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| > Sermon Archive > Sermons by Author > Rev. W.B. Slomp > The Relationship between Faith and Works | Previous Next Print |
| Order Of Worship (Liturgy) Sing: Psalm 40: 1, 2 (Pre-Service) Psalm146: 1, 2, 3 Psalm 40: 3, 4, 5 Hymn 28: 1, 5, 6 Hymn 53 Hymn 43: 1-6 Scripture Reading: Romans 2:17-29; 3:21-4:3 Text: James 2: 14-26 Sermon: The Relationship between Faith and Works 1. The faith of demons; 2. The faith of pagans; 3. The faith of Abraham and Rahab.
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Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, brothers and sisters,
One of the great truths rediscovered some 500 years ago on Reformation Day, is that we are justified by faith alone. You cannot earn your salvation or any part of it by doing good works. All that God requires from us is that we believe.
But, did you know that demons also believe? They do not doubt for a moment that God exists and that he is almighty. In that sense, they are even stronger believers than you and me. Isn’t it true that we have moments of doubt, that there are times when we don’t think God has the power to get us out of a difficult situation? How often do we not forget about God’s almighty power?
That was even the case with the disciples of the Lord Jesus. Think, for example, about Peter, about the time Jesus beckoned him to come to him on the water. Suddenly Peter started sinking. And what did Jesus say to him? He said you have no faith. For at that moment, Peter did not believe. He forgot about how powerful God is.
Demons, however, are well aware of God’s power and presence. Do you think those demons will be saved because of their faith? No, of course not. It is impossible for a demon to be saved. They are absolutely corrupt. And there is nothing that can change their fate. They are doomed forever.
What about those who say they believe in God, but live as if he doesn’t exist? They see creation’s beauty and magnificence and know there must be a God. However, they do not go to church, read their Bible, or pray to God, nor are they interested in giving glory to God for anything.
Do you think that those people will be saved? No, as long as they continue in their ways, they will not be saved either.
Why is that? Well, because their faith does not include works acceptable to God.
In our text, James shows that you need works to go along with your faith. Without works your faith is useless. It’s like a motor without an electrical current flowing into it. Without it, that motor is useless. It’s dead. You need that electrical current. The same thing is true of the relationship between faith and works. When there are no works, your faith is dead.
What then is the role of our works and the role of our faith? How do they relate to each other? That was also the critical question at the time of the Reformation. The Roman Catholics taught that you must do something to be saved. Works are necessary. However, according to Paul in Romans 3, we are justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Is this not a contradiction with what James writes?
That’s what I will preach about this morning. It is about
The Relationship between Faith and Works
1. The faith of demons;
2. The faith of pagans;
3. The faith of Abraham and Rahab.
What James is saying is quite shocking. He compares the faith of some of the people he is writing to, to the faith of demons. Why would he do that? Well, he is making that statement to shake them out of their complacency. He wants to make them think, and not to have a false sense of security.
Throughout chapters 1 and 2 James is concerned about the relationship between works and deeds. And now, in verse 18, he moves into a new stage of his argument by interjecting another person’s opinion. He says there, “but someone will say.” James does not state who that someone is, but it is clear from the context and the way he builds his argument, that he is having this imaginary conversation with an orthodox, non-Christian Jew.
He uses the viewpoint of this Jew to support his argument. He says that even a Jew who does not believe in Christ recognizes that faith and works always go together.
For you see, that is the kind of thinking that lived amongst some of the people to whom he wrote. They thought that faith is something separate from deeds. The Lord gives one person faith and another deeds.
They believe that faith is a gift in the same way as those gifts that Paul speaks about in 1 Corinthians 12. Each one has his own gift: one can prophesy, another is able to speak in tongues, and yet another can interpret those tongues. Some others are able administrators and those who can contribute in other ways. Each person has their own gift. And so it is also with faith and deeds. One person has faith and the other deeds. They are two different gifts.
Perhaps there are those amongst us who think the same: I’m a believer, but I don’t really have any other gifts to contribute. I’m not much of a conversationalist, and because of physical and other limitations, I’m unable to do much for the church or others. I have my faith. I know what I believe. And that’s enough. Those who can show their deeds can use that gift. But I don’t have that gift or the opportunity.
Well, says James, that’s not true. You cannot have faith without works. Even the Orthodox Jews recognize that.
It is then that he makes a shocking statement about the demons. He says that even demons believe. They are neither atheists nor agnostics. They are firm believers.
Think about it. Isn’t that also what the Scriptures teach? It says, for example, in Mark 3:11, “Whenever the evil spirits saw him (that is, the Lord Jesus), they fell down before him and cried out, ‘You are the Son of God.’”
That is quite a confession these demons are making. They knew who Jesus was – the Son of God. Hardly anyone in the world at that time was making the same confession. But the demons did.
And in Mark 5 we read about the demons who possessed a demon-possessed man who also recognized Jesus as the great judge. For they knew that Christ had total power over them. And so they begged Jesus to enter the pigs. Because they believed in the Lord Jesus, they shuddered. They were deathly afraid of him. And so they should be. For he has the power over heaven and hell.
Since they knew so well who God is, and who the Son of God is, they wanted to flee from him. They trembled because they know that their faith will not save them. They stand condemned. It is impossible for fallen angels to be redeemed. There is no hope for them.
How did that happen? It happened because they rebelled against God, who created them. They wanted the power, honour and glory and majesty for themselves. Demons are totally selfish creatures. They are interested only in themselves and in their own agenda.
And it is for that reason that they want to separate your works from your faith. Satan says “you believe in God? Great. You can have your Bible and your confessions and be convinced that it is all true, but you don’t have to put it into practice. Just believing is enough. Just keep it to yourself. It’s enough that you go to church.
Sadly, too often we fall for those tricks of the devil. And so we keep our faith to ourselves. We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves for fear of being shunned or ridiculed.
There are also those who like to show off their orthodox faith. They will telegraph in many ways that they are strong believers and that they know the Bible and confessions frontwards and backwards. And they want everyone to know it, especially within the church.
To prove it they can have long and heated discussions with others about this doctrinal nuance or that doctrinal nuance. Sometimes they get so worked up about it that they go to great lengths to prove their point. They will even appeal to Synod to show how reformed they are.
Oh sure, we must be doctrinally sound. It is crucial that we do not stray from the truth. But if you argue for the sake of the argument itself, if it is done in a spirit of acrimony, in a spirit of always wanting to be right, of not listening to others, of thinking that you alone have all the right answers, of drawing attention to yourself and your orthodoxy, then you had better think again. Then your faith is nothing but words, and no actions.
If you get so worked up and excited about a minor point of doctrine, then there is something seriously wrong.
Do you know what should be the most exciting thing in your life, brothers and sisters? The fact that you are a child of God through no merit of your own. The fact that you are a saved individual. The fact that you have a great hope in your life. The fact that all your sins have been forgiven. The fact that God has shown great kindness to you and given you eternal life. That’s what should excite you more than anything else.
And that should also make you humble, for you didn’t do anything to deserve it. Humility is one of the fundamental aspects of a Christian’s faith.
And if that’s what your faith is like, if it is a humble faith, then you will also want to defend the true faith in the right way. Then you will not tolerate it if someone says to you, for example, that you must add something to your salvation. Or that Adam and Eve were not real persons. Or that there are contradictions in the Bible.
For that would take away from the truth of God’s Word. It would take away from God’s glory and majesty. It would diminish God in the eyes of others.
If you love God, then you do not want him or his Word to be maligned. For that is my God whom they are attacking. Instead you will do everything in your power to bring others to Christ, to let them see the great joy that lives within you. And you will do that in a spirit of gentleness and kindness and of humility.
When you have the right kind of faith, you will also show that in your life. You cannot help it. Then you will have the right kinds of works. If our discussions about doctrinal issues do not comport with a Christian attitude and lifestyle, then all we are spouting is hot air. Then our faith is a dead faith.
Your deeds and your faith always go together. If you believe in yourself rather than God, then you have the wrong kind of faith, just like the devil.
Think about those Orthodox Jews who did not want to believe in the Lord Jesus. They also said that faith and works go together. But look at how they defined their faith. They made all kinds of fine distinctions; they had running commentaries from this rabbi and that rabbi and had endless discussions about fine doctrinal points.
Why? Because they loved themselves more than they loved God. They wanted to show off their piety and their superior knowledge.
They did the same with their deeds, their good works. They brought it down to a fine science. Each commandment had all kinds of regulations attached to it to make sure that the commandment was not broken, even in the minutest detail. They knew exactly what they should do and what they shouldn't do. They applied that to other people’s lives as well. And they got all excited about that.
But they did not get excited about their salvation as such, for they thought that this was an automatic thing. They figured that they had earned their salvation.
Listen to what Paul says in Titus 3:9, “But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.” (ESV)
In verse 20, James calls the man who conducts himself like that and who thinks that faith and deeds are two separate manifestations of the gifts of God, “foolish.” The Revised Standard Version uses the term “shallow”, and the King James Version calls him “a vain man”.
In the original language, James uses a term that means, “empty-headed”. It refers to someone who does not want to listen to reason. He’s got a one-track mind and nobody can get him off that track. Such a person is firmly convinced of his position and there is no way that anyone can dissuade him. He wants to draw attention to himself. He wants to show off his own goodness and conservatism and orthodoxy.
And so, it is clear that it is not enough just to believe. Faith is not just an intellectual assent to a firmly held position. It is not so either that if you are emotionally affected by that faith, that then you have the right kind of faith. No, there is a lot more to faith. We come to the second point.
2. Pagans also have faith. They believe in the gods of their own imagination and make images of them, and they worship those images. But their faith is directed at a dead object. It doesn’t do them any good. They can jump high, and they can jump low, and they can sacrifice all kinds of things, even their own children, to those idols, but it won’t make any difference.
The same thing is true of the non-Christian Jew. He may have a very strong faith. And he may have a faith that is very active. But, such faith is also the wrong faith.
People get zealous and excited about all kinds of things. Have you ever met a zealous socialist or communist? O, they also have a strong faith. They believe in the power of man. And they are full of enthusiasm and zeal.
And what about Jehovah’s witnesses? They, too, have a strong faith and are full of zeal. But what kind of faith do they have? It is a false faith. Their faith does not have the right object. Their faith is directed at the law. It is an egotistical and legalistic faith. That faith is directed towards a god without Christ.
If you take Christ out of the picture, then you are worshiping a false god. Such a god is a god of your own making.
In Romans, Paul has those kinds of Jews in mind. He recognized their great zeal. At one time, he was also full of that kind of zeal. As a devout Jew, he was very zealous about keeping the law.
But what kind of law? Well, first of all, the ceremonial laws. In the passage we read in Romans 2, Paul deals with those Jews who believe that to be saved you need to keep the ceremonial laws, including circumcision. For example, they thought that those who were not circumcised did not belong to the true Israel. They stand condemned.
Well, says Paul, if you think that your salvation depends on keeping the ceremonial laws, then you must keep all those laws perfectly. There may not be any flaws in your worship.
In another context, in his letter to the Galatians, Paul speaks about the Judaizers. These were Christian Jews who were also intent on keeping the ceremonial laws. Although these Judaizers considered themselves to be Christians, they also took Christ out of the equation.
But these ceremonial laws did not need to be kept anymore. Circumcision and all the other sacrificial laws are a thing of the past. They pointed to Christ. But now Christ has fulfilled those laws.
However, says Paul, it goes even deeper than that. Christ also fulfilled the moral law, the 10 Commandments. He says, if you people are so intent on trying to earn your salvation by keeping the law, and every minute point of the law, then you had better keep it 100%. For that is what God requires.
The Jews and the Judaizers practiced their religion in the original sense of the word through a ritual, a form or a ceremony. Christianity is not a religion in that sense. Oh sure, there are certain rituals and ceremonies. But they are done only as a result of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Jewish religion and all other religions of the world put the cart before the horse. To them, the rituals and ceremonies come first. The rituals determine the religion.
But a Christian is a follower of Christ. Christ is first and foremost. He takes the lead. Christ even prepared our works beforehand. When you follow the Lord Jesus Christ, you automatically follow the rituals. But your faith comes first, and even that is a gift.
3. And now James illustrates from two Old Testament examples what true dynamic faith is all about. He gives the examples of Abraham and Rahab. Abraham and Rahab were well-known figures, but for entirely different reasons.
Abraham was a Jew who walked and talked with God and who was known as a friend of God. He grew up knowing God. And God made wonderful promises to him and to his descendants.
Rahab doesn’t come close to any of that. She belonged to a heathen nation. She hardly knew who God was. She belonged to a nation that was supposed to be rooted out. Also, she was a very worldly woman, even a harlot. She was a sinful, immoral woman.
And yet, both the faith of Rahab and Abraham are held up as an example.
We are all familiar with the history of Abraham. The Lord God called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldeans. Abraham was commanded by the Lord to leave the land of all his relatives and friends and to go to a land that God would show him. And Abraham obeyed. He believed in the Lord and that he would be with him and that he would fulfil his promises to him and his offspring.
James mentions another event in Abraham’s life when the Lord God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac on the altar. Abraham obeyed the Lord. Oh sure, the Lord stopped him just before he was about to kill his son Isaac, but nevertheless, if the Lord God had not stopped him, Abraham would have sacrificed his son. Abraham believed God when he told him that he would be the father of many nations, and that great nations would spring from his loins.
And now, James connects this event with the time that Abraham showed his faith in God’s promises by quoting from Genesis 15:6, which says, “And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” (ESV)
And yet, the same statement could be applied to Rahab. We are all familiar with her as well. Her story is found in Joshua 2 and 6. She was an important figure at the beginning of Israel’s history in the land of Canaan when Israel was about to invade her country and take the city of Jericho. Joshua sent out two spies into the city of Jericho to find out the lay of the land. Rahab hid these men because their lives were in danger. Rahab had heard of the God of Israel and believed that he was almighty and powerful. Her faith translated into action. She hid the men and thereby exercised her true faith.
It is a great story. She had very little knowledge about the God of Israel at that time. Nevertheless, she believed. She had seen and heard about how the Lord God had rescued the nation Israel from the grasp of the Egyptians and how he had drowned Pharaoh and all his men in the Red Sea. For make no mistake about it; all the nations roundabout knew what Lord God had done. And they trembled.
Rahab had heard about it, and she also believed. Truly believed. Her faith also translated into the right kind of action. She put her life into the hands of the Lord God and trusted him that he would rescue her and save her.
And he did. When Israel invaded Jericho, Rahab’s house was the only house that was left standing. She and her family were not destroyed along with the rest of the city.
Can you imagine separating your faith from your deeds? Can you imagine if Abraham had done that? Suppose he would have said, “I believe you, Lord, that I have to go and leave the land of my fathers,” and then he would have just stayed put. Wouldn’t that be ridiculous? What do you think the Lord would have said? He would have said, “You don’t believe me. If you did, you would have done what I told you.”
Brothers and sisters, Abraham believed and then he went into action. And God credited it to him as righteousness. The same thing is true of Rahab. She also believed and then put that faith into action. And therefore also her faith was counted to her as righteousness.
Yet, it is not faith as such that saves you. Abraham and Rahab were not saved by faith plus works; they were saved by a faith that works. Let me state that again: “Abraham and Rahab were not saved by faith plus works; they were saved by a faith that works.”
Oh sure, faith is the means by which you access all the gifts of God. It is through faith that you can plug into God’s power. It is through faith that you can plug into the works of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose works were perfect.
But faith is still only an instrument. Do not put your faith in faith. Put your faith in God.
Let me ask you, are you afraid right now of the future? Are you afraid about your health, your financial situation or other things beyond your control? How do you deal with that? What is the first thing you turn to? The doctors, the banks, other people? Are you trying to get out of trouble on your own? Do you think that your own deeds or the deeds of others will get you out of trouble?
Ultimately nobody and nothing here on earth can save you. Only God can. Only he can give you peace of mind. Only he can quiet your troubled soul. Only he can give you eternal life.
Oh sure, he uses people and all kinds of human institutions to help us. That is why we need to be instruments in God’s hands to bring healing and help those in need. And that is why we need to be active in church and in our community and wherever there is need.
God created us to serve, just like Jesus did while on earth and still does from heaven. But nothing good can happen without God. God wants us to have an active faith, to put our trust in him and to know that no matter what happens, he will bring this creation to a glorious end.
All sin and anything tainted by sin will be burned up, and he will make us part of his glorious kingdom forever and ever. That’s what he promises to all those who have an active faith.
Brothers and sisters, let your works demonstrate that you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And then there is no limit to what you can do. And then there is no limit either to the great riches that you will receive. Thanks be to God! Amen
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. W.B. Slomp, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
The source for this sermon was: http://www.edmontonimmanuel.ca/sermons
(c) Copyright 2007, Rev. W.B. Slomp
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