Well, good morning, everybody. Is anybody confused? Has anybody read that passage in James and read Romans chapter 4 and thought to themselves, something's going wrong here? This is one of the most difficult and perhaps most controversial passages in scripture. In verses 23 and 24 we heard James write, the scripture was fulfilled that says Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. In Romans chapter 4 verses 2 to 5 Paul writes, For if Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift, but as his due. And to the one who does not work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness. The reformers insisted that we are justified by faith alone. Were they wrong? James states clearly that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. So what's going on? When you come to reading the Bible, number one rule is context is everything. Every passage of scripture needs to be read in the context of its chapter, the context of the book that it's in, in the context of the rest of scripture. And if we're going to work out what's being said here, we need to make sure that we're reading James' words very carefully in the context of his argument. James starts with a question. What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? It's a rhetorical question. And when you hear that question, you all instinctively know the answer that you're supposed to give, even if you don't know why. The answer is clearly, it's no good at all. But what about what Paul said? Maybe it is good. The next question makes the answer obvious. Another rhetorical question, can that faith save him? Another rhetorical question with the same required answer, no. Even if we don't know why the answer is no, we instinctively know that that should be the answer. Now the first thing that we need to observe here is that James has stated very clearly that faith saves. Can you see that? He's asking a question. Can that faith save? He never says that works saves. He will say, as we've just seen, that works justify, but he never says that works save. And perhaps here we can have the first problem pointed out to us. We have had it beaten into our heads that justification equals salvation. But those two words are not synonyms. Get a thesaurus. Have a look. Look up the word justification, I guarantee you will not find the word salvation in the list. Then look up the word salvation, I guarantee you will not find the word justification in the list of synonyms. The second thing that we need to observe is that in James' second question there is a clear implication that there is more than one kind of faith. Can that faith save? There is a faith that saves. There is implied another faith that does not save. Faith saves, but what kind of faith? Now it's important to note that in James' letter, faith is not the only thing that saves. We have already seen in chapter 1 verse 21 that it is the implanted word which saves your soul. We will see in chapter 4, verse 12, that it is the lawgiver and the judge who saves. In chapter 5, verse 15, we will be told that the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick. And in 520, that the one who brings a sinner back from his wandering will save his soul from death. Every time that James uses the word save, it is clearly in the context of the action of grace. Now having started with these two rhetorical questions, James then gives us an image to help us answer the question in case we're not sure of the answer. If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food and one of you says to them, go in peace, be warmed and filled without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? The point of the parallel here is not really about shaming wealthy Christians into being more generous to the poor in their churches. It possibly will have that effect, but that's not the goal. This isn't a social justice thing, by the way. Notice, for one thing, that it's talking about brothers and sisters, fellow Christians. The words that James is saying here should be reminding us of what Jesus taught his disciples. By this will all people know that you're my disciples, that you love one another. Sorry? The Lord's Prayer as well? Give us today our daily bread. One of the ways in which God answers the prayer in the Lord's Prayer, give us today our daily bread, is through the family of believers that he's given to us. Social justice is not a biblical concept. It really isn't. The biblical concept is love. They're not the same thing. Now, what I said is that this isn't really about trying to shame wealthy Christians into being more generous to the poor. There's a certain absurdity in these words, a kind of hyperbolic exaggeration that's a little bit like some of the parables that Jesus used to tell. Who would actually say that to somebody? A brother or sister in the church that's cold and hungry and we just walk up to them and say, be peace, be warmed and filled. It's deliberately absurd. That's not what we would do. What we would do if we don't want to respond is just avoid them. Make sure we're not in that home group. so that we can turn a blind eye to the needs of others and not feel guilty about the fact that they're having trouble clothing their children while I'm saving up for a holiday to Europe. but nobody would actually say this. It reminds me of what Jesus says in Matthew 7. Why do you see the speck that's in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that's in your own eye? I love that image, it's so ridiculous. You've got a tree hanging out of your head, and you walk up to a friend and say, brother, let me get the speck out for you. Or it's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. It's deliberate hyperbolic exaggeration. You might have heard an explanation of those words that the eye of a needle was a small gateway in the side of a wall. Apparently those gates didn't exist and weren't called that until the Middle Ages. Jesus is literally talking about a needle. It is possible to pass a camel through the eye of a needle, but I promise it's not going to look like a camel by the end of it. deliberately absurd. Nobody would do this. We know straight away that nobody would do this. If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and we just say, go in peace, be warmed and filled, James is effectively saying, what good is it, my brothers, if somebody says to their neighbour, I love you, and fails to act on it? So can you see the parallel? You notice that it's the same phrase. What if you say, go in peace, be warmed and filled without giving them the things needed for the body? What good is that? That's the same phrase he started with. What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? What good is it if you claim to love your brother and sister and don't act on it? The answer is obvious, it's no good at all. What kind of love would do that? A false love. A love that is no more than words. What kind of faith doesn't do works? A false faith, a dead faith, a faith that has no substance. If someone will say, you have faith and I have works, show me your faith apart from your works and I will show you my faith by my works. How do we show faith without works? Well, the same way that we show love without action, with our lips. The answer to this question, How do we show our faith by our works is not initially that we will look after the poor. In Luke chapter 18, there's a ruler comes up to Jesus and he asks him a really good question. Perhaps the most important question you could ever ask. Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus' response is an interesting one. Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. Jesus isn't denying his own goodness, but those words are really about sucking up, buttering Jesus up in the hope that perhaps he'll, well, recognise this man for just how good he is. You know the commandments, do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honour your father and mother. And the man said, I have kept these from my youth. What an extraordinary claim to be able to make. No one's good but God alone. Oh, I'm not bad. When Jesus heard this, he said, one thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you'll have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me. And when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. When Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said how difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of heaven, It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. And those who heard him said, who then can be saved? And he said, what is impossible with man is possible with God. The thing that we need to get from this little story is that the one thing this man lacked was not generosity to the poor. The one thing that he lacked was that he wasn't following Jesus. And the one thing that stood in his way was his wealth. Or perhaps I could say more accurately, the one thing that stood in his way was the faith that he had in his wealth. And because his faith was in his wealth, he could not afford to be generous. Do you remember back to Monday morning, we asked the question, why is it that if we ask for wisdom without faith, we'll not receive anything? The answer was simple, because if you don't trust God, you won't accept the wisdom that he gives you. You might come and ask without a genuine faith. And so even if he gives, you walk away empty handed. Or perhaps we should say empty headed. If you trust God, how would that trust demonstrate itself in practice? It really is so simple. If you trust God, you will do what he says. And what is it that Christ comes and tells us to do? By this will all people know that you're my disciples, that you love one another. And you commandment I give to you, love one another. What we've seen so far is exactly the same as what Paul teaches us in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels and have not love, I'm a noisy gong and a clanging cymbal. If I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I'm nothing. Now, just in case you're counting, that's the second time I've told you that James and Paul are in complete agreement. Do you remember how James starts with rejoicing in our trials because of what it produces? And we saw in Romans chapter five that Paul says we rejoice in our sufferings because of what it produces. It's a little hint. James and Paul agree with each other in everything. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Can you hear the sarcasm? Even the demons believe and shudder. In case you still haven't understood, there are two kinds of faith. Faith saves, faith alone. What kind of faith? We can believe things, doctrines, theologies. We can believe that God exists and that is not saving faith. We need to believe not things about God, we need to believe God. We need to trust him, know him, understand his character. We need to believe his word, which will be evident in our obedience to it. What is the beginning of wisdom? The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Can you feel the weight of what James is saying in these words? You believe that there is, that God is one, you do well, even the demons believe and shudder. The demons believe and they have fear. If you say that you believe in God and don't know what it is to fear the Lord, the demons are closer to having a saving faith than you. Wow. Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Foolish. What's the significance of this word? Well, we've been talking a lot about wisdom, haven't we? As far as I can tell, there are three words in the New Testament that we translate as foolish. And this word literally means empty. It's used in a number of places. For example, in Luke chapter one, verses 52 to 53, Mary's song, the Magnificat. He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate. He has filled the hungry with good things and the rich he has sent away empty. That sounds a little bit like James chapter one, verses nine and 10. Let the lowly brother boast in his exultation and the rich in his humiliation because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. Boy, James learnt something from his mum. The word empty, to go away, the rich will be sent away empty. Some translations add the word handed. They're sent away empty-handed. Why has James chosen this word to convey the idea of foolishness? Well, remember where we started in James. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If we come to God recognizing that we lack wisdom and we ask for it without faith, a kind of faith, obviously, or we wouldn't go and ask at all, but not a trusting faith, a lip service faith, a dead faith, faith that is really no faith at all, then we go away empty handed. Empty headed. So Jane says, do you need me to prove it to you? All right. I will. Let's look at the story of Abraham. Now, before we do, I just want to make the point that it's pretty clear that James never read Romans. Or, alternatively, if James has written first, then Paul never read James before he wrote Romans. Because if they had, I'm sure they would have been very careful to avoid the confusion that's come up as a result of this. That's not to say that God isn't at work. But you know, when it comes to wisdom, you've got to chew it over sometimes. The biggest problem we have when we look at these two passages is that we just read it so lightly instead of thinking deeply and working it through. Two things that we need to understand so that we can see once again that Paul and James are in complete agreement. The first thing is this. I've already told you that there are two kinds of faith. Now I'm going to tell you that in the New Testament there are very clearly two kinds of works. There are works of the law, a phrase which Paul uses in both Galatians and Romans, but you won't find that phrase anywhere else. These works cannot make us right before God because we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. As James points out in 2.10 and 11, breaking the law at one point, which we all have, makes us guilty of breaking the whole law. A statement which, by the way, is identical in thought to that of Paul in Galatians chapter 5 verse 3. I say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obliged to keep the whole law. Paul and James in complete agreement. Once the law has been violated, no amount of subsequent obedience to it can undo the violation. So works of the law, and there are also good works. And it's a phrase that you'll find all through the New Testament. Good works don't make us right before God any more than works of the law. But nevertheless, there's an expectation that good works will be manifested in God's people. The writer of Hebrews makes the connection between good works and love explicitly in chapter 1024 when he writes, let us consider how to stir one another up to love and good works. Paul makes the distinction between the two types of works explicit in Ephesians 2, 8-10. where he writes, by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of work so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which he prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. In the context of James' letter, it's clear that he's speaking about good works or works of love, rather than works of the law. Although works of the law, ironically, make us law abiders and law fulfillers, because as both James and Paul teach us, love is the fulfillment of the law. Secondly, James is not using the word justified in the same way that Paul does. If you, like me, were brought up in a reformed evangelical church, then you probably had it drummed into you from the first day in Sunday school that justified means what? Just as if I'd never done it. It's actually incredibly unhelpful. The problem is that the word simply doesn't always mean that. The Greek word being translated here has legal overtones, just like our English word justified, which has the word just as its root. It can be used in a literal sense or in a metaphorical sense. If I said to you that the police were justified in asking for a pay rise, you would understand the word metaphorically. The police are not actually on trial. There is no question of guilt or innocence. We've created a metaphorical trial in our minds to decide whether their request is reasonable or not. Justified here means vindicated. In fact, in English, that's the way we almost always use the word justified. Well, guess what? In Greek, that's almost always the way they use justified. just as if I'd never done it makes no sense in a context like this. They absolutely have asked for a pay rise. The question is whether or not they're vindicated in their actions. Now this is the way I think about this word justified whenever I see it in the New Testament. Because it has these legal overtones and it's either being used literally or metaphorically, you need to ask yourself the question, who is on trial And what are they on trial for? In Romans chapters 1 to 3, humanity is on trial for its sin. It's therefore a matter of innocence or guilt. So Paul is using the word in a more literal sense. I'm not sure if it's been pointed out to you but in the appendix of your little notebooks there's a quote there from James Packer who talks about the usage of this word justified. And he makes the point that I've just made to you that most of the time this word justified isn't used in the technical legal sense that Paul uses it in Romans and Galatians. It's used metaphorically and it really means vindicated. Paul's claim in Romans 1-3 is that those who have faith in Jesus are declared free from guilt. So, just as if I'd never done it, by faith. And he uses the example of Abraham to prove his point. What shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather, according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about, but not before God. What does the scripture say? Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. Now look at James chapter 2 and ask the question, who is on trial? It's not humanity for its sin. It is Christians, brothers and sisters, on trial for the genuineness of their faith. Someone will say you have faith, I have works. Show me your faith apart from your works and I'll show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one? Good. Even the demons believe that and shudder. They're not on trial for their sin, that's not James' concern, but for the genuineness of their faith. Remember back in James chapter 1 verses 2 and 3, he begins his letter with the testing of our faith. How do you determine whether a person's faith is genuine or not? Part of the answer is you actually don't need to. God is the judge and he knows your heart even before he's tested you. But the testing will reveal whether the faith is genuine or not. How do you determine if a person's faith is genuine or not? It's really quite simple. I've said it before and you need to hear it again. If you truly trust God, you will do what he says. When it comes to the story of Abraham, Paul is asking the question, how was Abraham declared free from the guilt of sin before God? And his answer is, he believed God and God credited to him as righteousness. James asked the question, how do you know that Abraham's faith was genuine? And the answer is, Abraham, our father, was justified, vindicated by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar. So you know that Abraham's faith was real because he obeyed God's word. So James ends up supporting his thesis using exactly the same text as Paul does. You see that faith was active along with his works and faith was completed by his works and the scripture was fulfilled that says Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. He was called a friend of God. So you see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. Effectively, he's saying, you see that a person's faith is proven genuine by its fruit. We are saved by faith and by faith alone. What kind of faith? not an empty lip service faith, and have it very clear in your head, not by faith and works. We are saved by a faith that works. Abraham's faith was proven by his obedience to God's command to offer up Isaac on the altar. Talk about testing your faith. Have any of you ever faced a test like that? The story of Abraham is a brilliant one for demonstrating this point. In chapter 15, we're told that Abraham believed God and God credited it to him as righteousness. What kind of faith did Abraham have? Well, God knew his heart. If he declared him right at that moment, he knew it was the kind of faith that would obey his word. Having declared Abraham's righteousness, God then comes to Abraham in a vision. Abraham is told to collect some animals and cut them in half and lay the two parts of the animals kind of creating a pathway down the centre and he falls into a deep sleep and God appears in the form of a smoking pot and a burning torch and passes in between the pieces of the animals. God makes a covenant promise to Abraham that his descendants will outnumber the stars in the heavens. Do you understand the image or the significance of how the covenant is made? God himself passes between the animals and is effectively saying to Abram in that moment, Abram, I will fulfil my promise to you even if it costs me my own life. If I don't do what I have said, may I become like these animals. What does that mean when God says that? You don't find out until you get to the cross, when God dies, in order to fulfil the promise to Abraham. What an extraordinary sign, what an extraordinary covenant. Do you know what happens in the next chapter? Well Abraham believes and God credited to him his righteousness, but at this point he doesn't quite believe enough to let God just work it out in his own time. So his wife, Sarah, gives him her servant, Hagar, and she bears him a son called Ishmael. And you know how badly that story works out? Eventually, Hagar and Ishmael are driven away. Then in chapter 17, God comes back to Abram and changes his name to Abraham. Abram means exalted father. And Abraham means father of a multitude. In case you need reminding, Abraham, I've made my promise to you. God gave him an extraordinary sign in chapter 15 in the covenant. In chapter 17, he gives him a second sign, the sign of circumcision. Do you understand the sign in the context of the story? It's really quite funny. Abraham, I don't need that thing between your legs. In fact, I could cut it off and it wouldn't stop me from fulfilling my promise to you. You know, Noah was given a sign, a rainbow in the sky, and every time Noah looked up into the sky, he was reminded of God's covenant promise. Every Jewish male looks down and is reminded that it's not according to the flesh. It's by the word of God and faith in that word. In verse 22 it says, you see that faith was active along with his works and faith was completed by his works. I pointed out to you on Monday morning that word perfection. It's the same word that's being used here. Faith was brought to its fullness, the fullest expression of faith by his obedience. Abraham's faith matured to the point where when God said, take your son Isaac and kill him on an altar, He could act without questioning because he had heard God's promise to him that through Isaac I will make you the father of a nation. And now he knew without doubt that he could obey God's word because God was true to his word. It's interesting to see that I'm just going to take you to Jesus' words in Matthew chapter 7. Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? So every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a diseased tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. When the Reformers talked about this relationship between James and Paul, this is what they wrote in the Augsburg Confession. He who has faith and good works is righteous, not indeed on account of the works, but for Christ's sake through faith. And as a good tree should bring forth good fruit, and yet the fruit does not make the tree good, so good works must follow the new birth, although they do not make man accepted before God. but as the tree must first be good, so also must man be first accepted before God by faith for Christ's sake. The works are too insignificant to render God gracious to us for their sake, if he were not gracious to us for Christ's sake. Therefore, James does not contradict St. Paul and does not say that by our works we merit. Jesus says in Matthew 11, 19, wisdom is justified by her deeds. It's interesting that James and Jesus share the same vocabulary. Have you noticed here again the word justified can't possibly mean just as if I'd never done it. It just doesn't make any sense whatsoever. But wisdom is proven genuine by what it does. Here, in Jesus' words, we have the same words being used by James, wisdom, justification, and works, all together. In case you're still not convinced, I don't think James could, we get so bogged down by the story of Abraham, we hardly ever look at the story of Rahab. In the same way, was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the message and sent them out by another way? This little story about Rahab couldn't make it any clearer that we're not talking about works of the law. Back in chapter 2, verses 10 and 11, James wrote, whoever keeps the whole law but fails at one point has become guilty of it all, and then in the next verse twice he names adultery. And here he describes Rahab as a prostitute. In what sense was Rahab justified? Not in the sense that Paul's using the word justified in Romans and Galatians. James is saying that her faith was proven genuine because when she heard the news that Yahweh, the God of Israel, was destroying all of the cities around them, She believed and she acted in accordance, because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. I want to finish. by showing you how James has brought us full circle in his discussion about perfection. Again, I want to say this word perfection is one we have trouble hearing because I think we naturally hear perfect and we think sinless. The word can be translated as mature, fulfilled, finished, complete. And it's really the idea that humanity needs to become all that it was designed to be in the image of God, both in character and in purpose. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness, and let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. And then he says, if any of you lacks wisdom, Let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him. God responds to that prayer, the Father of Lights, who gives perfect gifts from above. It's the same word that's being used. Those perfect gifts are, well, number one, his own son, Jesus Christ. But in chapter one, verse 25, another, excuse me, another perfect gift is the gift of the perfect law. In the perfect law, we find the wisdom and the holiness that we seek in order to become perfect and complete. And then in chapter two, verse eight, James writes, if you really fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, you shall love your neighbour as yourself, you're doing well. And the word there, fulfil, is this same word. We perfect the royal law. We live it out in all of its fullness. And then what we heard in the story of Abraham that by the testing of his faith, where is it? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works and faith was perfected, brought to maturity to its fullest expression by his obedience to God's word. So James' conclusion is that genuine faith will always be active along with works, works of love. so that our faith is complete and perfect and mature as we learn to love one another according to Christ's commandment. James uses this word one more time in chapter 3 verse 2, which Andrew will take you through shortly. Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness, for we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, mature, Complete, all that God intended him to be. The only other letter in the New Testament that uses this perfection language as pervasively as James is Hebrews. And something really interesting is that the writer of Hebrews says something almost the opposite of what James has just said. About this we have much to say and it's hard to explain since you've become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you ought to be teachers. James is warning, don't be too keen to be a teacher. The writer of Hebrews' frustration is, nobody wants to be a teacher. James probably has the problem that there are too many people wanting to be teachers and possibly for the wrong reasons. But the writer of Hebrews, oh, nobody wants to teach. For this time, you ought to be teachers. You need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food. For everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness since he is a child. Solid food is for the mature. It's the same word, the perfect. For those who have their powers of discernment, trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. And what's another word you could use to describe distinguishing good from evil? wisdom. I'm going to finish with this. At the beginning of the week, I asked you on Monday morning, what is it that you feel you lack? And I followed that up with the question, what is it that you pray for most? In Luke chapter 21, Jesus is with his disciples amongst the buildings of the temple and he points out to them a poor widow who puts two small copper coins into the offering. And he says, truly I tell you, this poor woman has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on. How could she do that? Could you do that? The answer's quite simple. Because of her faith in God, she lacked nothing. So she was free to give all that she had. Let's pray. Gracious Heavenly Father, we ask again, give us wisdom. Make us perfect and complete, conform us to the image of your son. Help us to fix our eyes on him because we know that in him are hidden all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. and help us to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and the perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross and scorned its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Father, help us always to consider him who endured such opposition from sinners so that we will not grow weary and lose heart. Amen.