James Archives - Page 5 of 7

Faith That Works

Ben Zornes on June 25, 2017

Introduction
James sometimes gets a bad wrap that he doesn’t like faith. This is straight up not true. Faith is a recurring focus (1:3,1:6, 2:1, 2:5) James says in 2:1 that we are to hold the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ, and hold it in such a way that our faith changes your life. In the second half of the chapter, James is concerned about those who hold the faith in the wrong way. Their faith is dead because it does not work. So here’s the simple message, “Living Faith is Faith that Works.”

Dead and Stuffed Faith (vs. 14-17)
James begins with two sobering questions, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” (vs. 14) The implied answers are “Not much good, and no they can’t.” Suppose a Christian brother or sister is lacking in basic essentials like food and clothes. Suppose one of you says “be warmed and filled and God bless” while brushing off this person who is not warmed, filled or blessed. These are just empty words because of the speaker’s idle hands. “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (vs. 17). This lifeless faith is what you would find in a spiritual taxidermist shop. You can go in and admire the remarkably life-like cougar or trout or Reformed Calvinist. There’s a world of difference between life-like and living.

Belief is Not Enough (vs. 18-19)
“But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I’ll show you my faith by my works” (vs. 18). In the Christian life, faith and works go together like inhaling and exhaling. As Billy Graham said, “Faith is taking the Gospel in; works is taking the Gospel out.”

Faith without works is not only dead, it’s demonic. “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe––and shudder!” (vs. 19) The demons have accurate theology––they know God, but no practical theology––they don’t obey God.

Abraham’s Faithful Work (vs. 20-23)
Abraham, James says, was justified by his works when he offered up his son Isaac on the alter (vs. 21). In Genesis 22, God tested Abraham’s faith to see if he would obey. At the base of the mountain, Abraham commands his servants, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” These are two remarkable verbs––the boy and I will worship and come again. What was Abraham going to do at the mountain top? He says worship. Worship is to hear and obey God, even in a life shattering circumstance. Abraham said they will worship and then “we will come again.” How is this possible for Abraham to kill Isaac at the mountain top and then for them both to come back to the base camp? Hebrews 11 tells us that Abraham “considered that God was able even to raise Isaac from the dead” (Heb. 11:19).

Abraham’s faith and actions were united and in his believing obedience, and God justified him. Faith was active each step up the mountain (vs 22).

Justified by Works
“You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone” (vs. 24) What’s James point? Abraham both believed God and acted on that belief. James and Paul are not arm wrestling over faith and works but are rather locked arm in arm defending against dead faith and dead works. Paul would say “We are saved by faith alone” And James would promptly add “And this faith is never alone!”

Rahab’s Working Faith (vs. 25)
To add some more spice in the stew James holds up the prostitute Rahab as a faithful worker. Rahab was justified by works when she hid the Israelite spies and then lied to the soldiers about which way the spies scampered. Faith and faithfulness is not simplistic. Faith requires wisdom, shrewdness, courage and a deep understanding of who your faith is in––the Lord Jesus Christ.

Living Faith, Living Work (vs. 26)
James concludes that faith without works is like a cold body on a coroner’s table. The body can be intact, but if it’s just the body without any movement, the body is dead. No heart pumps, then no life. But a pumping heart is evidence for a living body. Our faith is like the heart with the first pumps of life. That first squeeze of the heart is absolutely vital to your life. But the second and third and millionth pump are also important and necessary to keep you alive and active. Faith is needed at the beginning of your Christian life, and it is needed to keep working at each new pump. “For as the body apart form the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead” But Jesus is the living Lord who gives you life. So your life as a Christian will hold living faith full of living work.

The Lord of Glory Not Partiality

Ben Zornes on June 18, 2017

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Text: James 2:1-13

Introduction
James addresses a problem he saw in the early church and one that still rots relationships today––the sin of partiality. Partiality is a sneaky sin that James exposes with the Gospel. Because Jesus is the Lord of glory who gives glory, then don’t show or seek the false glory from partiality.

The Lord of Glory (1-4)
The command is this: don’t show partiality (vs. 1). Partiality is your treatment or attitude toward someone based on the wrong value you place on them. By wrong value, I mean the value assigned by the world’s judgment and not by God’s judgment. James gives an example in verses 2-3. Suppose two men come into the church meeting, one is a swanky guy with nice threads and blinged out with jewelry and the other is poor man in stained clothes. If the greeting team shows special treatment to the rich guy while ignoring or insulting the poor man, they’ve shown partiality.

James says this is inconsistent with the faith you hold in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory (vs. 1). Your playing favorites and your faith in Jesus are not compatible. This is because they are competing sources of glory––glory from the Lord and glory from man. As a Christian, Jesus is your glory—all the glory you need.

What’s so bad about partiality then? Partiality attempts to replace or supplement God’s standard of judgment with another standard that man creates. God’s standard says sinners are accepted because of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Partiality looks to add something for that guy to be accepted by you. You look to the clothing, the hair style, the personal hygiene, the car, the different church, or any external criteria, and then, based on that additional standard, make a judgement on the value of that person and so make “distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts” (vs. 4).

The Poor Made Rich (5-7)
James lists a couple reasons why partiality is contrary to the Gospel. God has chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom (vs. 5). Jesus wasn’t a spiritual snob so you can’t be one. If Jesus valued the poor enough to die for them, then you need to value them enough to talk to, eat with, encourage, love. “But you have dishonored the poor man…and don’t you realize what these rich guys do you?” (vs. 6-7) Those with wealth and power and position are the ones who harass Christians. They oppress you, drag you to court, and blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called. And you want to buddy up to these guys?

The Lord and His Royal Law (8-11)

James reinforces his charge by appealing to the royal law. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” is quoted from Leviticus 19:18. The royal law is based on the character of the Lord. God says, “I am the Lord, therefore love your neighbor as your yourself.” In the first verses, James says to not show favoritism among Christians, and now he expands this beyond the bounds of brothers. You are to love your neighbor. We need to think in the categories God uses instead of the labels we slap on people. This is because your judgments often justify your actions. If you label the people down your street as “the druggies,” then you justify staying safely behind the curtains judging away. But if they are “your neighbors,” then what should you do? You love them, which fulfills the royal law.

You can’t pick and choose the laws you want to keep (or break). The law is like a large plate of glass. If there’s a single hole or crack anywhere in the glass, then the whole plate is broken (vs. 11).

Judgment of Mercy (12-13)

James concludes, “So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty” (vs. 12). Remember what law this is? This is the law of liberty, the perfect law of James 1:25. You will still be judged, but you will be judged in mercy. You will be judged as one already assured of the verdict that you are free. So live in the liberty of this law which says “Do not show partiality.” Those who make distinctions, acting as judges, ought to remember that they themselves will also be judged. The standard you have applied to others will be applied to you. Has your judgement of others been harsh? Then you will be judged harshly. Have you been merciful? Then look for mercy. The final statement is good news. For those who hold their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory, mercy triumphs over judgment.

Saved by the Word to do the Word

Ben Zornes on May 18, 2017

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Introduction
The title for this sermon is “Saved by the Word to Do the Word.” As you may suspect, there are different meanings of “word.” The first way is the common use of the word “word.” The second way is God’s Word meaning the Bible. And the final way is the Word as Jesus. James builds on these different meanings and begins with Jesus as Word (vs. 18, 21) who is able to save you. Because the Word saves you, you do the Word of God, which is the Bible. And James has a thing or two to say about our use of words. This simple truth––you are saved by the Word to do the Word–– provides the foundation for James’ commands (as well as for your life).

The Word as Jesus
Our spiritual beginning comes from the logos of truth (vs. 18). Your memory verse engine should start revving up. Where have you seen the Word and a beginning? John 1:1-3, 14. We are created by the Word spoken by the Father, and we are also saved by the Word. Look down at the end of verse 21, “…and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” James further identifies the Logos as the implanted word which is able to save your souls. We can’t skip over who is saving and who is being saved. The word saves you. Paul shows that the word of truth and salvation unite in Jesus, “In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephs 1:13). If the Word has saved you, then you should listen to what the Word has to say.

Hear the Word
“Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” (vs. 19). If the Word of Truth has created you, and the Implanted Word has saved you, therefore be swift to hear from the Word of God. The result for those quick-hearers, slow-speakers and long-fused people is spiritual rototiller in their garden. All the weeds of filthiness and rampant wickedness are ripped out and the soil is prepped to receive the implanted word (vs 20-21). Meekness is the tilled ground of the soul that receives the God’s word. If a seed is planted, you should expect a plant to grow. If the Word is heard, you should expect the Word to be done. At least, that’s what James thinks.

Do the Word
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (vs. 22). You are saved by the Word. You hear the Word. And now, you must do the Word. Suppose a man looks in the mirror and spots a chunk of spinach covering his four front teeth, but forgets about the vegetation for the rest of the day (vs 23). He’s not using the mirror properly. But when you look into the Bible, the perfect law, the law of liberty, you see yourself truthfully reflected. As a Christian, you look and see your true self in Christ, in the Word. If you look in the mirror, and see Jesus, that will change how you live. You can do the word because the Word is in you, and you will be blessed (vs. 25)

Law of Liberty: Legalism or Obedience
If we miss the first half of the message that the Word saves you, and only hear the second half––do the Word, then you can easily see that this is a heap of legalism. Why do we ‘do the word?’” Legalism says, “Do the Word in order for God to save you.” Obedience says, “Do the Word because God has saved you.”

Pure Religion
Just as Jesus, the Word of God, became incarnate, so God’s word in you must take on flesh. If the Word is really in you, then you will do the Word––the real kind. James says there are religion want-to-bes and religion realities. The false religion produces counterfeit forms of holiness that are worthless. But pure religion is a true reflection of God. Because you have been saved by the Word, you therefore guard your words. Because God has become your Father, you therefore visit those without a father or husband. You have have been washed by Jesus, you therefore you keep yourself unstained from the world.

Every Good and Perfect Gift

Ben Zornes on May 5, 2017

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Introduction
This is a challenging and powerful passage for how we can view, receive, count as joy hard things. We will look at how faith receives trials as the good and perfect gifts from our Father. This combination of joy in trial is evident in Hugh Latimer’s charge to his burning friend, “Be of good cheer, Master Ridley, and play the man, for we shall this day light such a candle in England as I trust by God’s grace shall never be put out.” Why could Latimer call for rejoicing? He trusted that God had a purpose for this trial. In faith, he saw the torching of their bodies as the spark God kindled that would continue to burn in England. Be of good cheer, for your trials are the good and the perfect gifts from God your Father.

Jesus Character Course (1-4)
In verse two, James rolls up his sleeves and gets to business, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kind…” James says that the flat tire when you’re already late, the roommate who doesn’t do her dishes, the back pain, the discovery of a brain tumor, another miscarriage, the inability to have children should all be considered joy. The reason you can have joy is because the trial has meaning. The trial is for your maturity––that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (vs. 3-4).

When you become a Christian, you begin the life long process of becoming like Jesus, which is called sanctification. You are enrolled in the “Jesus Christ Prep-School of Character.” When the teacher gives you tests, you should not sigh, roll your eyes, or walk out of the class. One of the regular things being tested is our faith––Can you properly see and identify? Here’s a car accident or an angry child or cancer. What is this?

Asking for Wisdom (5-8)
If any of you lacks wisdom, specifically for what’s going on in this process of maturity, then you can ask God, and he will give what you need and give generously (vs. 5). God is willing to back up the dump truck of wisdom for how to joyfully live in trials. But when the truck has backed into your driveway and dumped half its load, you shouldn’t wave your arms and shout, “Actually, I don’t want this. Can you take it back?” Everyone wants wisdom, but we are not as keen on the process to gain wisdom. But this is a double-minded man (vs. 6-8).

The Long View of Faith (9-12)
The faith required for Christians can seem confusing up close, but becomes clearer with the long view. James gives a specific example of faith in finances (vs. 9-11). The poor can boast in his exaltation because true riches are not his own but come from another, and the rich can boast in his humiliation because true riches are not his own but come from another. Faith looks ahead to the promised end and lives like it in the present moment. The man with faith on the long view is the blessed man. Happy is the one who remains steadfast in the pain for he receives the crown of life (vs. 12). This is at odds with our culture that preaches, “Happy are those who take it easy.” Happiness comes not through the lack of trials, but from triumphing over them. A thirty-nine year man snuggled in his bathrobe that hasn’t come off since Y2K is not an exhibit of happiness.

Testing Not Tempting (13-16)
James anticipates several likely flair ups and explains the difference between testing and tempting. God can not be tempted and he does not tempt anyone, so God is not the source of the problem for temptation (vs. 13). The wagging finger is pointed back at each of us (vs. 14-15). Adam and Eve were lured by their desires, and these desires gave birth to sin and sin grew up and killed them (Gen. 3:6).

But God put them in the garden with the no-touchy tree. How was this not a temptation? God tests us but he does not tempt us. The temptation of Jesus in the wilderness helps to clarify. Both the Spirit and Satan are planning something for Jesus. The situation is the same––Jesus alone in the wilderness. But the Spirit and Satan have different objectives––Satan wants to tempt Jesus, the Spirit wants to test Jesus. Same situation, different objectives. Satan tempted Jesus to sin in order to disqualify him from being the Savior. The Spirit tested Jesus in order to confirm him as the Savior (Heb. 4:15).

Jesus Christ: The Good and Perfect Gift (17-18)
God the Father gives every good gift and every perfect gift (vs. 17-18). Look around your life, and see the gift boxes stacked from floor to ceiling. God gives generously, so we receive gratefully. Faith believes that nothing comes to us except by God’s will. By faith we know that everything that comes to us is for our good.

We must end with the Father’s greatest gift. For God the Father so loved the world that he gave a gift. You unwrap it and you discover Jesus, your Savior. All of this is yours because Jesus received the trials from his Father as good gifts in faith. And now he says to you, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

The Covenant Home 2: Common Sins in Marriage

Joe Harby on August 30, 2015

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Introduction

As we consider some common sins committed in marriage by both men and women, remember the context of federal headship. The responsibility for all these sins lies with the husband. A woman can and should recognize her individual sins before the Lord; her husband’s overarching responsibility should in no way lessen her sense of personal and individual responsibility. Properly understood, it should have precisely the opposite effect.

The Text

“For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was” (Jas. 1:23).

On Seeing the Back of Your Head

The Word of God is given to us in order to enable us to see ourselves. Apart from this, we cannot really see ourselves. When we examine our own hearts, there are many parts of it which we cannot see. In order to see ourselves properly, we always have to hold up the mirror of the Word. This is particularly true in marriage.

Common Sins of Husbands

First is refusing responsibility. As we saw last week, the man is the head (1 Cor. 116 ). His only option therefore is whether he will accept or refuse to face that fact of headship. Many Christian men refuse, and it shows in their marriages.

A second problem is that of refusing to be masculine—In 1 Cor. 16:13 , Paul charges the Corinthians to be courageous in their sanctification. The word he uses is literally act the man. Especially in the arena of marriage, men need to learn to be men.

Third, a common problem is infidelity in the heart. Jesus’ words are well-known. “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt. 5:28). This includes, but is not limited to, lust provoked by magazines, co-workers, daughters and wives of friends, Internet images, movies, songs, daydreams, or anything else you might be able to come up with.

Then there is the problem of harsh bitterness. Paul goes out of his way to tell husbands that love includes a refusal to be embittered by the behavior of their wives (Col. 3:19). Fifth, we cannot leave out the common problem of being a blockhead. Women are complicated beings. Peter requires husbands to treat their wives according to knowledge (1 Pet. 3:7). The Word of God does not permit you to fail this course. Men must study their wives.

Sixth, there is the problem of poor provision. Paul says that poor financial provision for one’s family is tantamount to apostasy (1 Tim. 5:8). This is the case regardless of the reason how the provision failed. An essential element in provision is forethought. And when there is a genuine hard providence—a meteor landed on your business—remember the first principle above.

And last, laziness—one particular reason why many men do not provide adequately for their wives is laziness. “He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich” (Prov. 10:4). This is followed by the close second of excuse-making.

Common Sins of Wives

A very common sin is that of disrespect. God commands that a wife respect her husband (Eph. 5:33). Many wives do not read all those marriage books because they are zealous for righteousness; they read them in order to get more ammo to use on their husbands. Further, they want their husbands to love them unconditionally, but they then return their owed respect conditionally.

Second, there is resentment. While men tend to harsh bitterness, women tend to hurt bitterness. In the emotional realm, women bruise easily (1 Pet. 3:7). Some have concluded from this, falsely, that women have a right to any offense. But in Eph. 4:31-32, Paul tells us what we must do with the sins committed against us. It is as much a sin to be offended as it is to offend.

Third, a common sin is to think as the foolish women do. Many men struggle under numerous temptations for a time, only to have the wife join the dogpile. For example, Job’s wife encouraged him to let go of his integrity, to curse God and die (Job 2:9).
A fourth problem is the “little helper syndrome.” The Bible says that woman was made for the man (1 Cor. 11:8), and she was given to him to be a helpmeet (Gen. 2:20). But nowhere does the Bible say that the Holy Spirit needed a helpmeet. “Let’s see. Where can I find someone to help convict this man of his sins. . . ?”

Another is poor sexual responsiveness. Paul teaches us that one of the purposes of marriage is to provide protection against the manifold temptations out there to immorality (1 Cor. 7:2). But not only are many Christian wives not a help here, they are a positive hindrance. Remember though, the model is to be the Shulamite, and not the latest survey results in some bizarre women’s magazine.

In conservative circles, there can be the problem of pseudo-submissiveness. Many wives want their husbands to take the initiative, seize the leadership… as long as they do what the wife would have wanted them to. But see Eph. 5:24.

And last, there is carping, whining and quarreling. Solomon tells us that the contentions of a wife are an ongoing pain-in-the neck (Prov. 19:13). “But I just wanted him to hear my concerns. Just one more time.”