Today the key verse on which we’ll be meditating God’s word is found in James 2:26. Apostle James talks about the ‘works’ that must accompany our ‘faith’. The verse reads “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also”
We know salvation is a FREE gift of God. We do not obtain it BY our works. We can in NO way EARN it! But AFTER we receive this FREE gift, we are called FOR good ‘works’! We simply cannot say, ‘I believe’ and then sit quietly doing nothing. Apostle James compares faith without works to the body without spirit; very much dead. Why should our faith be a ‘dead’ faith?
You may believe in One God – the Triune God; you may believe in the Bible, God’s word. You may believe in the great doctrines found in the Bible; you may even believe the difficult doctrines of the Christian faith! ‘You do well’. But James contends, ‘Even the demons believe – and tremble’! (Jam. 2:19). So, what is the difference in our ‘belief’?
The entire book of James is directed towards ‘works’ – a believer MUST do. James warns us throughout his book, that as believers, we must not deceive ourselves, but see to it that our ‘faith’ be justified by ‘works’. Apostle James talks to us about works in 3 dimensions, so to speak.
1. Work towards God
2. Works toward fellow-men
3. Works against the enemy
About these things, Apostle James speaks with conviction and gusto. When we read the book of Acts, we find James is a highly respected Apostle, who speaks straight from the heart and straight to the heart. Today, I pray that this message too will be directed straight to your heart, to help you find areas in your life, where your faith is accompanied by works ALSO. First, let us begin the…
1. Work towards God
Apostle James calls for ‘work’ and not just ‘belief’ toward God. Go with me through these following verses…
• James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you”.
Come before God to worship! When God has shown you His salvation, and you still feel ‘far’ from God, the onus lies on you to take the first step towards God. And when you draw near to God, He will certainly draw near to you. Allow me to talk straight to your heart, too – when you come here to worship, do you REALLY seek to draw near to God? Yes? Why is it then that when the singers come out to sing, you would rather chew your gum? Or just look outside the window? Would you rather be there?
Remember, you can draw near to God as much as YOU want to. You can get close to God AS MUCH AS YOU REALLY WANT to!
• James 5:17 talks of ‘fervent’ (or earnest) prayer!
Come before God to pray! When you come before God to pray, check yourself on how you pray. Do you pray a ‘fervent prayer’? Or do you mumble a few words? Or is it some familiar, routine ‘stuff’ that you’ve learnt by heart that you strut as prayer?
James gives us the example of Elijah. Elijah prayed according to God’s word and will in times of the apostasy; ‘Lord, according to your word ‘If I shut up the heavens and there be no rain…’, let there be no rain’ – God heard his prayer and stopped the rains! It was a time of repentance and change for the people of God in those times. And Elijah prayed again ‘Lord, according to your word, when my people humble themselves and turn from their wicked ways, you will send the rain; so let there be rain now - showers of blessing!’ And God heard his prayer, when he prayed fervently! Elijah sent his servant again and again to look for the answer to his prayers!
• James 1:22 says “...be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves”
Come before God to obey! True faith is this - acting on the word of God. If you are here only to hear God’s word, but not to make any changes in your ‘doings’, Apostle James says, you are deceiving yourselves! Jesus taught us this parable of the Sower, when he sows the seed – the Word of God; there are some who joyfully hear the words and accept them, but when trials come they fall away. But the ‘good’ ground is those who hear and DO the words of God! They are the people who trust God not just for ‘the good times’. When trials come, they are steadfast in their faith. We can know that nothing can separate us from the love of God.
2. Works toward fellow-men
There are a lot of practical things Apostle James talks of in our relation with our fellow-men. All of them are acts of love that we show our fellowmen and in so doing we manifest our true faith in God. Let’s quickly go through these…
• James 1:27 says “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble and to keep oneself unspotted from the world”.
Look around in your own church… there are people in need. Orphans, widows… How can we close our heart to their needs? Can we remain unmoved by their plight and expect to please God? True faith in God manifests in our love and in our giving acts. (Jam. 2:15, 16).
• James 2:1 “do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality”
Do not show partiality in the church – among brothers and sisters, among rich and poor (Jam. 2:9). James explains this in the following verses. You can read for yourselves. The essence is this-all, rich or poor, are equal before God; and what matters is their faith! We are also called not to curse or slander anyone. Read the verses in James 3:9, 10 “…and with it (tongue), we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so”. And James 4:11, “Do not speak evil of one another, brethren”.
• James 3:14: “But if you have bitter envy … in your hearts…”
Do not be jealous of one another. We are not here to compare and compete with one another.
• James 5:12: “But above all, brethren, do not swear…Let your “Yes” be “Yes” and your “No”, “No”…”
James 5 also talks about the sin of withholding your employees’ wages. If you are an employer, the works toward our fellowmen will be not to de-fraud anyone. And James 5:19, 20 show us how we must bring back an erring brother or sister back into the fold. It says, “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins”. Remember these acts – the ‘works’ of faith, towards fellow brothers, as we come together.
3. Works against the Enemy
In any war strategy, to have victory one must always know who the true enemy is! If India is concerned of only Pak. as the enemy, they will miss out the hand of China, in underhand deals with Pak. But the Indian government is aware of happenings all around and is watchful. We too should know our enemy and devise strategies for victory. It is part of our faith!
• Enemy - the flesh
James 1:14 “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed” …”Do not be deceived, my brethren” (v16)
This is the enemy WITHIN us! And bringing us death! (v15). James clearly draws the line when he says; God does not tempt us (v13). We are tempted by our own desires. Apostle John talks about the ‘lust of the flesh’ (1 John 2). To fight this enemy, we turn to Gal. 5:24 “And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires”. We win the battle when we know that we are Christ’s. No longer WILL we give in to OUR fleshly passions and desires.
• Enemy - the world
James 4:4 “…Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God”
Being a friend with the world is an enemy with God! ‘World’ does not mean the ‘people’ of this world! NO! It means the world ‘system’-the ways of the world! The people who are and things that are controlled by the 'world' system. Some political idealogies! The media!
If you look at 1 John 2:15, 16, it says “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life-is not of the Father but is of the world”. Firstly, John talks about the lust of the flesh that says “I will it”. And they who give in to this sin-fleshly lusts, fall into various temptations. The lust of the eyes says “I must have it”. So we see people buying things for themselves that are quite unnecessary – just because someone else has it! And there is a spirit of greed working in them. And thirdly, John talks of the boastful spirit – the pride of life that says “I”. The person always exalting himself! These are the ways of the ‘world’ against which we must ‘work’ our faith.
• Enemy - the devil
James 4:7 “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you”
To win the battle against this enemy – the devil, we must submit ourselves to God and RESIST the devil. As we stand firm in the faith, and keep resisting the devil, we’ll see that he flees from us. 1 Peter 5:9 says, “Resist him (the devil), steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world”. The earlier verses in Peter also talks of submitting to God. God will help us overcome this enemy. We can be sure that as we submit ourselves to God, stand firm in the faith and resist the devil, he certainly has to flee!
Let me close with the following exhortation. The book of James has just 5 chapters. All of them are directed towards the ‘works’ that must accompany our ‘faith’. Go through all the verses in the book. As you go through the verses, you will find areas of work for yourself toward God, fellowmen and against the enemy.
May the root of God’s word bring forth fruit; may the seed of God’s word, as in good soil, bring forth a rich harvest, and may your life manifest a faith that works! Amen.
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