To Print Out The Lesson Click On The Title Below.
Proverbs
1:20-33 Wisdom calls aloud outside;
She raises her voice in the open squares.
21 She cries out in the chief
concourses, At the openings of the gates in the city She speaks her words: 22 "How
long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their
scorning, And fools hate knowledge. 23 Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my
spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. 24 Because I
have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one
regarded, 25
Because you disdained all my counsel, And would have none of my rebuke, 26 I also
will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, 27 When your
terror comes like a storm, And your destruction comes like a whirlwind, When
distress and anguish come upon you. 28 "Then they will call on me, but I will not
answer; They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. 29 Because
they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD, 30 They would
have none of my counsel And
despised my every rebuke. 31 Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own
way, And be filled to the full with their own fancies. 32 For the
turning away of the simple will slay them, And the complacency of fools will
destroy them; 33
But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear
of evil."
Father God, inspire us through the power
of your Holy Spirit to do good works that proves our faith in you. Help us to
become more Holy like You! In
Jesus
name we pray, Amen!
Book of James 2:18-26 NKJV
This week’s lesson goes on to explain
how faith and works go together. You can’t have one without the other. If you
only have one then your salvation is not complete. Obedience also plays a part
in faith and works. It is because of faith that obedience kicks in and drives a
person to do good works that promote the Gospel. As a result of a Spiritual
Birth a person’s behavior is changed by the power of the Holy Spirit taking up
residence within the heart, which in turn drives the person to be obedient to
God’s Word the Bible. Let’s get started and see what James can enlighten us
with.
18 But
someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your
faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
But
someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works."; At first glance, this verse seems to
contradict Romans 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by
faith apart from the deeds of the law.
We are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law or doing
charitable deeds. Deeper investigation, however, shows that the teachings of
James and Paul are not at odds. It is true that our good deeds can never earn us
salvation; true faith always results in a changed life and good works are a
result of the new found love for Jesus. Paul speaks against those who try to be
saved by works instead of true faith; James speaks against those who confuse
mere personal thinking and say-so with true faith. After all, even demons know
who Jesus is, but they don't obey him (James
2:19). True faith involves a commitment of your whole self to God.
Show me your faith without your works,
and I will show you my faith by my works; What James is telling us is that a truly Saved person
will be doing the work of Jesus. They will have a burning desire to do things
for the Kingdom of God out of love. So many people do things because they have
been taught that by doing good deeds they are a Christian; or a Christian is
suppose to do these things, but in reality they are only Christians in mind and
not heart. Their faith is in their works for passage to Heaven which will never
be enough. Only faith in the Cross of Christ will get a person to Heaven and
because of this faith, good works is produced by the power of the Holy Spirit,
through the new relationship with Jesus Christ.
19 You
believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and
tremble!
This verse James is
comparing those that say they are Christians, because they know who God is, with
Satan who also knows who God is. There are several verses in the Bible where
demons speak of knowing Jesus and God. Acts 19:15 And the
evil spirit answered and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are
you?" Matthew 8:29; Mark 1:24, Mark 5:7;
Luke 4:34; Act_16:17,
Acts 24:25; Jude
1:6. Just believing
in God is no proof that one is justified by faith. The product of good works is
the proof of faith. Millions of people read history books and believe the
events in them happened. It is the same way with the Word of God, millions have
read the Bible and believe the events, but that is as far as it goes. They
believe with a scholarly mind and go on living the same life ignoring the
commands of God. These people aren’t any better than the Devil and his band of
followers. The Devils believe and know who God is, but they aren’t saved. Saving
faith goes much deeper than a scholarly knowledge it involves the whole inner
man and expresses itself outwardly in a changed life.
20 But do
you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?
But do you want to know, O foolish
man; I want to focus
on the word “foolish” here in what James is trying to get across to his
listeners and also us. A synonym of foolish is vain. Vain means empty without
meaning or substance; void of understanding or sound judgment; weak in intellect;
applied to general character; unwise; imprudent; acting without judgment or discretion
in particular things; proceeding from folly, or marked with folly; silly; vain;
trifling. Vain can always be replaced by its synonym “empty”. So “to take God's
name in vain” means simply to take it for an “empty” (“not good”) purpose; use
it as an adjective in expressing one’s self, etc. What James is telling his
listeners and us is that if we have nothing to back up our claim of
Christianity, like good works, then our claim is a vain claim. We are only
Christians by speech.
That faith without works is dead; As stated previously when a person
realizes they are born a sinner, will be a sinner throughout life here on
earth, and the only thing that will change this state of being is being Born
Again by means of repentance and accepting Jesus in their life to rule and
reign, then as a result of this submission a person’s life is changed and they
start doing good works out of love for what Jesus did for them on the Cross.
21 Was not
Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the
altar?
In this verse James is
using Abraham as an example for us to illustrate good works. Let me also add
here that obedience to God goes hand in hand with faith and works. You can’t
have faith and works if one is not obedient to God’s Word the Bible. You can’t
pick and choose what you want to believe in just because something doesn’t fit
your way of thinking, like forgiving so you will be forgiven, or calling no one
on earth your father Matthew
23:9 Do not
call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. When we pick and choose what we want
to believe in and live by, then what we are doing is exactly what James has
warned us about concerning breaking one sin is the same as breaking all sins. James 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet
stumble in one point, he is
guilty of all.
Abraham
was a friend of God and he lived by faith. It is his faith that enabled him to
be a friend of God. Through Abraham’s faith he trusted, believed, and obeyed
God. It was because of this relationship that Abraham obeyed God when God told
him to sacrifice his son Isaac. Abraham didn’t understand why he had to do
this, but he obeyed and had faith in God’s plan. It was through this act of
faith and obedience that Abraham was justified, or in other words it was
through his work of following God’s will, and not his own desire/work that he
was justified.
22 Do you
see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made
perfect?
The
beginning of the question, “do you see
that faith was working together with his works”, this statement expresses
the fact that James is making it clear that he is not talking about works as
the sole source of Abraham’s Justification. Verse 21 could be taken out of
context and lead one to believe that they can be justified in God’s eyes by
doing good works, but instead Abraham’s faith and his actions were working
together. In fact, faith and works are inseparable, that is if it’s true faith.
It is not possible for any one person to have valid faith without works and for
another to have genuine works without faith. We are not justified by what we do
in any way. True faith always results in good works, but the works do not
justify us. Faith brings us salvation; active obedience demonstrates that our
faith is genuine.
In Romans, Paul makes the
same claim that salvation cannot be obtained through works, in fact he states
that works alone is held against the individual because the individual has
placed his faith in himself to get to Heaven. This type of faith is idolatry
because that individual places himself before God. Romans 4:1-5 What then
shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has
found? 2
For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not
before God. 3
For what does the Scripture say? "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS
CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS." 4 Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited
as a favor, but as what is due. 5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in
Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.
23 And the
Scripture was fulfilled which says, "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS
ACCOUNTED TO HIM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS." And he was called the friend of God.
And the Scripture was fulfilled which
says; Scripture was
fulfilled when Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac. This took place about 50
years after Abraham made the statement that he believed in God and then God
proclaimed Abraham’s righteousness, and called him His friend.
Abraham’s
actions proclaim that his faith was genuine; or the declaration that he truly
believed, was confirmed by this act of being willing to sacrifice Isaac. So
referring back to verse 18 that is, “Show
me thy faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
Abraham was showing his Faith by obeying God, and his obedience showed that he
had faith.
Abraham’s
faith was genuine, and true faith will definitely be tested. Testing of faith
proves to those around us that our faith, is in fact, true faith.
ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS
ACCOUNTED TO HIM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS; This
was taken from Genesis 15:6.
And he was called the friend of God; This phrase is taken from Isaiah 41:8. What an honor to be referred to
by the Holy Spirit, as the friend of God.
24 You see
then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
With
the example of Abraham where his faith, works, and obedience all worked
together proved his faith was genuine from the heart and not just from the
lips. True faith produces good works as a result of love for Jesus by means of
obedience. How does your faith and works stack up to Abraham’s? Put yourself in
Abraham’s place, would you be willing to sacrifice your son? Is your faith
merely a bunch of words? Hmmm, something to ponder!
25 Likewise,
was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the
messengers and sent them out
another way?
Here
James introduces another example of works out of faith. This example is about
Rahab that was a Gentile harlot, but by means of all the miracles and care that
God performed for the Israelites she heard about, she became a believer and
placed her faith in the God of Israel. Rahab’s faith was unlike Thomas’s where
he had to see to believe; she heard and believed! You can read about Rahab’s
faith in Joshua Chapter 2.
Have
you ever thought about Rahab’s actions being the result of faith in God; that
her works justified her faith in God? She probably took a huge chance of being
put to death if she was caught. It was her faith and obedience to God that
drove her to do good works for God. Works, good works is doing the will of God
not our desires and wants. These works are done as a result of our faith and
love for God. Hebrews
11:31 By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with
those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.
Rahab is one of the heroes
in the Bible that demonstrated proper faith and works. In fact she is listed in
the genealogy of our Lord Jesus. Matthew
1:5 Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab,
Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse.
26 For as
the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
James ends this chapter
with another comparison. If our spirit is removed from our body, we cease to
exist physically. Matthew
27:50 And Jesus cried out again with
a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.
Our
faith works the same way, if we proclaim to believe with our lips but continue
living the same sinful life, our faith is dead. True faith always brings about
a change in a Born Again Saints life that produces works promoting God’s way,
not our way. Practicing religion and proclaiming and abiding in the dogma of a
church, when the dogma is not scriptural, will condemn a person.
Colossians 1:16 For by Him all things were created
that are in heaven and that are on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All
things were created through Him and for Him.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you,
unless one is
born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Bill
Wiesbrock https://www.facebook.com/bill.wiesbrock?ref=tn_tnmn
The
Lighthouse Full Gospel Church
Sinners
Prayer; Pray this, and if you believe it with your heart, Jesus will save you!
“Lord Jesus I know I am a
sinner. I confess my sins to you; I am
sorry for my sins; I repent (Meaning, desiring to turn from a sinful
lifestyle.) of all my sins, and I am asking for your forgiveness. I believe that only you can forgive sin. I commit my life to you and ask you to come
into my heart, direct, and take charge of my life. I believe that you died to set me free from
my sinful lifestyle and you rose from the dead to give me eternal life, and right
now you are seated at the Right Hand of God Almighty. I believe you are the Son
of God; the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, and my Savior.” I believe this and have faith you will make a
new person out of me, by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in my heart and lead
me in a new life. In Jesus name I pray Amen.”
(John 3:16,17; Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-13; Ephesians 2:8-10; 1
John 5:11-14; 1:6-10) (Sin: Rom.
1:22-32; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:3-7)
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