Here is the proposition I would ask you to consider this morning:

You cannot separate faith from good works; they are interrelated.

Bonhoeffer says something similar by way of the question I started with and part of the answer he gives:

“How, then, is true Christian service performed in the Christian community?”

Basically, Bonhoeffers answer is that we must be willing to allow service to cost us something – to interrupt our busy lives…

“We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God, who will thwart our plans and frustrate our ways time and again, even daily, by sending people across our path with their demands and requests. We can, then, pass them by, preoccupied with our more important daily tasks, just as the priest – perhaps reading the Bible – passed by the man who had fallen among robbers.12 When we do that, we pass by the visible sign of the cross raised in our lives to show us that God’s way, and not our own, is what counts.”

D. Bonhoeffer.

Our ‘busy’ness – whatever that looks like for you – is one of the tools that the adversary uses to separate our faith from the actions that actually demonstrate that faith.

The first example that James uses has to do with demons and it teaches us that…

1. Believing Isn’t Enough (19-20).

James, rather shockingly says “Even The Demons Believe”. James first of his three illustrations is an unlikely one…demons! Look again at v. 19 James says,

“You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.”

This first example is pretty blunt for the readers. What could there possibly be from which a community of “faith” would want to distance themselves farther than demons? James saying “You believe” makes the theme of faith unmistakable. But it is a doctrinal belief (believing that something is true) rather than genuine Christian faith; Even the demons believe in the sense of recognizing the truth, and they at least realize that it leaves them cause to shudder in fear rather than rest in confidence that they are saved.

Believing is not enough – our belief and faith should cause us to act….

Mark 1:23-26

Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God!” “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.

The point James is making is that believing the truth without obeying the truth does not save us at all, any more than it saves demons. In fact, the comparison to demonic “faith” might even imply that belief without obedience is even worse than useless.

James doesn’t stop there, however, now he swings for the fences! In v. 20 he says, you foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?

If the faith around which we build our lives turns out to be empty, aren’t then actually the hollow people that a growing number in society expect that we are? So James wants them to understand, when will you ever learn that faith that does not result in good deeds is useless? There are times when we need more teaching or understanding in order to respond to God’s direction. But most often we know what needs to be done yet are unwilling to act. When it comes to putting into practice what we know, is it our habit to obey God?

Bonhoeffer note this as well:

“Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant” (Mark 10:43). Jesus tied all authority in the community to service, one to another.”

James’ message is pretty clear here –  Faith is Useless Without Works.

“Good works do not make a good man, but a good man does good works.” Luther, Martin

A faith that doesn’t act is not real faith.

Matthew 5:16

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

A tree that doesn’t produce fruit gets cut down.
A car that doesn’t run belongs in the junk yard.
A cow that doesn’t produce milk becomes hamburger.

A faith that doesn’t express itself in good works is not active, true, real…. faith.

When we have real faith we want to do good works because Jesus has changed our life and made us alive!

A real and active faith gives us the desire to do good works because it causes people to praise our heavenly Father.

A real and active faith causes us to do good works not because it makes us look good, but rather because it makes God look good!

James next example has to do with Abraham and it teaches us that our…

2. Faith is demonstrated By What We Do (21-24).

This next example is a classic one, particularly because he was writing to an audience made up of mostly Jewish Christians. Abraham, the father of faith in v. 21 James says,

“Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?”

From his own understanding, James uses a historical figure from the Old Testament that he expects will confirm what he has been teaching about the importance of active faith.

Abraham was one of the Old Testament figures most revered by the Jews.  Abraham’s remarkable obedience in being willing to sacrifice his son at God’s command was evidence of the works for which Abraham was declared right in standing with God.

What was Abraham doing when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? He was trusting God. What we need to take away from Abraham’s life is not a comparison between his sacrifices and ours. You should always expect that in one way or another, our faith will have to grow from internal trust to external action.

“You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.”

Abraham had great faith in God (Genesis 15:6), but James points out that Abraham’s faith was much more than just belief in the one God – the fruit of Abraham’s great faith was in what he was willing to do – the action that he talk because of his faith: His faith was made complete by what he did – by his actions.

It was his faith that produced his actions, and his actions completed his faith, meaning they “perfected” or “matured” it.

There’s a saying that goes: “Mature believers are produced through perseverance in trials; mature faith is produced through works of reverence towards God”. We should not confuse Faith and works with each other, but we shouldn’t separate them either.

Abraham believed God, so God gave Abraham the status of a right relationship with him – and this happened before Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac. James  wants us to understand that Abraham’s righteousness was the basis and reason for all those actions. Because of Abraham’s great faith and obedience, he held the privileged status of being called “the friend of God.”

Then James makes a conclusion based on the life of Abraham,

You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

We are made right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.  For James, “works” (faith in action) are the natural products of true faith; For James, faith alone is the shallow belief in an idea; no commitment or life change is involved.

Godly People Do Godly Things. People of faith are people of action because their hearts have been changed.