Morning Message Text: James 2: 8-18
8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.
9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.
10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.
11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom,
13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Faith and Deeds
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?
15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.
16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?
17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.
Morning Message:
As Christians we should be constantly looking for proof of life. Now let’s stop right there for a moment because I know what your first thought was when you heard this statement. You thought, “Yes, this is going to be a good message; let’s talk about whether or not some of these people are truly saved.” “Maybe we should form a committee and examine some of these so-called followers to see if they are truly Christians.” Our human nature loves to question the faith of others, but today, I want each one of us to question our own standing before God. Look at your life and tell me where the proof of life is. Where’s the beef? Most, if not all of us, are old enough to remember that old commercial where the elderly woman looked at her hamburger and famously said, ‘Where’s the beef?” Do you remember what the reply to her question was? “Under the pickle.” That begs the question: Is your faith, your commitment to Jesus, so small that it is hidden by something as small as a pickle?
My favorite old-time preacher and bible scholar, Charles Spurgeon said this, “One reason the church has so little influence over the world is because the world has so much influence over the church.” How does this happen? You have probably heard the fable of the frog and increasingly heated water; it makes a valid point. The idea is that a frog put into a pan of lukewarm water will remain in the pan and die as the water is slowly brought to a boil—illustrating the danger of gradual conditioning: What might have once been rejected becomes gradually accepted. Such conditioning can and has happened culturally and spiritually. Think about the things that are now considered acceptable in American society that would have been unthinkable when the nation was founded. I am old enough to remember the sixties. It was a time of upheaval in our nation, a time of protest and civil unrest. There were a lot of peaceful protests and there were some that got out of hand. If you became violent and broke the law, you went to jail. Today we, as a nation, have become so conditioned to the violence that part of our society thinks there should be no punishment for such acts. Everyone may not agree with me, but in my mind, as Christians, we should be outraged by protesters who vilify our biblical ally, Israel, in the name of a terrorist group, Hamas.
In Ephesians 5: 3-5 Paul provides examples of what he sees going on all around him. Sexual immorality, moral impurity, greed, obscenity, foolish talk, and the like. Such things have been around, but they are now practiced in public rather than behind closed doors. It is easy for Christians who live in such a society to become conditioned to such carnality. Paul goes on to warn us in verses 6 and 7, “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them.” Whether we know it or not, we have all been negatively affected by the moral decay of our society. The surest way to avoid being assimilated is to meditate on the word of God daily. God’s word shines a light on all that is evil and wrong in our world. If we are in God’s word daily, we recognize how wrong the world is, and we don’t allow the ways of this sinful society into our lives.
James tells us that we must keep the royal law without showing favoritism. In other words, we are called to love all people. That doesn’t mean that we should assassinate our brains and agree with people no matter what they do. We can love and still, through the power of the Holy Spirit, discern right from wrong. We all stumble in our walk with Jesus, but that doesn’t mean that when we stumble, we should then proclaim our mistake to be right. At some point church, we must stop excusing the immorality of our leaders. We have a responsibility as followers of Jesus to be the Godly conscience of this nation. Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. There is no way for the church to avoid the political atmosphere that will consume this nation for the next couple of months. I don’t think that God would want us to bury our heads in the sand until the dust clears. Jesus, himself, took on the politicians of his day and didn’t hesitate to call them out. Personally, I am not looking to determine whether or not a candidate is a Christian; there is no way for me to know that for sure. I am looking for proof of life, I am looking at policies, I am looking at the moral substance of their core policies. What would God think of their core policies? I don’t have to like a candidate, but their policies can’t go against my Christian values.
Paul says that verbal faith—faith that consists of words without actions—is insufficient. It cannot save, serve, or survive. But everyone profits when the love of God abides in the believer and is expressed through good works. When James asks, “Can such faith save them?” He expects a negative answer, “Of course not!” A faith that does not demonstrate itself in works is not genuine. There is no proof of life. Let’s not get this backwards; works do not earn salvation, but they are necessary as the proof of genuine conversion. Real faith results in a compassionate life. You know the term Christian has become a generic title in today’s society. We assume that someone is a Christian because they grew up in the church. Going to church no more makes you a Christian than driving a car makes you a race-car driver or being elected to office makes you a leader. The proof is in what you do. Any professing Christian who refuses to help a brother in need casts doubt on the integrity of his or her own faith. Being Christian, while not as popular as it once was, is still where politicians will go when they run for election. I say, “Where’s the beef?” Let me see the proof, is it hidden under the pickle?
The truth is that faith unaccompanied by action was never alive. A workless faith is a worthless faith. As Martin Luther said, “It is as impossible to separate works from faith as it is to separate burning and shining from fire.” This is not justification by works. Think of it this way: Although good works will never earn salvation, true faith always produces good works because true faith motivates a person to please God. One last quote from Charles Spurgeon: “The child of God works not for life, but from life; he does not work to be saved, he works because he is saved.” With all of this in mind I implore you to look at your life and examine where you truly are. Be honest with yourself because when you stand before Jesus at the judgment seat of Christ, he will either say, “Well done my trustworthy servant”, or “Depart from me, I never knew you.” Better you search yourself now for proof of life than for all of your good works to be burned in the end. “Where’s the beef?”
In Christ’s Love and Peace,
Pastor Bob
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