Living Faith

"What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works?  Can faith save him?

And if a brother or sister is naked and in lack of daily food, and one of you tells them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled;”and yet you didn't give them the things the body needs, what good is it?  Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead" (2:14-17).

Some read these words and say that James is all about law.  Luther thought that the book of Romans and the book of James were contradictory. He thought the book of Romans tells us that we are saved by the grace of God through faith, and that James tells us that faith without works is dead.

I was aware of the tension between Romans and James for a number of years before I really came to grips with it. I had always known about salvation by the grace of God through faith, but had always said, “Yes, but if we have faith we will also do good deeds. If we don’t live a good life, then we must not have faith.  If we don’t live right, we are not saved.”

I think my very conservative Mennonite heritage showed through a bit.

I would have conversations like this in my head.

We are saved by faith, not works.

Ah, but if you have faith, you will have works.

Yes, but we are not saved by those works.

True, but if you don't have the works, you must not have faith and therefore are not saved.

Wrong! We are saved by faith—not by works. Salvation and works are not connected.

Now I have to tell you

In the end, our relationship with God

Our acceptance by God

Is NOT, let me say that again, is NOT conditional

The idea of God as a vengeful God who is constantly seek retribution doesn’t work

Not when I look at the life of Christ

But, if that is so, why shouldn't we go with Luther and throw out the book of James? Why even bother with it? Why read it in worship? Why base a sermon on it? Why not just ignore James altogether?

I have to believe that the book of James is in the Bible for a reason.

I think there is an important message in James.

The great preacher, E. Stanley Jones, put his thinking about James’ message this way:  "We are not saved because of good works, but we are saved for good works.  In other words, good works do not create salvation, they result from salvation."

OK, nice formula.  But frankly that doesn’t quite do it for me.  It helps

But I think it is more complex than that.

As I started thinking about this passage this is the phrase that jumped out at my… “faith is dead”

What does it mean by the way, that faith is dead?

Does it mean that faith is not there?

That the person is not saved?

That doesn’t seem right.  It doesn’t say there is no faith.  It says that it is dead.

It says that something that was living, and breathing

Something that was real and vital

Isn’t any of those things anymore

Perhaps is not that faith is not existent.  Perhaps it is more a fact that

It just isn’t very lively

I started thinking about some things I have learned from psychology.  One of the things that studies have discovered is that when people are down, when they are hopeless and helpless, one of the things that is missing that they have a reason for being.  A reason for living

And what they have found is that one key to recovery is to find something meaningful to do

Being a volunteer, for example, makes a huge difference…

Imagine that

What strikes me about this is that the key is not doing things for one’s self…..

But doing things for other…

Finding a purpose

Meaning

That is outside one’s self

That is…. Charitable

So often when we hear the word faith without works is dead where do we go?

We go to personal morality

We go to I shall not lie

Or steal

Or commit adultery

I shall be a good, upright, righteous person

I shall be the kind of person who deserves God’s love!

This is what I often call “fire insurance” faith. 

This is a matter of obtaining a “get out of hell free card” so to speak

It’s a pretty flat, pretty dead thing

Faith is meant to be living…

So I don’t think James is talking about “being moral”

Staying away from sin here….

Look at everything else he talks about in this book

Faith that doesn’t help others

Faith that doesn’t create change

Faith that doesn’t feed the hungry

Cloth the naked…

Simply is not a faith that is all it could be…..

And thus in this world

In this time

It is a faith that is flat… perhaps empty

Perhaps worse

Perhaps when the “acts of faith are all about ourself”

We go into those dark and ugly places

Of having to make it something that gives us power

Gives us a sense of security

A sense of safety

When our faith is about us

It becomes a protective faith

It becomes a “I have to take care of myself faith

Keep myself from sinning faith

Keep others in line so I am not threatened faith”

This is the faith of Westboro Baptists and their signs

God hates you….

(inside what they are really saying is .. I so hope God is for me, that my zeal is earning God’s love)

And guess what?

At that point it is no longer faith

It is law

A faith at work is not inherently law

It is inherently service

Inherently love

It makes a difference

And it brings our relationship with God alive.

I remember a story told by Tony Campolo

He was sitting in a room full of ministers and missionaries

And it was prayer time 

And one particular missionary was asking for prayer that his program might raise

A couple of thousand dollars for a particular ministry

He waxed eloquent about how the funds would help take care of some young men who desperately needed a place to stay and ongoing support.

Campolo had been the keynote speaker, and as he sat there on the podium he got more and more frustrated.

Finally he stood up, walked to the podium, and said, “I have something I need to say”

There are hundreds of us in this room.  If we just passed the hat, I believe we could raise the money needed for this ministry, and more.  Why are we sitting here talking about it.  Why are we sitting her praying about it.  Let’s take up an offering.”

And at the end of the day, the ministry had more than enough money for its project

And the faith of the minister running the program

The faith of the other people in the room

And I would guess the faith of the young men at the shelter?

Alive

James knows of that which he speaks

He knows

That when we put faith to work

For others

Things happen

And faith lives