What good
is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it
by your actions? Can that kind of faith
save anyone? Suppose
you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye
and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that
person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and
useless. Now someone may argue, “Some
people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if
you don’t have good deeds? I will show
you my faith by my good deeds.” You say
you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble
in terror. How
foolish! Can’t you see that faith
without good deeds is useless? Don’t you
remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his
actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, his faith and his
actions worked together. His actions
made his faith complete. And
so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as
righteous because of his faith.” He was
even called the friend of God. So
you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone. Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her
actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different
road. Just as
the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works. James 2:14-26(NLT)
Mirages
are an interesting phenomenon. They
don’t just occur in the mind of a thirsty wanderer. Science tells us mirages have to do with a
dense layer of hot air rising from ground surface, reflecting the image of
distant objects.
The
problem with a mirage is that it disappears when you come up close to examine
it. A mirage isn’t real, it is only a
reflection; it isn’t the genuine article.
There is no fountain of gushing, cool spring water for the thirsty
traveler. There is only more heat,
frustration and despair.
Imagine
yourself walking in the desert wasteland.
The canteen is empty, hope is about gone, when, suddenly on the horizon,
you see the golden arches.
Visions of chocolate milkshakes surrounded by ice cold cokes and a meal
fit for a fast-food king. You sprint to
the counter (in your vision there's no line).
But, as you approach the counter, alas, it vanishes from sight. There are no cool cokes, milkshakes, or even
a drop of cool water; it was only a mirage.
How disappointing - How empty!
Just like
mirages offer empty hope to a desperate traveler, there is a faith
that never delivers. It’s
the self-deceptive “faith” James warned us about in the first chapter:
But don’t
just listen to God’s word. You must do
what it says. Otherwise, you are only
fooling yourselves. James 1:22(NLT)
The
deception of a mirage-type faith is perhaps the saddest story of all. So close to the real thing (like the traveler
seeing a wonderful oasis, and immediately thinking he has been rescued), yet as
far as forever from real, genuine satisfaction.
What makes
the difference between mirage faith and real faith? Is it possible to tell if your faith is
genuine? Can you really know?
The answer
is decidedly YES, and James gives us the measuring stick; the answer
is determined in how your life changes…or doesn’t. Here’s the key:
GENUINE FAITH REVEALS ITSELF IN DEEDS OF LOVE
And the
opposite is also true; mirage faith reveals itself in the absence of loving
deeds. In place of action there are only
excuses why such service can’t be done, or why others don’t deserve what you
could do, if they behaved better.
There are
many good translations of verse 14. Mine
would be:
What is
the use of declaring your faith to the world if your actions don't
correspond? Is that the kind of faith
that saves?
James
contends that true Christianity is seen in the person that is willing
to be involved in the things of Christ ON CHRIST'S TERMS! "Mirage faith", on the other hand,
only becomes involved to the degree that is comfortable. And it disappears when the rubber meets the
road.
The old
expression is so true about the first three principles of selling real estate
being: location, location, and location (in that order)! For a genuine faith, the first three
principles are involvement, involvement, involvement - involvement with Christ
daily, involvement with His church daily, involvement with His world, sharing
His love.
We are
converted to Christlikeness according to James.
That part (v.15,16) about feeding and clothing those who are
needy…Jesus did that; He spent His life serving, giving and telling. On a desert hillside Jesus fed thousands with
a few sardines and pieces of bread. That
was no mirage, it was an act of genuine faith.
He wrapped a towel around his waist and washed 12 sets of filthy
feet. That was no mirage, it was demonstration
of faith in the principles of servanthood.
On a hill outside Jerusalem He died an agonizing death.
It was
more than just being an example...Jesus became the gospel, living it
out in faith, defining the meaning of love.
It was the ultimate expression of receiving the Father's word and
submitting to His will in deed.
Genuine
faith reveals itself in deeds of love.
What could it possibly mean to ACCEPT Christ, if not to accept His
lordship over your life; to accept His choosing of your life's work? Genuine faith reveals itself in deeds of
love. And then there is this…
YOU CAN FIND ETERNAL LIFE IN THE KIND OF FAITH THAT REVEALS ITSELF IN
LOVING DEEDS.
Listen to
what James says at the end of this section:
If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are
fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. James 1:26(NLT)
James here
uses the negative to illustrate the positive.
He tells us a very simple but accurate fact: a body without spirit is dead...and
therefore, so is our faith without works.
That basic fact teaches the opposite also: When the body has a spirit it is alive.
When your faith
is not a mirage there are loving deeds of prayer, presence, gifts, worship, and
service sprouting out of that faith all the time; your faith is alive and
pulsating. It is like the budding limbs
on a young tree; sprouts on the limbs don't cause the tree to
be alive, they simply announce the reality that there is life.
A friend
of mine owned some orange groves in McIntosh, Florida where I served a little
Baptist church. He was dying, and his
family had set him up in the living room in a hospital bed. There was a huge window that overlooked his
life's investment in growing oranges.
After the freeze in December of '83, he told me that the only trees that
would survive were the ones that were producing fruit. The rest would have to be plowed under. But what tree will be alive, and never put
forth leaves, or fruit? If it is truly
alive, it must!
Yet it is
true that there are many folks today who are content never to be involved in
putting their faith to the test. James
says this is foolish:
So you
see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless
it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.”
But I say, “How can you show me your
faith if you don’t have good deeds? I
will show you my faith by my good deeds.” You say you have
faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble
in terror. How
foolish! Can’t you see that faith
without good deeds is useless? James
2:17-20(NLT)
Simply
saying you are a Christian and associating yourself with a church does not mean
you have genuine faith.
Jesus told a parable about seed that was scattered. True, some of the seed grew and took hold in
good soil. But there was some (much)
that only sent down a shallow root, and when the shoot came up it quickly
withered and passed from the scene.
You see
that played out many times over in churches across the nation today. A person makes a profession of faith...but
it is only a mirage. They never bother
to send down deep roots, joining in the Bible Study program of Sunday School
regularly, or worshiping often. There is
no regular, Biblical giving or serving.
If called upon to pray they wouldn’t have a clue how to begin. They starve that little seed to death, and
the possibility of genuine faith becomes just another statistic of back-door
syndrome.
It takes a
mature tree to bring worthwhile fruit.
You cannot expect a seedling to bear crops; but seedlings that won't
grow aren't worth the effort to water, feed and weed.
The point
is not vague here. James is telling us
that unless we are willing to grow in Christ, allowing the faith to become
works, we are the false professors. Like
an orange tree that won’t produce fruit is bound to be plowed-under to make way
for a new planting, our so-called faith without the
fruit of the spirit, is empty, dead, without hope!
You may be
a long-time church member or have never joined a church; frankly, church
membership is not at question here. I
met a person many years ago who was reportedly a member of the church I was
serving at the time. He hadn’t worshipped
there in many years. He told me his
philosophy was to do as much good to as many people as he could...and even
though that didn't include going to church, he and the ol' Master had
a real good understanding about it. Now
those are almost pious, Wesley-sounding words from a church member…except for
the fact that they’re a lie, and they smell like smoke, right out of the pit of
hell. More like a smoke screen for the
reality of wanting to be free enough to answer the "call of the Beach,
fishing hole, or golf course on Sundays.
God has no such understanding of a Christian that ignores the first
three principles of a disciple’s faith:
involvement, involvement, involvement!
All else is a mirage.
There is a
balance between "faith and works" that will make a true believer want
to be close to his Lord in worship.
The
rituals you went through to join a church identified you with a local body of
people; and that is good. I recommend
it! But it is the deeds of love, born of
an alive faith that identifies you with Jesus and the Father. It tells the others if His Holy Spirit is
within you.
And
so…back to the main question: How can I know I have a genuine faith, not a
mirage? How can I
be sure? Look at the examples James
gives:
· Abraham was justified...(that
means God accepted him) based on his faithfulness. God asked Abraham to burn the bridge behind
him, leave his home and follow God out to the wilderness. Abraham said Alright, I'll go. That was faith. But so was the loading of the camels, the
endless ridicule he endured that was works.
I can picture the scene: Abraham
and Sarah packing up the family stuff, and the neighborhood wag leaning over the
fence; Hey, Abe...Don't you know there's snakes out there in that sand? I know another fool that went out there
without a map. He never came back. Abe, maybe you'd better reconsider this. But he went.
Faith that came alive in deeds.
· Rahab the prostitute burned
her bridges behind her. When the
children of Israel were marching her way, she made the decision to throw in
with God's people, and she helped the spies Joshua sent out. Think of the scene inside the walls of
Jericho that night. Sister Rahab, are you nuts,
girl? Here we are inside the most
fortified city in Canaan. Those silly
Jews don't know how to fight, all they can do is walk around the outside. You'd better reconsider this; the city
fathers aren't going to like it when they hear you've been helping those spies.
But Rahab hung in there, and those silly Jews kept on
marching seven days around the walls of Jericho. And then 7 times on the 7th day....and the
walls came down. The faith of Rahab, a
common streetwalker, is chronicled in her genealogy in Matthew's gospel.[2] Rahab's grandson was named Jesse who had a
son named David…King David. And out of
the lineage of David was born a king in a manger…his name was Emmanuel, God
with us; we call him Jesus. Rahab had
faith. She put it all on the line in
deeds.
How can
you know for sure that your faith is alive?
Throw yourself wholeheartedly into deeds of loving service to
others. I guarantee you will know inside
of a month what is genuine and what is mirage.
Where do
you start? Begin with forgiving your neighbors,
and fellow church members. Start to give
OF yourself, instead of
concentrating ON your own
needs. That is the model Jesus gave
us. Depend on the Father to supply what
needs to be given.... don’t concentrate on what you don't have to give. But, most of all...Do Start!
Near the
end of the Civil War, a northern general wrote to Lincoln, I believe if the battle is
pressed now we will have the surrender of Lee within a month. He had received orders to back off, and had
voiced his opinion for going full steam ahead.
President Lincoln simply wrote back:
Then let the thing be pressed! It was a final turning point.
How can
you know for certain that your faith is genuine, and not a deceiving
mirage? Let the thing be pressed. Get yourself involved in loving service
others. JOIN IN...GET BUSY. A true conversion in faith will take over
your life, your family, your pocketbook, and you'll never feel so alive!
· Are you alive?
Or does the world seem dead-end with only struggle in sight?
· Do you find no joy other than gratifying your desires,
collecting toys and trophies?
· Do you ever have questions about the strength of your
commitment to Christ?
I invite
you today to make a commitment in your heart to the Author of faith, Jesus
Christ.
In this church
we offer you an opportunity to press the thing, to make an
outward sign of your inward commitment.
That's where the loving deeds of faith begin.
Come in
this invitation time to offer yourself as His SERVANT. If you're ready, we are ready to have you.....
gladly.
And I can
guarantee, on the promise of God's Word that if your faith is genuine in
coming, it will not be a mirage, it will set you firmly in the pathway of the
Carpenter from Galilee, where you’ll learn to practice genuine faith of loving
deeds, pleasing to our Father in heaven.
In the
name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, let the church say “Amen”!
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