Do you have SAVING FAITH?

WOD: REST DAY!

Bible WOD:

James 2:14-26 (NIV)

Faith and Deeds

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? ¹⁵ Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶ If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. ¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
²⁰ You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless^[a]? ²¹ Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³ And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”^[b] and he was called God’s friend. ²⁴ You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
²⁵ In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? ²⁶ As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Faith is certainly an essential element in the Christian life. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. The Christian is saved by faith and is to walk (live) by faith. Whatever we do apart from faith is described as sin. It is important to realize, however, that there are different kinds of faith, but only ONE that is truly "saving faith".

(Beginning with verses 14-17, we notice the first kind of faith.)

Dead Faith
This kind of faith substitutes words for deeds. (consider James' example) People with this kind of faith: know the correct vocabulary for prayer and sound doctrine, can quote the right verses from the Bible, but their "walk" does not measure up to their "talk".

Dead faith is only an intellectual faith. In one's mind, he or she knows the doctrine of salvation but they have never really submitted themselves to God and trusted in Jesus for salvation.

Can this kind of faith save?
Absolutely not! Three times in this passage, James emphasizes that "faith without works is dead." (James 2:17,20,26) Any declaration of faith that does not result in a changed life and good works is a false declaration: A DEAD FAITH! Dead faith is counterfeit faith and lulls the person into a false confidence of eternal life.

Do we have this kind of faith?
We do, if our WALK (life) does not measure up to our TALK, or if our WORKS does not measure up to our WORDS!

We need to be aware of mere intellectual faith. As Warren Wiersbe said, "No man can come to Christ by faith and remain the same, anymore than he came into contact with a 220-volt wire and remain the same." (compare this to 1 John 5:12)

The next kind of faith is discussed in verses 18-19.

Demonic Faith
Perhaps to shock any complacent readers, James reminds us that even "demons" have a kind of faith! They believe in God (no atheist or agnostics here!). They even believe in the deity of Christ. (Mark 3:11-12) They also believe in the existence of a place of condemnation. (Luke 8:31) And they believe that Jesus will be the Judge! (Mathew 8:28-29)

What kind of faith do "demons" have?
We saw that the man with "dead faith" was "touched only in his intellect". The demons are "touched also in their emotions" (note that they: "believe and tremble") This is one step above a "dead faith" as it involves both INTELLECT and EMOTIONS.

Can this kind of faith save?
NO! A person can be enlightened in his mind and even stirred in his heart and still be lost forever! True saving faith involves something more, something that can be seen and recognized: a changed life! (James 2:18) Being a Christian involves trusting Christ and living for Christ! You first receive the life and then you reveal the life!

Do we have this kind of faith?
We do if we just BELIEVE the right things and FEEL the right things. If our service to God does not go beyond intellectually adhering to the right doctrines and/or emotional experiences while attending services.

(Thus, James introduced us to two kinds of faith that can NEVER save: DEAD faith (involving the intellect alone), and DEMONIC faith (involving the the intellect and the emotions, but stopping there).

He closes this section by describing in verses 20-26 the only kind of faith that can save....

Dynamic Faith
What kind of faith is this?
We know from other passages that such faith is based upon the Word of God. (Romans 10:17) Dynamic faith involves the "WHOLE MAN". Dead faith touches only the intellect, Demonic faith involves both the mind and the emotions, and Dynamic faith involves the intellect, emotions, and the WILL!

The MIND understands the truth, the HEART desires and rejoices in the trust, the WILL acts upon the truth. True, saving faith, then, LEADS TO ACTION. It is not intellectual contemplation or emotionalism. It is that which leads to obedience in doing good works.

To illustrate, James refers to two well-known persons in the Bible: Abraham and Rahab.
You could not find two more different persons! Abraham was the father of the Jews; Rahab was a Gentile. Abraham was a godly man; Rahab had been a sinful woman, a harlot. Abraham was the friend of God; Rahab had belonged to the enemies of God.

What did they have in common?
Both exercised saving faith in God,  and demonstrated saving faith by their works. We learn from the passage that Faith without works is a DEAD faith, (20,26) "Faith only" cannot justify one, (24) and that PERFECT faith necessitates works. (22)

CONCLUSION:
It is important that each professing Christian examine his or her own heart and life, make sure that they possess true saving faith, which is a dynamic faith. Satan is a great deceiver; one of his devices is imitation. If he can convince a person that counterfeit faith is true faith then he has that person in his power!

Here are some questions we can ask ourselves as we examine our faith:

Was there a time when I honestly realized I was a sinner and admitted this to myself and to God?

Was there a time when my heart stirred me to flee from the wrath to come? Have I ever been seriously worked up over my sins?

Do I truly understand the gospel, that Christ died for MY sins and then rose again? Do I understand and confess that I cannot save myself?

Did I sincerely repent of my sins, making the decision to turn from them? Do I now hate sin and fear God? Or do I secretly love sin and want to enjoy it?

Have I trusted Christ and Him alone for my salvation by responding to the commands He has given? Have I confessed my faith in Christ and then been baptized for the remission of my sins as He and His apostles commanded?

Has there been a change in my life? Do I maintain good works, or are my good works occasional and weak? Do I seek to grow in the things of the Lord? Can others tell that I have been with Jesus?

Do I have a desire to share Christ with others? Or am I ashamed of Him?

Do I enjoy the fellowship of God's people? Is worship a delight to me?

Am I ready for the Lord's return? Or will I be ashamed when He comes for me?

To be sure, not every Christian has the same degree of faith; those who have had more time to grow should be stronger in faith.

But for the most part, the spiritual inventory can assist a person in determining his or her true standing before God.

Written by: Dr. Tim Dillon of Greenbrier Baptist Church