There is a historical account of a tight rope walker by the name of Blondin who stretched a long steel cable across Niagara Falls. During high winds and without a safety net, he walked and did stunts across the tightrope to the amazement and delight of the large crowd of people who watched on both the American and Canadian side.
Once he took a wheelbarrow and amazed the crowd by pushing it effortlessly across the cable, from one side of the falls to the other. Blondin then turned to the crowd and asked, “Now, how many of you believe that I could push a person across the wire in the wheelbarrow?”
The vote was unanimous. Everyone cheered and held their hands high. They all believed he could do it!
“Then,” asked Blondin, “who would volunteer to be that person?”
As quickly as the hands went up, they went back down. Not a single person would volunteer to ride in the wheelbarrow and to trust his life to Blondin.
Many people say about Jesus, “Yes, I believe!” If you are among those who say that, are 
you willing to demonstrate your belief by trusting your life to Him? Are you willing to get in the wheelbarrow and to risk everything on your faith? That’s what it means to believe. Faith is not just an intellectual exercise. It involves total commitment.
Faith is our topic from James 2 today. What is faith? What does it look like? How does it work? James will unpack the answers.
Have you ever heard someone say, “I’m a Christian,” but you don’t see any proof of it? There’s a lot of people who think they are Christians and really aren’t. In this passage James talks about the difference between real and counterfeit Christians. Authentic believers and fake believers. He talks about how do you have a real faith.
Sometimes this passage is misunderstood. The entire New Testament teaches that we are saved by faith. James helps us understand what faith looks like; the fruit of salvation. Some say that James and Paul are at odds, that they disagree. Lets look at a well known passage by Paul on faith.
“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. Ephesians 2:8-10
There are three prepositions in this passage — “by grace”, “through faith”, “to do good works”. If you get those out of order, you’re in trouble.
Let’s look at 3 aspects of Faith that Works:
- Faith Must be put into Action (14-17)
14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?
It doesn’t say he actually has faith; he just claims to have it. He talks about it. He knows all the right phrases. There are a lot of people who claim to be Christians. George Gallup says that 50 million Americans say “I’m born again.” But you don’t see anything in their lifestyle. Today we tend to label people as Christians if they make the slightest sound of being a believer. It’s more than just talk that is involved in real faith. Not everybody with a Christian bumper sticker is a believer. Not everybody who is a professor of Christianity is a possessor of Christianity. “Can such faith save him? Talk is cheap.
Jesus agrees…
(Jesus) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Matthew 7:21
Faith is more than a desire.
“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?” (vs. 15-16)
There’s a Peanuts cartoon. Charlie Brown and Linus are inside all bundled up and Snoopy’s out in the cold shivering in front of an empty dog food bowl. Charlie and Linus are having a discussion on how sad it is that Snoopy is hungry and cold. “He’s cold and hungry. We ought to do something about it.” They walk outside and say to Snoopy, “Be of good cheer, Snoopy.” Do you know where Charles Schultz got that idea? From this verse. Wishing is not faith at work.
Real faith is visible. You can see it. It’s apparent. If you claim to be a Christian, people will be able to see it. It’s visible. Faith is odorless, weightless, invisible so anybody can claim to have it. How do you know for sure? James says, show me. If you claim to be a Christian I have a right to ask you to prove it by looking at your lifestyle. Somebody said, “Faith is like calories. You can’t see them but you can sure see the results.” You can’t see faith but you can see the results.
Jimmy Carter in his book Why Not the Best? said that somebody asked him the question, `If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?'”
2. Faith is More than Belief (18-19)
There are a lot of people who have strong beliefs in God, the Bible, and Jesus. They can recite creeds to you and catechisms, quote bible verses. James says, “big deal!” Just saying I believe in God is not enough to get you to heaven. Even the devil believes that. The devil is a great theologian. He knows a lot more about the Bible than you do. He’s been around a whole lot longer. He knows theology backwards and forwards. He believes.
His demons believe and shudder. The Greek word is the strongest word describing fear “to bristle” — their hair stands up on end. It’s the kind of word you’d use reading a Steven King novel. Why? Because the devils understand the majesty and awesomeness of God, the power of God the Glory of God. They believe in God and they tremble.
There’s a difference between recognition and repentance. Demons recognize God but do not repent before God.
The word believe in Greek means “to trust in, to cling to, to rely on, to commit yourself completely.” I believe in Hitler but I’m not a Nazi. I believe in Karl Marx, but I’m not a communist, I believe in Osama Bin Laden but I’m not a terrorist. I’m a Christian because I believe in Jesus. But it’s more than just a head knowledge. Billy Graham says, “A lot of folks are going to miss heaven by 18 inches. They’ve got it in their head but not their heart.”
Real faith is commitment
I dated other girls before I married Niki, they were good looking, they were funny, they were interesting. But there’s a huge difference in my relationship Niki and to any other woman that is alive. I am committed to Niki,, in sickness and in health in good time or bad time, for better or for worse. Are you committed to Christ and no one else? Or are you just like a demon? You say you believe but are not committed. Your real commitment is work. You real commitment is recreation.
Real faith is not just saying “I believe”. There is so much easy believeism in America. “Many in America believe but don’t practice.” Surveys by Gallup and Barna asked people and they found a high degree of belief. “Sure, I’m a believer. I’m a Christian.” Do you attend church. No. “Do you donate your time.” No. “Do you tithe.” No. James would say that’s a phony belief. You’re just conning yourself. A lot of people are doing that.
James asks, Do we have a Dead Faith? Do we have a Demonic Faith? Or do we have a Demonstrated Faith?
3. Faith is Demonstrated (20-26)
James gives us two examples of two very different people:
Abraham is a man. Rahab is a woman. Abraham is Jewish. Rahab is a Gentile. Abraham is a patriarch. Rahab is a prostitute. Abraham is a somebody. Rahab is a nobody. Abraham is a major character in the Bible. Rahab is a minor character. He uses these illustrations to say, it doesn’t matter who you are as long as you’ve got the important thing. They only had one thing in common — their faith in God. Their faith in God led them to action.
For Abraham it was the ultimate test where God asked Abraham to give up his own son. This has nothing to do with salvation. Abraham was already a believer. Twenty five years earlier God had said, You’re righteous. He’s not talking about being saved by his works. He saying, this just shows how much you believe. Abraham obeyed God. He followed Him. He took his son up. He did all those faith steps. He cut the wood, built the altar and was ready to sacrifice his own son. Abraham says to his son while walking up the mountain, “We [not I] will return“. He knew that God would provide somehow even if it meant raising him from the dead. The fact is God did raise him from the dead, figuratively speaking. Abraham was about to sacrifice him and God says, I was just testing you to see what’s most important in your life. It was an action. His works proved his faith. He held nothing back from God.
And he talks about Rahab. The story is in Joshua 2. It’s the story how a prostitute helped a couple of spies when they were coming into Jericho. Rahab ends up in the family line of Jesus. She risks her life to save the spies.
Our faith is not determined by what we do, it is demonstrated by what we do.
Talk is cheap. Put your money where your mouth is. “I believe in Jesus!” Prove it. Our faith is demonstrated by our actions. Actions speak louder than words. Our behavior shows what we really believe.
A few questions as we close:
Am I really a Christian after all? In the light of what James says, am I really a Christian?What changes can I point to in my life? Is my life style any different at all from unbelievers? So many people think it doesn’t matter what you do as long as you believe. James says that’s not true. He’s not saying you work your way to heaven. He’s not saying works deliver salvation. He’s saying they demonstrate it. He’s saying, if your faith doesn’t work, what good is it?
Are you absolutely sure that if you died you’d go to heaven? The fact is you can be sure.
How do you do that? Ephesians 2:8-10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, for a life of good works God has already prepared for us to do.” God’s grace. God reaches down. He says, “I want you to know Me. I want to have a relationship with you. You’re a sinner, I’m your Savior.” That’s grace. And you look up and say “I want to know You, Lord. I repent of my sins and trust You.” When God’s hand of grace comes down and your hand of faith goes up, that’s called salvation. That’s what it means to be a believer. Saved by grace, through faith to do exactly what God made you to do in the first place. He has a plan for your life.
Christ died for you, will you live for Him?
Darrell
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