16th Sunday after Pentecost “In Us and Through Us”
September 8, 2024 James: 1-10, 14-18
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Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,
You may recognize this rather famous verse: James 2:26: “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” Some misunderstand that verse in James 2 as saying that we are not saved by faith alone, or by Christ & grace alone, but that we must also have good works to save us. This falls short of the truth; altho some churches like that idea. For the next 4 Sundays, our epistle lesson will be from the book of James. For this morning =and perhaps next Sunday= we’ll think about what James writes; today from chapt.2 and next week from chapt.3.
Sometimes when Christians discuss faith and good works, it’s like a tennis match;
we just bounce back & forth between the two: faith & works, faith or works = like opposite things. My goal is to present a perspective to show how those two things work together. In the end, I hope our conclusion is this: BOTH faith, and the works that come from faith, are the work of God – in & thru us.
Now, that particular verse, vs.26, was not in our reading today. But we heard vs.17, which said: “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
Now, this debate between whether we are saved by faith alone, or saved by our faith and our good works is ‘age-old’, but it shouldn’t even be a debate. James is writing to those who are already believers in Christ; they have been saved by grace alone, thru faith alone, by the merits of Christ alone. And to these saved people, James is writing to instruct them – that their daily life in this gracious faith is lived out in their good words & behaviors. Their ‘works’ are being guided by the Holy Spirit to follow Jesus’ teaching & God’s commands. These believers are to make daily choices so that they are avoiding sin, obeying God’s commandments, and bearing the good fruit of the Spirit == which is the fruit of faith.
So, we are saved by the work of Christ, and brought into this saving faith by the work of the Spirit. And then, as believers in Christ, we turn away from sins, behave ourselves,
& care for others, by doing the good things God tells us to do in His Word. As James 1 says, this faith is not just listening to the word, but also doing it.
This means that both the trusting of God, & doing what He says, both come from Him. It is a false debate whether ‘faith’ saves us or our ‘works’ save us. In Christ, God has done both: saved us from sin, and also instructs us to live in His holy ways. James simply says, ‘you can say you have faith, but I can’t see into your heart; so I will show you the faith I have in Christ – by what I say & do as I follow Christ.’
So, we will say that, since Scripture talks about both faith & works, then it’s all about the ORDER of things. Our works themselves do not count for our salvation; Scripture is clear. We are saved only thru the righteousness of Christ, a righteousness carried out in His suffering & death, His resurrection & ascension; and it is given to us by the grace of God thru the Gospel == in hearing it, and in our Baptism in His name. And to His saved people, God then says that our works DO count in this life of faith; because ‘faith without works is dead.’
So, things have a proper order: faith saves, & then faith bears good fruit. It’s when we mash those two things together that we will get confused. If we have to add our sporadic good deeds to Christ’s perfect work to be saved, we’ll never know if we’ve done enough. But so that we will have confidence & joy in our salvation, Jesus did it all. Our good works do not help to save us; but that doesn’t mean that our works don’t matter at all == they do.
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It seems that in James’ day there were some believers who totally dismissed good works because they can’t save a person. This idea will lead to two wrong outcomes in life: we either won’t avoid sin – thinking it doesn’t matter & God will just forgive us; or we will not try to do good because it doesn’t benefit us. But since the Bible speaks of good works, they do matter to God; & if to God, then to us. These good works don’t save; but do show that our faith is in Christ, and is living.
James starts by saying, ‘My brothers.’ You see, James is not writing to unbelievers about being saved; he’s writing to those who are of the faith, because of God’s grace in Christ. That means that these words are for you & me today. In his day, there was a disconnect between the faith they professed, and how they lived out their faith in relation to one another. This same problem exists today.
So, two men enter the congregation for a meeting or worship; one is rich & well-dressed, & the other is poor & grungy. The one dressed well is treated well, & the other is treated poorly.
James says, “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well. But IF you show partiality, you are committing sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law, but fails in one point, has become accountable for all of it.” (vv 8–10).
So, according to the HSp, what we DO, how we live & treat others, really does matter. Now, is James simply saying: ‘Do better!’ ? Is that it? Try harder – so people can see you’re a Christian; Do better – so God knows you’re serious about Him.
IF that’s all James is saying, then why don’t we simply do better? Why don’t we just DO everything God says? God said to do it; so, just do it! But we don’t. Why? The fact is, we can’t – on our own. Our old nature is not equipped to ‘just do’ what God says; it must become a new nature = which is what faith does. Our sinful nature always has its own selfish agenda; it always looks-out for itself & its own benefit, and not for simply helping our neighbor because they’re in need.
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God is more than just a God of words for us to believe; He’s also a God of action IN us to live. And so likewise, our Christian faith is more than just internal ‘words’ or belief, it is also external righteous living. It’s in vs.7 that James tells us that he’s not just using words to tell us to ‘do better,’ but he reveals how God enables us to do better. He refers to the “name by which you were called.” This is a very key comment for our faith-at-work. Those words remind us Who it is that has taught us what are the good & right works to do in this life, and it reminds us how we are able to do those good actions = it’s because Christ lives in us.
God has called us; we can’t call ourselves into this faith. By the name of JC, God has called you into a saved, forgiven, & living relationship with Him – so that you are now living out His good works each day toward others. It really is all about the order of things. It all begins with God’s gracious call to us to be His own. As He daily cares for, forgives & provides for us, He enables us to care for, forgive & provide for those around us. When we understand that both Faith and Works come from God, and they have their order, then we will not mash them together, and be confused about how much ‘WE have to do’ to be saved.
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Let’s flip James’ example upside down: What if God made distinctions between people? What if God based His saving love & care for us on how much we gave to charity,
or how many times per week we pray, or on how many bad words we used, or bad thoughts we had per day? Thankfully, our faith is based first in this Gospel: God does not make distinctions like that between people = otherwise, how much would be enough? We would have to deny ourselves everything, starve ourselves, punish ourselves, sacrifice our children, or martyr ourselves to earn His attention. Now, other world religions do those things to earn the favor of their gods.
But, the true Triune God has informed us that His threshold is sinless, holy perfection; and that means we’ve failed, even before we’ve begun trying. So instead, He has worked out our salvation for us, & for all people. The content, focus & assurance of our faith is the Son of God, Jesus, and His work of salvation on our behalf. Jesus was begotten of the Father without sin, and then lived the sinless life we cannot live. In His own mercy, He died to pay the price we cannot pay. In His own power, He rose to defeat death, and now by means of His Word & Spirit, He calls us & brings us under His own righteousness to make us new children of God.
Our faith IS in ‘works,’ but not our own works. Our faith is in the works accomplished in a manger, on a cross, & thru an empty tomb. Faith, without the works of Christ, is dead! Our life began, continues now in this body, & then ends in Him. We bear the name of Jesus Christ in our heart, mind, & body. This is why what we do, and what we don’t do, matters = because we are called by His name to live.
This is exactly the ‘order’ of faith that the prophets taught in the OT, what Apostles taught in the NT, and what James is talking about. The life we live is both the physical and spiritual life God has given & worked for us in Christ, the Savior. His life =what He has done for us= gives birth to our saving faith & to our new nature as God’s children. So what our Lord showed in His life & taught in his teaching now guides our daily, working faith.
He is the content of our believing, and the content of our living. That means that He is the content of our good works; what we DO shows Him. Faith & works are not in a tennis match, back & forth; they are in an orderly relationship in the Son of God, in whom we live, move, & have our being.
So, this is the Christian faith: Christ in us, and Christ thru us; He recreates us with a new life of both faith & works; it is a right confession of Him & right living in His ways. This faith is a new birth, and grows up daily as a faith that lives by doing the things God says are good & right to do.
Now, what about when we fail? Since God is holy & perfect, we know failure can’t be ignored or overlooked. In other religions, a person who fails to measure up is sent away & told to ‘do better.’ They must look to their own strength to fix what’s wrong, & to measure up.
But our faith isn’t in ourselves; it’s in Christ & in His work. Since our faith begins with Christ, then when we fail we go to Him. When we fail to live as we should, we’re sent back to Christ. We’re sent back to His enduring promise of the cross, and the reassurance of God’s grace He put on us in our Baptism. As we say with Ps.32: ‘I said: I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,’ and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.’
When we fail to live as we should, we are sent back to receive Him in His Meal of His own body & blood, by which He promises to re-strengthen our faith to follow Him, and to live in His ways. When we fail, we are sent back to sit at Jesus’ feet, and relearn His word of instruction. And when we encounter that person who is afraid that their lives are not measuring up to God’s holy expectations of good works, we send them back to Christ, who does not make distinctions between them & us, but who died for all to show His mercy to all.
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So, I wonder if I accomplished my goal: to present a perspective of how faith & good works are not in competition, but they work together in a proper order. BOTH faith, and the works that come from faith, are the work of God – in & thru us.
So, now listen to another rather well-known passage from Ephesians 2:8-10, and see if you hear that perspective. “For by grace you have been saved, thru faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
His grace is our salvation, and His grace is our strength to live lives that look like Christ in us, and Christ thru us. “But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ But we can say: Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith BY
my works.”
Amen