Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi
The Epistle of James: A Blogged Bible Study
The study to date:
May 1: Study intro
May 8: James 1:1 Intro to the Epistle of James
May 15: James 1:2 – 18 Make Quality Decisions
May 22: James 1:19-27 Make Real Changes
May 29: James 2:1-13 Live the Law of Freedom
June 5: James 2:14 – 26 Demonstrate Real Faith
In the last two lessons we contrasted "Hearing" and "Obeying"; today we contrast "Saying" and "Doing." This is not a treatise on requirements for salvation or instruction for evaluating the faith of another person but a call to inspect one’s own faith for validity. In many countries around the world, as in most of the world when James wrote his epistle, calling oneself a follower of Christ is a very risky thing to do; in the United States, calling oneself a Christian is almost a cultural norm, although that is less true today than it was fifty years ago. But even in the first century, there were those who, for whatever reason, did not make the connection between what they said they believed and how that belief should impact their daily living. That disconnect is much more evident in today's United States, and James' instruction should cause each of us who claims to be a follower of Jesus to look hard at our lives as lived on a daily basis to see if our faith really does influence our actions.
I. Real Faith is not Just words (2:14-17)
Look at verse 14 and circle “claims to have faith” and “such faith” and draw an arrow connecting them. "Such faith" is faith that is claimed only in words. To illustrate his point, James gives an example of simply wishing a needy person well instead of actually giving them what they need. The words did nothing; providing food and clothing demonstrates the heart attitude of wishing the person well, even if the words are not spoken. Note that James is still talking about 'such faith'...that is, faith that is claimed in words only... when he makes the statement that 'faith... not accompanied by action, is dead.' As was mentioned in the introduction to the study, James' point is that true faith will provoke right action. Faith that is only given lip service is described in Isaiah 29:13 -- The LORD says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
II. Real Faith Manifests Itself in Actions (2:18-19)
Here's a truth worth noting: It is impossible to separate what you believe from how you behave. Or, as Henry Blackaby states in Experiencing God, "What you do shows what you believe." James points out that even demons acknowledge the existence of God, but they never submit to Him as their Lord. Yes, they believe that God exists, but every action shows that they are opposed to Him. They do not obey Him; His authority over them is such that what He speaks becomes their reality, so they are afraid of Him.
In Matt 7:21, Jesus also demonstrates the uselessness of saying one believes without letting that belief affect one's behavior – "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." When this passage is put with John 6:28 - 29, we see something interesting: Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."
Compare Romans 10:9-10, which clearly demonstrates that saying one believes is only half of the salvation requirement. One must not only confess (or admit) that Jesus is Lord, but one must believe in the core of who they are that He IS Lord, and that He's living today. Belief like THAT,true belief, will affect every aspect of one's life.
III. Real Faith can be Observed (2:20-26)
James then offers two examples from the Old Testament in which belief affected someone's actions. The first example is Abraham. God promised Abraham that He would make an everlasting promise to Isaac and his descendants forever in Gen. 17: 19. Then in Gen. 22:3 God tells Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice...kill him. Abraham didn't flinch or hesitate; he immediately set about doing just that. He trusted God enough to obey Him, even when it made absolutely no sense and seemed to contradict everything he believed. But God proved Himself trustworthy...Abraham did not have to actually kill his son, although he did go right to that point. What Abraham did showed that he trusted God completely, even with his promise.
But we all know Abraham was a friend of God, who heard and spoke with God much clearer than most of us. So, James provides another example, this time, one who never had the opportunity to hear God for herself: Rahab (Joshua 2). Rahab was a pagan prostitute...someone about as far from the voice of God as anyone could be. But she heard of God, she saw how all the people of Jericho reacted and she made up her mind what she believed about this God that she did not know. When the Israelite spies were pursued by the king of Jericho, Rahab hid them and sent the soldiers off on a wild goose chase to give the spies time to get away. Just before they left, she made an amazing declaration, 'I know that the LORD has given this land to you...the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on earth below' (Josh. 2:9,11). Then, she asked the spies to save her and her family when they conquered the city. She helped them escape the city, and then followed their instructions to the letter. She could've gained great favor with the king of Jericho by handing the men over, but instead she risked her life to aid the people of God. What she did showed that she trusted God above all the idols of her people and knew that He would conquer both her people and their gods. Her life was spared, the God of Israel became her God and she was included in the lineage of Christ...because she acted in accordance to her belief.
Our faith is demonstrated as genuine to the people around us by what we do. A key phrase is in James 2:24 -- 'You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith [that is claimed in words...that's still James' topic] alone.' A faith that does not result in right actions is, as James so bluntly puts it, a dead faith.
This is not legalism, trying to be saved by what you do; this is not putting on a show for recognition from people or even trying to earn God's favor by following forms and rituals; this is living out the convictions of a transformed heart on a daily basis.
Things to think about: What do my actions reveal about my beliefs? Are they consistent with the Royal Law of love – loving God, loving others? How do (or don't) my actions display trust in God?
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