Yesterday we studied down to verse 9 in James chapter 2 and today we continue our study of James 2:
But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
(Jas 2:9-26)
James now turns his attention to the relationship between works and law. Something that for 2000years Christianity has struggled with, and this struggle is not limited to just Christianity, for Judaism before us (and still today) and other religions as well have all struggled with this point, where does Faith, law and works fit together. However I wish only to deal with the spectrum as it relates to Christianity. Within the Christian church we have those who will say that we only need to believe and that is it, we are saved, but be careful James later on goes on to say that even the devils believe in God and tremble, however that has not averted their horrendous course, which has brought death and misery to many. So we are left thinking that there has to be more. At the other end of the spectrum we have those who believe that they can work their way to heaven by all their good deeds, however in Isaiah we are told that all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags in the sight of God ? oops. Further to that in the parable of the sheep and the goats Jesus said that in that day many will say to him Lord Lord didn?t we do X or Y in your name, and He will answer them depart from me ye workers of iniquity I knew you not. How sad many who thought that they were doing right will be on the wrong side. By now many are totally confused, they take texts such as where Paul states that we are no longer under the law, but under grace, and that Jesus said on the Cross that ?It is finished?, and others to think that they don?t have to keep any of the law anymore, which leaves them fumbling for a reason that certain things are wrong. On the other side are those who take law so rigidly that it becomes a burden. This is what I would call an unholy mess! The law comes to us in two parts, The Ten Commandments, and what is called the ceremonial law or the law of Moses. Also the separation is one that no Jew will recognize in the law, for all is given of God so all is important to their thinking, in fact in Jewish thinking the only distinction is as follows: Overview: Thou Shalt love the Lord thy God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your soul, and Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Expansion on that: The ten commandments (Teaching us how to keep the previous overview), Expansion again 613 Commandments (Teaching us how to keep the ten). All are totally in agreement with each other, and all are important as each other, and we know that Yeshua fulfilled all of the ceremonial points, so there is therefore no more sacrifice needed for one sacrifice has been made once and for all, but what about the rest? Is there any distinction between the Ten Commandments written by the hand of God and the rest of the 613 commandments in the first five books of the bible (the Torah ? please bear with me I?ll use the Torah from now on). To Jewish thinking there is not. For both were given of God, the only differencfe was that ten were written by the finger of God on tables of stone, and the rest were given by God to Moses and he wrote them down. All were given of God; there is something interesting here though. There is an expression that says it?s not written in stone, meaning that something can change or that it is flexible ? but wait when it comes to the law, Ten were written in stone, and they include a valuable commandment ? the fourth! This commandment more than any other has caused controversy and man has sought to find ways around, and to change (one church claims that they actually did change it), yet God says I am the Lord I change not, and he wrote ten of His laws in stone to show how immutable and unchanging his law is. James makes the point here that if we break one commandment we are guilty of breaking them all ? tough standard here. Who can say they have kept his law perfectly? I know I have broken certain commandments at times in my life, and I thank God that He has forgiven me for it. Yet we come back again, if God wrote His laws in stone, to show that they don?t change, and breaking one makes us guilty of breaking all, then we have no need to question. If God says that He wants to spend time with His creation for a set 24hr period which is both a memorial of his creative work, and also an appointment that He has blessed who are we to worship and say I want to worship on another day?
So back to this issue of law, grace and works. The law is important because it gives us a framework of what is expected both here in earth and when we get to heaven. At one point in later on James will call it the perfect law of liberty. So how do grace, law and works fit together, well we can see in verse 17,18 here we see James defining what a living faith is : Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
(Jas 2:17-18)
Works must follow our faith, indeed these are the fruit that Yeshua talks about when he states that by their fruits ye shall know them. Do their deeds match their words? Have you ever stopped to consider the expression that actions speak louder than words? It is by our actions that we undermine or bolster our witness. Words are cold, to take James example a little further, when your brother is cold, hungry, and in need and you say go and be warmed, or I am praying for your blessings that brother may be grateful for your prayers and appreciate that you mean well, but they are essentially no better off in that moment in time, because they are still cold, and hungry, and may not even have bed for the night. There situation is no different and they have no visible indication of their problems being resolved or made any better, than they are at the moment in time. Yet if you say to them go and be warmed, I?m praying for you and you send them with logs to build a fire or even just a can of baked beans to eat, you have done something to show:
1. Your faith that God will answer your prayers,
2. Alleviate their problems as they stand at that minute.
3. You have given that person a shred of hope that there are nice people out there who will help and also that their situation is going to change.
Works are an outpouring of whatever is in your heart, and so if we diligently hide the law in our hearts (having it written on our hearts is part of the new covenant btw) and look at the example of our Saviour Yeshua, we will never just walk away from anyone in need. Most people who are in need have a history of promises that X or Y person will help them or that this or that will come through and then they have been disappointed because that person has either let them down or that thing they were eagerly expected never arrived, etc. We need as Christians to be proving that God changes live and therefore the past is not the key to the future, however that is the lie that the devil would have us believe. History repeats itself, the past is the key to the future, you will be like your mother or your father and so on. Yet when God comes into the life he turns us around, and we need to give out of what we have and not out of what we hope to have. When God puts on our hearts to do X or Y then we need to do X or Y, believing that even if it is a sacrifice now God can turn our situation around and will restore not only that which we have given, but more besides.:
Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
(Mat 5:42)
Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.
(Luk 6:30)
That is the command of our Lord, and James is reaffirming that in another way.
Put another way, Scientists ask for empirical proof before a hypothesis becomes marked as fact, and it has to replicatable, so let?s replicate the Character of our Lord Jesus Christ and keep (by His grace) the Law and let our works be the proof our faith??..
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