to James, the second chapter. We want to read together verses 14 through 26. James, Chapter 2, verses 14 through 26. What does it profit my brethren, though a man say he hath faith and have not works, can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be warmed and filled, notwithstanding you give them not those things which are needful to the body, what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 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. If thou believest that there is one God, thou doest well that devils also believe and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he had 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 unto him for righteousness. and he was called the friend of God. You see then how that by works a man is justified and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works when she had received the messengers and had sent them out another way. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. When I was a boy growing up, I lived on an old homestead that had a variety of fruit trees planted on it by the early pioneers. And we picked a lot of fruit off of those old trees, primarily apples. But there was one tree that had bark that looked like apple bark and leaves that looked like apple leaves, but unfortunately this tree never had any apples on it. Year after year we would visit it only to go away disappointed again and again. And we eventually had to come to the conclusion that though this tree looked like an apple tree and by its appearance would lead one to think it was an apple tree. In fact, it was no apple tree at all because it never bore any apples, never bore any fruit. It was an apple tree in name only, but not in fact. Well, there are many professing Christians that are just like that tree. They say they are Christians, they verbally express true doctrine, and they claim to believe that doctrine. They attend church, they read their Bibles, and they engage in prayer. And they appear to be true Christians by a mere outward observance of their situation. But when one looks at the fruit that should be displayed in the life of the true Christian, one winds up searching in vain. Year after year, the same barrenness of life is manifested. The same character defects remain. The same sins persist. The fruit of the spirit is notably absent. Growth does not occur. They are more concerned with the approval of those around them than they are with the approval of God. Well, what are we to think of such people? What are we to think of ourselves if we are like that? Well, James is concerned to answer those questions in this passage before us this evening. And in it, he comes to the very heart of what his letter is all about. And that is the demonstration of genuine faith. That is the theme of the book of James, demonstrating genuine faith. He is challenging us throughout this book with one simple question, and that is, are you demonstrating genuine faith? He opened the book by asking, are you demonstrating genuine faith in the way you react to trials? Do you react to them with joy? Are you demonstrating genuine faith in the way you respond to temptations? Do you endure them? Are you demonstrating genuine faith in the way in which you receive the word? You receive it with meekness. Are you demonstrating genuine faith in the way you have respect to persons? Do you discriminate biblically? And he now summarizes this whole issue of demonstrating genuine faith by setting before us a contrast between genuine faith and spurious or false faith. These two types of faith are set in contrast to one another in this passage, and the distinguishing mark between them is that one type of faith, namely saving faith, is accompanied by good works as its necessary and inevitable fruit. whereas the other type of faith, spurious faith, is not accompanied by good works. And so the contrast James sets before us is between two kinds of faith, between genuine faith and between spurious or false faith. Genuine faith produces the fruit of good works, whereas false faith is barren of good works. It is alone. That is, it is not accompanied by good works. Now, notice, if you will, the repetition of this proposition three times in this passage. In verse 17, he says, Even so, faith, if it has not works, is dead being alone. Notice verse 20. that wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead." Notice verse 26, "...for as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." And so it's obvious the point that he's trying to make in the passage. He repeats it three times, virtually, word for word. Faith without works is dead. It is important to realize that James, in this passage, is not setting up a contrast between faith and works. Rather, he is setting up a contrast between two kinds of faith. Between the kind of faith that has works as its inevitable and necessary fruit, and faith that is barren of any genuine fruit. That kind of faith is dead faith. That is, it is incapable of producing eternal life just as much as a dead body is incapable of producing physical life. Dead faith is faith that is inoperative. That is, it does not produce any fruit. It does not produce the signs of life in those who possess it. Now, in order to reinforce this truth, about the necessary relationship between faith and works, if the faith is to be judged as genuine saving faith. James, who is very fond of the use of illustrations, uses three illustrations in this passage to prove his point, and we want to look at each of them in turn this evening. In the first place, then, let us consider together the illustration of the false comforter. The illustration of the false comforter. Now, this illustration is found in verses 14 through 17. And notice, if you will, first of all, the problem stated. The problem stated is contained in verse 14. And he says, what does it profit my brethren, though a man say he have faith and have not works? And so the problem that is stated here is that certain people kept on saying that's the sense of the verb tense here is present subjunctive. They kept on saying that they had faith, but they kept on not having any works. That is, it was the habit and pattern of their life to profess to be Christians, to profess to have saving faith. But it was also the habit and pattern of their life to not have good works as the outcome of that saving faith. Now, what are these works, these good works that he is talking about here? Well, I think we have but to look to the previous context and see that the good works of which he is speaking is contained in verses eight and following. If you fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. You do well or you do good. And so the good works are simply the keeping of the Ten Commandments in relationship to our dealings with other people in all of the implications of those commandments. And so the problem is, is that these people kept on saying that they had faith. And yet, when you looked at their lives, They did not love their neighbor as themselves. They did not keep the law of God in relationship to the treatment of their fellow man or in their response to God. They violated both the first and the second tablets of the Ten Commandments. Now, secondly, notice the question asked. We've seen the problem stated. Certain people kept on saying they have faith, but kept on having no works. Then the question is asked, can faith save him? Now, we would say, well, of course, faith can save him. Doesn't the Bible says, for by grace are you saved through faith? and that we are justified by faith and therefore have peace with God. And it is true that we are saved by faith, assuming it's genuine faith. But in the original language in the Greek, There is an article in front of the word pistos, which is the word for faith, and the sense is, what does it profit my brethren, though a man say he have faith and have not works, can that faith save him? Can the faith of which I have just been speaking, a faith that claims to believe but doesn't produce any works, can that kind of faith save him? And the answer, of course, to that question is absolutely not. And so the question asked here is not can true faith save him, but can the faith which I have just got done speaking of, can that faith save him? The kind of faith that claims to believe and yet does not produce good works. Can the kind of faith that has no works as its fruit Save a man from sin and give him eternal life. That's the question. And so having seen the problem stated in the question asked, notice thirdly, the illustration given the illustration is in verses 15 through 16. He says to answer this question, he says, if a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, that is, they're without proper clothing and they're without proper nourishment. and they have no means of obtaining them. And you say to them, depart in peace be warmed and filled. And of course, their precise problem is that they are not warm, they don't have adequate clothing and they are not filled. They are destitute of daily food. He says, if you say to them, depart in peace, be warmed and filled, and you do not give them the things which are needful for that warmth and their filling, then what profit is there in the words that you just spoke to them? Do words of comfort, unaccompanied by deeds of comfort, really bring comfort in this situation? Absolutely not. The words of comfort were meaningless, empty mockery of the one to whom he spoke. And just like words of comfort without deeds of comfort cannot produce comfort, in the same way claims to faith without works of faith cannot produce eternal life. And so what this false comforter said were empty words and empty words are just like empty faith, they are meaningless. And so, fourthly, we see the conclusion made, and that is contained in verse 17. Even so, faith If it have not works, is dead being alone. Just like words of comfort without deeds of comfort are meaningless dead words, in the same way faith without works is meaningless dead faith. That is, if something's dead, it is non-functioning, it is inoperative, it does not produce life. So one cannot have eternal life with the kind of faith that keeps on saying that it believes, but keeps on having no works as its outcome and fruit. James is not content to leave the matter rest there. He not only brings before us the illustration of the false comforter, but in the second place, he brings to us the illustration of the skeptical critic. The illustration of the skeptical critic. Now, we see in verse 18, first of all, the problem stated. The problem stated in verse 18, he says, 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. And so the problem stated in verse 18 is this man who claims faith but has no works has a real problem when he runs into a skeptic. Who, upon hearing his claim to possess true faith, challenges him to prove it. And he says to him in essence, look, I can prove my faith by my works. What I believe, I obviously really believe it, because it affects the way I act. But on what basis can you prove that you believe what you believe, and that you really believe it, if it has no impact upon your conduct? After all, what's the difference between a faith that produces no change in behavior and no faith at all? There's absolutely no difference between them. What's the difference between an imaginary car and no car at all? None. Neither of them exist. And so, the difference between a faith that produces no works and no faith at all is precisely zero. And so, this then is the problem. This person who claims to have faith and has no works has a problem in that he cannot prove to the skeptic that he really does believe what he claims to believe. Now, notice the comparison made, secondly, in verse 19. The comparison made. In verse 19, he says, you believe there is one God. Will you do well? But the devils also believe. And they tremble. And what he is saying here is he's saying, take a lesson from the demons. Even the demons prove their faith by their works. Their belief in God is demonstrated by the fact that they tremble before him. And their trembling in dread of the impending judgment is a manifestation they really do believe in God and that God is going to bring judgment to bear on them. Even their belief affects their actions. And what he is saying here is simply that the demons have a greater claim to true belief in God than the person who has no works in order to back up and substantiate his claim to belief in God. And so notice, thirdly, the conclusion that is made. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without, or unaccompanied by, works is dead? And that brings us then to our third and final illustration, having seen the illustration of the. False comforter and having seen the illustration of the skeptical critic in the third place, notice the illustration of the Old Testament saints, the illustration of the Old Testament saints. Now, first of all, we have the story of Abraham and verses 21 through 24. He says here, Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he had 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 unto him for righteousness, and he was called the friend of God. You see, then, how that by works a man is justified and not by faith only. Now, what James does in verse 21 is he starts with the result of faith. He starts out with Abraham's works. And what was Abraham's most notable work? What was his most notable act of obedience to God? Well, it was the offering of his son Isaac upon the altar. God said to Abraham, go kill Isaac, go offer him as a burnt offering. And Abraham, you'll recall, went and did that. Of course, God stopped him before he actually finished the job. But nevertheless, it was his full intent and it was his action that he did it. And so he starts with the work that Abraham did and reasons from his work back to the fact of his faith. In verse 23, he says, and the scripture was fulfilled, which said Abraham believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousness, and he was called the friend of God. And so what we have here in verse 23 is a reference to Genesis 15 in verse 6. Now, in order to follow this story through, turn back in your Bibles, please, with me to the book of Genesis. In Genesis chapter 15, which was fairly early in Abraham's life, it says, Genesis 15, verse 1, After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram, I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward. And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and this steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed, and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. And behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir, but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he, that is God, brought him, that is Abraham, forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars that thou be able to number them. And he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And Abraham believed in the Lord." And the Lord counted it to him for righteousness. Substituting the nouns for the personal pronouns there. And so what we have in Genesis 15 and verse 6 is Abraham saying, I believe you God. He professed belief in God. Now, how do we know that he really believed? Well, the answer is that the proof of his belief was shown by his actions in Genesis 22. Now, between Genesis 15 and Genesis 22, several events happened. But the most notable event was that Isaac was born. And Isaac grew up and Isaac became a young man and so many years have passed now. And in Genesis chapter 22 and verse one, notice this phrase. And it came to pass after these things that God did test Abraham. Now, he didn't tempt him in the sense of soliciting him to do evil, but he did put him to the test. And he said to Abraham, Abraham and Abraham said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest and get thee into the land of Moriah and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains, which I shall tell thee of. So now what God is doing is he's testing Abraham as to the reality of his faith that he professed to have back in chapter 15 and verse six. Now, we know the rest of the story. Abraham took his son, he tied him up, he laid him on the wood, and he lifted the knife to plunge it into his throat or his chest to kill him, after which he would light the fire underneath him and offer him for a burnt offering. Now, notice, if you will, chapter 22 in verse 12. After God called to him, In verse 11 it says, And the angel of the Lord called to him out of heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything to him. For now I know. There it is. Now I know. You've proved it by your works. Now I know that you fear God. And fearing God is the equivalent of believing in God. No one fears God who does not believe in God. And so he's saying here, now I know that you fear God, that you believe in God, that you truly reverence God, that this is not just lip talk. back in chapter 15 and verse six, when you said you believe me, but that you really do believe me and you have proven it by your actions. And so how was Abraham's claim to faith justified? His claim to faith was justified by his works. Now, his works were not the basis for his saving justification. His belief was the basis for his saving justification, but his works were the basis for justifying his claim to faith. You see, the justification that is spoken of in James chapter two verses 21 and 24 is not a justification before God pertaining to salvation. But rather, it is a justification before men of his claim to having true saving faith. So when it says in James was not Abraham, our father justified by works, that's not referring to a justification of salvation. It's referring to a justification of his claim to believe. And so, the justification spoken of in verses 21 and 24 is not a justification before God pertaining to salvation, but a justification before men of his claim to having true saving faith. By works, a man is justified before other men. That is, by works, he is acquitted of the charge of hypocrisy and declared righteous in his claim to having saving faith. Now, Paul is forever saying a man is not justified by works, and he is talking about justification in the eyes of God. James is forever saying men are justified by works, and he's talking about their justification before. And so, with reference to God, we are justified on the basis of faith. But with reference to men, we are justified as to our claims to having faith by the works that we do. So this is the sense in which the word justification is used in this passage. Now, let us read through verses 21 and following. Was not Abraham our father justified in his profession of faith by his works when he offered Isaac his son upon the altar. You see, God put him to the test and Abraham proved his belief by passing the test. And then God says, OK, now I know. It says, Seest thou, verse 22, how faith wrought with his works and by works was faith brought to maturity or full expression or complete display. And so he's the faith produced the works, the faith produced the willingness to go and offer Isaac And by that work of offering Isaac, his faith was declared to be a sound, mature, complete faith. Notice, if you will, verse twenty three, and the scripture was fulfilled, which said notice it was fulfilled, it was proven to be true, which said Abraham believed God. and it was imputed to him for righteousness. You see, the Scripture said Abraham believed God and you're going like, well, how do we know that's really true? Well, that Scripture was fulfilled or declared to be true by Abraham's behavior. A few chapters later in chapter 22 by his offering of his son Isaac. Verse 24 You see then how that by works A man is justified and not by faith only. And verse 24 must never be divorced from its context. And what verse 24 is saying is that you see then how that by works a man's claim to faith is justified and not by merely claiming to have faith alone or only or by itself. And so this then is the way in which the life of Abraham demonstrates that when someone believes in God, they prove or demonstrate that belief by obedience to God. And that obedience justifies their claim to having had faith in the beginning. Then we have the illustration, not only of Abraham, Under this heading, the illustration of the Old Testament saints, we not only have the story of Abraham in verses 21-24, we also have the story of Rahab in verse 25. Rahab the harlot. It says, Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works when she had received the messengers and sent them out another way. Now, once again, her claim to faith in Jehovah, the God of the Jews, was justified by her treatment of the servants of Jehovah. You see, if you believe in God, then that's going to be reflected in the way in which you treat the people of God. And no one can claim to believe in God and then be indifferent towards or hostile towards his own children. Now we can turn back to Joshua chapter 2 in order to see this dynamic at work. In Joshua chapter 2, beginning at verse 1, It says, In Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went and came into a harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there. And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to-night of the children of Israel to search out the country. And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thy house, for they be come to search out all of the country. And the woman took the two men and hid them, and said thus, There came two men unto me, but I knew not whence they were, and it came to pass about the time of the shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out. Whether the men went out, I know not. Pursue after them quickly, for you shall overtake them." Well, she told a blatant lie. Verse 6, But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof. And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan under the fords, and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate. And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof, and she said to the Now, notice her statement. I know that the Lord has given you the land and that your terror has fallen upon us and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites that were on the other side of Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts didn't melt. Neither did there remain any more courage in any man because of you. Now, notice her statement of faith for the Lord, your God, he is God in heaven above and in earth beneath. There's her profession of faith. She doesn't just describe Jehovah doing all of these things. She says, with reference to Jehovah, the Lord, your God, he is God in heaven above in an earthly. She professed faith, belief in Jehovah. And she demonstrated the reality of this faith and this belief in Jehovah by the fact that she received the messengers and by the fact that she sent them out another way and by the fact that she did not betray them. to the King of Jericho. And so, the way in which she treated the people of God, by receiving them and by sending them out another way, demonstrated the fact as to where her loyalties lay. They lay with Jehovah and with the people of Jehovah. And so, by her conduct, as it says in James, Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot justified in her profession of belief in Jehovah by her works when she had received the messengers and sent them out another way? Now, the thing she is commended for is receiving the messengers and sending them out another way. She is not commended for the methodology she employed in doing it. Namely, her lie. So, her lie is not justified, but what she did in terms of receiving them and sending them out is commended as an act of expression of her faith in Jehovah. Notice then the conclusion that is made in verse 26. As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. So having given the illustration of the story of Abraham and the illustration of the story of Rahab, the conclusion is now made, and the conclusion is this. In order to have physical life, the body and the soul must both be present and they must both be joined together. And in the same way to have eternal life, faith and works must both be present and they must both be joined together. And so genuine faith will always be expressed, always be expressed in the life of the believer by good works, by obedience to the law of God. Now, if good works do not accompany a person's life, then that person is not saved. That's the conclusion of chapter 2 and verse 14. When it says, can this kind of faith save him? The kind of faith that keeps on saying that it believes, but does not produce good works. Can that kind of faith save him? Absolutely not. That kind of faith cannot save him. And so, this is why we are told in 2 Corinthians 13, 5, examine yourselves, see whether you be in the faith, prove your own selves. Now, our assurance that we are saved must, must be grounded in part upon the demonstration of good works. Now, there are other grounds for the assurance of salvation other than good works. But the assurance of salvation, in part, must be grounded upon a demonstration of good works. Because good works are one of the proofs, and an indispensable proof, of true saving faith. They declare our salvation, though of course they certainly do not obtain our salvation. The blood of Jesus Christ obtains our salvation. But the idea that a person can be saved and then live in opposition to the law of God is denied by the scriptures in many, many places. But notice one extremely clear example, Titus chapter one and verse 16. In Titus one and verse 16, it says of these unbelieving people. Verse 15 it says, but to them that are defiled and unbelieving, it says in verse 16 of Titus 1, they profess that they know God. They go around saying, I know God. That is, I have a personal relationship with God. I am a saved person. They profess to know God, but in works, they deny Him. being abominable and disobedient and into every good work reprobate. And so what he is saying here is that a mere profession unaccompanied by good works is a spurious profession. Now, we are not preaching salvation by good works. We are preaching salvation that results and always, and without exception, in good works. Ephesians 2, 8-10 makes this distinction very clear. Ephesians 2, 8-9 says, For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. And so, good works are denied as the basis of salvation. But in the very next verse, verse 10 says, For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. So while good works in verses 8 and 9 of Ephesians 2 are denied as a basis for salvation, In verse 10, good works are demanded as a fruit and inevitable and inseparable fruit of salvation, because God has ordained that his saved people who are saved by faith apart from works should walk in good works, and that is as predestinated as their election is. And so we are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is not alone. It is always justified in its claims to exist by the good works that accompany it and which it produces. Nor do we keep saved by good works, but rather we keep on doing good works because we are being kept saved by God Himself. You see, the production of good works in our lives is the whole purpose of Christ's redemptive work. When Jesus came to save a people, what did he intend for that salvation to produce? Well, it says in Titus 2, verses 13 through 14, that we are to be looking for that blessed hope in the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us speaking of his death on the cross, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, salvation from sins by his works, by his death on the cross, and not only that he might redeem us from all iniquity, but that he might purify unto himself a peculiar people who are zealous of good works. Now, Christ had a two-pronged intent. in his death on the cross. One was to redeem us from our sins, to save us from our sins. And the other is that we would be formed into a people for his own possession. That's what the word peculiar people means. It means it's particularly his own people. And the thing that would mark those who are Christ's own people, those who have been redeemed from their iniquities, is that they would be zealous of good works. And if they are not zealous of good works, if they are not zealous to obey the law of God, then they have no reason to believe that they are Christ's own peculiar people and that they have been redeemed from all iniquity and that Christ has given himself for them. And so what James is telling us is that genuine faith is always accompanied by good works. And if there are no good works, there is no saving faith. Now, what this does is it rules out any possibility of the so-called carnal Christian doctrine, which says that a person can pray the prayer or raise the hand or go forward or express some kind of faith in Christ. And then continue living in the future, just as he lived in the past in his old sinful ways, with no growth, no change, no progress. The same barrenness of life is manifest, the same character defects remain, the same sins persist, the fruit of the Spirit is notably absent, but they're still saved. The Bible utterly denies such a perspective. Real Christians bear fruit, just like real apple trees bear apples. And if there's no apples on it, it isn't an apple tree. I don't care if it looks like one, smells like one, has the shape of one, it's not one. This is of great help to us when we are attempting to diagnose the spiritual condition of people to whom we are ministering. I have asked myself this question all the time. Is this person sitting in the pew of my church? Are they saved or are they not saved? How do I make that decision? Because that decision is going to have a profound impact upon the message that I convey to that person. It's a major waste of time to try and talk an unbeliever into living like a believer. And how do you know if they're an unbeliever? Because they don't bear fruit. And so those people need to get saved. And so you have to diagnose, is this person saved or is this person not saved? And Jesus said what? By their fruit, you will know them. And what fruits are you looking for? Good works. What are good works? To love thy neighbor as thyself. How does this person treat other people? Is there anything in their life that would distinguish them from the ordinary courtesies that exist in our society and the way in which they treat other people? Do they engage in any sacrificial service? Is there a going out of their thoughts and hearts and sensitivity to the needs of others and a self-sacrifice to meet those needs? Well, if not, then there is no true salvation. What is their attitude towards God? Is the Lord their God in such a way that they have no other gods before Him? Do they worship Him and have a heart to worship Him in the way in which He is prescribed? Do they honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy? Do they speak reverently of God's name? How do children treat their parents? All of these things tell us whether people are saved or whether they are not. And so it's a very, very important diagnostic tool in ministry to others, and it's a very, very important tool in diagnosing ourselves. As you sit here this evening, the most fundamental question in your mind should be this. Am I a saved person or am I not? Do I have saving faith? And James provides us with the answer to that question. Do I have works? Do I actually in my life engage in acts of obedience. You know, Abraham could have run around all day long saying, yeah, I'm willing to sacrifice Isaac. I'm willing to do that. I'm willing to do that. But the question is not, are you willing? Did you actually do it? That's the question. And he did. And so we can run around all day long talking about our intent. But do we actually obey God's law? You know, one of the tests that James gave is that in chapter one, you recall, if any man among you seems to be religious and bridles, not his tongue, this man deceives his own heart and his religion is vain. It's not. Do you intend to control your speech? Do you actually control it? Do you stop yourself from saying those things or do you say, oh, well, I was really provoked. And we could go on with zillions of illustrations, but I think you get the idea. You know, one person has said, if you were ever accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you in a court of law? And these are the evidences. These are the fruits. Can I point to my life and say, I keep God's commandment here, and here, and here, and here, and here. Not perfectly, but it is the dominating characteristic of my life. And when push comes to shove, I come down on the side of obedience to God, not on the side of obedience to my flesh. Let us pray together. Father, thank you so much that the kind of faith that saves is also a salvation that transforms. And thank you, Father, that we are not left in the dark as to whether we are saved or not, that we can simply look at our lives and ask ourselves, not do I live perfectly, but is the dominating characteristic of my behavior not only a desire to obey God's law, but an actual practice of its obedience? Father, I ask that you might help each of us to clearly assess ourselves and to understand our true condition. Father, I pray that there might be a clear and indisputable evidence in each of our lives that indeed, by our fruits, we can be justified in our claims to having saving faith. And if those fruits are weak or shriveled or spotty, Father, may we apply ourselves by your spirit to improve the quality of fruit in our life, that it may be clear to us and others that we are indeed saved. And Father, for those who do not have the fruit, we pray that you might save them. Help us to accurately diagnose not only ourselves, but others that we may minister accurately to them and make wise decisions regarding them. Especially for our young people fathers they contemplate marriage and picking marriage partners father help them to be very clear about looking for fruit and Seeing if it's in fact there So that they might not wind up accidentally marrying someone who is in fact not a Christian though they claim to be Give them wisdom and discernment and help their parents father to assist them wisely in those decisions. I Lord, we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.