MPC 13th January 2008.January 13 - James 1:19-2:26 - "Faith that Works"
Phil Campbell MPC 13th January 2008.
If you're following the progress of the US Presidential Primaries, you'll know that Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama are slugging it out for the Democratic nomination.
Someone made the observation that it's an unusual system because it asks candidates from the same party to tear each other down. And in that regard, it's been a dramatic week. First it looked like Obama was heading for a big win in New Hampshire with his talk of a bold new hope. And then, at the very last minute, Hillary Clinton staged a comeback. With what some analysts have declared was a decisive speech at last Saturday's debate.
You need more than Barak Obama's soaring rhetoric, said Hillary Clinton, to produce real change. Barak Obama might have the words, she said. "But words... are not actions."
It's hardly a new thought, is it? Words are not actions. We've got the old proverb, actions speak louder than words. We'll say someone is all talk and no action. And we've got exactly the same idea here as well... in our passage from the letter of James. If you think words are enough; if you think you can claim to have faith when it never shows itself in your actions; if you think maybe it's enough just to listen to God's word without ever doing it... James says, think again. Because you couldn't be more wrong.
Now before we look at what James is saying this morning, I want to look at a little bit of background. And ask the question, why is he saying it?
It's one of the principles of good bible reading that you read scripture in the light of scripture. So I want you take you back for a moment to Acts chapter 21, where we meet this same James. In Jerusalem.
And you'll see there that James is sitting on a time bomb.
James is the leader of the Jerusalem church. The apostle Paul has gone out round the gentile nations; Turkey, and Greece, and Rome. But James has stayed put. Leading a church made up of I'd guess almost 100 per cent Jews. They've become Christians. They believe Jesus is their messiah. But scratch the surface a bit, and they're still deeply, deeply Jewish.
And it might surprise you to see that the church James is leading back in Jerusalem is booming. Flip back to Acts 21 and take a look.
Because for James in Jerusalem, business is booming.
Unfortunately, potentially booming in a bad sense as well. About to blow up.
Acts 21, the Apostle Paul who's been preaching to the non Jews turns up in Jerusalem. And he's going to get a mixed reception. Which James warns him about.
We'll pick up in verse 17. It's Luke talking, he's travelling with Paul. And he says,
When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers received us warmly. The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present. Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: "You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them... are zealous for the law. They've been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come..."
Here's the problem. Thousands of Jewish Christians... still zealous... for the Old Testament law. Who are hearing rumours that this Paul is telling people they can be saved without keeping the Old Testament law.
They're zealous for law. And they've heard Paul's not. They've heard Paul's gone feral.
I don't know what you think about that situation. Because there are some Christians these days who are just as zealous for the law. With a rule and regulation for everything. And a stern way of looking down their noses at anyone who doesn't stick to the same rules. Rules for when you can hang out washing. What days you're not allowed to mow the lawn. Whether Christians are allowed to drink alcohol. Or dance.
And yet there are other so called Christians who say they've got faith. So they can do what they like.
James - as he's caught in the cross fire - wants to say to both sides... words... are not actions. James wants to say to both extremes, be careful you're not tarred with the same brush. You guys who are passionate about the law, you're so busy listening to the law that you're not even doing it. And you who say you've got faith so you don't need to do anything... that kind of unemployed faith is dead.
And so in the nicest possible way, James, in his letter, is banging their heads together. To get both sides to realise that whether you're Jewish or Gentile, God's actually interested in righteous lives. Chapter 1 verse 19. My dear brothers, everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger doesn't bring about the righteous life that God desires."
James says they need to stop arguing. And get serious about living righteous lives. Which is what God's been wanting all along.
And as he steps into the debate, we're going to see James has got a word for the Jewish Christians. And a word for the rest of us.
And what he's going to say is simple. There's no point being zealous for the law... if you're not going to live it out. And in the same way, there's no point saying you're a gentile Christian who just lives by faith... if you're not going to live that out as well. Either way... words are not enough. Without action.
So first; these Jewish Christians who are zealous for the law.
It's a funny thing, says James, that people who are apparently so passionate about the law, so keen to correct other people... they're botching it completely when it comes to their own lives. Which is so often the way.
You can see it in chapter 1 verse 22. Don't merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. You're like someone who looks in a mirror and forgets to comb his hair.
If you're going to look in the mirror, make sure you reflect on the reflection. Particularly, chapter 1 verse 26, in the unbridled way you're using your tongues. And in the way you treat the poor.
Which is what he expands on... at the start of chapter 2.
"You say you're zealous for the law... Well what about this." Take a look what they're doing.
"My brothers," he says, "as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favouritism." Here's what they're doing. Verses 2 to 4. You get a rich guy turn up to church, and it's an interesting clue to the Jewish context that the original word he uses there is synagogue; you get a rich guy turn up to synagogue and you're all over him like a rash. Sit here in the good seats. Come on up the front.
Whereas the guy who's clearly poor, you'll leave standing up at the back. Or make him sit on the floor. The original wording of verse 3 paints an even more demeaning picture. What we call a footstool, they used to call an under-foot. And the verse literally says, you say to the poor guy, you can sit here under my under-foot. Come and let me put my feet up - on your back.
And that's what they're doing. "If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, 'Here's a good seat for you,' but say to the poor man, 'You stand there' or 'Sit on the floor at my feet,' have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?"
The same rich guys who exploit you... who drag you into court, verse 6; you fawn over them. While you insult the poor.
And you know what it proves? It proves these Jewish Christians who are so zealous for the law... are law breakers themselves.
Verse 8. See, Jesus says you can boil down the Old Testament Law to a very simple principle. Take a look.
If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbour as yourself," you are doing right. But if you show favoritism the way you're doing, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.
I mean, how's that loving your neighbour as you love yourself? When they're climbing over the poor guy to ingratiate themselves with the rich and fatuous.
They've misunderstood not just the law... but the nature of God. Did you notice verse 5? "Listen my dear brothers; hasn't God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised for those who love him?"
I wonder if we get that? God specialises in the people who are nobodies. That God's particularly interested in the people you and I won't even hang around with. These Jewish Christians didn't get it. Which means, says James in verse 9, they're lawbreakers. They're convicted... by the law they say they love.
"But if you show favouritism," verse 9, "you sin... and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers."
He who lives by the sword dies by the sword. Jewish Christians want to live by the law. They'll be judged by the law. Verse 10:
For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
And likewise if you don't commit murder but put your feet up on a poor man... well, you might be paying lipservice to the law. But you're certainly not living it!
So here's his advice to Jewish Christians who are still zealous for the law.
Verse 12. James says, "Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!"
Don't be quick to judge. Be quick to be merciful. Don't be quick to condemn. Be quick to forgive.
James says, the gospel brings mercy. So specialise in mercy. Because if you want to be a judge-everybody-else person... then you've got to be happy for God to treat you the same way. So speak and act like people who have been shown God's mercy. Grab on to the law that gives freedom. And if you've accepted God's mercy, then show mercy yourself. And in the situation James is living with, that's what a Jewish Christian has to do with the gentiles. With a little bit more humility about their own failures as a starting point...
Time to change targets. Time for the other side of the coin. What if you're not zealous for the law at all? Say you're a Greek. Say you're from Turkey. The Apostle Paul's been there and instead of preaching about the Jewish law he just preached about faith in Jesus. And you've believed. You've put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. No Jewish laws or customs. Not bound by the Old Testament law. So does that mean you can do what you like? Because Paul's opponents say that's what he's teaching.
To which James says, of course it doesn't mean you can do what you like.
Now you might have met legalistic Christians who are a bit like the Jews. I wonder if you've met Christians like this as well? Who say they've been saved by their faith in Jesus... and you watch them for a while, and you know Jesus would be horrified by the lives they're living. The youth leader I knew who was sleeping with his girlfriend. The Christian business leader who was known around the town for the fact that he'd never send a payment until the last possible moment short of legal action.
And you say It's okay. Because I have "faith." In inverted commas. And if anyone tries to correct you, you'll say don't be so legalistic.
Or just as bad... you'll say you're Christian. But you're totally unmoved when your brothers and sisters are suffering. And you don't give and you don't serve and you don't help and you don't sacrifice a single thing that takes you outside your comfort zone.
And yet you say you have faith.
James says, a faith like that isn't just unemployed. It's dead.
Law without love might be dead. But so is faith without action. Verse 17. "In the same way, faith, if it's not accompanied by actions, is dead.
Back in verse 15, he says, just imagine a Christian brother or sister is hungry and homeless. And you give him a wave on the street and says "Keep warm!"... what good is it? Same with faith. Faith by itself is futile. If it's not matched by action.
I overheard someone complaining the other day about a computer ad. Where the screen was listed as an optional extra. They said, it's hardly optional. No output, your computer's next to useless.
And it's not as if putting faith into action is an optional extra either. James says, you might be saying, "Well, some of us have faith, others have deeds." It's verse 18.
To which James says this. And you'll see it in the second half of verse 18. He says, if you've got faith and no deeds, what's the use? What am I going to see? Absolutely nothing. But he says, I'll show you my faith by what I do.
I'll demonstrate my faith to you, I'll show it... by my actions.
It's interesting, isn't it? Maybe you haven't thought much about faith. Maybe you've confused faith with just believing stuff. I don't believe in the Easter Bunny, I do believe in Jesus. And it's a private thing. Just between me and God.
James says in verse 19, the devil could say the same thing.
Verse 19 - "You believe that there's one God. Good! Congratulations. Even the demons believe that - and shudder."
Faith is a belief that motivates a new behaviour. Real faith is a trust... that marks a new beginning. And it's not really faith in the Christian sense... til you can see it. In action.
Faith without deeds is dead. James finishes the section with two Old Testament examples; two examples of faith put into practise. Abraham the patriarch. And Rahab the prostitute. Their faith steered their actions. As it should with you and me.
Verse 26. As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds... is dead.
Whereas faith with works... is alive. And vibrant. And very visible. It's interesting, isn't it? How do you see something invisible? You see it by its effects. Wind's invisible. But you can see what it does. Electricity. Invisible as well. But you can see what it does.
There's a thread running through here, it's all to do with what's observable. James says, I'll show you my faith... not just by what I say... but what I do. Verse 24, James says, "you see that a person is justified ... by what he does." You can't see faith on it's own. But you can see it's effects. And if a person's justified, if a person really is right with God... you'll see it in their actions.
What will they see - in you?
So I wonder if that's what people see when they look at you? Your workmates, your neighbours, your family.
As James is caught in the middle of this first century quarrel, he's got something to say to both side. Put your money where your mouth is. Words... are not actions.
The Jewish Christians are full of zeal for their law. But they're missing the main ingredient. The law of love.
But it's so easy for the Christian who says I live by faith to make exactly the same mistake. And forget faith is meant to lead to action.
In very practical ways... by the way you control your tongue says James back at the end of chapter 1. Your compassion for the poor. In practical ways. Did you notice that? Chapter 1 verse 27. You might think you're very religious. Three church services a week.
But listen to this. "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
Which is why I want to remind you this morning about people like Scott Braithwaite, who we heard from earlier. Who'll be working with oppressed refugees on the Thai-Burmese border because as a man of faith, he cares. Faith in action.
Or an old friend of mine I caught up with the other day. His name's Ted Harvey. And Ted's seen first-hand the situation of orphans in Brazil. He was telling me he was over there in the last few months; and the violence and the poverty he said was overwhelming. So Ted's decided he'll do something to help. So he came home and he put his mind to it.
Through Compassion Australia Ted's planning to sponsor 100 Brazilian kids - for 10 years. And he's doing it in unique way. Back in the 70s, Ted was a photographer in Sydney. And when the band Led Zeppelin toured back in 1972, Ted was taking official photos right up on the stage. Which for some reason were never released. And earlier this year, he found the negatives. Locked up in his shed. Prime quality close up photos of Led Zeppelin in concert... that nobody has ever seen.
Ted realised he could have made a fortune. But instead of that, he's decided to tour with an exhibition. And sell the photos to raise funds - to support 100 Brazilian orphans for 10 years. He's had media coverage all over Australia. He's done Melbourne and Sydney already. And he said he's on track to hit the target. And even exceed it.
I wonder what your faith is doing? I mean, we haven't all got a stash of valuable photos in the shed. But even in small ways... I wonder how you're reflecting God's priorities. In caring for the kind of people who can't care for themselves. In refusing to show favouritism. In giving yourself to helping up the poor brother... instead of using him as a footstool. When you see your brother or sister hungry or in trouble or needing a room for the night... do you throw a few well meaning words? Or do you do something practical? We're not all going to be Scott heading to Thailand or Ted with his travelling photo show... no matter where you are, your faith is going to be busting to make a difference. Maybe even just to the widow next door.
Martin Luther puts it this way - and I'll finish with his words:
It is a living, busy, active might thing, this faith. It is impossible for it not to be doing good things incessantly. It doesn't ask whether good works are to be done, but before the question is even asked, it has already done this... and is constantly doing them.