Sunday, August 22, 2010: Believing and Behaving

Believing and Behaving
James 2: 14 – 26


I. Introduction.

Can you imagine something that is real but cannot be seen by the human eye? I have a couple of things in mind…

First, the air in our sanctuary is saturated by radio waves. We cannot see or hear radio waves, but we could listen to the radio this morning if we only had an FM radio receiver. We could choose between rap music, rock music, country music or even a worship service from another church. In fact, I have an FM radio transmitter in my back pocket right now. I am speaking into this little microphone and through the magic of science, my words travel around my ear, down a wire inside my suit coat to a transmitter in my pocket. The transmitter translates my words into radio waves and sends them throughout the room. We can’t see the radio waves. We can’t hear the radio waves. But, there is an FM receiver in the balcony that receives those radio waves and sends it through the sound system.

Second, have you ever seen a calorie? You know what I’m talking about. Food packaging today has a helpful box of information printed on the side. It tells us how much protein, sodium, fat, fiber and calories are in our food. A calorie is a measurement of energy. Through the magic of science, our bodies can take the food we eat and extract energy. We need energy to live. Therefore, we need calories to live. But, be careful…Eating more calories than we can burn causes us to gain weight. I’ve never seen a calorie. But when I look in the mirror (or when I buy new and bigger pants) I can see the effects of calories.

In John 3, Jesus had a conversation with a Jewish leader named Nicodemus. Jesus told Nicodemus about the Spirit of God, who cannot be seen. Jesus compared the Spirit of God to the wind. We cannot see the wind, but we can see the effects of the wind as the trees and the grass blow in the wind.

In James 2, we read a passage of Scripture about faith. Faith is like the wind. We can’t see faith in another person’s life, but we can see the effects of faith. Faith is like a calorie. We have never seen a calorie, but we know calories are real because of the effects of calories.


Read James 2: 14 – 26.

The Book of James was probably written by James, the brother of Jesus.

James played an important role in the early church at Jerusalem. This is interesting to us, because the Gospels tell us clearly that Jesus’ brothers and sisters did not support his ministry. They thought Jesus was delusional and perhaps misunderstood what God was doing in his life. They tried to stop Jesus from teaching about the Kingdom of God. They were resistant to Jesus’ healings and miracles. But, James had a change of heart after the resurrection.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15, that Jesus specifically appeared to James after the resurrection. We don’t know anything about that resurrection appearance, but it seems to have been a turning point. Because, in the opening chapters of the Book of Acts, we see James present with Jesus’ disciples and the 120 believers in the Upper Room when the Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost. Then we see James through the rest of the Book of Acts functioning as the pastor-leader of the Jerusalem church. In fact, James played such an important role in the Jerusalem church that the Apostles Peter and Paul felt the need to check with James before they began spreading the Gospel among the Gentiles.

James and Paul had completely different ministries in the early church. Paul was famously the missionary to the Gentiles. He was a traveler. He went all over the known world, preaching the Gospel and planting churches in far away places. James probably never left Jerusalem. He worked with one church and one group of people.

More than likely, the reason James remained in Jerusalem for his entire ministry, is because he did not believe Christianity was a new religion. Rather, James thought the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus was the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. In his interpretation of the Christian faith, it was possible to live in Jerusalem, worship in the Temple and keep the Mosaic Law. We might even suggest that James saw this as a necessary expression of his faith as a Jewish Christian.

Immediately, we notice how James’ understanding of Christianity differs from Paul’s. James lived and ministered among the Jews. Paul lived and ministered among the Gentiles. James emphasized the importance of the Jewish Law. Paul went the opposite direction, claiming that the Jewish Law was not necessary. But, remember they lived and ministered among different people. James emphasized the Law to the JEWS. Paul downplayed the Law to the GENTILES. James never said Gentiles had to keep the Old Testament Law.

In the long run, Paul’s Gentile mission was much more successful than James’ mission among the Jews. The Gentile church flourished. The Jewish church did not succeed. For this reason, we know more about Paul and his teachings than we do about James and his teachings.
Since we know that Paul and James had differences of opinions about the spread of Christianity, there are some scholars who try to use the book of James as an argument against Paul’s theology. They try to convince us that we must make a choice between the two. Our Scripture today is, perhaps, the best example of this point of view.


Ephesians 2: 8 – 9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

What do you think? Is this a conflict? Do we have two men called by God preaching contradictory messages?

I don’t think so. I believe we can draw a distinction by placing human works on two different sides of faith in Christ. Paul teaches us that good works BEFORE salvation can not bring us into fellowship with God. James teaches us that true faith in Jesus requires us to do something AFTER salvation.


James 2:14, “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?”

Notice that James addresses his teachings to “my brothers.” “Brother” is an important word in the New Testament. It does not usually refer to a biological sibling. Instead, this is the most popular way for Christians to address one another. In other words, James is not telling people how they can become Christians. James is telling Christians how they ought to behave.


James 2:17, “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

James 2:24, “You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.”

The key to understanding what James says here is to look at the way he modifies the word “faith.” He describes faith “BY ITSELF” and faith “ALONE.” In other words, believing is not enough. Believing must be accompanied by behaving. To illustrate his point, James uses four analogies!


II. Caring for the Poor (vv. 14 – 17).

The first example James used is both realistic and absurd at the same time. It is realistic, because he uses the typical greetings found in the First Century: “I wish you well. Keep warm and well fed.” It is absurd in that he applies it to an extreme situation.

Imagine the situation…It is a cold, winter day. You have just met someone who does not have a coat, and the clothes they are wearing are worn thin. In addition, this person hasn’t eaten all day. They are hungry and cold. How would you greet this person? “I wish you well. Keep warm and well fed.”

The point of this story…Sometimes words are not enough.

Faith in America is an interesting topic. Most people say that faith is a private, personal decision. I agree with that statement. If you do not have a personal faith in your private life, then there is little chance that you will demonstrate faith publicly. But faith should never remain private and personal. The faith you hold in private should motivate you to do something. Specifically, James teaches us that faith should lead us to do the same kinds of things Jesus did in his life. Jesus took care of the sick, the poor and those who were overlooked by society.

People can talk about faith all they want, but at some point faith should lead to action…Action that is God honoring and action that follows Jesus’ example.


III. Even Demons Believe in God (vv. 18 – 19).

James’ second analogy comes from the spiritual realm. James tells us what the demons believe about God and answers our questions about what it means to have faith in Jesus. He starts with the classic profession of faith: “God is One,” or “There is one God.”

This is the profession of faith that dates back to the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy 6: 4, we read: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” But that is not the end of the profession of faith. Deuteronomy 6: 5 continues: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”


Even the demons can profess the first half of this profession of faith. The demons did this throughout the life of Jesus. Remember, when Jesus would enter a new town he was often met by the demon possessed people. The demons would great him with words like, “I know who you are. You are the Holy One of Israel.” But they did not love him with their heart, soul and strength.

Yet notice that the demons did SOMETHING. They believed that God is One. AND they shuddered! They trembled with fear. They recognized who God really is, and they responded with action.

This is the difference between demons and humans. The demons believe and do something. Some people believe and do nothing! Genuine faith leads to action. Genuine faith is more than simply recognizing God. Genuine faith recognizes God and loves him wholly. Not just heart…Not just soul…Not just mind…But body and strength.


IV. Abraham (vv. 20 – 24).

James now turns from the spiritual realm to the physical realm by appealing to the lives of two historical figures from the Old Testament: Abraham and Rahab.

Abraham is the father of the Jewish people. They trace their heritage to Abraham’s decision to obey God. In Genesis 12, God called Abraham and made him a promise. Abraham believed God and took action. He moved to a faraway place. In Genesis 22, Abraham once again demonstrated his faith through his actions. When God told Abraham to offer his only son as a burnt sacrifice, Abraham did it.

Abraham had a private and personal faith. But, Abraham’s faith did not stop there. He loved God with all his heart and soul. This love for God led to faithful action.


V. Rahab (vv. 25 – 26).

In the Old Testament book of Joshua, we read the story of how God used Joshua as the leader who followed Moses. Moses led God’s people out of slavery in Egypt and through the desert for forty years. But Joshua was the leader who led God’s people into the Promised Land. Joshua did this through a series of military victories.

One of Joshua’s victories was the battle of Jericho. He sent two spies into the walled city of Jericho to see what it was like inside the city walls. These two spies were helped by a woman named Rahab.

Rahab was not a Hebrew woman. She was an outsider. She was not a part of God’s chosen people. But Rahab believed that God would defeat her own people and expressed her faith through obedience. Through her obedience, Rahab and all her family were saved from the destruction of Jericho.

Abraham and Rahab have one thing in common. They both had faith in God that led to obedience.

But there is also a difference between Abraham and Rahab. Abraham was an insider. Rahab was an outsider. Salvation is available to all people in the same way: Faith in God. Salvation leads to the same kind of response for all people: Obedience!


VI. Conclusion.

If faith is simply believing God, then there is no way to prove faith to someone else. It is personal, it is private…It could even be a secret.

James tells us that secret faith is worthless! Believing must change our behaving.

True faith is not personal and private. It makes a difference in the way we live and behave.