Upper Path Valley Presbyterian Church

James 2:14-26

“Give it All, Part 1”

Rev. Meagan Boozer

I want to begin today by talking about faith. Everyone has faith.

We have faith in people, in things, in outcomes, and maybe we have faith in God.

Examples:

I just went to North Carolina on a road trip with my mom and my brother. I drove for the first part of the trip going down and coming back. Graham drove the second half of the trip both ways. If I didn’t have faith that Graham would drive carefully enough to get us where we were going, he wouldn’t have been driving my car.

We go to an appointment with faith that the person we’ve made an appointment to see will be there to meet with us.

We turn on the faucet with faith that the water will come out.

We purchase a car with faith that the manufacturers haven’t taken shortcuts that would compromise our safety.

We stand up with faith that our feet and our legs will hold us.

We act in faith hundreds of times each and every day. But what does it look like to have faith in the God of the Bible? I ask “what does it look like,” because faith that is real should be able to be seen. I mean, just to stand by your tractor and have faith that it will start isn’t real faith. Real faith gets on the tractor and actually turns the key. Real faith found me in the back seat of my car while Graham was driving. What does it look like to have faith in the God of the Bible?

Let’s listen now to a passage of Scripture that has caused more theological books to be written than almost any other passage. The words are written by James, the biological half-brother of Jesus. At one point in Jesus’ ministry we hear that James wasn’t all that supportive of what Jesus was doing. He was concerned, along with his mother and other brothers, that Jesus was too far “out there” with his teaching. But, obviously, James came to have faith in Jesus as the promised Messiah- for the book of James is written by his hand.

Chapter 2:14-26:

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe- and shudder. Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is barren? Was no our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was brought to completion by the works. Thus the scripture was fulfilled that say, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not faith alone. Likewise, was no Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another road? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.

A couple of things are important to note:

James was writing to Christians in the early church.

He is not contradicting what Paul say about faith.

Paul, back in Romans 3:28, writes this: “For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.” To be justified means to be received by God just as if I’d never sinned (justified). Paul is talking about salvation. He is telling us that there is absolutely no work that we can do to make us acceptable to God. Jesus did all the work for us! Romans 5:8 reminds us that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

James, on the other hand, is talking to people who already have been saved by their confession of faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. And I think he’s a little frustrated. What do you think? Listen again:

So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe and shudder. Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is barren?

Yep, I think he’s a little hot under that collar.

Faith without works is dead.

If something is dead, it means at one time it was alive.

I am reminded of one of the many interesting conversations mom, Graham, and I shared in the car last weekend. Mom said something was dead as a doornail. We’ve all heard that phrase lots of times and agreed that something is dead as a doornail. Graham, from the backseat, in the pitch black of night, at approximately 1:00 in the morning, said, “That makes no sense- Dead as a doornail. Why do we say something is dead as a doornail?” He made a good point. A doornail was never living- so how could it be dead?

James is frustrated because people who once had a living faith seem to now have a dead faith. How can he tell? He’s not seeing their faith at work! Real faith should be able to be seen.

My Uncle Bill, whom we visited in Elkin, NC, had rotator cuff surgery not too long ago. He told us that every hour after he got home, he had exercises to do. If he didn’t do the exercises, his muscles would get weak, flimsy, and atrophy. He had a certain height he could raise his arm, a certain number of rotations he was supposed to perform, and he was supposed to increase the reps as he was able. He did all his exercises, on time, the way they told him to do them. Consequently, he’s back out doing yard work, playing golf, doing all the things he loves to do.

Those of us who have been saved by our faith in Jesus Christ, have also had surgery. Listen to God’s word from 2 Corinthians 5:16,17, “From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; everything old had passed away; see, everything has become new!”

When we confessed faith in Jesus Christ, our old self was mysteriously and miraculously removed, and a new self was put in! Everything that really counts is new: A new heart, a new mind, and a new spirit. That’s what we get when we claim faith in Christ as Savior and Lord. So why do so many struggle to live as the new creatures we are?

James is saying, quite bluntly, if you’re not regularly exercising all the new parts, your faith is going to be weak, flimsy, and your spiritual muscles will atrophy. Atrophy means the shrinking in size of some part or organ of the body, usually caused by injury, disease, or lack of use.

If your faith is real and true, I should be able to see your faith in the way you live. I should be able to see your faith in the things you stand up for- in the things you will not compromise. I should be able to see your faith in how you welcome the stranger into our midst, I should be able to see your faith in your family relationships. I should be able to walk in your house and see your Christian character displayed just as brightly there as it is displayed here. I should be able to hear your faith in the words you choose to speak and the words you choose not to speak. I should be able to see your faith in your service in the midst of Christ’s body, the church. A great example of this was Trunk or Treat!

Last winter, I took several groups through a teaching on spiritual gifts called Network. The class challenges participants to identify the things about which they are passionate, identify their spiritual gifts (which everyone has been given), and then make a commitment to put those passions and gifts together for the work of ministry. During that class, Emma Baker identified a passion she has for young children. She also identified one of the spiritual gifts she has of “helps.” In other words, Emma likes to help make things happen, doing whatever it takes to make it happen. Trunk or Treat began with Emma’s faith, which then worked its way out into the community. Thanks to so many of you for putting your faith in what God had called Emma to do- in action. That’s how its supposed to work!

If we were a congregation up here on this little hill that only came on Sunday mornings and then went right back home and never came to the building again until the next Sunday morning, even though we would be living as Christ would want us to live during the other 6 days, what sort of a picture would that send to our community? No cars in the parking lots, no lights in the windows, no sign down by the road, no nothing- except on Sunday mornings. What picture does that send? Does that look like a dead faith or a living faith for this whole body of Christ? (I want you to think in terms of the whole group of us, not a faithful individual here or there.) If we just took in our offerings and only spent them on ourselves, never helping other people in our community who need help, what picture does that send? Does that look like a dead faith or a living faith for this whole body of Christ?

What makes the greatest impact? One person or an army? One person’s donation or a hundred people’s gifts put together? I’m not saying your individual faith working its way out isn’t important, one on one. You know I’m not saying that because that would go against the Scriptures. The power of one who is new in Christ is great power. But I believe James is talking to you and to me about the impact of your faith at work and my faith at work combining to make a living, breathing, active, whole body of Christ that advances the territory (like an army!) for the Kingdom of God with just the right combination of humility and confidence.

Not everyone is called to be on a board, not everyone is called to serve on a committee. Not everyone is called to the dame place of service. Some are teachers, some are teacher’s helpers. Some are singers, some are lay readers. Some are greeters, some are rollers and sliders. Some are crocheters, knitters, painters, crafters, bulletin folders, nursery caregivers, youth workers. Some are butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers. (really!)

James says, “Faith without works is dead.” We much exercise our faith. I don’t want a dead faith myself- and I don’t wan this church to have a dead faith. We have to exercise our faith, not just go with what we know and what is comfortable. We must do what God is telling us to do because he is always, always, always calling us to stretch our faith muscles even more so that we will grow stronger for Him. We must give to the Lord our all- our passions, our gifts, our time, our talents, our money, our everything.

The philosopher Kierkegaard, in the 1800’s, told a parable about a place called Duckland.

It was Sunday morning and all the ducks dutifully came to church, waddling through the doors and down the aisle into their pews where they comfortably squatted. When all were well-settled, and the hymns were sung, the duck minister waddled to his pulpit, opened the Duck Bible and read: “Ducks! You have wings, and with wings you can fly like eagles. You can soar in the sky! Use your wings!” It was marvelous, elevating duck scripture, and thus all the ducks quacked their agreement with a hearty, “Amen!” And then, they plopped down from their pews and waddled home.

Those poor duck waddled in and out of church and never flew as they were created to do, because their “faith” was nothing more than mental agreement. Few things are as inglorious as a waddle, and few things are more glorious that a duck on the wing! All God’s people have wings! The fist wing is faith, faith alone in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The second wing is works, a faith that works. The first wing of faith is the source and the inspiration of the wing of works. For as real faith begins to beat, it brings forth the sprouting of a second wing and its corresponding rhythm. Beating together, faith and works, they life us from our inglorious waddles to the glory of lives on the wing, soaring in God’s service! And that’s how God intended his church to grow!

Do I hear an Amen?

Upper Path Valley Presbyterian Church

11-05-06