The Kind of Faith That Saves

(James 2:14-26)

I. Introduction.
A. Orientation.
This morning, we saw the extent of Gods love for us if were trusting Jesus:
He was willing to give the One He loved most of all,
To suffer His full wrath for sin on the cross,
While we were still His enemies.
That is why the new birth exists
Why He can give this precious gift
Because He gave His Son.

We also saw how we can know that what He did, He did for us:
If we believe.

B. Preview.
You know very well by now
That there is a lot of disagreement over what Jesus means by this.
Many in the church think what He means is simply believe the facts
Just believe what God says about Him
Who He is and what Hes done
And youre saved.

Sadly, there are also many who know this isnt true,
Who know theres more to it than this

That there must be a change of life,

There must be the works that James speaks of here
But who live essentially in the same way as those
Who dont believe it.

The point James drives at in our passage this evening,

Is that this isnt any better:
A faith that doesnt result in works
That doesnt produce a radical change in your life
Isnt saving, but a dead faith.

What Id like to do is divide saving faith into the three parts the Reformers did
To give us a better understanding of what it is
What its supposed to be
So that well be able to see more clearly whether we have the kind of faith that
saves.
Theres no value in thinking you have saving faith when in fact you dont.
If you dont, its better to find out as soon as possible
So that you might do what you need to do to enter heaven in the end.

The three parts of saving faith are:

1. The notes, or the content of faith.
2. Assent, or the belief that that content is true.
3. And trust, or the acting on that content.
Or to put it another way:

1. Having the right facts about Jesus.

2. The conviction that those facts are true.
3. And acting on that truth.
II. Sermon.
A. First, lets consider that to have a saving faith,
You must have the right facts about Jesus.

1. The majority of people in our country believe

a. That when they die, theyre going to heaven
To the good place, not to the bad
If, in fact, such a place exists.
Why?
Because God is a god of love who cant send anyone to hell.

b. Others believe that hell is only for the really bad people,
Certainly, not for them, because their good works outweigh their bad.
Is that what the Bible teaches? No.
But they choose to believe it anyway,
Because thats what they want to believe.

c. Jehovahs Witnesses believe

That they will eventually live in a paradise on earth,
That they wont be annihilated
Because theyre a part of the Watchtower organization
And go door to door trying to convince people of their teaching.

Because their founder Charles Taze Russell taught them that this was the
truth.

d. Mormons believe
That they too will live in a paradise on earth and not be annihilated
Because they believe theyre part of the only true church
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints.
Some even believe that one day they will be gods of their own planets
Because this is what their prophet Joseph Smith taught.

e. Muslims believe
That they will go to heaven to enjoy the sensual pleasures
Their god has for them there
Because they observe the five pillars of Islam:
1) They believe there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His messenger,
2) Pray five times a day,
3) Give alms to the poor,
4) Fast during the month of Ramadan,
5) And make at least one pilgrimage to Mecca in their lifetime.
Or that theyre going to heaven because they die in a holy war,
Because this is what their prophet Muhammad taught.

f. There are even many in the church who think theyre going to heaven
Simply because they believe the facts about Jesus
That He is the Son of God,

Who died on the cross for sinners.

They dont believe they need to repent
Or consecrate/set their lives apart for God
Either because their teachers who dont know what the Bible actually says

Have been teaching this to them,

Or hearing the truth, they choose not to believe it.

2. But none of these are really going to get what they expect for one simple reason:
a. What they believe isnt true, its a lie
And a lie cant save you,
No matter how firmly you believe it.

b. Jesus gave you His Word so you would know the truth
He sent His Spirit to guide His Prophets to record His truth,
He came down from heaven to reveal it to you,
He guided His apostles to record and further explain what He said
So that you would know how you can be saved,
And what kind of life you will live if you have been saved.

c. If you dont have a right belief,

You cant have a saving faith.

(i) If you dont believe in the Triune God,

You cant be saved

6
Because youre worshiping a false god.

(ii) If you dont believe in the Jesus who is both God and man,
You cant be saved
Because youre trusting a false Christ.

(iii) If you believe youre saved by the good works you do,
You cant be saved,
Because salvation is by grace through faith alone.

(iv) And if you believe you can be saved

Without consecrating your life entirely to Jesus Christ
If you think you can be a Christian
And live like the rest of the world,
In any other way than how God wants you to live
You cant be saved.
Saving faith is obedient faith,
Which is what James teaches us in our text.
Well look at this a bit more in the third point.

d. You cant come to God anyway you want,

Or live anyway you please and expect to arrive in heaven.
You have to come Gods way,
Or you cant come at all.

If you have the kind of faith that saves,

You will follow what the Bible actually says

Not what you think or want it to say.

B. Second, knowing the facts, if you have a saving faith, you will be convinced that
those facts are true.
1. Its possible to have the truth
To know what the Bible says
And still not believe its true.

How many people do you know

That were raised in a Christian family,
And in a Bible believing Church,
Who were taught the truth their whole lives,
But who never really believed it,
And so never followed Jesus Christ?

2. You must not only know the facts,

You must also believe them.

3. But even this by itself isnt enough.

Remember what I said earlier:
How there are many in the visible church
Who believe that this is all there is to saving faith
That its nothing more than believing the facts,
That repentance is nothing more than changing your mind

8
From what you thought was true
To what really is true.
Thats good, but James says it doesnt go far enough.
You do well, the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to
recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? (2:19-20).
You need something more.

C. And that brings us to the final point

You must also act on that truth.

There are many who know what the Bible says,

And even believe its true,
But theyve never really embraced it; theyve never acted on it
In a consistent and lifelong way.
James says you must,
Or you have nothing more than what the demons have
A faith that cant save you.

If you have saving faith,

You will have a working faith
One that acts on what you believe.

1. The first thing you will do is trust Jesus Christ, as we saw this morning.
Jesus said, As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the
Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal
life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:1416).

Believing that Jesus is the only One who can save you from judgment,
You will trust Him to save you
You will rely on His work alone,
On His obedience, His death on the cross,
To make you acceptable to God.

That is the first act of a truly saving faith

Resting in Jesus alone for your salvation.

2. The second thing you will do is what James emphasizes here: you will repent.
a. Theres really no first and second here
The two come together or they dont come at all.
To trust Jesus, you have to turn from your sins.
Conversion is a two-sided coin.
You cant savingly believe in Jesus
And continue to live as you did before
In the way you want to live,
Rather than in the way He wants you to live.
You cannot receive Jesus as your Savior,
As long as you refuse to bow the knee to Him as Lord.

John the Baptist will tell us the same thing later in John 3:36,
He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the
Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.

10
The kind of faith that saves is a repenting, obedient, consecrated, working
faith.
b. Thats what James tells us:
(i) He says that merely claiming to be a Christian,
While remaining what you were before trusting Christ,
Is like pretending to be concerned about your brother or sister
Who need food and clothing, but doing nothing about it.
If your concern for your brother or sister
Doesnt move you to do something for them, it isnt genuine.
In the same way, if your faith doesnt move you to do what Jesus calls you
to do, it isnt genuine,
What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no
works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without
clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, Go in
peace, be warmed and be filled, and yet you do not give them what is
necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no
works, is dead, being by itself (2:14-17).

(ii) What you do outwardly, shows what you are inwardly:

If Jesus is in your heart,
You will become like Him
Your faith will be seen in the way you live,
Not just heard in what you say.
Again, James writes, But someone may well say, You have faith and I
have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you
my faith by my works (v. 18).

(iii) As I said earlier, if you have nothing more

Than the mere belief that what God says is true

11

Youre no better off than the demons

If theyre not saved, why would you think you are?
He says in verse 19-20, You believe that God is one. You do well; the
demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize,
you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?

(iv) Paul, in his letter to the Romans, points to Abraham as an example of

one who was justified by faith alone,
What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the
flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has
something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the
Scripture say? ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS
CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Now to the one who
works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to
the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the
ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness (Rom. 4:1-5).

But James reminds us, Abraham was justified by a faith that was not alone

He acted on what he believed: Was not Abraham our father justified by

works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith
was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was
perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, AND
ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM
AS RIGHTEOUSNESS, and he was called the friend of God (2:2123).

(v) If you have saving faith,

You will not only believe what God says,
Your life will be transformed by it.
You will do more than lay claim to faith,
What you do will show that you have it.
You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone (v. 24).

12

(vi) Rahab was a harlot who lived in Jericho.

When she heard what God had done for His people
How He had dried up the Jordan River, allowing them to cross,
How He intended to give them the land in which she was living
She believed, repented of her harlotry,
And when the spies came to her home,
She hid them from the soldiers on her roof,
Sent the soldiers off on a wild goose chase,
And sent the spies out in peace back to their camp.
She showed by what she did that she really believed.
In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when
she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? (v.
25).

(vii) Saving faith changes you:

To have a faith without works,
Is like having a body without a soul
Without that which animates it
It only looks alive; its really dead.
For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works
is dead (v. 26).

3. The reason saving faith produces action/works is because of the new birth.
The Spirit, who opens your eyes to the beauty of Gods holy kingdom,
Who makes you want to enter it through faith in His holy Son, Jesus,

13

Also opens your eyes to the beauty of Gods holy Law,

So that you will want to live that kind of life
That is the new nature He creates in you.
If you have that new nature,
You will live a new kind of life
You will live like Jesus lived.

4. And so this evening,

As we prepare to come to the Table,
Compare your life with what James says should be the case if you really know
Jesus.
Does it show that you have a genuine, living faith
One that not only believes the truth,
But acts on it, in obedience to all the Lord says,
Because you love it
Or does it show that you have a dead faith
Only a bare profession,
Because you really dont love what you say you believe?

If you have nothing more than a claim to faith,

You need to repent, turn to Jesus, and put your trust in Him.

If you cant, because you dont really want to,

Then you need to ask Him to have mercy on you
To give you His Spirit to change your heart.

14

Without the faith that comes from the new birth, you will face judgment.
But if He gives it to you, you will live forever.
Remember, God is merciful
He wont turn you away if you sincerely come to Him. Amen.

http://www.gcmodesto.org