WEEKLY SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON

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For Sunday August 16, 2020

 

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FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD

(Faith in GOD is manifested through good deeds)           

(James 2:14-26)

 

   Faith that does not manifest itself through good deeds is equivalent to “no faith at all”, and indeed, is dead and worthless in the eyes of GOD (James 2:17). GOD gauges our “faith” directly by our “actions”, and what we say may mean very little to HIM. In fact, man has continued to prove, over time, that “he seldom does what he says he will do”. However, on the contrary, man always, 100% of the time, “does that which is in his heart”.

    And so, man’s “heart” (“kardia” in the Greek - “innermost thoughts”) remains the barometer by which GOD gauges the faith of HIS greatest creation. For HE never takes into account what good a man might proclaim with his lips, unless it coincides with what’s in his heart, and is manifested in his actions. In other words, for GOD to give credit to the good and righteous things that we might proclaim with our lips, what we say must agree with what’s in our “heart”, or, what is ultimately manifested in our actions (which is the result of our innermost thoughts)

     It is the duty of the Christian to build his or her foundation on “the Most High Faith”. We have the charge from CHRIST to demonstrate our love by readily and willingly accepting others, and, by our volition to serve and aid our fellowman whenever, and wherever, the need exists. True faith in GOD, always manifests itself through good deeds, and it serves as evidence of who we really are on the inside.

This section of James’ doctrinal letter to the Jewish Christians begins with two probing questions.

 

·         What’s the use of saying you have faith, if you don’t prove it by your actions? (v.14)

·         What good does it do to believe that there is only one GOD, if you don’t act accordingly, by obeying only HIS commandment to show love to one another, through our acts of good deeds towards one another? (Vs.19-20)

 

    Both of these questions help us to focus squarely on the relationship between “Faith and Works”. In his first question James asks, “What good is it?”, or “Of what advantage can it be if our faith in GOD doesn’t manifest itself in our good deeds? Here James wants us to envision a man who “says he is a Christian” simply because he thinks he has faith. However, this same man has not exhibited any good, or GODly works as a result of that said faith.

    This man, for instance, “hasn’t endured any trials or temptations”, “doesn’t have the right attitude towards wealth”, “doesn’t eagerly receive GOD’s Word into his heart”, and “doesn’t care for orphans or widows”. “He often shows favoritism toward certain people”, and “exhibits all of the “bad fruit” that James had previously mentioned in this letter.

    Intellectual acceptance of GOD is not, by itself, a “Saving Faith”, because, even demons know that GOD exists (v.19). A “Saving Faith” will always have “a discernible positive impact” on a person’s “attitude” and “behavior”. Faith that does not produce “good fruit” in our life, and, in the lives of others, is NOT “a Saving Faith”, and “cannot save anyone from the penalty” that GOD imposes on our sin.

    In verses 20-26, James uses the examples of Abraham (Genesis 22:16-18) and Rahab (Joshua 2:1-7) to help us distinguish between “Professed Faith” and “Saving Faith”. In Genesis 22, Abraham, who was declared “righteous” by GOD, had to “show his faith through his actions” by offering up his own son as a living sacrifice to GOD, simply because GOD asked him to, and without understanding why.

    In Joshua 2, Rahab, a Gentile woman, acted on her faith in GOD by risking her life, and the lives of her family to protect the men of GOD who had come to spy out her homeland. And so here, it becomes increasingly clear that, we are made right with GOD by our righteous deeds, and not just, by faith alone (James 2:21-25). And just as the body is dead without a spirit, so also, “faith is dead without good deeds” (v.26).

    “Saving Faith” is a faith that is manifested through “good works” before and under GOD, “even while under pressure and duress” from “our emotions”. Any so-called faith that is not accompanied by good works is not a faith that can save a person from eternal damnation. People like Abraham and Rahab show “a dynamic obedience to GOD under pressure and duress”, that can only be considered as “Saving Faith”.

 

A Sunday school lesson by,

Larry D. Alexander    

 

 

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