James 2:18-19 

¹⁸ Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” ¹⁹ You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.

The second kinds of works that reveal evidence of true faith are works that show:

2. Total trust in God’s Word

James now reminds us of a scary truth, that it’s not enough just to say we believe, because even the demons do that. Remember the legion of demons Jesus cast out of two men and into the pigs in Matthew 8:28-32, “When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. ²⁹ “What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” ³⁰ Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. ³¹ The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” ³² He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.” The demons knew who Jesus was, they even publicly confessed that He was the Son of God. That was both an accurate belief and an open and public belief, but it obviously wasn’t a saving belief. Why? For the same reason it isn’t a saving belief to hang a picture of Jesus on your wall at home. For the same reason it isn’t a saving belief just to carry a Bible. For the same reason it isn’t a saving belief to come to church every week. It isn’t a saving belief, because it isn’t a belief that has changed you. You can come to church and not be changed but you can’t come to Christ and not be changed. Today there are people who come to church but have never come to Christ and so they never experience change. Look coming to church doesn’t make you a Christian coming to Christ does. You can recite John 3:16 all day long, but until the belief that Jesus died for you changes your life, it doesn’t mean anything. A living faith means trusting God’s Word so that it applies to every aspect of your life. Believing that it is all sufficient to supply the answers to problems at work, at home, in your marriage, with your kids, your health, every aspect of your life. Don’t say you believe the Bible show it in the way that you live it. Because those who believe the Bible obey the bible, or their faith is just a dead faith. Today when it comes to God’s Word many of us have a Facebook approach, we are quick to like it but slow to live it. Several years ago, a man asked to meet with me because he wanted to become a better husband and father. When I opened up God’s Word to show him God’s answer to his question, he said he didn’t want me to read the bible. So, I closed my bible and put it on the shelf behind me and then turning to face him I asked him then why did you come to me for help? Because I see the way your wife looks at you and loves you, because I watch the way your kids respond to you with respect, and that’s what I want. I told him I was sorry, but that I couldn’t help him because as long as that book sits on the shelf I have nothing I could share. You see the reason my wife and kids respond with love and respect is because I walk out the Word. It has nothing to do with me and everything to do with Jesus. I explained that the answer he sought was in God’s Holy Word. He said ok well I guess you can share a little bit of the Bible. To which I said do you want your wife and kids to love and respect you a little bit or a lot bit? How much you walk out the word depends on how much you trust the Word. To say you are a Christian and act or live some other way is contrary to the definition of the word Christian. We live in a world where we want Christ to save our lives but not to saturate them. Why are we afraid of a radical relationship with Jesus, why do we want to be inoculated with a shot of salvation but not to be infected with servanthood? Are we afraid that we might lose our minds? Yet isn’t that the point, isn’t that the command, to lose our mind and take on the mind of Christ? During flu season there are many who get a small shot where they receive just enough of the virus to inoculate them but not to infect them. There are many today who claim Christ yet don’t obey His commands, because they have been inoculated with religion instead of being infected by redemption. In his book Redeeming the Time: A Christian Approach to Work and Leisure, Leland Ryken, says, “Earlier in this century someone claimed that we work at our play and play at our work. Today the confusion has deepened: we worship our work, work at our play, and play at our worship.” What about you? What are you really worshipping? When it comes to your faith are you serious or are you just playing around?

James 2:14-17

¹⁴ What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? ¹⁵ Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, ¹⁶ and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? ¹⁷ So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

The first kinds of works that James points to that reveal evidence of true faith are works that show:

1. Compassion for the crown of God’s creation (14-17)

Now, when I say compassion for the crown of God’s creation, I’m not talking about global warming and saving the whales. Because while whales are part of God’s creation, they are not the crown of His creation. Psalm 8 and Ephesians 2:10 remind us that God’s masterpiece is man, as James says people are God’s prized possession. Sadly today we are prizing creation over the crown of His creation, as a result we are worshiping creation instead of the Creator. Now the way that verse 15 is worded in the original Greek, makes it clear that James is making reference to all people not just Christians. He is not just telling us to take care of the needs in the church but to compassionately care for all people, regardless of their race or religion. This means feeding the hungry instead of finding fault with humanity. Today the church has become so focused on the failures that we have forgotten to be the hands and feet. We have become failure focused instead of service focused. As a result we are adept at criticizing and inept at caring. But real faith cares from a heart of compassion, it’s faith that follows in the footsteps of Jesus who spent most of His time caring for the hurting masses of humanity. Real faith is focused on feeding the hungry not humiliating the hurting with calloused and uncaring words. What good does it do to recognize the need but not respond? To see those who are cold and hungry and say stay warm, eat well and have a good day but not to love them like the Lord? Faith that talks the talk but doesn’t walk the walk is worthless because it does no good to tell someone about your faith if they can’t see it. That’s the kind of faith that the Pharisee in the parable of the Good Samaritan had, he saw the man in need and crossed over to the other side so he wouldn’t have to stop and help the hurting.  Galatians 5:6 – “For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.” We are called to be moved by love not motivated by legalism. This is a faith that says, “I love you because Jesus first loved me.” That lends a helping hand because Jesus helped you in your hour of need. James objected to a “faith” filled with pious words but void of practice. Real faith is seen in practices not principles.  A conviction that refuses to obey the commands of Christ is not just cold its dead. It’s an intellectual belief not faith. There is a great story of the tightrope walker, Blondin who would cross over the Niagara Falls walking on a tightrope. One day he turned to his large audience and asked them, “How many believe I can walk across this tightrope over the Falls pushing a wheelbarrow?” People cheered loudly; they were sure the great Blondin could do it. Then he asked, “How many believe I can push a wheelbarrow across the tightrope with a man sitting in it?” Again, there was a loud response. Blondin then pointed to the Prince of Wales and said, “Okay, then get into the wheelbarrow.” But the man refused. There is a big difference between intellectual belief and faith. Between the faith we SAY we have, and the action faith we really have. Faith and works go together like inhaling and exhaling as Billy Graham said, “Faith is taking the Gospel in, works is taking the Gospel out.” Real belief involves faith keeping company with action. Because if you don’t live it, you don’t really believe it. Matthew 9:36 reminds us that when Jesus “saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Jesus saw the crowds and had compassion, but what about us do we display compassion or contempt? When we see people in need do, we think of ways to help or do we wander what they did to get in that situation and find reason why we can’t? Are you cultivating compassion or contempt? This goes back to how you view people, either as a priced possession or a pain and a problem. Why was it that when Jesus walked the earth the helpless flocked to him, but today they seem to shy away from His followers? What if the church stopped trying to look cool and started loving like Christ? Part of this involves Christians coming together corporately and caring for the hurting. But it also involves individual Christians taking the time to touch the lives of others. Why don’t we do that because we haven’t orientated ourselves to service. How many of us miss opportunities because not only are we not intentionally looking for them, but because we haven’t prepared ourselves to participate. One of the things the Lord impressed on my heart is to be prepared so that when needs arises I wasn’t taken by surprise. So I made what I called a Blessing jar, just an ordinary jar with the verse Proverbs 14:31 “Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.” Into this jar I put a portion of money every month so that I am always prepared to participate and meet the needs of those God calls me to. Compassion is more than just giving your money its giving yourself. If your faith doesn’t show compassion, it just might be dead.