Faith and Works Day 1 James 2:14 June 26, 2012

Faith and Works Day 1 James 2:14  6.26.12

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?

How do you define the word faith?-reliance, loyalty, or complete trust in God

Hebrews 11:1-sure of what you hope for and certainity of what you can’t see

How do you define the word works? –to exert effort for any given purpose;useless human efforts to gain acceptance from God

True faith transforms our conduct as well as our thoughts. If our lives remain unchanged, we don’t truly believe the truths we claim to believe.

Some people reading these verses might mistakingly think that James was saying that a person is saved by works rathers than by faith.  If that is the case, then what James said contradicted what Paul said in several places in the New Testament.

What do these verses say about your faith and how you are saved from your sin?

Acts 16:31³¹ They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved —you and your household.

Romans 3:28 ²⁸ For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.

Romans 5:1 5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we^[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

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

Based on these verses, were Paul and James contradicting each other? Explain.

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If not, then how you explain the differences in what each other wrote about faith and works in Scripture?

 Paul vs. James

*Anyone can believe in God, even demons and Satan believe in God in Acts.

What is salvation? salvation is an act by which we give our hearts and lives to Christ. Sometimes it is through prayer. You may have been led in what they call the sinner’s prayer and you genuinely and sincerely meant it. I believe there are plenty of people who have prayed a prayer and had no idea what they were saying and never meant it and never thought about it again. So just saying some kind of prayer isn’t going to do it. It has to be a change of heart. Salvation is instantaneous and the Christian walk is a journey. John 3;16

Paul and James were not contradicting each other. Paul was talking about how to be a Christian, and James was talking about how to act like one. Paul was talking about the beginning of the faith journey, when you believe in God and ask Him for forgiveness. Basically the ABCs of a Christian. Admit you are a sinner and repent. Believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Confess your faith in Jesus as your Savior and Lord. He was talking about justification [just as if you never died] – being declared righteous b/c of Jesus’ sacrifice.

                  James was talking about a different point of the faith journey, when a person’s life is marked by change. When we are saved, we become a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17 = Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.) We throw away our old, sinful ways and turn to Jesus as our example. We let God take control of our lives and He changes our lives for the better. This process is called sanctification – becoming more like Jesus (Romans 8:29 = For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.).

What is your own translation of James 2:14? How can you apply the verse in your life?

The point James was trying to make was if you really believe in God and hope in Him and trust Him and love Him, it will show. When you’re going through a trial, is your first choice to come to God and talk to Him about how you feel or vent to a best friend or vent online in a blog? Who do we put first? The evidence of true faith is seen in good works. Also, the evidence of true love is seen in your actions. When we tell God we love Him, do we show it to Him by reading His word, praying to Him, worshipping Him? Worship is our response to God’s goodness. Even if you want to kiss up to your teachers at school, or let your parents know how grateful you are for them at home, you show it through your actions. Likewise, your faith in seen in your actions and it comes naturally, not forcefully so you’ll receive attention.

METAPHOR – Works are to faith what the body is to the spirit. The body displays the life of the spirit. Works display faith. The only way to show that you are alive is with your body. The only way to show you have faith is by works.

The way we live reveals what we believe and whether the faith we speak of is living or not. Good works are from a true faith and a heart God has changed. It’s good accountability for you as well. If you are unsure that your actions glorify God or not, they probably aren’t glorifying God. And because of this, maybe your works aren’t in accordance with your faith.

(Ezekiel 36:26-27 =  ²⁶And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.)

God removes our sin-hardened heart of stone and replaces them with a heart of flesh. He fills our bodies with the Holy Spirit, whose presence dwells in us and causes us to walk in obedience to the commandments and statues of God.

I challenge the girls to evaluate your heart with God—is it in the right place? Is your faith shown in your devotions, choices, and the ministries you’re in? Is the faith you speak of manifested in your life? A faith where can say all the right words, but do all the wrong actions cannot save you.

If you think their actions aren’t reflecting your faith in God, you should pray about it. Have accountability partners to keep in you check. Ask God for forgiveness of your rebellious ways, and for Him to work in you to let your light shine and have your faith be sincere.

(James 4:17 = If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.) If you know the faith you ought to show, and you don’t do it, it is a sin. Pretty convicting. :D

10 things will happen when you have a new Heart

1.     NEW MASTER –exchange satan for Jesus-upgrade

a.     1 John 4:4 ⁴ You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

-We can OVERCOME SIN bc we have NEW MASTER-the Holy Spirit is leading us….THIS SHOULD ENCOURAGE US!

2. NEW CREATION: 2 Corinthians 5:17 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,(A) the new creation(B) has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!

                  -the old has passed away the way we used to live, act, think, react, feel has gone

3. NEW IDENTITY Colossions 3:9-10 9 Do not lie to each other,(R) since you have taken off your old self(S) with its practices 10 and have put on the new self,(T) which is being renewed(U) in knowledge in the image of its Creator.(V

                  -new internal identity

4. NEW MIND 1 Peter 2:2 ² Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,

                  -Babies want to eat all the time and need mile and as Christians we crave truth and WANT TO READ THE BIBLE

5.  NEW DESIRES : Galatians 5:16-17 ¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever^[a] you want.

                  -God gives you his desires when you walk in the Holy Spirit, and you will  be passionate about what God wants us to do

6. NEW EMOTIONS 1 John 4:7 Love one another…some of us are not naturally loving people, but GOD puts LOVE in our hearts because he loved us first..I really love God, I really love my husband, people in the church, and even your enemies

7. NEW RELATIONSHIPS AROUND JESUS 1 John 1:3 ³ We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

-you want to go to church, GBS, be around positive people with Jesus in the center of relationships

8. NEW POWER Romans 8:12-13  ¹² Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. ¹³ For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

 God gives us the power-we DON”T OWE SIN anything…were dating the wrong guy..you crossed the line you are indebted  to him. Don’t keep making the same mistake Jesus died for our sins

9. New FREEDOM Romans 6:6 as a nonchristian we are enslaved to sin-can’t stop smoking, lying, drinking. But as Christians Jesus we are liberated and gave us a

10. NEW LIFE –Jesus justified, same spirit that empowered Jesus resurrection same spirit that is in us

Check YOURSELF:

What evidence in your life shows that Christ is residing in your heart?  Think about in 3 areas:

1.     Devotion(things that keep you in touch with God and nourished by God)

2.     Choices(doing what is right)

3.     Ministry (using your gifts to serve God and others)

Ask God to show you whether or not you have an outward eveidence of what He is doing inwardly in your heart.

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Mercy Triumphs

Last week what did we talk about? Favoritism. Don’t show favoritism, especially because when we show favoritism it is based off of worldly opinion or materialism. Both of those revile Jesus Christ- why show favoritism to those that hate Jesus? 

With that said, we need to find the biblical solution to favoritism. The title of this post does give a big hint, but we'll really dig deep into scripture today, and if we have eager hearts and really soak this all in, it will dramatically change us. 

Read through today's passage, and then answer the questions that follow. Don't worry if you aren't sure about the answer right away- once you finish reading this post you can go back over the questions to make sure you understand. 

James 2:8-13:

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. ⁹ But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. ¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. ¹¹ For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. ¹² So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. ¹³ For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

1.        According to James, which law should believers carry out? (verse 8) 

2.        Why do you think James called it a “royal law”? 

3.        This law (verse 8) is actually Jesus’ own words. Where in the bible did Jesus identify this law? 

4.        Fill in the blanks using verses 10-12:

·         If you ___________________________________________, then you _________________________________________________________.

·         James told us to ___________________ and _____________________ using the law of freedom as our guide.

5.        What is the “law of freedom/liberty”? What does it mean that we will be judged by it?

6.        What is the rule of thumb that James gave us in verse 13?

One who does not _____________________________ will not __________________________.

7.        What ultimately triumphs?

8.        Why? 

The Royal Law

We find the “royal law” in the OT:

Leviticus 19:18-

 ¹⁸ You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

This shows Jesus fulfilling the law, and that he is God as well. In Luke 10:25-37 we see Jesus further explain the true meaning of this Levitical law when a lawyer challenges him to who should be considered a neighbor:

²⁵ And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ He said to him,” What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” ²⁷ And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸ And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

²⁹ But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰ Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. ³² So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. ³⁴ He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ ³⁶ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” ³⁷ He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

According to this passage, who is our neighbor? A better way to word it is who are WE a neighbor to? We are to show mercy to everyone as our neighbor. Just as in James 2:13, loving our neighbor is explained as showing mercy.

Now, let’s bring our attention back to James 2:9-11. 

Break One Law, Responsible to All

We see that in these verses he shows that if you break one law, you are accountable to all of them. Why do you think he chooses to use the example of committing murder? (Hint: after all, he IS only talking about favoritism, right? Isn't murder so much worse?)

The bible shows that the sin of murder is from the heart-

 1 John 3:15 says: ¹⁵ everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 

When we show favoritism, at the opposite end we are showing hatred and bitter feelings to others for whatever reasons we have. Showing favoritism reveals the true condition of our hearts: murderous and full of hatred. So the answer is that James, by using murder as an example, is trying to show us that favoritism IS a very serious sin and should convict us of how we truly are in our hearts.

Continuing with these verses, why does James make that strong statement, that if we claim we are keeping the law but have one sin, we break all of the law?

-          This is what separates Christianity from all other religions or ideas of how to live a good life. Many people’s (including our own at some point) idea of being righteous is doing more good things than bad. People justify themselves by comparing themselves to other people, saying “at least I don’t do drugs, don’t murder, don’t cheat, can’t lie” etc.

-          Romans 3:21-23 Has a lot of familiar language from what we've read in James and the gospels doesn’t it? “all the law and prophets depend on..” and “no distinction” (distinction = favoritism). More importantly, it shows the most important truth about our condition : 

“³ for ^fall have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. We are all guilty of sin. None of us can claim that we have never broken any of God’s laws or standards. 1 John 1:8 says “^8 sIf we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and ^tthe truth is not in us.”

We are ALL in need of God’s mercy. We are in bondage to sin, but the awesome hope that God has given us is that Jesus made a way to set us free from sin & hell.

What's Most Important

Now many of you already know the gospel, but we NEED to learn it continuously every day, because our lives depend on it

(1 Corinthians 15:1-4)  Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received,  in which you stand, ² and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

³ For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

So the gospel is definitely NOT just for nonbelievers- we need to everyday, when we wake up in the morning, remind ourselves of how we are being saved. If you aren’t, you aren’t living it, you are not a Christian. It says if we don’t, then our belief is in vain.

 Also the truth is that a lot of us here probably don’t know what the gospel is, other than it means “the good news”. I know this because for 4 years, I claimed to be Christian while having little understanding of what the gospel was, what it meant to be saved or why I even needed it. I think this is a good opportunity for us to go over it since we just explained the first part of it in Romans.

What is our condition? Sinful. We have all sinned. When we sin, the just punishment given by God is hell- eternal death. We are so sinful but we can’t help but to be drawn to sin, ever since we were born. We just can’t deny this because we KNOW all the the bad things we’ve done (and still do), especially when no one was looking.

But God gave us hope:

Romans 3:21-25

²¹ But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— ²² the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 

Romans 5:6-11

⁶ For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— ⁸ but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. ¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. ¹¹ More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

So we see from these verses that Jesus satisfied God’s wrath (propitiation) by taking on our sin and dying in our place. Not only that, but he lived a sinless life and rose from death- That’s the righteousness that is given to us when we have faith in Jesus Christ. This is how God is able to pass over our sins. THIS is the gospel, or the good news.

Take a moment to write down, in your own words, the gospel. This is very important because without it, we are not saved from hell and do not have Jesus' righteousness given to us. It is also important because it is the one thing that we need to tell people, especially our loved ones, that can save them from their sin. 

(If you need help- the gospel in basic terms is that: we are sinful and deserve hell because we sin against a perfect loving God, but God is so loving that he gave his son Jesus Christ to die and conquer death in our place- and so we gain his righteousness as a gift IF we put our faith in Him)

Finally Free!

Now looking back to James- in verse 12 James calls it “the law of freedom/liberty”. How does a law free us?

Turn to John 8:31-36

³¹ So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, ³² and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ³³ They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. ³⁵ The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 

1. What or who will set us free? – The truth. (Jesus says he is the way, TRUTH, and life in John 14:6)

2. How do we obtain that freedom? – The Son sets us free. Jesus IS the Truth.

3. How does the Son set you free? – What did we just learn from going over the gospel in scripture? Romans 8:1-2 says “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ² For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”

OUR RESPONSE: What is our response to this? God shows us true mercy by freeing us from sin. Because he sets us free and shows us mercy, we are free to show mercy to others as well.

BUT WAIT!

Verse 13 in James 2 says “For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy.”.

Does that mean we can lose our freedom and salvation if we show favoritism sometimes? That we will no longer be given mercy if we don’t give it? How can we be saved by grace (eph 2:8) But be denied mercy?

James is writing to Christians here. He is showing us what it looks like to live in God’s word. 

Remember us learning about not just hearing, but doing what the word of God says?

In other words- don’t look at this backwards. If you don’t show mercy to other people, then that just shows that you have never really experienced the depths of God’s great mercy to us. When you REALLY see the depth of your sin, and then see the depth of God’s mercy despite how much sin you have against Him, Then you WILL offer mercy to others.

If you constantly show judgmental and harsh attitudes to others, then you probably haven’t received God’s mercy in the first place. And because you have rejected God’s mercy, you remain under judgment (John 3:17-18 “ For^lGod did not send his Son into the world ^mto condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ^18 nWhoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not ^obelieved in the name of the only Son of God. “)

The good news at the end of James 2:13 is that, through Jesus, mercy triumphs over judgment. God’s love and grace conquer sin and death.

Take a few minutes to reflect and pray to God-

If you haven’t ever thought about your sin and God’s mercy, and haven’t accepted his offer of forgiveness through his Son, I encourage you to take time to ask yourself some important questions. What’s holding you back from receiving God’s mercy? Really think about it, and write it down if you need to- then talk to one of the leaders at GBS. I assure you you will not be judged and we will be so happy to help, because every single one of us have had the same issues as you if not worse. I assure you.

And for those of us who do understand God’s mercy and are committed followers of Christ- take some time to think about God’s mercy that saves you. Remind yourself of what God has saved you from and how he shows his mercy to you everyday. Be willing to share these things to other girls that need God and haven’t experienced a life of faith.

James 2:1-8

taught by Queenie & Micah

Before we start the lesson about favoritism, what exactly is it?

Favoritism: the practice of giving special treatment to a person/group.

Favoritism is a practice, meaning, you are constantly doing it. Also, favoritism is a negative term. It is usually done for someone's own selfish gain, and it's usually UNFAIR special treatment.

There is a huge difference with FAVORITISM and FAVOR though! No where in the Bible does it say God shows FAVORITISM, it actually says He doesn't in Romans 2:11. But what the Bible DOES say is that He shows FAVOR, which is, by definition, "approval" or "done/granted out of goodwill (friendliness)/a kind act." Favor is something that is just. We gain God's favor once we receive Jesus into our hearts. God favors us over other people because He sees us covered in His blood.

In James 2:1, James opens up the verse by saying "My brothers" (ESV). This indicates that we, Christians, are brothers and sisters to one another. All believers in Christ are a part of the same family, and in a family there should be no favoritism.

As Christians, we should strive to be like God, and as shown earlier with Romans 2:11, God shows NO favoritism (He also shows no partiality in Deu. 10:17-18, Deu. 16:18-20, Luke 20:20-21, and Acts 10:34-35)

In James 2:2-4, an example of favoritism is given to us. Sadly, favoritism is inevitable in our lives, whether we know it or not. Just because it's inevitable doesn't mean it's acceptable though. Once a person recognizes their sin, they should lift it to God to help control it. A person creates judgments out of instinct, but they have the ability to control whether their judgments come out as favoritism or stay hidden in their mind. Seek God for help in not showing favoritism because He will grant you the strength that you need to control and diminish it."

James 2:5-7

-verse 5 says: "Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?" 

It says here that God chooses the poor in the world to be rich in the faith. Meaning even though the poor were not be rich in world possessions, they could be rich in faith. If they were rich in the faith, that means that they were full and could never truly be poor because they belonged to Christ.

-3 things the rich did to the Christians to whom James was writing:

-dishonored them

-dragged them into court

-blaspheme the honorable name they bore

verses 6-7: 

"But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?"

So, God chose the poor to be rich in the faith and to be heirs in His kingdom. This does not men that God is showing partiality. Remember that He is impartial,  He is just, He is fair. God is not playing favorites because this shows that anyone can be a part of the kingdom of God, even the lowly.

RICH vs POOR 

The poor are also recognized in Matthew 5:3 (part of the Beatitudes): “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

-"the poor in spirit" :

-knowing you need a Savior

-knowing that you can not earn salvation-

-knowing that you must rely on God's grace and mercy for every aspect of you life.

-We can all be poor in the spirit. We can all recognize our desperate need for a Savior.

-It's important to remember that we are all sinners and we are all, ultimately, worthless and horrible. But it's also very important to remember that only with God and through God, we have worth.

Many times, the rich don't recognize that they need anything, and tend to reject the gospel.

Matthew 6:19-24

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Many people are so focused on their treasures on earth (clothing, popularity, shoes, wealthiness, etc.), and fail to realize that all of these are temporary. That their satisfaction with these treasures is temporary. In 2 Corinthians, Paul tells us to not trust in the seen, these treasures on earth, but to trust in the unseen, meaning God, because He is eternal and with Him you can be genuinely satisfied.

So, the true conclusion of this lesson on favoritism is in the next lesson! But for now, just remember that since God does not play favorites, you should not play favorites. Also to not play favorites with people because we are all in the same family with God as our Father, so favoritism isn't allowed. Until the next lesson, just ask God to create a heart in you that values what He values, a love that mirrors His love. Thank Him for His justness and mercy.

Stay tuned til next time! Forreal.