Sermon 6/2/10 Faith and Works

To start off, I'll define the meaning of the word atrophy.

Atrophy (noun)
1. Wasting away of the partial or complete part of the body
2. A degeneration or decline as from disuse
3. A decrease in size, deterioration or shrinking.
No exercise (spiritual or physical) will lead to atrophy of the respective element.

Now there are people that say that the Bible contradicts itself when talking about faith and works, particularly Paul and James. Now let's look at the truth behind all this.

Extracts by Paul:

Ephesians 2:8-9
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.

Titus 3:5
He saved us, not because of the righteous things we have done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit.

2 Timothy 1:9
... who has saved us and called us to a holy life - not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.

Romans 4:5
However, to the man who does not work but trusts God to justify the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.

Extract by James:

James 2:14-26
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister 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? In the same way, faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you what my faith can do.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder.
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and actions is working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You soo that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.



They seem to be contradicting, but there are some differences.

What Paul is talking about:
Challenging Legalism.
Jewish laws and ceremonies
Ground of faith
How to know that you're a Christian
How to become a believer

What James is talking about:
Challenging Laxity (laziness)
Christian lifestyle
Fruit of faith
How to show that you're a Christian
How to behave like a believer

Here James is talking about genuine faith. Genuine faith needs works. Faith is the key, but prayer unlocks the door. If you stand outside your door with the key hoping that somehow that key will go into the lock and turn itself you're not going to get anywhere. Similarly faith without works is nothing much.

So, how do I know if I have genuine faith?

Genuine faith is not just about what you...

Say - What good is it, my brothers, when someone claims he has faith...
It's just more than saying. Someone can just say for the sake of saying, or it may be the truth. No one knows. If you claim you're a Christian I have the right to question it based on your lifestyle.

Feel - "... and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and fulfilled'" (NKJV)
Reaching out to others is a symbol of genuine faith. It's more than what you feel for the opposite party. You have to put it into action.

Think - "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works." (NKJV)
If you're a Christian people should be able to see it by your works that express your faith. People are tired of faith without works.

Believe - "You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe..." (NKJV)
A worldwide survey shows that most of the Christians are BAD, meaning that there is no difference in lifestyle bdetween them and the people of the world. People of the world. People in the Kingdom of God. There is, actually, not much difference in most of their lifestyles. The question of the survey is 'What is your impression of a Christian'. Most people answered negatively. There was one who answered, "I haven't met one yet.  Christians are supposed to be loving. I haven't met anyone like that." Gandhi said, "I like your Christ, but I don't like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." The Church, unfortunately is full of people who don't love God. This is reflected on what they do, their actions. We all were made to be lovers, but those who don't love God make it into a business, and when a Body becomes business, that's called prostitution.

However, genuine faith is demonstrated by what you do. Faith and works go together. James is trying to say "Your faith MUST speak through your works!" This means that faith and works cannot be separated. Faith MUST go together with works. Either of that missing and it's not genuine faith anymore. Because of faith working together with works, faith will lead to obedience. When God told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac on the altar he willingly did it. And here's a common misconception. Faith is not a temporary feeling. Like your  spirit and how it can mature your faith can grow. In other words no faith will lead to spiritual atrophy.

Christians all around the world have very little faith. Very little. If a communist can declare communism as his wife, food, clothes, religion, philosophy and so on, and is willing to be executed because of his communism, why can't we, as believers of Christ, do that? I mean, people are willing to do such things for their faith. Why can't we? If you're a non-Christian now I ask you: What is your impression of Christians? If the answer is more or less negative then that is the condition of Christians today! We have negative reviews, negative criticism. Why? Because our actions do not speak our faith. There are many non-christians out there that live like Christians. Why can't we live like Christ? It's because we have very little genuine faith.

Does your faith speak through your actions?