Well, I hope you'll turn with me in your copies of God's Word to the book of James, James chapter 2. James chapter 2, you can find that on page 1012. Remember that a couple of weeks ago when we considered James chapter one, we considered the theme of trials and how it is that God would have us embrace trials since he is a sovereign God. We saw that he is able to use those for our good and for his glory. And James followed those initial exhortations, which with what might be the thesis of the whole letter, chapter 122, he says, but be doers of the word and not hearers only. We didn't consider that verse itself, but that's really the theme of this whole book, to be doers of the word. We saw that James is calling us to be practical Christians. In chapter two, James applies that thesis that we ought to be doers of the word as those who claim to have faith in God. In verses one to seven, James says, in effect, since you have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Don't be impressed with worldly glory. He says, you know, if a poor man comes in and a rich man comes in, don't show deference to the rich. In verses eight to 13, he warns his audience that that it's not a small thing to show partiality. It's not a small thing to break God's law. Instead, that they ought to love their neighbors by showing them mercy. as those who claim to have been filled themselves with the mercy of God. I think that's a good thing for us to keep in mind even later in this worship as we have a special collection for mercy. That is, those who received mercy, we ought to show it. And that brings us to our text, where James considers the relationship between faith and works, faith and works. And so we'll read the text. Listen to God's word from James chapter two, verses 14 to 26. God's word says, What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith, but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 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? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But 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. You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe and shudder. Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 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 that faith was completed by his works. And the scripture was fulfilled that said 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. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way. For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. Amen. This is God's word. And before we consider it, let's pray and ask for his blessing. Our Father and our God, we thank you that you have given us your word, and as we consider it this morning, we pray, Holy Spirit, that you would come down and minister to each one according to their needs. God, I pray that you would give clarity, that you would give understanding to your people as we consider your word. God, let the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, for we pray it in Christ's name, amen. Well, as some of you may know, I am a theological student who's under the care and supervision of the Great Lakes Gulf Presbytery in our denomination. And one of the things that that means is that once or twice a year, I come sort of knees knocking and heart thumping before 30 or 40 elders, and I am examined and I answer to the best of my ability theological and practical questions that they ask me. And I can tell you two things about those exams. First, during the theological exams, I can virtually assure you that at some point I will be asked a question along these lines. How are sinners justified? How are sinners justified? And the answer that they are looking for is by faith. If I said anything else, I'd probably get in a little bit of trouble. Faith, according to scripture, is of the first order of importance, and James agrees with that. In James 2.1, he addresses us as those who hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. In James chapter 1, he talked about the blessings of trials because they strengthen our faith. Faith is of the first order of importance. But I can also tell you that during those exams, the practical exams, exams of personal godliness and pastoral gifts, I will not only be asked questions about what I believe, but I'll be asked questions about my behavior and how I live. I'll be asked about my devotional life. I'll be asked about my family life and how I treat my wife and my child. I'll be questioned about how I use the Sabbath day. And they'll ask me questions about victory that I've experienced over sin. And the reason that they ask these questions is because according to scripture, what we do, our works, are also first of the first order of importance, faith, and works, two things that may seem to be opposed, but both of immense importance. That's why Paul encourages his young protege, Timothy, keep a close watch on your doctrine, what you believe and on your life. what you do, faith and works. And because faith and works are so important, James takes great care in our passage to show their relationship, to show how the presence of genuine faith must result in works and indeed how faith, true faith cannot exist without works. And so friends, the call of this passage, what this passage is calling you to is to prove the genuineness of your faith by a life of loving obedience. Prove the genuineness of your faith by a life of loving obedience. And we'll consider this theme from our passage under two headings. First, don't be satisfied with a dead faith. We'll see that in verses 14 to 20. Don't be satisfied with a dead faith. And second, demonstrate a living faith. And we'll see that in 21 to 26. Don't be satisfied with a dead faith and demonstrate a living faith. First from verses 14 to 20, don't be satisfied with a dead faith. I wonder if any of you have ever heard of an athlete who was labeled all airport. It's not all American, it's not all conference or all city or all state, all airport. I believe that the term was coined by the basketball color commentator Dick Vitale. An all-airport player is one who looks really impressive. This guy gets off the plane and you say, he's gonna be incredible. You picture some sort of six-eight muscular specimen and you say, this guy's gonna be trouble. Maybe even in warmups, he throws down a few effortless dunks. He looks impressive. But then when the game starts, he's not on the floor. And as the game goes on, he's not even in the rotation. He's just all airport. He's all looks. He looks impressive, but he has no aptitude for the game. He's just looks. Well, in our text, James seems to be warning his listeners that some of them are all airport Christians. He says in verse 14, what good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith? No doubt, this someone who James has in mind, they would arrive on time to church, that they would look effortlessly put together, they would know the tunes to the songs and sing beautifully. And maybe even on the second and third stanza, they'd join in with the harmony. And best of all, this person is a person who professes to be a man or woman of faith. But just as it doesn't take long to identify that a physically impressive basketball player may have no real aptitude for the game, James quickly exposes a glaring defect with this character. He says, what good is it, my brothers, if someone says they have faith? And that word says is important. They only have a claim to faith. James is not granting that they have real faith. If someone says he has faith, but does not have works, what good is it? And the answer is pretty obvious. It's no good at all. No good at all. And as James describes this dead faith of this character, he exposes two glaring shortcomings. Two shortcomings. This person's dead faith demonstrates no love for neighbor, And this person's dead faith demonstrates no love for God, no love for neighbor, and no love for God. And we'll consider those two ideas in turn. First notice, friends, that a dead faith demonstrates no love for neighbor. You'll notice as we continue to consider this letter of James, that James always shows himself the friend and the advocate of the poor and the needy, doesn't he? In verse 15, James paints a scandalous picture of this person's behavior. A poor Christian brother or sister without proper clothing, without daily food, And the person that we're considering gives them best wishes and a pat on the back, go in peace, be warned and filled. It's quite obvious what James is doing. He's showing the utter worthlessness of words in a rhetoric that have no activity behind it. Imagine our friends, the Kirk's that Coming this December, they're still in a home that's lacking walls. And they say, could we could we bunk with you for a little bit? I've heard that New England winters are something special. We need some help. And you say, oh, well, may the Lord keep you warm. I hope you'll be warmed in your devotions and warmed as you consider his word together. No, that's not how you show love. That's not how we show love to brothers and sisters. James is showing us that this person who we're considering has no interest in doing what the law of God requires. In Deuteronomy 1511, God, through Moses, commanded Israel. He told them, for there will never cease to be poor in the land. And I think that we sometimes stop there and say, there's never going to not be poor people. There's there's nothing that we can do about it. That's not what God says, he says, for there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore, I command you, you shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor in your land. That's how God expected his people of faith to respond to the poor. or perhaps closer to the context of our passage. This person does not enter into the orbit of fulfilling what James calls the royal law in chapter two, verse eight. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Friends, an individual who professes to have faith, or a corporate community of faith that has no heart for poor brothers and sisters, no interest in easing their burdens, or even in giving a glass of cold water in Jesus' name, this is a community of faith that is dead. Their faith is worthless, James tells us. Outside, it may appear sparkling and beautiful, and dare I say, it may even profess a recognizable Reformed Orthodox Christianity, but with no discernible love for neighbor, for needy brothers and sisters, what is it? It may appear beautiful, But it's just a whitewashed tomb filled with dead people's bones and all uncleanness. Like Jesus tells us in Matthew 23, 27, a faith that demonstrates no love for neighbor. That's a dead faith. That's a worthless faith. And at this point, James introduces a question or perhaps an objection that someone may raise. Look at verse 18, he says, but someone will say, you have faith and I have works. James says, this person says, hold on a minute, James, you're being kind of hard on faith. Aren't you? Faith is wonderful and works are wonderful and they're both a gift from God. Who are we to disparage one or the other? God gives one guy the gift of works and God gives another guy the gift of faith. And that's probably the best way to understand this question that's introduced, or this statement that's introduced in verse 18. He's not saying you, James, have faith and I, the questioner, have works. They're sort of generic. It's person A has faith and person B has works. And who are we to judge? And James responds that the only way to test the genuineness of someone's faith is to examine their works. He says, verse 18, but show me your faith apart from works. And of course the implication is that's impossible. Faith is invisible and we cannot see it. He says, show me your faith apart from works, that's impossible. And he says, and I will show you my faith by my works. That's the visible manifestation of an invisible faith. James is responding that these two must go together. Genuine faith is inseparable from works and works are the only way to demonstrate a genuine faith. And now James returns to the issue of a dead faith and its worthlessness. First, we saw that a dead faith demonstrates no love for neighbor. But notice, secondly, that a dead faith demonstrates no love for God. Look at verse 19. James says, you believe that God is one. You do well. He's referencing one of the great creedal statements of faith that Jewish believers made. We find it recorded in Deuteronomy 6 verse 4. It says, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God. The Lord is one. That's a declaration of faith that Jewish believers would make. They call it the Shema, which is a Hebrew word that means here. Here, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And this is the statement of faith that our person is claiming to make. He says, you believe that God is one. You claim to believe that that statement of faith found in Deuteronomy 6, verse 4. And friends, let's be clear. This is an amazing statement of faith. That God is one is a statement that the God of Israel is the one living and true God. It is unquestionably orthodox. You can examine this statement of faith up, down and sideways, and you will find no error. Friends, God is one. And this person who we're considering claims to have this statement of faith as his own. He or she would say, I believe that God is one. And friends, who's going to argue with that? In the Greco-Roman world, where the pantheon of the empire's gods was legion, where even the emperor himself would come to demand worship from his citizens, who would shake a stick at such a firm and orthodox confession of monotheism? I believe that God is one. James takes issue with it. This person talks the talk. They've said the proper form of words. I believe that God is one, but still the glaring problem introduced in verse 14 remains. They have no works. And James says to this person, congratulations, you have the faith of a demon. When he says you do well, it's dripping with sarcasm. He's saying even demons believe that. The Bible teaches that demons are fallen angels, and before they fell, they beheld the face of God. We know that from Matthew 18, verse 10. Demons are those who have seen God. And James is saying, guys, demons believe that God is one. And they hate him. and they hate him. The prayer and statement of faith of Deuteronomy 6, it continues. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. The next verse, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might, with all your inner man and all your external man. You ought to show yourself as one who loves this one true and living God, the goal and purpose of expressing an Orthodox faith is to show a wholehearted devotion to this God who we love and to be given soul and body to loving him and worshiping him. And do you see what James is doing? He's giving us a warning. You can claim to be a person of faith, but if that is not accompanied by love toward God and toward your neighbor, You have a worthless faith. You have the faith of a demon. Almost anyway, James allows for one little difference. He says, but at least demons have the sense to shudder. Demons believe in God and they shudder. But so many professing Christians claim to have a faith in God and are perfectly satisfied with themselves, thinking that they're right with the man upstairs. How many professing Christians are there who congratulate themselves that because they know the Lord's prayer, that because they've said the apostle's creed, how many Christians are there who think perhaps because they know the chief end of man and the other 106 questions in the shorter catechism, that they think that they must be fine with God? But brothers and sisters, saying a form of words saves no one. A person who simply agrees that certain theological truths are true does not necessarily have saving faith. It's a living faith that saves. Boys and girls, if I were to ask you, who made you? I hope that all of you would say, God, if I asked you, what else did God make? I hope that you'd say God made all things. And maybe you keep knowing the children's catechism. Why did God make you in all things? You could say for his own glory. And boys and girls, if you know that, if you know those three questions, let me tell you, you know an incredible truth. It's absolutely true that God made you, that God made all things, that God made all things for his own glory. But what is it that saves? Then the next question asks, I think something to the effect of, but why should we glorify him? Or how should we glorify Him? By loving Him and doing what He commands. The purpose, boys and girls, of knowing things about God and knowing things about what He's done is so that we would love Him. And James is showing us that by the lack of discernible love for God and love for neighbor, this person has a dead, worthless faith. It's a living faith that saves, a faith that expresses itself in love and worship for God and in love and charity towards our neighbors and our brothers and sisters. Friends, James is telling us, don't be satisfied with a dead faith. Don't be satisfied with a cold orthodoxy saying, here's a list of things that I believe and confess to be true and not having them influence in any discernible way your practice and the way that you live your life. Don't be satisfied with the dead faith. Instead, demonstrate a living faith. That's going to be our second heading, which we'll see, especially in verses 21 to 26. Demonstrate a living faith. We consider it under our first heading that a dead faith demonstrates no love for neighbor and no love toward God. But in our second heading, we'll see in verses 21 to 26, we'll see just the opposite. A living faith shows itself in love toward God, And in love toward neighbor, the reverse is true. And I should note that that sort of fourfold way of seeing the text, no love for neighbor, no love for God is worthless faith and precious faith is love for God and love for neighbor. That was not an original observation of mine. I'm indebted to a commentator, Alec Motyer, for showing that. And I just wanted to make sure that I gave credit to him for dividing the text in that way. And I think it's really helpful. And so friends, notice first under this heading that a living faith shows itself in love and devotion toward God. A living faith shows itself in love and devotion toward God. If James started off our text this morning with something of a provocative question, can that faith save him? That faith that is dead, that faith that has no works, that was a provocative question. He doesn't take long to outdo himself, does he? He asks another question in verse 21. Was not Abraham our father justified by works. Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? And it's quite clear from the text that James expects the answer to be yes. And James doubles down on this in verse 24, where he says, so you see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. This is somewhat surprising. If you've spent any time reading some of Paul's letters, especially the book of Romans, you'll know that Paul seems to have a different take on justification. In Romans 4, verses 2 and 3, Paul denies that Abraham was justified by works. In Romans 3, 28, Paul writes, for we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Seems like James and Paul are on different pages. And we ask ourselves, are Paul and James at odds? Or more pointedly, is the scripture consistent Or is it inconsistent in how it presents the way to be made right with God? Friends, the answer is that scripture is perfectly consistent. And I think if we examine a few aspects of Abraham's life that both Paul and James used to illustrate their point, we'll see that Paul and James are in perfect agreement. Remember that in Genesis 15, God promises Abraham that although he was old and had no son, God promises him that his children would be as numerous as the stars of heaven. God told Abraham, go outside and look up at the night sky and number the stars. If you are able, so shall your offspring. And in Genesis 15 verse 6 says, Abraham believed God. Although he was an old man, he was probably something like 86, 87 at this point in his life. His wife had been barren for their entire marriage. Abraham believed God. And the Bible says, and he, the Lord, counted it to him as righteous. as righteousness. And our text quotes that in verse 23. Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. Abraham was counted as righteous. That's another way of saying he was justified because of his belief in God and in the promises of God. In Genesis 15, we can see that Abraham was justified. But then some 30 or so years later, God tested that justifying faith. We have that account in Genesis 22, where God told Abraham to take his son Isaac, the son of promise, and to offer him on an altar as a burnt offering. And if you know the story, you know that Abraham set out to obey. He took his son. He bound him. He laid him on the altar and he had his knife. We know from Hebrews that God believed that he would raise, that Abraham believed that if he did this, God would raise his son from the dead. And so he set out to obey. Maybe you know the story as he's holding the knife, the Lord says, Abraham, Abraham, don't hurt the lad. Genesis 22 verse 11, the Lord says, Abraham, Abraham, do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God. God says, now I know because you wouldn't even withhold your own son from me. Now I know that you fear me, that you have a living faith in me. We ask ourselves, how can God say that? How can God say, now I know? Had God forgotten that Abraham had believed him 30 years before? No, of course not. But now he had seen a demonstration of the genuineness of Abraham's faith. Abraham already had saving faith. Abraham had already been reckoned as righteous, justified in Genesis 15. But it was his faith-filled activity, faith active along with works, as James puts it in verse 23, that showed the vitality of his faith, that showed that it was a living faith. Abraham loved God even more than his own son, demonstrating a saving faith that predated the testing of that faith. But you see in our text that James, he reverses the order of these two events. He says that Abraham was justified by works when he offered up Isaac. He says that in verse 21. And he says that the offering of Isaac was a fulfillment or the fruition of the scripture that said Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. James is saying that belief was fulfilled and made manifest when Abraham demonstrated his faith when it was tested. And so we ask ourselves, in what sense can we say that Abraham was justified by works, as James says? We cannot say that he was made righteous by his works, because we saw in Genesis 15 that he was made righteous because of his faith. But we can say that the faith he professed was vindicated vindicated as genuine saving faith by his act of obedience and by his acts of devotion. Throughout our passage, James has been interested in individual Christians demonstrating to each other that their faith is genuine. He said, I will show you my faith by my works. And so we see that faith vindicates or justifies our claim to faith. The justification that James is talking about, it's horizontal. It's horizontally saying, I can show you, I can be justified before you in my claim to faith by my obedience and by my demonstratable love for God. It's a horizontal justification where we are justified before each other as those who have saving faith in God. vertical, it's horizontal. We are showing our faith to each other and justifying our claim to faith by the works that we do. And so it was Abraham justified by works. Without a doubt, without a doubt, he was justified or vindicated in his status as one who believed the promises of God and lived a life devoted to his service. Abraham's was a living faith, an active, vibrant faith that showed his unparalleled love and devotion for God. Living faith, genuine faith shows itself in love for God. But notice also that a living faith will demonstrate itself in love for neighbor. A living faith will demonstrate itself in love for neighbor. Look with me at verse 25. James says, and in the same way, was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? James draws our attention to another illustration from the Old Testament of faith-filled works. James is referencing the account of the spies who were sent to Jericho to spy out the land. And the welcome that Rahab showed them is she hides the spies from the king of the city. She sends them out by a secret way. And she does this because she tells them that she had heard the report of Israel's God and of the conquest that Israel's God had won. And so we see that she had and she says that she had come to fear the God of Israel, that fear of God led her to show kindness to the spies, that fear of God led her to seek mercy. She says, you know, show me and my family mercy since I fear God. And since I've shown kindness to you. But imagine for a moment if Rahab's faith were only as good as the person that we considered in verse 14. She would meet these spies and she'd say, oh, hello. I want you to know that I fear the God of Israel just like you do. And they'd excitedly exclaim, that is wonderful. Could you help us? There are people hunting us. We will be killed if we're found. But if she had a faith, a profession to believe in the God of Israel, apart from works, doubtless she would have responded, oh, I would love to, but I could get in a lot of trouble. Rahab was a prostitute, she'd say, I already run something of a nuisance establishment, and I can't risk getting on the bad side of the king and of his secretaries. And she'd say, but hey, blessings be with you. May the Lord keep you in your goings and comings. That is what a profession of faith, apart from works, would have looked like. And friends, would that faith have saved her? No, James is saying that would have been a dead faith, a faith that is not active, a faith that professed to love God, but had no love for his people who were in need. That is not a saving faith. Instead, we see that at great personal risk, she showed kindness and love to her two brothers in the faith. She hid them and she sent them out another way. Her claim to fear the Lord was justified, vindicated by her costly show of love to his people. Friends, living faith demonstrates itself in love for neighbor, Abraham and Rahab form something of an unlikely pair, don't they? We have a man and a woman. We have a Jew and a Gentile. We have a respectable patriarch and a disreputable prostitute. Both praise for their works. Fittingly, in scripture, also both of them are praised for their faith. Just a few pages back, in Hebrews chapter 11, Abraham and Rahab get their mention, but not primarily for their works. Hebrews 11 verse eight says, by faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place that he was to receive as an inheritance. By faith, He obeyed. Hebrews 11, 17, by faith, when he was tested, he offered up Isaac. By faith, he worked and he offered up his son. Hebrews 11, 31, by faith, Rahab, the prostitute, did not perish with those who were disobedient. Because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies by faith, she showed love and kindness and welcomed the spies. Friends, faith and works are not enemies. They are not opposed. Faith inspires works of love and obedience toward God and acts of love and charity. toward our neighbors. In those visible works of love that they justify us, but before a watching world as those, they justify our claim to be those who have a genuine living faith in the God of heaven. Maybe you've heard that little dictum. We're saved by faith alone, but not by faith that is alone. Faith shows itself. Friends, faith demonstrates itself. Faith works. Brothers and sisters, as those who are privileged to worship and serve Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, remember that's how James introduced Jesus in chapter two, verse one, Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, He is worthy of your love. He is worthy of your worship and worthy of your service and worthy of your devotion. But perhaps I wonder if some of you aren't a little unsettled by all this talk of works. If we have received so great a salvation, if we worship and serve such a great and awesome Savior, we may ask ourselves, well, do my works measure up? Friends, I want to tell you the answer is no. No, they don't measure up. We are at best unprofitable servants. Nevertheless, Christ is pleased to receive and reward even the smallest acts of service done in his name. No morsel of bread or cup of water given in Jesus' name will be forgotten or go uncommended. The 17th century Puritan John Flavel, he offers some words of encouragement to pastors to be faithful in their discharge of duty. But I trust that his encouragements will be applicable to all of us, his encouragements to be faithful in duty. He writes, he writes this. What will it be to hear Christ say in that day, well done, good and faithful servant? Thou hast been faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. He's quoting Matthew 25, 21. What will it be to hear Christ say, well done, good and faithful servant? He goes on, oh, sirs, we serve a good master. who is not unrighteous to forget our work and labor of love for His namesake. He keeps an exact account of all your fervent prayers, of all your sighs, groans, and pantings, with every tear and drop of sweat placed like marginal notes against your labors in His book. Friends, Christ remembers the smallest act of obedience. He remembers and is pleased to accept the smallest act of service done in His name or of kindness shown to His people. The thrust of James chapter 2 is not that we justify ourselves before God by acts. That's impossible. The psalmist says no one can pay to God his ransom price. We cannot pay by works. We cannot get by works that justification. But we can show favor. We can show gratitude, however small, however seemingly insignificant, however tainted with our own polluting sin. We know that Christ is pleased with them. He accepts them. And he says, well done, good and faithful servant. And so brothers and sisters, prove the genuineness of your faith by a life of loving obedience. Amen. Let's pray and ask for the Lord's help today. Heavenly Father, you are great. and greatly to be praised even as we sang this morning coming into your worship. You are awesome in your person as the great and high and lifted up, exalted God. You are great in your works, your works of creation, and especially your works of redemption. And help us, God, to be a grateful people. Help us to be a people who show our love for you by our worship. by our devotion, but by loving you and showing our love. Help us to be a people that show our faith by loving your people. God, we confess that our best acts of obedience, that our best works fall so far short of your glory. We say with those servants in Luke 17, we are unprofitable servants. But Lord, we thank you that you accept even our smallest works, even our most imperfect works, that you accept them for Jesus' sake, that you as our loving Father say to us, well done. Well done, child. Well done, good and faithful servant. And God, as we consider the love that you have shown us in Christ, I pray that each one here would be growing in their obedience, growing in the works they do, not surely as a way to merit favor with you, but as a way to express thanks and gratefulness for the salvation that we have received. God, thank you for Christ. Thank you that in him we can do works pleasing in your sight. God, hear our prayers for we offer them in Christ's name. Amen.