 Genuine faith cannot be \u2018dead\u2019 to morality or barren to works.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>So again, if there are not corresponding good works, then the faith was spurious to begin with; it was someone who professed Christ but never possessed Christ; it was never an authentic conversion.\u00a0 All of these commentators believe that is what James is saying here.\n\nWarren Wiersbe, another one, I mean, it is almost like the Who\u2019s Who of Christianity here.\u00a0 I love Warren Wiersbe in almost everything he says but not this.\u00a0 Here is his comment on James 2:14:<\/u><\/strong>\n\n\u201cThe question in James 2:14<\/u><\/strong> should read, \u2018Can that kind of faith save him?\u2019 What kind?\u00a0 The kind of faith that is never seen in practical works.\u00a0 The answer is no!\u00a0 Any declaration of faith that does not result in a changed life and good works is a false declaration.\u00a0 That kind of faith is dead faith.\u00a0 \u2018Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone\u2019 (James 2:17<\/u><\/strong>).\u00a0 The great theologian, John Calvin, wrote, \u2018It is faith alone that justifies, but faith that justifies can never be alone.\u2019\u00a0 The word alone in James 2:17<\/u><\/strong> simply means \u2018by itself.\u2019\u00a0 True saving faith can never be by itself: it always brings life, and life produces good works.\u201d <\/em>\u00a0\u00a0Wiersbe goes on to Comment on<\/strong> James 2:18-19<\/u><\/strong>: \u201cBut it is not a saving experience to believe and tremble.\u00a0 A person can be enlightened in his mind and even stirred in his heart and be lost forever.\u00a0 True saving faith involves something more, something that can be seen and recognized: a changed life. \u2018Show me thy faith without thy works,\u2019 challenged James, \u2018and I will show thee my faith by my works\u2019 (James 2:18<\/u><\/strong>).\u201d <\/em>\u00a0So, if there isn\u2019t a changed life, then the faith that someone professes on the front end was never possessed; it was spurious.\n\nWiersbe goes on to comment on James 2:20-26<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 \u201cTrue saving faith leads to action.\u00a0 Dynamic faith is not intellectual contemplation or emotional consternation; it leads to obedience on the part of the will.\u00a0 And this obedience is not an isolated event: it continues throughout the whole life.\u00a0 It leads to works\u2026It is important that each professing Christian examine his own heart and life and make sure that he possesses true saving faith, dynamic faith.\u00a0 \u2018Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves\u2019 (2 Corinthians 13:5a<\/u><\/strong>).<\/em> [Now I have dealt with that particular verse in depth, \u2018\u2026examine yourself to see if you're in the faith<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 You can find it on the internet; on our soteriology study, and I try to show that when he says to examine yourself to see if you're in the faith, he isn\u2019t talking about first tense salvation, he is talking about middle tense salvation.\u00a0 Not about whether you are saved to begin with but about your growth in Christ. And I dealt with that and Warren Wiersbe saying that, so I just bring that to your attention.\u00a0 But\n\nhe goes on and says], \u2026Satan is the great deceiver; one of his devices is imitation.\u00a0 If he can convince a person that counterfeit faith is true faith, he has that person in his power.\u201d<\/em>\n\n\u00a0<\/em>So, have you heard these interpretations before?\u00a0 In fact, probably before you came to this study, you might be saying, \u2018Amen, that is what I believe<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 I want to communicate that none of what you just heard is correct.\u00a0 This is not the issue that James is dealing with.\u00a0 I just wanted to show you those quotes to show you how reformed theology has almost hijacked this passage, and it is to the point where almost anyone who teaches on this gives the reformed view, the reformed view being \u2018If you don't have enough or any works, then you were never saved to begin with<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 That is what Christendom, 99% of it, believes that James 2:14-26<\/u><\/strong> says.\u00a0 This is taught by your favorite Bible teachers on Christian media and you read on the printed page \u2014 they're all saying this.\n\nSo, what is my problem with this?\u00a0 How much works does a Christian have to have to prove he is saved?\u00a0 That might be a really interesting conversation.\u00a0 We might break out some coffee, and you can come over to my house, and we can talk about it until 3 AM, having a great time bantering that about trying to figure it out.\u00a0 But James is not talking about that, in fact, I believe that this is the furthest thought from James' mind.\u00a0 I believe that if James himself, the Lord\u2019s half-brother, was given an early resurrection, and he was sitting right here in the audience, he would be shocked at how all of these Christian teachers have interpreted what he was saying because he wasn\u2019t even talking about what everybody thinks he was talking about.\u00a0 So essentially what is happening is that people come to James 2:14-26<\/u><\/strong>, and they're trying to get James to answer an issue or a question that James is not asking or answering.\u00a0 Why do we want James to answer this question?\u00a0 Maybe because it is a question on our minds.\u00a0 Because we all know people who, when they were 17 or younger, professed Christ, and now their lives are as far away from Christ as you can imagine.\u00a0 So, what is on our minds is are they really saved?\u00a0 That is something we are interested in, so we come to this passage, and we want James to deal with that.\u00a0 The problem is that the Bible is not set up that way:\u00a0 it is set up to answer questions that are on the minds of the biblical writers, so our job in biblical interpretation is not to come to the Bible and say, \u2018Answer this question<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 Our job in biblical interpretation is trying to figure out what was on James' mind; what was he asking and answering?\u00a0 The reason I don't think that James is dealing with this subject is because all the way through this book, he is presuming that his readers are believers.\u00a0 That is why we made such a big deal about #3, as we were introducing the book of James last quarter, in demonstrating that James was writing to a believing audience.\u00a0 James is not dealing with a situation where he has a bunch of people in front of him where he thinks that some are saved and some are not.\u00a0 Now, that is our situation in the Bible belt; people come to church and we wonder if they're saved or not.\u00a0 That isn\u2019t James' situation.\u00a0 Don't transfer our situation back to James' situation.\n\nTo remind us of the fact that James is dealing with an already saved audience, go back to James 1:18<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 What does James say one chapter earlier?\u00a0 \u201cIn the exercise of His will, he brought us<\/strong> <\/em>[see the word, \u2018us<\/em><\/strong>\u2019 there?\u00a0 Now is James saved?\u00a0 I hope so.\u00a0 His audience had the same saved status as he had, that is why he is using \u2018us<\/em><\/strong>.\u2019]\u2026forth by the word of truth, so that we<\/strong> would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>When James addresses his audience, he says that we<\/strong> have heard the gospel, we've <\/strong>heard the Word of God, and we\u2019ve <\/strong>been brought forth as kind of a first fruits.\u00a0 There is no hint here where James is saying that \u2018Some of you might not be Christians<\/em>.\u2019\n\nTake a look at James 2:5<\/u><\/strong>, which is just before our paragraph, \u201cListen, my beloved brethren <\/strong>[<\/em>he doesn\u2019t just call his audience \u2018brethren<\/em>,\u2019 he calls them \u2018beloved brethren<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 Jesus said, \u2018\u2026who are my brothers, who are my sisters, etc, are they not the ones who do the will of my Father who is in heaven<\/em>\u2019 \u2014 Matthew 12:50<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 So quite clearly, when James is talking about brethren<\/em>, he is talking about saved people, and just so there is no mistake, he doesn\u2019t just say \u2018brethren<\/em>,\u2019 he says, \u2018beloved brethren<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 Go to James 4:5<\/u><\/strong> for half a second \u2014 \u201cOr do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: \u201cHe jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us<\/u><\/strong>?\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>Did James have the Holy Spirit?\u00a0 Obviously, he did, and what he is saying to his audience is, \u2018I have the Holy Spirit and you have the exact same Holy Spirit that I have<\/em>.\u2019 If they didn\u2019t have the Holy Spirit, they wouldn\u2019t be Christians.\u00a0 Doesn\u2019t Paul say, however, \u2018you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you but if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him\u2019 <\/em>Romans 8:9<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 <\/em>It is impossible to be a Christian without the Holy Spirit. So, when James says the Spirit that is already in us richly desires us, he is acknowledging that the Holy Spirit is inside of his audience just like it is inside of him.\u00a0 If that is true, then he couldn\u2019t be suddenly reversing course midstream, and calling into question his audience\u2019s salvation because they don't have enough good works.\n\nWhat James is dealing with, remember the three tenses of salvation?\u00a0 Justification, sanctification, glorification.\u00a0 Justification past tense of salvation, we are freed from sin\u2019s penalty at the point of faith alone in Christ alone.\u00a0 We have been saved, Ephesians 2:8,9<\/u><\/strong>; Titus 3:5<\/u><\/strong>.\n\nThen after you get saved, God ushers you into the middle tense of your salvation, not justification but sanctification where now, you are not being delivered from sin\u2019s penalty as that happened when you trusted Christ, but now you are gradually being delivered from sin\u2019s power as you trust in the resources of Christ and live by faith moment by moment.\u00a0 There you will find \u2018save\u2019<\/em> in the middle tense as in Philippians 2:12<\/u><\/strong>.\n\nBut one of these days the rapture will occur, or you will die.\u00a0 I hope the rapture comes first, Amen?\u00a0 Then you will be ushered into the third tense of your salvation, which is glorification where you will be delivered from sin\u2019s very presence because you will no longer be dual-natured:\u00a0 new nature and sin nature, but you will be in a glorified body which doesn\u2019t even have a sin nature.\u00a0 You won't even be able to sin if you want to, and you won't want to because you won't have the old nature telling you to come back to the old nature.\u00a0 There, \u2018save<\/em>\u2019 is used in the future tense.\n\nSo when someone asks \u2018Are you saved<\/em>?\u2019\u00a0 The right answer is, \u2018I have been saved, I am being saved, and I will be saved<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 That is how the word, \u2018saved\u2019<\/em> is used in the Bible.\u00a0 It is used in the past, present and in the future tenses.\n\nSo, given what we have said about the book of James and his audience, which tense of salvation is James interested in here?\u00a0 The middle tense.\u00a0 That is James' whole focus; he is trying to help Christians to grow, so if that is his focus, he isn\u2019t dealing with first tense salvation issues here.\u00a0 Maybe you are justified, maybe you're not.\u00a0 We can ask questions like that of people, but that is not what James is asking.\u00a0 What people do is to grab this paragraph and try to get James to deal with this question, and James is not dealing with our question.\u00a0 James is dealing with his questions that God put on his heart with his flock, which is middle tense salvation-type things.\u00a0 And if you just follow the context of this, you will see it very clearly because at the end of chapter 1<\/u><\/strong>, what does he want his audience to do?\u00a0 To be unstained by the world, James 1:26,27<\/u><\/strong> and to help widows and orphans in their distress.\u00a0 In other words, he wants the faith that\u2019s already inside of them to become useful and productive and living.\u00a0 To the point where God can actually use it through a Christian to expand His purposes on the earth.\u00a0 That is the interest of James; what he is interested in talking about.\n\nGo to chapter 2<\/u><\/strong> just before our paragraph, James 2:2,3<\/u><\/strong> where people are showing preference to the wealthy.\u00a0 What is James upset about here?\u00a0 He isn\u2019t saying, \u2018Well you guys aren\u2019t Christians,<\/em>\u2019 what he is upset about is \u2018Your faith in you is not useful; productive; you aren\u2019t reflecting the mind of God because you are doing something that God Himself doesn\u2019t even do \u2014 He doesn\u2019t show favor to the wealthy.\u00a0 God doesn\u2019t do that, and that\u2019s what you're doing<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 So, James is not second guessing whether these people are believers. What he is second guessing is whether the faith that is inside of them is being useful or productive in such a way that God wants to extend His purposes through the believer.\u00a0 That is what James is focused on here.\n\nIf you go to chapter 2, verses 12,13<\/u><\/strong>, you remember from last quarter, he was dealing with the Bema Seat, remember that?\u00a0 \u201cSo speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.\u00a0 For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.\u201d<\/em>\n\nAt the end of the last quarter, we went into a lot of teaching as to why that is a reference to the Bema Seat Judgment of Christ and why that is what James is dealing with.\u00a0 The judgment seat of Christ is the judgement seat of rewards for the Christian.\u00a0 It is not, \u2018Oh, you're saved, you\u2019re not.\u2019\u00a0 It is, \u2018You're all saved or you wouldn\u2019t be at the judgment seat of Christ<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 It is just a matter of who will be rewarded and who won't be.\u00a0 So, all believers will be in heaven, but not all believers will be equally rewarded in heaven.\u00a0 That is what James is dealing with in 2:12-13<\/u><\/strong>, and 2:13<\/u><\/strong> is followed by 2:14<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 So when he says, \u2018faith without works is dead\u2019<\/em> and these kind of things, he is not focused on \u2018You're a Christian, you're not a Christian<\/em>,\u2019 what he is focused on is \u2018Are you going to get into heaven as a believer and be fully rewarded?<\/em>\u2019\u00a0 That is what he is focused on.\n\nYou can see that this is what James is dealing with here in our paragraph by simply following the context.\u00a0 What are the three rules of real estate?\u00a0\u00a0 Location, location, location.\u00a0 What are the three rules of Bible study?\u00a0 CONTEXT, CONTEXT, CONTEXT!\u00a0 Now if you have a pre-existing systematic theology that says, \u2018So and so has spurious faith because they don't have enough works to prove they're a Christian<\/em>,\u2019 and that is your belief, then you will come to James 2:14-26<\/u><\/strong> and grab it out of context and use it as a point to prove your pre-existing theological system.\u00a0 This is the great danger of systematic theology.\u00a0 Systematic theologians do this all the time.\u00a0 Even the very best in Christianity, a lot of the names I called out earlier and gave you the source on, do this all the time.\u00a0 The problem and danger with that is that you start to ask and answer questions that the biblical author is not asking or answering.\u00a0 You are asking and answering them because you have bought into the pre-existing system, but the biblical writer isn\u2019t asking and answering them.\u00a0 So contextually, James is focused on the Bema Seat; he is focused on favoritism, and why Christians shouldn\u2019t show favoritism.\u00a0 He is focused on helping the widows and orphans in distress.\u00a0 Why is it that you are in a church and you have all of these saved people, and someone in the church who is a widow or an orphan, and they get no ministry?\u00a0 That is what James is focused on.\u00a0 Not who is saved and who isn\u2019t.\n\nSo, a lot of this confusion about James 2:14-26<\/u><\/strong> is related to forcing James to ask and answer questions that he isn\u2019t asking nor answering.\u00a0 A lot of the confusion on this relates to the fact that Paul and James use the same vocabulary, so people think that James just used the same vocabulary word that Paul used.\u00a0 When the fact of the matter is that both men, Paul and James, used the same vocabulary, but they attach different meanings to the vocabulary words.\u00a0 That is the error that people make \u2014 they see the word, \u2018justify<\/em>\u2019 and think, that is how Paul used it, so that must mean what James means here.\u00a0 People see the word, \u2018save<\/em>,\u2019 what did Paul mean by \u2018save<\/em>,\u2019 it must mean what James means by \u2018save<\/em>,\u2019.\u00a0 People see the word, \u2018works\u2019 and ask what Paul meant by \u2018works\u2019 and assume that James meant the same thing as Paul did.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t the same word.\u00a0 The thing to understand is that words are tricky because they can have multiple meanings.\u00a0 When I use the word, \u2018apple<\/em>,\u2019 how many words can be generated from \u2018apple<\/em>?\u2019\u00a0 It is a piece of fruit, or New York City, the Big Apple, which no one wants to visit anymore, by the way, or it is a computer, or it is the pupil of one\u2019s eye, the \u2018apple of one\u2019s eye<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 So since apple has all of those meanings, how would I determine which meaning to supply?\u00a0 Remember our\n\nthree rules of Bible study\u2014CONTEXT, CONTEXT, CONTEXT!\u00a0 It is the same in the scriptures.\n\n\u2018Justify, save, faith\u2019<\/em>, doesn\u2019t mean the exact same thing everywhere it is used.\u00a0 The error that is made is by people assuming that the same word always means the same thing \u2014 that isn\u2019t true. Here is a chart I put together that might help \u2014 the differences between Paul and James \u2014see table below on:\n\nHarmony Between Paul and James<\/strong>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\nPAUL<\/strong><\/td>\nJames<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Phase of Salvation<\/td>\nJustification<\/td>\nSanctification<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tense of Salvation<\/td>\nFirst tense<\/td>\nSecond tense<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Issue<\/td>\nSelf-righteous Judaism<\/td>\nDead orthodoxy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Genesis<\/td>\nGen 15:6<\/td>\nGen 22<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\nI use Paul, because more than anyone else, he talked about justification by faith alone.\u00a0 Paul is primarily focused on justification, not exclusively, but primarily.\u00a0 James is focused on sanctification.\u00a0 Paul is focused, not excusively, but primarily on the first tense of salvation.\u00a0 James is focused on the second tense of salvation.\u00a0 What is the issue with Paul?\u00a0 It is self-righteous Judaism \u2014 people who think they are right with God on the basis of good works \u2014 is what Paul is condemning in Romans, Galatians, etc.\u00a0 Is James focused on \u2018If you don't have enough good works, you aren\u2019t a Christian?<\/em>\u2019\u00a0 Not at all.\u00a0 James is focused on dead orthodoxy \u2014 people who are believers, but who aren\u2019t useful to God because their faith is not a useful faith.\u00a0 They have it, it exists, they're going to heaven; they have their fire insurance paid up, but they won't be well-rewarded once they get there.\u00a0 God isn\u2019t using them the way He wants to use them to advance His purposes.\n\nThe Book of Genesis<\/u><\/strong>, both Paul and James like to quote that book.\u00a0 Paul likes Genesis 15:6<\/u><\/strong> \u2014 \u2018Abraham believed God and it was credited to Him for righteousness<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 That is when we believe Abraham was justified by faith alone.\u00a0 Now James likes Genesis<\/u><\/strong>, too, but he doesn\u2019t camp on Genesis 15:6<\/u><\/strong> as Paul does; James will quote Genesis 22<\/u><\/strong>, \u2018When Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac.\u2019<\/em>\u00a0 I will demonstrate this when I get into all of that, but between Genesis 15:6<\/u><\/strong> and Genesis 22<\/u><\/strong>, there are about 20 years in Abraham\u2019s life.\u00a0 He got saved by faith alone.\u00a0 But his faith that was already inside of him did not become useful until he was willing to sacrifice his son two decades later.\u00a0 So James will focus on Genesis 22<\/u><\/strong> and Paul focus on Genesis 15:6<\/u><\/strong> as both men are dealing with different subjects.\n\nHere is where it gets tricky:\u00a0 Paul uses the word, \u2018justification<\/em>\u2019 a lot.\u00a0 When Paul uses the word, \u2018justification<\/em>\u2019 he is talking about a declaration of innocence before God that a lost sinner receives the moment they trust Christ.\n\nJames uses the word, \u2018justification<\/em>,\u2019 but he does not mean the same thing by it.\u00a0 When James uses the word, \u2018justification<\/em>\u2019 he is speaking of evidence of the usefulness of the believer\u2019s faith before God?\u00a0 No, in the eyes of man.\u00a0 In other words, Abraham\u2019s faith that was already inside of him did not become productive until he was willing to sacrifice Isaac, and in that sense, Abraham was justified before man in Genesis 22<\/u><\/strong> twenty years after he had already been justified before God in Genesis 15:6<\/u><\/strong>.\n\nHow about the word, \u2018save<\/em>?\u2019 When Paul uses the word, \u2018save<\/em>,\u2019 he is talking about being saved from hell.\u00a0 When James uses the word, \u2018save<\/em>,\u2019 he is talking about middle tense salvation, so he is dealing with our walk as we are being saved<\/em><\/strong> from sin\u2019s power \u2014 middle tense salvation.\n\nBy the way how does Paul use the words, \u2018faith<\/em>\u2019 and \u2018save<\/em>?\u2019\u00a0 Ephesians 2:8-9<\/u><\/strong>, Titus 3:5<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 When James uses the word, \u2018save<\/em>,\u2019 write down Philippians 2:12-15<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 James uses the word, \u2018save<\/em>\u2019 in middle tense salvation and Paul uses the word, \u2018save<\/em>\u2019 in first tense of salvation.\n\nHow about the word, \u2018faith<\/em>?\u2019\u00a0 When Paul uses the word, \u2018faith<\/em>,\u2019 he is speaking of saving faith, which is our focus generally in western Christianity.\u00a0 We want to know when people were saved.\u00a0 Are you saved?\u00a0 We are basically asking them, \u2018When was it that you trusted in Christ and you were saved from sin\u2019s penalty<\/em>?\u2019\u00a0 When James uses the word, \u2018faith<\/em>,\u2019 he isn\u2019t talking about saving faith but serving faith.\u00a0 You mean there is a difference between saving faith and serving faith?\u00a0 Yes, there is. \u00a0I gave you the quote by Lewis Sperry Chafer last quarter, and it talks about saving faith when a person trusted in Christ and is saved from the penalty of sin.\u00a0 He goes on in the same paragraph and he talks about serving faith, and uses that as a synonym for sanctifying or sustaining faith.\u00a0 He says, \u201c\u2026The justified one, having become what he is by faith, must go ahead living on the same principle of utter dependence upon God.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 So, \u2018I'm a believer and I just got thrust into a whole bunch of trials and problems.\u00a0 What is the message of the Lord to me<\/em>?\u2019\u00a0 The message of the Lord to me is not<\/em><\/strong> that \u2018You need to be justified again<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 That isn\u2019t the message of the Lord.\u00a0 Rather, the message of the Lord to you as a Christian who is experiencing trials is simply this:\u00a0 \u2018The same faith that saved you \u2014 now use that same faith to keep trusting God in the midst of your problems.<\/em>\u2019\u00a0 So, when James uses the word, \u2018faith<\/em>,\u2019 he is dealing with it in that latter sense, which makes sense when you look at his audience and realize that they were already justified in all of the problems that they were already having.\n\nDoes the Bible actually use the expression, \u2018serving faith<\/em>?\u2019 I think you find it in the issue of spiritual gifts.\u00a0 By the way, did you know that you have at least one spiritual gift on the authority of God's Word?\u00a0 \u2018I don't know, Pastor, I'm afraid to step out and use my spiritual gift; I'm afraid what people are going to say about me<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 What is God\u2019s message to you?\u00a0 It is not, \u2018Well, you are obviously not a Christian.<\/em>\u2019\u00a0 That is not God's message to you.\u00a0 God's message to you is, \u2018The same faith that you exercised in Christ for purposes of justification\u2014now keep trusting God as you serve Him<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 That is no longer saving faith but serving faith.\u00a0 Paul: saving faith.\u00a0 James: serving faith.\u00a0 See the difference?\n\nRomans 12:3,<\/u><\/strong> \u201cFor through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith<\/u><\/strong><\/em>. <\/strong>[Now, what is the context here?\u00a0 It isn\u2019t, \u2018Hey, you guys need to become Christians.\u2019\u00a0 <\/em>The whole context here is spiritual gifts.\u00a0 You need faith to step out and serve the Lord.\u00a0 The faith is already in you because you're a believer, now keep trusting God as you serve Him. \u00a0That is what James is dealing with]. \u00a0<\/strong>\n\n\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Romans 12:6<\/strong>, \u201cSince we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly:\u00a0 if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith<\/u><\/strong>;<\/em> [so if a person is prophesying, \u2018Hey, I want to prophesy today, but I am scared to do it because I think people are going to reject my message.<\/em>\u2019\u00a0 If that is your situation, God\u2019s message to you is not, \u201cWell, you're obviously not a Christian, or you wouldn\u2019t act that way.\u2019<\/em>\u00a0 Rather, God's message to you is, \u2018The same faith that you exercised in Christ, keep using that faith to serve the Lord, and prophesy.<\/em>\u2019\u00a0 That is what James is dealing with.\n\nThis distinction between saving faith and serving faith really needs to be brought out into the open because reformed theologians will tell you that not all faith is saving faith.\u00a0 There is the faith that saves and the faith that doesn\u2019t save, and they talk about that distinction.\u00a0 James knows no such distinction<\/strong>.\u00a0 Any faith that exercised in Christ for salvation saves.\u00a0 So now as you're moving into your Christian life, and you're in a problem or circumstance where you are afraid, reformed theology will say that you never had the true faith; you never had authentic faith, or you wouldn\u2019t be afraid.\n\nWilliam Hendriksen says, \u201c\u2026Not all faith is saving faith<\/em>\u2026\u201d\u00a0 That doctrine is not what James is dealing with here at all.\u00a0 He is dealing with the fact that their faith is real; they're going to heaven; they're God\u2019s people, but in a crisis in life where they're intimidated.\u00a0 So, what you need to do is not to second guess about whether you have the true faith or not, but to take the faith that is already inside of you and exercise that in a different area.\u00a0 You are no longer exercising that in Christ for purposes of justification, you're now exercising that same faith which just means trust in your problem.\u00a0 So, you can make it through this, you just need to trust the Lord.\u00a0 If you couldn\u2019t even trust the Lord, you wouldn\u2019t even be a Christian, right?\u00a0 So, you obviously can trust the Lord for something, you trusted Him for the most important thing already, right?\u00a0 Now it is just a matter of allowing that faith to become productive and useful where you step out and serve.\u00a0 You trust Him to step out and give.\u00a0 You trust Him to help you with a work-related issue or whatever.\n\nWhen Paul uses the word, \u2018works<\/em>,\u2019 he is talking about people who are trying to use good works to be made right with God, and Paul says you can't do this.\u00a0 You can't use your good works to be justified.\u00a0 People think that when James uses the same word, \u2018works,<\/em>\u2019 that he must be talking about the same thing.\u00a0 That isn\u2019t what James is talking about.\u00a0 When James uses the word, \u2018works<\/em>,\u2019 he is talking about the believer\u2019s moral deeds.\u00a0 \u2018Works<\/em>\u2019 that God wants to produce in us as our faith is now becoming productive where He is actually using us to expand His purposes on the earth.\u00a0 The faith isn\u2019t just something that exists now, but is now productive; it isn\u2019t just dead orthodoxy.\n\nSo, the good works that you do for the Lord that God does through you, might be a better way of saying it, have absolutely nothing to do with whether you get into heaven or not.\u00a0 Did you know that?\u00a0 The only good work that God will accept in terms of your getting into heaven is \u2018Did you believe in Jesus or not?\u2019<\/em>\u00a0 There will be people in heaven who will be there and will have absolutely no good works on the back end of salvation.\u00a0 You say, \u201cWell, is that in the Bible<\/em>?\u2019\u00a0 It is right there in 1 Corinthians 3:15<\/u><\/strong> as clear as it can be where Paul is dealing with people who stand before the Lord at the Bema Seat Judgment and their works are being tried, and he says, \u201cIf any man\u2019s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 \u2018You mean, I can get into heaven and have my works tried before the Lord and have them all burn up, and I have not a single good work to show for my Christian life?<\/em>\u2019\u00a0 That is the door that Paul is opening up here.\u00a0 He isn\u2019t saying, \u2018Yeah, go for it<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 He is saying, \u2018Don't be in this category<\/em>.\u2019\n\n\u201cIf any man\u2019s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.\u201d<\/em> James is writing a book to prevent the Christian from ending up like these folks here in verse 15<\/u><\/strong> because they never really, they believed in Christ, their fire insurance is paid up, but God never really used them the way He wants to use them. So, they go into heaven, but they're unrewarded, and James says, \u2018Don't be like that you Christians.\u00a0 Why waste your life in Christ?\u00a0 Why not allow God to max out His purposes in and through you?<\/em>\u2019\n\nNow, I am going to stop talking because if we start more, it will be like Eutychus who fell asleep on the window sill, and by the way, he died, so don't fall asleep in church, so that\u2019s the message.\n\nAnd I just want to bring this up.\u00a0 But there is a big problem with dead.\u00a0 \u2018Faith without works is dead<\/em>,\u2019 and what everybody does, is to take their 21st<\/sup> century definition of death, which is non-existence, because when someone dies, we say that they don't exist anymore, right?\u00a0 And they read that back into the first century, and I'm here to tell you that this isn\u2019t what death means in the Bible.\u00a0 Death never<\/em><\/strong> means non-existence.\u00a0 It means separation<\/em><\/strong>, and that is half the problem when people see \u2018faith without works is dead<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 \u2018If you don't have enough works on the back end, then your faith didn\u2019t exist, because the 21st<\/sup> century defines death as non-existence<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 That isn\u2019t what the Bible defines death as, and I will try to demonstrate that next time.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t