FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD // JAMES 2:18-19

ACTIVITY: Write down how your parents, spouse, or sibling show you they love you? How can you tell they love you? It can be big or small, general or specific. Just keep that aside.

James 2:18-19 says: 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. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that —and shudder.


Faith is: Accepting, believing, and trusting what God has said in His word

Define types of “works” or “deeds”:

Works are not just the kind and charitable things we do to for others. When people see our “works”, they should be able to see:

•  our changed life: commitment and repentance
•  our obedience to His word: to love, forgive, obey, pray
•  how we conduct our life
•  how we react to good and bad situations

It even reflects in your choice of words:
Matthew 12:34a “For the mouth speaks that which fills the heart”

~ VERSUS~

Typical “works”, which even non-Christians can do:

• giving money to the poor
• volunteering at church
• feeding the homeless
• being an overall “good” person
• attending church or church events

Can a person be saved by faith in God, without any works at all?

ABSOLUTELY! Not only can they be saved by faith without any works of any kind, but it is the ONLY way that anyone can ever be saved at all!

Read Ephesians 2:8-9 and 2 Timothy 1:8-9

But what about the 2nd chapter of James: “Faith without works is dead”

Read James 2:17

What is the common misconception or argument about being “saved by faith alone” and the statement “faith without works is dead”? Does the bible contradict itself??

(False statement: If you do not have works, then you do not have faith, therefore you are not saved)

First, we have to understand who James is writing to:

* Jumping back to verse 14, he said “my brothers” or “my brethren”. This tells us that he is writing to FELLOW BELIEVERS…Those who already have faith in God and are saved through that faith. So the argument isn’t about getting saved, it’s about AFTER you are already saved.

The question then is, “What is meant by faith being dead?”

Some people assume that faith without works means that faith was NEVER present. But “dead” here doesn’t mean non-existent….it just means…dead! The discussion here centers around the fruitfulness or lack of fruitfulness of your faith that doesn’t produce good works. It’s NOT trying to define “saving faith”, it’s describing the condition or status of your faith…IF it isn’t accompanied by good works.

Example: Your car battery dies. It doesn’t mean that battery was non-existent. When you open your hood, the battery is still there…it’s just dead!

Read James 2:18-19 again:

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.

What is James presenting here?

1. He’s playing “devil’s advocate” with a hypothetical opponent…kind of “role playing” as someone who is arguing against the teaching that faith and action go hand in hand.
2. He’s preparing the believers for the (including us) for the inevitable questions that come up when people challenge our beliefs.

What is James’ rebuttal?

1.  He shows the flaw in this argument by asking this opponent to show one thing:

            Show me your faith WITHOUT DEEDS

     2.  His response to that?

         I will show you my faith BY MY DEEDS

He’s saying: Prove that you have faith without doing work, and I will prove that I have faith by doing work!!

Can you demonstrate faith without an action attached to it??

During the lesson, I asked if anyone in the room loved me. Some of the girls raised their hands, including Micah. I asked her to stand next to me and show the rest of the girls…without any actions…that she loves me. She couldn’t…she just stood there! I asked the girls if Micah saying that she loved me proved anything. Their answer: NO. They heard that she loved me, but none of them could really tell that she did because she did nothing to show it. Just like when our faith in God is established…no one will know unless we SHOW IT.

Think about the list you made at the beginning of this lesson. If your parents/spouse/siblings did NOT do any of those things you listed…EVER, would you really know that they loved you?? Would other people be able to tell that they loved you??

He further proves his point of faith and works going together in verse 19

He’s basically being sarcastic. Where is his proof about the demons beliefs?
Read:  Matthew 8:28-29, Mark 5:7, Luke 4:41

So in 3 of the 4 Gospels, we learn that even the demons acknowledged God and recognize that Jesus is the son of God!

But in NO INSTANCE did a demon repent and turn to Jesus! Even though they believe in the existence of God, they can’t produce good works! THAT’S A HUGE WARNING TO PEOPLE WHO CLAIM TO FOLLOW CHRIST: You can say all the right things and even agree to a right truth and STILL HAVE AN EVIL CHARACTER!!!!

(By the way…DEMONS: They shudder because they only know the wrath of God. They do not know the mercy of God).

James wasn’t the only one to talk about actions with belief. Jesus also did!

Read Matthew 7:17-23

1. According to Jesus, how would you recognize a tree?
2. What produces good fruit?
3. What produces bad fruit?
4. According to what Jesus says in v. 18 what is impossible?
5. What did Jesus say about people who say “Lord, Lord”?
6. What does Lord mean?? Master or ruler. If Jesus is Lord of your life then He is in control. A person can call Jesus “Lord” and never know Him personally! The ACTION of calling him Lord is there, but if you don’t surrender your heart to God, then it’s just works WITHOUT genuine faith.

Different side, same coin

John (disciple of Jesus and writer of 1, 2, and 3 John) also talked about the “marriage” of faith and works

Read 1 John 2:4-6

The point?  Living faith results in action.  An experience or memory of giving y our life to Jesus Christ is not in itself proof that you have been saved.  The only outward  proof of an inward transformation though God’s Spirit is the life that you live after you have given your heart and life to Jesus.  You cannot claim to be a true follower of Jesus if your life hasn’t changed and there’s no godly fruit hanging in your life.

So, now when someone asks you why the bible sounds like it contradicts itself, you can say it doesn’t.

Faith is completed by works or acts. Works should FOLLOW saving faith...not CAUSE saving faith.

Ephesians 2:10 is clear on this:
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Before God we are justified by faith alone; before men we are justified by faith AND works.

If you SAY you are a Christian, then you need “works” to show it, or no one can see your faith. Faith is invisible. Works are just proof of your faith; they are not what get you saved!

WHEN YOU PROCLAIM ON FACEBOOK THAT YOU LOVE GOD, DO YOU REALLY SHOW IT? CAN YOU BACK THAT CLAIM UP? CAN PEOPLE REALLY SEE A CHANGE IN YOU?

FAITH IN ACTION//James 2:15-17

FAITH IN ACTION

Review--  Last week: "There is a difference between saying you have faith in Jesus and actually having a living, active faith in Him. Saying you believe in Jesus is not just an intellectual agreement-- it's a belief that results in action."

"Works are done because of your faith in Jesus Christ not instead of your faith in Jesus Christ."

James 2: 15-16

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?

Let's break it down into phrases...

a brother or a sister	A fellow believer, a Christian; or someone you already know: friend/family
without clothes and lacks daily food.	Has a real need
Go in peace	Have a nice day or take care
keep warm and eat well	I hope you find clothes and food
You don't give	You do nothing
What the body needs	Basic human needs
What good is it	It is useless to say

 If you put this altogether it'll read: "Suppose a fellow believer has a real need and you say to them, 'Have a nice day. I hope you find clothes and food. Take care.' And you do nothing to help their basic human needs. It is useless to say."

While saying something may surely bless them, and this not entirely wrong, of course... doing something to help them is another.

**Think about your own life. Who are real people in your life who have real needs? Think of people at school, on a sports team with you, in your church, or at work.

As a believer, your belief should lead to an action. Why? because you model your Savior. 

Here are some examples of what Jesus said (left column).. Can you match it with what He did (right column)?

What Jesus said	What Jesus did
Matthew 5:6-7	Luke 23:34
Matthew 5:43-44	Matthew 14:23
Luke 4:18-21	John 9:1-7
Luke 5:31-32	Luke 19:1-10

Jesus Christ, our Savior, showed a great example when He himself spoke the words and did them. As a follower of Christ, we should do/be the same. 

James summed up his analogy by making a bold statement,

^{James 2:17} In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 

Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense? 

- The Message

The point? Faith without actions is useless. James wasn't saying that actions matter more than faith, but rather he was warning his readers (and us) that true belief in Jesus means that our lives should be marked by a demonstration of surrendering to His command to help others in need.

"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... We cannot earn our salvation by serving and obeying God. But such actions show that our commitment to God is real. Works of loving service are not substitute for, but rather a verification of our faith in Christ." - Life Application Study Bible

"There is nothing more dangerous than the repeated experiencing of  a fine emotion with no attempts to put it into action. It is a fact that everytime we feel a generous impulse without taking action, we become less likely ever to take action. In a sense, it is true to say that we have no right to feel sympathy unless we at least attempt to put that sympathy into action." --William Barclay, The Letters of James and Peter'

**Which statements stick out to you the most?

**What is God prompting you to do?

**What steps will you take to respond to God's prompting today?

"WHAT YOU DO 

SPEAKS SO LOUD 

that I cannot hear 

what you say."

- RALPH WALDO EMERSON

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.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

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.

_

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.