Biblical Relationship of Faith & Works

Transcript

GR 1647
07/08/2012
Biblical Relationship of Faith & Works
James 2:14-20
Gil Rugh

We’re studying the book of James together on Sunday evening. The letter of James. James is a unique and outstanding person in the early life of the church. As we have noted he was the half-brother of our Lord. Born to Mary and Joseph after the birth of Christ. Had a special post-resurrection appearance of Christ to him. Paul makes mention of that in 1 Corinthians 15. Becomes the leader of the church in Jerusalem. Which is the center of Christianity. In these years the apostles are located there, but interestingly James is the one who seems to have the foremost position. His letter has the unique position of probably being the first of them to begin the letters of the Old Testament that were written, preceding Paul’s letters and the others. History tells us Josephus refers to it, that James was martyred I believe in 62 AD as we have talked about. As we read his letter we see something of his concern. He is centered in Jerusalem and the church is spreading, but because of persecution and so on, believers have been driven out of Jerusalem. So his letter is addressed to the twelve tribes in the diaspora. Our bibles say “to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad.” The diaspora, which becomes the term referring to the Jews scattered outside the land of Israel.
Believers, but he has a concern for them. That they understand the true saving faith changes a life and it will never be the same again. In church history there had been times when some have had a problem with James because of his emphasis on works. A verse like verse 24 of chapter 2, “You see that a man is justified by word and not by faith alone.” Some even among the reformers have concern about James and his theology. You have to have a clear perspective. Paul wrote about the place of works and said that justification is by faith and does not involve works. James writes and says justification is by faith and it requires works. We have to understand their perspective. It’s clear the bible teaches salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. That ‘alone’ becomes crucial, because if you say it is by faith in Christ that opens the door. The Judaizers we saw in Acts 15 said that you have to believe in Christ, but that alone will not save you. You must believe in Christ plus keep the Law of Moses and those two together. Now that becomes very confusing because now you have people who talk about the importance of believing in Christ, but they add something to that and that is what Paul addresses when he writes the letter to the Galatians. And says any who teach such a message are cursed to hell, anathema. Even if it was an angel that brought that message that angel would be cursed to hell.
So understanding the relation of faith and works is crucial. Come back to just John 3:16. A number of passages here, but we will pick the most famous, well-known passage probably in all the bible. John 3:16. And verse 15 says, for whosoever believes in Him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” Down in verse 36, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” And Paul’s emphasis in Romans, in Galatians, and so on. He wrote to the Ephesians, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God: not as a result of works, that no one should boast.” So what Paul was writing about, and these other passages are dealing with is: how is a person saved, how do you receive the gift of salvation. You do so by believing in the finished work of Jesus Christ, that is it. Believing that you are a sinner and Jesus Christ’s death on the cross paid the penalty for sin, in full. He has been raised in victory over sin and death. That brings us salvation. No works involved.
Most religious people are confused on this, they think they are going to be saved by keeping the Ten Commandments, by being good. And you say, don’t you believe? You know you have to believe in Jesus. Oh yes, I believe in Jesus. Roman Catholics, Protestants would say that. But we shouldn’t be confused. For example, the council of Trent, which is the authoritative statement for the Roman Catholic doctrine says that anyone who teaches that you are saved by faith alone is anathema. Very opposite of what Paul taught. So we want to be careful, because we get confused and think, oh boy, they believe in Christ, so that is all is necessary, they must be saved. Well, if they are believing in Christ plus something else for salvation, then they are not saved.
Now when we come to James that is not what he is addressing. He is addressing the importance of realizing that saving faith will change your life and the result will be good works. So it is not good works are necessary to bring about your salvation, its good works that are a result of your salvation. So come back to James chapter 2. He has already talked about the importance of works back in chapter 1:21. “Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” The one who is blessed of God and with God’s salvation is the one who hears the message of Christ, believes it, and God’s salvation changes his heart and now he lives a new life. He gave examples of this kind of change at the end of chapter 1 and then into chapter 2 he talked about our behavior in not making distinctions based on human values. The rich man versus a poor man and thinking we want to give more attention to the rich man than the poor man. But we see the grace of God could work in the heart of a person. Rich and poor alike need God’s salvation.
So these things have stressed the importance of good works as a result of our salvation. If a life is not changed a person has not been saved. Donald Gray Barnhouse, pastor at Tenth Presbyterian Church at Philadelphia for many years, gave a statement that there will be enough fundamentalist in hell to hold a convention, and sadly that is true. People in our evangelical churches think, oh yes, when I was young I trusted Christ. I am not living for Him but I know that I have trusted Him. So if you are not living for Him how do you know if you are trusting Him? Becomes kind of an emotional feeling, or going back to some kind of experience that we went through at a certain period of time. The changed life is what the bible requires as the evidence of salvation. Now be careful. If you say that God requires you to change your life to be saved that is heresy. If he says the bible requires, God requires, your life to be changed if you have truly been saved that is biblical. And this is what James is talking about.
So we come to verse 14. “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him?” What use is it? What value is this kind of faith? Here is the claim that is made. The person says, yes, faith, but there is no change in his life, he is not doing those things which are now pleasing to God, obedience to God. Jesus said, if you love Me you will keep My commandments. They are not talking about the Mosaic Law but what God says and what Christ says He requires of those who belong to Him. It has to come out of a heart that has been changed. This person is saying, yes, faith, but he has no works. So here is the claim, I am saved, I have trusted Christ, I know it, but you look at his life and you say where is the evidence? Can that kind of faith save him as we have it. That faith, the faith that we just talked about, the faith that hasn’t produced anything in the life. Could that be a saving faith?
So you have two questions in verse 14. What use is it if someone says he has faith in the works? Secondly, can that kind of faith save him? What is the value? What good is it? What benefit? What profit? Is the claim of faith? Here is what a person is claiming he says he has faith, but he has no works. What is the benefit of that kind of faith? Can that faith save him? That becomes the crucial issue. And I take it the Savior is referring to the salvation that we talk about, is that saving faith? Or is it not? James gives an illustration “If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,’ and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?” You note, that is the same exact question he asked at the beginning of verse 14. What use is it? What use is it? We have it translated that way at the end of verse 16 but it is the same expression, the text. What use is it, what value?
So here is a person a fellow-believer, a brother or sister in Christ. They don’t have enough clothing. It is getting cold, they’re poor, they can’t buy what they need. They need daily food. Maybe they lost their job, the persecution of the church, and so on. The pressures that comes and believer comes to them and says, go in peace, and that was a standard Jewish statement. Go in peace, be warm, be filled, but you don’t give them anything. What value is that? What have you done? That is no help at all. He is saying something like we say, we’ll pray for you. Lord bless you. I’ll be praying for you. That is all you do. That is not something I can eat. That kind of action does nothing, those are empty words, they are not supported by an action. So that is the comparison with the faith. “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” That statement. Look at the end of verse 20, “Faith without works is useless?” End of verse 26, “Faith without works is dead.’ You see the stress that James has through this section. He says it in verse 17, says it basically, a little different word, here in verse 20, then he is going to say it again in verse 26. “Faith without works is dead.”
Turn over a few pages to 1 John. Not the gospel of John, but 1 John just a few pages further back in your bible. 1 John 3. John used the same kind of example. Talking about love among believers. Verse 13, “Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren.” And that love encompasses what? Not just an emotional feeling in the heart, but an action love. That will do what is best for them. “He who does not love abides in death.” Doesn’t love fellow- believers. He lives in the realm of death. He doesn’t have the life of Christ in him at all. “Everyone who hates his brother is a murder; and you know that no murder has eternal life abiding in him. We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” You see he is talking about a love here that comes out of what? What is the fruit of the spirit? Love. That’s where the list in Galatians 5 starts. Produced in the heart by the saving grace of God. A love for other believers. “But,” verse 17, “whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?” Is there love in that? I have the resources and I see you are in great need of clothing and food. Well, that is your problem. I mean if I give you some of what I have I would have less. And that means I won’t be able to do what I want to do and I become self-centered. I am not functioning in love anymore. No love evident. “Little children,’ verse 18, “let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. We shall know by this that we are of the truth, and shall assure out heart before Him.” So you see this is the evidence of confirmation to us, that we have a love for other believers as part of God’s family. That becomes a natural love for God’s people, to love one another. So John, who is noted for writing the gospel of belief, the gospel of John has the same emphasis as James. That if you are not demonstrating love you live in the realm of death. And the example he gives is basically saying as James is.
Come back to James chapter 2. Faith without works is dead. If faith has no works it is dead being by itself. The point being it accomplished nothing. That faith does nothing. It is lifeless. It’s just assenting to certain facts but nothing else. There are things I believe are true but I don’t act on them. They are just facts that are out there, yeah. And so people are, yeah, I believe in Christ. But if it has not changed your live it is a dead faith. It’s not gone anywhere, it’s not accomplished anything. Faith if it has no works is dead.
Come back to Matthew. The Sermon on the Mount. We have noted James draws much from the ministry of Christ and the Sermon on the Mount. And Jesus had the same emphasis in Matthew chapter 7 in the Sermon on the Mount. Exhorted the people in verse 13 to 14, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” So you note issue he’s addressing here. It’s not the false religions out here all around. He is dealing with those who come in the guise of being followers of Christ. Representing the living God. They’re false prophets. They’re in sheep’s clothing, but inside their character is not changed. You will know them by their fruits. What is he talking about? Works. The things manifested in their lives.
I read you the article a little earlier this evening from the magazine. Telling pastors what to do to be rich. Do you use Hollywood methods to get fame? But under the guise of what? This will make us more effective as spokesmen for Christ. Can not God make me famous if He wants to? Does He not provide for my needs? Did Paul become a beggar? Did he pursue riches? No. “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” It can’t get any more clear than that. It’s not a grey area. Jesus puts it simply. The tree that does not bear good fruit is going to be cut down and thrown into the fire. That is the picture used to those who are going to destruction a number of times in scripture. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.
It is hard for us to accept that, the closer it gets to home. My children or grandchildren are not living for the Lord. I want to say, but I know they trusted the Lord because I can remember when they were young and I sat with them and they prayed with me. Now I know they are saved. But they are not living for the Lord. Wait a minute. I want to delude myself into feeling better. I don’t want to be mean or cruel, but I want to be honest with what Christ says here. I mean, eternity is the issue. I want their salvation to be genuine and true, but pretending that it is doesn’t change reality. So a good tree cannot produce bad fruit. Nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. It doesn’t mean at times, and that’s what he is warning about, wolves come in sheep’s clothing. That doesn’t mean, oh, right away we recognize. But watch over time, it becomes evident. There will be those that we can. I’m not saying we are the ultimate judge. The general pattern will be clear. We ought not to be making excuses.
We sometimes say rather light heartedly about people who would come to me for counseling. And you know I try to draw the line. You say you are living in sin and you can’t stop, then don’t sit here and tell me you are a believer. Because a believer can stop because they have the power of God. I didn’t say it is easy, but they can. So you are lying because you are either lying when you say you are a believer and you are not. Or you’re lying when you say you can’t stop and you are believer and you can. You want to go to the word of God. The serious issue is why you would say you are a believer when by your own admission, you have been living in sin for x amount of time. “So then, you will know them by their fruits,” verse 20. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me,’ ” - you who have not said you have faith in me. No. “ ‘You who practice lawlessness.’ ” That mean Jesus didn’t believe you are saved by a grace through faith? No. He believed that those who were saved by grace through faith became good trees and produce good fruit. And if they are practicing lawlessness they are living a life of rebellion against God. And when they stand before Jesus Christ the sentence will be severe.
So what James is saying, is simply picking up what Jesus taught. Back up to Matthew chapter 3 while we are here. This is consistent with the message of the Old Testament. No one has ever been saved by works. It’s always been by grace only through faith alone. And the truth that God has revealed about Himself. John the Baptist came preaching and he came calling men and women to repentance. Verse 7, “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?’ ” You know, people are talking about how to grow a big church and how to be successful and all that, never come to this verse. Let’s learn from the greatest of the prophets, Jesus said, John the Baptist. When people come, you tell them, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come you poisonous snake. What does he say? Well, they are coming to baptized. Isn’t that good, John? They get baptized by you, won’t that help assure their salvation. He said, no. “Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” If you have truly repented there ought to be some evidence in your life. Nothing has changed about you, you just got caught up in the movement of the moment. John the Baptist’s popularity and the crowds coming and their coming out and their getting baptized and you’re jumping on the bandwagon. But there is no evidence in your life of the work of God. So I want to see that. I want to see if you have truly trusted Christ and now fruit is being produced. That is with keeping in genuine saving repentance. Don’t think you are saved because you belong to the Jewish race, you are descendants of Abraham. And where are we going? Verse 10, “The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” Same thing Jesus said. Consistent message that comes through.
Come back to Romans chapter 2 just to see Paul’s message carrying the same emphasis. He talks about we come in the characteristic of sin and sinners in chapter 1 verses 18 and following and their behavior. Those who don’t “see fit to acknowledge God any longer,” verse 28, “God gave them over to a depraved mind.” In verse 26 “God gave them over to degrading passions.” Verse 24, “God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity.” The judgment of God and all kinds of sinful behavior are evidence of their rebellion against the living God. These aren’t just poor, passive, unknowing people. And scripture presents sinners as those in active rebellion against God. Their sins are laid out here. So chapter 2 opens up, “Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.” So the idea, well, I go to church, I go to confession, I have been baptized at Indian Hills, I go there every week, therefore I am saved. The same kind of thing here. You would say this is terrible but you practice it. You think that you can practice that but cover it by claiming you know you are a believer. But life hasn’t changed. So that is what Paul is dealing with in chapter 2.
When you come down into verse 5 of chapter 2 he says, “But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each person on according to his deeds.” His works? Well, I thought we were saved by faith. We are. But when you are saved by faith your life has changed. “To those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.” We say, well, it seems like emphasis on works, There is because when you come and truly believe, when you repent of your sins, you turn to God and place your trust in Him and His provision for you, your life has changed. It is out of the heart, Mark 7, Jesus said proceed all kinds of sinful behavior.
That is why we said we are not in a mission of reforming the world, try to get them to live more like believers. Because if their heart has not been changed nothing really happened. We just have covered there rebellion against the living God with a whitewash. Like Jesus told the Pharisees you’re whitewashed tombs but inward you are filled with dead-man bones, nothing has changed. But yet Christians, you know, easily we get so excited. And easy to get people really pumped up about elections and all that is going on and we got to recue our country by bring morality back to it. I get so tired of reading this in publications that are supposed to be Christian. Don’t we believe that God has to change the heart? And somehow we pour our energy into if we could only make our country a better place. Of course it is nicer when sin is not so overt, but I don’t want to get the idea that the Pharisees and Sadducees were in a better condition than the overt sinners. I mean, Jesus saved His harshest words for them. Woe to you, woe to you, woe to you. We feel a lot more comfortable that they are not doing these bad things so openly. Again there is benefit that comes to society. Sin is a reproach to any nation. But we are not called to try to reform the exterior. Get it whitewashed so it looks pretty. So that is what Paul talks about here. Verse 11, “There is no partiality with God.”
You are in Romans, we will go to chapter 6, because we won’t go to some of the other verses. Romans chapter 6, you die with Christ, you are freed from sin, verse 7, “For he who has died is freed from sin.” Now if we had died with Christ we believe we should also live with Him. So verse 11, Consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments,” to be used for unrighteous purposes. Oh boy, it is just not that easy, Paul. Who said it was easy? It just says it can be done. Do it. It’s nice I know that, I never have to sin. I’m not saying I never sin, my wife is here, I cannot say that. But I do, I never have to sin. I’ve never sinned since the day I trusted Christ because I had to. I sin because I wanted to. No exceptions to that and the grace of God has made provision that we don’t have to. That is the ugliness of sin in the life of a believer. I’m doing it and I don’t have to, I want to. So here, you don’t do it.
Verse 15, we are not under law, the Mosaic Law, “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? May it never be!” And so verse 18, “having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” Everyone in the world is a slave. Either a slave of sin or a slave of righteousness. I mean that it’s, that when you are freed from slavery to sin you become a slave of righteousness which is true freedom. The function and relationship and submission to the God who created us to function that way. Though you used to present your body to sin, verse 19. The end of verse 19, “now present your members as slaves to righteousness.” Verse 22, “having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.” So I don’t say that a believer has a perfect life in all that he does, but there is a difference in the life of a believer and the life of an unbeliever. And if there is no difference in a life it is because there has been no salvation.
Can we do one other verse in Ephesians chapter 2, Ephesians chapter 2, these well-known verses. Verse 8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves,” that salvation is not of yourselves, “it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boost.” You see there salvation does not come about because of works. And you can’t mix works in with grace because then grace is no longer grace. Paul dealt with that in Romans as well. That if we mix works with grace, grace is no longer grace. So we are not saved by works.
But then note verse 10, “For we are his workmanship.” Because we “have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves,” that salvation is not of yourselves, “it’s a gift of God.” “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” So part of the package of our salvation includes now living a life of obedience to God. That’s the thing, that is the key if I need God’s salvation so now I can live a life that is pleasing to Him. To try to live a life that is pleasing to Him without submitting to His salvation is really an act of rebellion. Saying I can do it on my own. No. Well, I am trying to please God, but I’m trying to please God my way. It’s not pleasing to God. You give your child instructions on what to do and he doesn’t do it, he does what he thinks would be best, you say, you are not obeying. But why? I thought this would be better. I didn’t tell you to come up with a better plan, I told you to do this. So it becomes an act of rebellion. Then I think, well, at least they’re trying. They are being religious, they are going to church. They are so rebellious is what God says.
So we see the place of works here clearly. You’re not saved as a result of works. But you’re saved so that now you can do what God wants you to do. He has prepared that. That’s part of the salvation package. A new life. A slave of righteousness, a slave of God, as we saw in Romans chapter 6 and numerous other verses. But come back to James chapter 2, verse 18, “But someone may well say.” You know that James is here presenting these circumstances, not that he has a specific individual in mind, but concerned about the practice. He says in verse 14, “if someone says” though he’s not picking out a particular individual, I know so-and-so has said this or done this, but if this is the case. Verse 18, “But someone may well say, ‘You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.’ ”
We have a lot of discussion on who would he have in mind when this person may say, you have faith and I have works. The point is he is making a distinction here. That James would be saying I have works, this other person is saying maybe they had faith. They want to put a person in it. The point is the contrast. Someone is challenging James or raising the issue, you know, someone has works, someone has faith. James, you’re big on works, that fine, I have faith. And it sounds like the faith person has it. Some of you were around over the past years when we had the difficulty and the conflicts over what is called Lordship Salvation. And you can be saved without a change of life. Amazing to me what an issue that was. That was not new when I was a student in Philadelphia back in the sixties we were debating that. In fact the first sermon I can remember preparing, the title of it was ‘Does Jesus Christ have to be Lord to be Savior?’ We were debating that then because of the influence of Dallas seminary, the school I was. The answer in scripture is, yes, your life has to be changed if you are truly saved. You don’t change your life to be saved. But when you are saved by God’s grace your life is changed. To say that you can be saved, you trust Christ… One man writing, a seminary professor, and he wrote and says you might go on to blaspheme, to deny Christ, to live a life of degradation, but you are saved. That is a terrible thing to tell people. It is not what the scripture says.
Someone will say you have faith and I have works. James says, alright, show me your faith without works. I’ll show you my faith by my works. You see the point here. Not saying faith is not crucial, but if all you have is faith what’s the evidence? You know what people have? They have a feeling in their heart. There was a program on heaven. Some of you se that program this week, Barbara Walters? Two hours on heaven. Nobody had a clue. Nobody had a clue. But they spoke confidently. Assured. Oh, I know I am going to heaven. Oh, I know this. Oh, I know that I died and went to heaven. We sit there with the word of God and say, oh, they’re wrong. But then we’ll accept if a person who is part of the church says, oh, I know I have trusted Christ, I just don’t live for Him. Well, wait a minute. Where do you get that silliness? That’s just as foolish as the people who are claiming that they know about going to heaven. They know they are going to heaven and people earnestly say I believe that if you do your best and you live a life then you’re… They interviewed everybody but a bible-believing Christian on the two hour program, you had Buddhist, and you name it. Well, anyway.
How do we say you can have faith but not works and know you are saved? Well, I know in my heart. Yes. I mean, how many religious people say they know in their heart? We had people blowing themselves up in parts of the world because they know they are going to heaven and going to get seventy-two virgins. They know it. They know it so assuredly they are willing to blow themselves to pieces to get there. Does that make it true? But we get the idea of, well, they say they believe and I can’t tell them they don’t. You are right, we can’t see in the heart, only God can judge the heart. But He also tells us what will happen in a life that He changes, right? If any man be in Christ he is a new creature. The new creation. What does that mean? Old things have passed away, new things have come. So I don’t want to get on the side on denying scripture and saying, well, this person said that they trusted Christ and they are probably saved because they say they are.
That is the whole thing James is writing about. You are wrong. It is not true. Demonstrated it. And the point is what? You can’t see faith. I realize God can see our heart. But the God who can see the heart tells us what will be the result of a heart that is changed by faith, right? So show me your faith without your works, I’ll show you my faith by my works. So you know he is not saying he doesn’t have faith. He is clear that salvation is by faith. He made that clear in his statement in the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15. He becomes a leading figure in settling the issue. This idea of, oh, this is personal, no one should judge anyone else, you cannot see my heart, you can’t tell me. Well, wait a minute. Here is the mirror of the word of God. I can’t see your heart but I can see the mirror of the word. I can see what God says. You can see that. Look into the word, here is what it says. You should be able to show your faith if it is saving faith by your works.
Look at verse 19, this ought to settle the issue for all time, “You believe that God is one.” Going back to Deuteronomy chapter 6, the Jews’ statement, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!” “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe.” They believe it’s so genuinely that they shudder and tremble. But they are not saved. Does anybody believe that the demons are saved? No. But they have faith. They believe that basic Jewish statement of the Jews that God told them, hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. The demons say, amen. That’s true, but they are not saved. They are in awe of God. They are afraid of Christ and the judgement He will bring upon them. They have been in the presence of the living God, they have no doubt about He exists. In this program that I mentioned, they interviewed an atheist. This person is absolutely sure that there is no God. When this life is over it’s over. You didn’t have an existence before you were born and you won’t have any existence after you die. And asked the question, how do you know that’s so? Oh, I don’t have to prove that. You have to prove there is. Well, that is one way to live your life. The demons believe. They have been in the presence of God. Remember in the opening chapters of Job? Satan still has access to the presence of God. The demons began in the presence of God before they had fallen to sin. The angels are called to assemble before God, including fallen angels. The Bible tells us the fallen angels, the demons, have no doubt about the existence of God, about who He is, about who created the world, about the fact the Jesus is the Son of God. Come back to Mark chapter 1, Mark chapter 1, Jesus during His earthly ministry, verse 23, “Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit.” That was a demon, fallen angel. “He cried out, saying.” Now note what he says here, good theology, “ ‘What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?’ ” Full faith in the power of Christ to send them to hell. “I know who you are -- the Holy One of God!” That is good theology. But Jesus is not open to receive the testimony of the demons. And we say, oh boy, isn’t that great, the demons will attest. He says, “Be quiet and come out of him!”
Over in chapter 5 while you are here. Here is a demon posseed man. Verse 2 tells us he is a man within the tombs with an unclear spirit. “Seeing Jesus,” verse 6, “from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; and shouting with a loud voice, he said, ‘What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?’ ” Any doubt about the demons believe who Jesus Christ is? And then people in the world deny that the demons don’t. “I implore you by God, do not torment me!” Do they know that Jesus Christ has the power to cast them immediately into an eternal hell? They do. Do they believe it? They do. Anywhere in scripture give you any indication that a demon is saved? In fact the Bible indicates that they can’t be saved. They don’t want to be saved and God made no provision for their salvation according to Hebrews chapter 2. Jesus Christ did not become an angel to die for the sin of angels. He became a human being to die for the sins of humanity.
So when you come back to James chapter 2, we talk about salvation by faith. The fact that a person says, yes, I believe in Jesus Christ -- sometimes confusing. The Mormon that was interviewed on this program I was mentioning. Some of you shook your heads, so you saw it. They said, that some people don’t think we’re are Christians. We are Christians. We believe Jesus is the Son of God. So now there are people confused, saying, well, maybe we ought to view Mormons as Christians. Wait a minute, the demons believe that Jesus is the Son of God. You know that? I mean, we Christians get confused and allow ourselves to be deluded and deceived, because what? We just don’t take the plain facts of scripture. The demons believe and tremble in James 2:19, but the demons aren’t saved. Well, the evidence is nothing changes. They have facts that are correct and true about the living God, about the Son of God. About the person and power of God, God the Father and God the Son, but they’re not saved. Because you can have faith, but not saving faith. You can have faith in Christ that is not saving faith, that is why people get so deluded. And it’s hard. Sometimes you talk to a religious person. You must believe in Jesus Christ to be saved, and they say, well, I believe in Jesus Christ. The Roman Catholics have so much good theology. We would say, they believe in the virgin birth, they believe in the death and resurrection of Christ, and so much else. Well, they must be saved if they believe all that. No. It’s what they add to that that indicates they are not, like the Judaizers.
It’s what has not happened in a life that James is concerned about, the demons haven’t changed. Even when they ask for mercy from Christ not to be destroyed they are not saved. They are not trusting in the Savior, they are simply acknowledging the reality. There will come a time where every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father and that will be by people who are on their way to hell. There will be no doubt that they believe that He is the all-powerful God, that His Son is the Judge of all humanity and they will bow before Him. But they won’t be saved. Saving faith is when I come to understand the truth as revealed by His grace and place my trust in Him for salvation. When I am saved my life is changed. You do believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe and shudder. Sometimes you talk to religious people and they talk about how they believe. You know that is interesting, did you know that the demons also believe? You know the demons are also going to hell, but they believe. You say you believe, but you can believe and go to hell. That will present the clarity of the gospel to people so that God in His grace might open blinded eyes.
Verse 20, “But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow,” you vain man, literally, you empty man, “that faith without works is useless?” If you agree that the demons aren’t saved, and all the Jews would, and most Protestants I would take it would, and the Roman Catholics, and most in the realm of those who consider the Bible would acknowledge, if they believe in the Bible. That the demons, they’re terrible fallen beings, and hell was prepared for the devil and His angels, so there is no salvation for them. So don’t be a vain, empty man. Here James talks about brethren and so on but he warns any man with this kind of thinking. That thinks you can have saving faith and not a changed life, changed behavior, is an empty man, a vain man. A man who has dead faith. Faith without works is useless. Useless in bringing about true salvation. Useless. It didn’t do anything. Any more than the demons’ faith does anything.
Can you imagine the demons go to stand before the throne of God? I mean, none of us have had such an honor, but they stand there as rebels before God. The devil comes and challenges God as we see in Job. So we want to be careful we are clear. Don’t want to keep beating this but this is what James is saying. This is what is serious for us as a church that’s been in existence for years, you know you have first generation Christians, then you have the next generation that comes up, and then the next generation. And you know we get like Israel was, and James is concerned for these Jews who profess faith. Have you really experienced the power of God’s salvation? It is hard for us as parents who raise our kids here in this church to not think that they are saved. And the kids are raised and think they are and I have grandkids being raised here and I desire their salvation. Well, they’re raised here, their parents are here, you know, that won’t save them, any more than being born in Israel would save a Jew, being raised in Israel saved them.
You know what it took? The same saving faith that the parent had or the grandparent had. And so we want to be careful to take the warning of James to heart. One of the reasons we don’t baptize children anymore. We want them to come of an age where they can stand as adults, understand with clarity their decision, and demonstrate the reality of it. Accountable before God and for the fellowship of believers. Don’t want them going, well, I know I’m saved. Why? Well in fourth grade I did this and then Indian Hills baptized me. And you know Indian Hills, they wouldn’t baptized you if they weren’t sure you were saved. Well, you can be baptized here, I have baptized people who aren’t saved, baptized them on the basis of their testimony. They’re like Simon the magician. What did Peter say, I perceive you’re still in the bonds of iniquity. Baptizing him didn’t set him free. So we want to be sure that we understand. God’s salvation is powerful, so powerful it comes and takes hold and makes us new on the inside. Aren’t you glad? You are a new creation in Christ. And now by His power we live for Him.
Let’s pray together. Thank you, Lord, for Your truth, for Your clarity. Thank you, Lord, that issues are clear. Thank you for the way You change a life. Lord, we are perfected in Christ, but we acknowledge that there are imperfections still in our lives. No excuses for that. Your grace is so great, Your provision is so full. You have provided everything necessary for life in godliness. Lord, may we be intolerant of sin, these inconsistencies in our lives. Thank you for a Savior who represents us in Your presence. The advocate we have, Jesus Christ the Righteous one. And Lord, because of Him we are secure. Lord, I pray that we might be careful not to give false assurance to people, but share with them the beauty of Your word and the reality of changed lives. That they might know the reality of the salvation that makes life new. Bless us in our service to You in the days before us. Use our testimony to impact other lives. We pray in Christ’s name, amen.