Have you ever asked the question,
“What does it take to please God?”
- There are some people who think
that the way you please God is through religious ritual.
- You do certain kinds of rituals
and then God is pleased and you're in the in-crowd.
- But that's not true.
- There are others who think that
the way you please God is through rules and regulations – and that if you just
do certain things, then God will say, "You're okay."
- But that doesn't please God
either.
- Some people think that if my bad
works are real low and my good works are real high, and we kind of balance them
out, well, maybe God will grade on a curve and as long as I do more good than bad,
I'm okay – That's not true either.
- The Bible says that there's only
one way that you can please God.
- (Hebrews
11:6) And without faith it is impossible to please God, because
anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those
who earnestly seek him.
- The only way you can please God is
by faith.
Now, the
problem with that is that a lot of people think they have faith, but they
don't.
- How do I know I have the kind of
faith that gives me access into heaven?"
Fortunately, in the book of James,
chapter 2, James tells us four things that faith is not – and then he tells us
what it is.
WHAT IS REAL FAITH?
1. Real faith is not just something you SAY
- (James 2:14) What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims
to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
- You might circle that word,
"claim".
- He's not saying here that the guy
actually has faith, he says he just claims it.
- In other words, he talks a good
line – He knows all the right phrases – He's got the jargon down pat – He knows
the language of Christianese.
- He claims faith, but that doesn't
mean he's necessarily possesses it.
- George Gallup says that there are
50 million people in America who say, "I am a
Christian."
- But not all of those 50 million
can back it up with a Christian lifestyle.
- And just because a person claims
it, doesn't mean they have it.
- The point I want to make here is
that real faith is more than just talk.
- Not everybody who has a Christian
bumper sticker or Fish symbol on their car is a Christian – Have you figured
that one out?
- I mean, you don't have to get more
than a couple rude hand gestures from the driver before you begin to figure,
“Hey, maybe that guy’s not a believer.”
- “He must have borrowed the car –
Or he bought it second-hand and couldn't scrape it off.
- Not everybody who claims to be a
believer really is – Faith is more than just something you say.
2. Real faith is not just something you FEEL
- A lot of people confuse emotions
and feelings with faith.
- They come to a church service and
they are emotionally moved, they're inspired, and they're stimulated.
- They get a quiver in their liver
and, you know, "Oh, man! I'm
moved!"
- And they go out after the service
and maybe they've even cried or felt God's presence, and that’s great.
- But just because you've felt God's
presence doesn't mean you have real faith.
- There's a big difference between
faith and feeling.
- (James 2:15-16) Suppose a
brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him,
"Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about
his physical needs, what good is it?
- He's saying here that faith is not
just mere sentimentality.
- You go out on the street and you
see some homeless person who's destitute.
- They're poor, they're hungry,
they're cold, they need clothing and shelter.
- And you walk up to them and say,
"Cheer up," or "Don't worry, be happy!"
- That's not faith.
- (1 John 3:17) If anyone has
material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how
can the love of God be in him?
- Faith is practical – It gets
involved in people's hurts.
- And when you see a need, you do
something about it.
- You don't just spout off and say,
"I'll pray for you." – You do something about it.
- You see, if you're a Christian,
you're a part of the family of God.
- And when you became a believer,
you became a part of this family.
- And as a result, you have some
family responsibilities.
- What are those family
responsibilities?
- You care about it when other
Christians are hurt, or in pain, or grief, or sorrow.
- You say, "Well, I can't meet
everybody's needs!" – You're right – You can't.
- But you can meet some – and it may
not make a difference to everybody, but it makes a difference to those people.
3. Real faith is not just something you THINK
- You know, some people think of
faith as a philosophical quest.
- It's something they want to
discuss and debate and argue about.
- And when they think about faith,
it's their mental stimulation, it's a concept to be debated, it's an idea to be
discussed, it's a principle to be bandied about.
- And we don't make any decision on
it, and we certainly don't make any commitment to it, we just discuss it.
- Now James imagines this kind of
person in verse 18, this philosophical debater, he says, (James 2:18 ) But someone will say, "You
have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will
show you my faith by what I do.
- What's he talking about here?
- He says, "Well, here's this
guy who says, "Hey! You're into faith.
Hmmm. I'm into deeds. Different
strokes for different folks. You're into
that, I'm into this. Let's debate
it. Let's talk about it. Let's discuss it.”
- And James is making a point
here.
- He's saying faith is not something
you debate – It's something you do.
- The key phrase in here, and I want
you to circle this, is the phrase, "show me".
- "Show me your faith with o
deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do."
- Faith is odorless, it's colorless,
it's weightless – So how do you know when you've got it?
- How do you know if you've got the
real kind of faith that pleases God?
- How do you know you've got the
kind of faith that gets you into heaven?
- Well, the Bible says to look at
your lifestyle, and real faith will show up in the way you are living your day
to day life.
- Faith is like calories – You can't
see them, but you can sure see the results.
- And when a person really has
Christ in his or her life, you can see it.
- And if you can't see it, you have
every reason to doubt, "Do I have the real, legitimate stuff?
- In America today,
we have this gap between behavior and belief.
- And what we say we believe, we
don't always back up with our lifestyles.
- You might say, "Hey, Pastor,
you know my husband is a Christian."
-
I say, "Oh, really? Does he
hang out with other Christians, you know, fellowship?" "No."
- "Does he have any desire to
go to church? Do you ever see him read
the Bible? Do you hear him pray on a
regular basis? Does he tithe his income? Does he share his faith with anybody, ever
tell anybody about Christ?"
"No"
- "Then how do you know he’s a
Christian?" – "Well, he thinks he is."
- But just because you think it,
doesn't mean it's so.
- Faith is not something you think,
or that you feel, or that you say.
- It's much more than that – If it’s
real, it will show up in your life.
- If you were to walk out of here after
the service and you were to stick your hand into a 220 voltage socket, you'd
get connected to the power source, and you would know it – and your body would
show it.
- Well, God is a far greater power
source than that.
- And I don't think it is possible
for God to come into your life with o changing you.
- And when people say, "Oh, I
have Christ in my life. I believe in
Christ."
- And you say, "Well, how are
you different?"
- If they don't know any difference,
you have every reason to doubt if they've got the real thing.
- I don't believe somebody as big as
Jesus Christ can come into your life and not change you.
- Because when Jesus moves into the
house, He starts rearranging the furniture.
- And all of a sudden, your values
change.
- Things that used to be important
to you are cheap thrills now–and you see through it
- And you've got a whole new set of
values and all of a sudden, you're concerned about other people who are
Christians and all of a sudden you're concerned about serving God, not just
making money.
- And all of a sudden, you're
concerned about things that are going to last for eternity -- not just what's
going to happen tomorrow.
- Your whole life starts taking on
new meaning and new purpose and new significance and new value.
- Real faith always produces a
changed life.
4. Real faith is not just something you BELIEVE
- A lot of people have strong
beliefs about Jesus Christ, strong beliefs about God, strong beliefs about the
Bible.
- I mean, they went to catechism,
they know the creed, they know the religion, they've got the doctrine down,
"I believe in this and that and this and that . . ." and all those kind of things.
- Oh, they have great beliefs! – But
that's not enough.
- And James points this out, he uses
a little sarcasm here in v. 19, (James
2:19 ) You believe
that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.
-
He
says, "Big deal! You're not doing
anything different than Satan does."
- Satan believes in God, but you're
not going to find him in heaven.
- Why? Because he hasn't made a commitment.
- You see, I believe in George
Washington – But I'm not a Washingtonian.
- But I believe in Jesus Christ and
I'm a Christian.
- Why? Because I have committed my life to Him. I have accepted Him as Lord.
- I’ve gone beyond a merely
intellectual belief in His existence, to a belief that says “I trust You”, “I’m
turning over my life to You.”
- A lot of people are going to miss
heaven by 18 inches, because they've got it up here, in their head, but they
don't have it here, in their heart.
- They've got a head knowledge – but
let’s see it in your life.
- “Well, I’m Baptist”, Good, glad to
hear it! "Well, I'm Catholic."
Fantastic! Great. "I’m Presbyterian," Fantastic! Fine.
"I'm from the Independent Christian Church, Restoration
Movement." Well, Good for you! "I'm Lutheran." Fine.
- Listen, that’s all fine and good,
but there's no verse in the Bible that says, "Religion is the way to
heaven." – Because it's not.
- Jesus didn't say, "I've come
so that you might have religion."
Or rules, or regulations, or rituals.
- He said, "I've come that you
might have life." – It's a relationship.
- Real faith is not just something
you believe.
5. Real faith is something you DO
- (James 2:20 NLT) Fool! When will you ever learn that faith
that does not result in good deeds is useless?
- He's saying, how will you know
that you've got real faith?
- You look at your lifestyle and see
what kind of actions follow as a result of it.
- You say, "How do I visibly
show that I have faith?"
- Well, the first thing you need to
do is to be baptized if you haven’t yet.
- That's the very first command of
Christ.
- In Baptism I am publicly
identifying myself with Christ, and with His Body, the Church.
- Once a little boy asked,
"Pastor, when can I get advertised?"—I like that.
- Because that's what baptism is –
Baptism is an advertisement for Jesus Christ.
- Baptism is saying to the world,
"I'm not ashamed to say I'm a Christian.
I'm not ashamed to follow the first command of Christ, to identify
myself as a believer."
- What else do you do? – You start
following the other commands of Christ – Our faith is proven by the way we
live.
- Now, please don't misunderstand me
– This is too important to misunderstand.
- You ask, "Are you saying that
I've got to work my way to heaven?"
No.
- "Are you saying that I've got
to do good works to be saved?" No.
No. No.
- Good works are not the root of
salvation, they are the fruit of salvation.
- They don't make you a Christian,
they show that you are a Christian.
- They don't deliver salvation; they
demonstrate salvation.
- You do good works not to get it
but because you've already got it – It's proof.
- Only by trusting Christ can you be
saved.
- But the proof that you have
trusted Christ is shown in your lifestyle.
- And if there's no proof out there,
you have every reason to doubt whether you've ever really tuned in.
- A good passage that shows both of
these truths together is Ephesians 2:8-10.
- (Eph 2:8-10) For it is by grace
you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the
gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God
prepared in advance for us to do.
TWO IMPORTANT FACTS:
1. The
basis for my salvation is GOD’S GRACE
- I can't earn it – I never will – I
don't deserve it.
- It's just a free gift that I
accept, and I trust God to come through on His promise.
- I accept what Christ did for
me.
- The basis of my salvation is God's
grace.
2. The proof of my salvation is MY MINISTRY
- You say, "Do I have a
ministry?" Yes, you do if you're a
believer.
- What is ministry? Ministry is just a $10 word that means
serving God by serving other people.
- The Bible says that you have a
ministry if you're a Christian.
- That you are called to serve – You
are saved to serve – It’s part of the deal.
Conclusion:
- What am I saying? Let me just summarize all of this.
- I'm saying that if your faith doesn't
work, if there's no evidence of it, then it's not real faith.
- And you need to settle that
issue.
- Some of you need, today, to say,
"I want to settle the issue today.
I want to start, not just to believe in Christ, but I want to follow
Him." That's real faith.
- Now, let me ask you, what are you
going to do as a result of today's message?
- Specifically, as you walk out of
here, what are you going to do about it?
- You could say, "Oh, I heard
it. And I thought about it. And I felt it. And I believed it.” But that's not enough.
- What are you going to do about
what you've heard today?
- You need to ask God, "What's
the next step in my life?
- Some of you need to be
baptized.
- You believe that Jesus is who He
claimed to be, and you need to identify with Him in this way as you begin your
journey.
- Others need to discover your
ministry.
