We shall now turn to this chapter, which we read together, the Epistle of James, the second chapter, and our text for tonight is verse 24. James chapter two and verse 24. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. By works a man is justified and not by faith only. So we notice here that James is speaking about being justified by works. And Paul teaches us that we are justified by faith. Is there a conflict between the two? Many believe that there is. Luther described this epistle of James as an epistle of straw, not of great value. How are we to understand this? Can there possibly be a Conflict between Paul and James? Well, of course not, because the Bible is God's Word. All scripture is given by inspiration of God. And that word inspiration is the word Theopneustos. Theos, God. Pneustos, breathed. All scripture is God-breathed. From the first verse in Genesis to the last verse in Revelation. Yes, there are human authors, but it's also got a divine author. And God is so much involved in authoring scripture that it can all be called God's word. It's breathed out by God and God will never contradict himself. Thy word is truth. The scriptures cannot be broken. So then, How can there be justification by faith and justification by works? Both must be true, strange and yet true. So tonight what I'd like us to do is first to consider justification by faith and then to look at justification by works. What is justification? Our catechism reminds us, doesn't it? Justification is an act of God. It's not a work like sanctification going on for years. It's an act. It happens in a moment. It's an act of God's grace. It's not something we merit or deserve or earn in any way. It's something God freely bestows upon us, an act of God's grace, wherein he pardons all our sins, all our sins, past sins, present sins, yes, and future sins. It's important to remember that. The moment we are justified, all our sins are pardoned. The sins of yesterday, the sins of today, but also the sins of tomorrow. Whatever backslidings, whatever blasphemies, whatever lusts, whatever filthy actions, criminal actions, whatever we do in the future, It's all pardoned the moment we are justified. And that's an amazing truth. Where any pardon of all our sins. and accepteth us as righteous in his sight. Not only are all our sins washed away, all forgiven, but we ourselves are accepted as righteous before God. Righteous in God's presence because we have the righteousness of Christ imputed to us. His righteousness is bestowed on us and our sins are placed upon him. He takes our filthy rags of self-righteousness for which we stand condemned. Our best deeds are filthy. He takes our rags and he gives us the perfect robe. of his complete righteousness. He never sinned. He is the righteous one. And he gives that righteous one status to you and me. We receive it by faith. It is imputed to us by God. And the moment we believe, we are accepted as righteous in his sight. We are justified by faith. Faith is the instrument of justification. The instrument, but not the ground. The ground of our justification is the work of Christ. That's the foundation of it. The atoning work of Christ, his reconciliation. Faith is the instrument. By faith, we receive Christ and Him crucified. We receive the redemption He accomplished for us by faith. Faith is the empty hand stretched out to God that receives His salvation. But that salvation is based upon the finished work of Christ. So we are justified because Jesus suffered out hell in our place, was our substitute and died for our sins, and on the third day rose again. He cried, it is finished. And we, by faith, trust in the finished work of Christ. And so that work of Christ becomes ours. taking away our sins and rendering us righteous on our right standing with God. We're justified by faith alone. But the Roman Catholics say the word alone doesn't appear in the Bible. So how can we say we're justified by faith alone? because that is taught in the Bible. Although the exact word alone is not to be found in the Bible, yet in many places this is taught. For example, in Romans 3 verse 28, therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law, without good works, without keeping of commandments. without merit on our part. So there you have it, isn't it? If it's without the deeds of the law, it's faith alone. So faith alone is clearly taught in the scriptures. Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Faith alone. But when, when are we justified? Some people say that we're justified in eternity, before we're born. But no, there's a plan to justify us. It's God's purpose to justify us. And there's a sense, too, in which we could say we are justified by the resurrection of Christ, who died for our offenses and rose again for our justification. So when he rose from the dead, yes, he purged our sins, and then he ascended up on high. But actual justification can only occur when you and I believe. Because think of Romans 5, verse 1. Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. So faith is to be operated by us. God doesn't believe for us. You believe, but you believe when God enables you to believe. You believe when you're born again. And faith is the gift of God. And you are justified the moment you believe. being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And before we're justified, Ephesians 2 says, we're children of wrath, even as others. Just like the unconverted, we are under the wrath and curse of God, alienated and enemies in our minds by wicked works. You have the quickened though. You have the regenerated. And the moment you're regenerated, you believe in Jesus. And the moment you believe in Jesus, you're justified and all your sins are pardoned and you are set on a right standing with God. So we're justified when we believe. Justification is an act of God, a judicial act. It's not something that happens inside us. In a sense, it's something that happens on the throne in heaven. In that sense, God declares us justified. It's the act of a judge. A judge condemns. or justifies. God justifies. He declares us, judicially, to be right with Him. And because justification is an act, and a once for all act, you can never be more justified than you are today, child of God. You want to be more justified? when you're in heaven and you're perfect. Because your justification does not depend upon your life, but upon the life of Christ, the holiness of Christ, his obedience to the whole law of God. To do thy will I take delight, O thou my God that art. who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, took upon himself the form of a servant, a slave, and was obedient unto death. And that obedience is reckoned to us, so that we are justified, perfectly justified, the moment we believe. So that we have there then justification by faith alone. But James here in the second place is talking about justification by works. You see then how that by works a man is justified and not by faith only. And this troubles many people. They find it confusing. Paul talking about justification by faith alone, James talking about justification by works also. But what we must do is look at the context because Paul's talking about one thing and James is talking about another. So look at verse 14. "'What of the prophet, my brethren?' Though a man say he have faith and have not works, can faith save him? A man says he has faith and there's no good works there. There's a problem, isn't there? There's faith there, but it's a useless faith. It's an empty faith. It's a faith that doesn't affect his life. It hasn't saved him. He hasn't been transformed or changed. You see, the problem that James is dealing with is the problem of antinomianism, against the law, not keeping God's law and God's commandments. The sort of thing, I remember a man saying it to me many years ago, A man in Stornow is saying this to me. Well, I went forward at a crusade. I became a Christian. Once saved, always saved. And there he was living in sin, thinking he was saved. How foolish, how wrong. His faith was an empty faith. It was a faith that didn't affect his life. He was an antinomian. He thought, you can become a Christian, and once you're a Christian, you'll always be a Christian, so you can live the way you like, and you can sin as much as you like, and all your sins are forgiven, and you get to heaven at the end of the day. Well, that's what James is against, and that is something that we should all be against. It's an error, it's wrong. Error is never very far away. Paul was dealing with a different kind of error. He was dealing with legalism, those who felt that they had to do something to earn God's favor, who were trying to merit salvation, adding to the work of Christ by their own good works and their keeping of the Sabbath day and the keeping of the commandments and performing various rituals. And of course, you get the same thing right to the present day. There are those who are legalists, and they think that somehow or other they can make themselves good enough to be saved, that they can earn God's favor with their works or bring themselves into the way so that the Lord will look more favorably upon them. That's not the case. You cannot prepare yourself for salvation You cannot make yourself good in the sight of God. It's not a matter of a long process, and at the end of this long process, God will have mercy upon you. It's not like that at all. You can only be saved as a poor sinner, a beggar. You must cry, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. I have no merit, no goodness. I deserve hell. Save me, O God. That's the only way. And whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. It's not a process. It's not something that you earn or merit. It's not a matter of turning over a good, a new leaf. It's not a matter of starting going to church and reading your Bible and so on. No, no, no. That's the works way. The way of salvation is simply believe in Jesus, repent of your sins, turn to Christ, cry to him for mercy. The Lord must save. You must look to him to save you. So it's not a works. Now, the Apostle Paul was dealing with these legalists, these Pharisees who are laying so much stress upon the law. And he says, we're justified by faith alone, in Christ alone. But James is dealing with those libertines, those people who thought you can be a Christian and carry on and sin. That's what we have here. You notice in... In verse 15, if a brother or a sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say to them, depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled, notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body, what doth it profit? So there's a fellow Christian, and they're hungry. They've got no, very few clothes, and they're cold. And you say to them, go in peace, be clothed, and filled, but you don't give them anything. What good does it do them? They're still hungry and they're still cold. Words will not do. It needs action. You must give them what they need. You must show your love towards them. And then verse 17, even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Faith is dead. If it stays alone, it's useless. Faith has to express itself and works. As Paul puts it in Galatians, it's got to be a faith that worketh by love. So if your faith doesn't express itself in love to the brethren, it's not real faith. Just pretend faith. It's empty. It's useless. We know that we have passed from death unto life because We love the brethren. And if we don't love the brethren, we've not passed from death unto life. And if we say we love the brethren and there's one of the brethren there suffering and we don't help them, that's just mocking them. You say to them, be clothed and filled, but you don't give them what they need. That's no love. That's no use. Faith without works is dead. It's empty, it's useless, because faith saves. Saving faith saves. It saves from sin, not in sin or to sin. Faith saves from sin. Faith changes the sinner. And the sinner who is born again by God is transformed from being a sinner into being a saint. And every Christian is a saint. We were sinners, now we're saints. Saint isn't a special Christian. A saint is a sanctified person and every person who believes in Jesus savingly is sanctified. A huge jump in sanctification takes place the moment you're converted. And then, from then on, progressive sanctification takes place all our lives until we die. And then the souls of believers are made perfect in holiness. and do immediately pass into glory. When we die, we take another great leap in sanctification. And then, and only then, do we reach perfection. Even so, faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. So verse 18, Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works. Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. You say you have faith, but you're living like the world, living like the ungodly. There's something wrong there. You have faith but no works. It won't do. It's not real. It's just a pretense. Faith that is real expresses itself in a transformed life. I will show you my faith by my works. Our works, our lives, show that our faith is real. Saving faith saves, changes, and transforms. So, verse 19, Thou believest that there is one God. Thou doest well. The devils believe and tremble. The Greeks, they believed in many gods. So did the Romans. You believe in one God. Very good. So far so good. But so do the devils. So how is your faith any better than the faith of devils? Has it produced any fruit in your life? Have you been changed? Have you been converted? Have you been changed into being a saint? Are you living a godly life? If not, you've got no right to claim you're a Christian. Saving faith transforms. You believe that there's one God, so do the devils. Some people think faith is just a matter of believing the facts of the Bible. You believe that Jesus is God. You believe that Jesus died for your sins or sins on the cross. You believe that Jesus rose again. You'd believe the facts of the Bible, historical faith. But if that's all you have, it's abstract, it's empty, it's dead. The devils do that. Devils believe everything that's in the Bible. And if that's all you've got, you've only got the faith of devils. Are you any better than the devils? You see, there's two kinds of faith. There's an intellectual faith, and there's saving faith. There's a faith that believes the facts, and that's all. And there's a faith that believes the facts and trusts in the Christ. and commits yourself to Christ and receives Christ and is saved by Christ. There's a faith that receives Christ into your heart and takes him as your Savior and your Lord. Some people think you can take Christ as Savior and not as Lord or Master. But you can't. If you take Christ, you've got to take the whole Christ. You've got to take Christ as your prophet to teach you, your priest to intercede for you, your king to rule you, to lead you, to guide you. You've got to take Christ as your savior and take him as your master, your Lord. That's saving faith. And when you take Christ as your Lord and Master, you become a new person. Before, you were the Master. Now, like Paul on the road to Damascus, Lord, what will thou have me to do? Now your life is a matter of, Lord, I'm yours. How do you want me to live? Show me your commandments. Show me thy ways, O Lord, thy paths, O teach thou me. And do thou lead me in thy truth, therein my teacher be. Guide me, lead me, show me, help me. Now I'm yours. Now, Lord, I give my heart to you. I give my life to you. You're my king. You're my master. You're my savior and my God. That's living faith, saving faith. It's a faith that's not alone. It's a faith that shows itself in a new life. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Are you a new creature? Old things have passed away. Behold, all things are made new. Transformed, born again. What does it mean to be born again? It's not some mere outward decision. It's to be a new creation in Christ Jesus. To live a new life. To be converted. and transformed from being a sinner into being a saint. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Faith that doesn't show in a changed life is useless and dead. And then we're given the example of Abraham, verse 21. Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him for righteousness, and he was called the friend of God. When was Abraham converted? Was it when he offered up Isaac? No. He was converted long before that. And then in Genesis chapter 15, we're told that God took Abram out and showed him the stars of the sky, and he said, can you number the stars? So shall thy seed be. You're gonna have a son. Through that son will come the Messiah. and were told Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. So he was converted. But was he just converted in Genesis 15? No, he was converted in Genesis chapter 12. because there he was an Earl of the Chaldees. And God said to him, get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred and from thy father's house unto a land that I will show thee. And I will be a God to you and to your seed after you. That was the call of God. And it came as an effectual call to Abraham. And Abraham believed. He trusted God, and he went out not knowing where he went, and God led him to the land of Canaan and gave him the promised land. Abraham followed God. He gave heed to the call, the effectual call, and giving heed to that effectual call, he responded to it in faith and repentance, leaving behind the idols that he had worshiped beyond the flood in Mesopotamia. He left behind the false gods that he and his fathers worshipped. And he followed God to the land of promise. He became a stranger and a pilgrim. And every Christian is a stranger and a pilgrim in this world. You don't belong here. You belong to heaven. So why does it say here that Abraham was justified by works when he offered up Isaac? Well, what was God doing when God told him to offer up Isaac? God was challenging his faith, testing the reality of his faith. God said to him, you believe in me? You believe that through the son Isaac, the Messiah is going to come? Well then, take Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice to me. And Abraham obeyed. And only at the point at which he had lifted up the knife did God stop him. He believed that God was able to raise up Isaac from the dead, which he did in a figure, because the Isaac of the New Testament was raised from the dead. The wonder of it, was not Abraham our father justified by works? Now I see that you believe in me, God said to Abraham. Yes, he was demonstrating the reality of his faith and the reality of his justification by obeying every word of God, as God said. Abraham, our father, was justified by works. He was showing that he was justified. His works were proving his justification when he offered up Isaac on the cross. So his faith wrought with his works, his faith showed itself in works, expressed itself through works, and by works was faith made perfect. And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness, and he became a friend of God. Remember what Jesus said, greater loveth no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if, if you do whatsoever I command you. You are my friends if you obey me. Abraham obeyed God and he was called a friend of God. You and I as Christians are called upon to obey God. And by our obedience we show that our faith is real, and so by our works. We are justified. We show that we are justified. Our works prove our justification. So you see that by works a man is justified and not by faith only. Or take the example of Rahab. Was not Rahab the harlot justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? Think of Rehab. There she was in Jericho, and she was hearing about the God of Israel and what he was doing. And she believed in the God of Israel. And she decided to trust the God of Israel. And so when the spies came to her, she trusted. And her trust found expression in her hiding the spies and then letting them escape. And so Rahab the harlot was justified by works. Her works showed her justification. It wasn't bare faith that she had, empty faith. It was a faith that showed itself in a new life. For as the body without the spirit is dead, So faith without works is dead also. Many of you here will have seen a dead body. There's such a difference between a dead body and a living body. You see your loved one there, maybe they're coughing and spluttering and struggling to breathe, but there's life. And then they die. and there's no life. It's just a corpse. The soul is gone. The body without the spirit is dead. So faith without works is dead also. So then, in conclusion, how are Paul and James reconciled? They're talking about two different things. Paul is talking about our initial justification. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. moment you believe you're saved and it's not of works that you've done before you believed or works you'll do after you believe, the moment you believe you are justified and you are saved and there's no room for the law. Christ kept the law for us and Christ's righteousness is imputed to us and received by faith alone. He died for our sins and so our sins are washed away. But James, James is arguing against the Libertines and the Nicolaitans and the Antinomians who are around who are saying, believe in Jesus, your sins are forgiven and you can live the way you like. You can live in lust and adultery and immorality. Sin boldly. Well, Luther once said that and it was a very dangerous thing that he said. Sin boldly. Sin without bothering too much about it. Well, that's a very dangerous thing to say. We must always bother about sin and must always grieve us and must always cause us godly sorrow which worketh repentance not to be repented of. Saving faith saves. And so our justification is shown in our life. And our life of holiness proves that you are saved. Be ye holy, for I am holy. Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord. Beware of backsliding and justifying yourself as you cling on to your sins and are careless in your life. Because if you're backsliding, whatever Christian experience you think you had, you have no right whatsoever to assurance of your salvation. Assurance belongs to those who repent of their sins and who keep on repenting of their sins. Assurance belongs to those whose faith expresses itself in works. That's what Jesus said, wasn't it? By their fruits he shall know them. Good fruit shows a good tree. He warned us, not everyone who says Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven. I fear that there are many people in our own day, in all our churches, who think they're on the road to heaven. and they're actually on the road to hell. They've never truly been converted, never really been born again. Not everyone who says, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many shall say unto me in that day, In thy name have we cast out devils, and in thy name have we done many wonderful works. And I shall say to them, depart from me, I never knew you, ye workers of iniquity. So it's not everyone who has answers to prayer and wonderful things in their lives that will get to heaven. No. We must live humble, godly, devout Christian lives. We must have a faith which worketh by love. We must have a devotion to the Lord and a hatred for sin, an unease at any sin in our lives. And it's that hatred for sin and repentance of it that proves that our faith is real. And so we are justified by our works. We are shown to be justified by this new life. So there's a challenge here for us, isn't there? A challenge for you, a challenge for me. Are we living as Christians? Real Christians? Or are we just pretend Christians? And a challenge too for those of you who make no claim to be Christians. Because you too are dead and on the way to hell and you too need to repent. Repentance is a saving grace. a saving grace which we must be exercising every day of our lives, every day repenting, and every day believing afresh. And so, being a Christian is being in a living, loving relationship with God. Let's pray. O Lord our God, we thank Thee that we have the Bible, and we thank Thee for the warnings of the Bible, the warnings against legalism, and the warnings against antinomianism. We thank Thee that Thou has given us a law, but that we're not saved by keeping the law. We thank Thee that we have been given a gospel, and that Christ kept the law for us. And we thank thee that having been Christians, being converted, we have a law to guide us and to direct us. And by the keeping of which we show that we have been saved, so help us to live godly lives and pardon us all our sins. For Jesus' sake, amen.