BACKGROUND:When Joshua planned the conquest of Jericho, he sent spies to investigate the fortifications of the city. The spies met Rahab, who hid them. Rahab is an odd entry in this “hall of faith” because she was a Gentile and a prostitute. But she demonstrated her faith in God by welcoming the spies and by trusting God to spare her and her family when the city was destroyed. Rahab’s faith was rewarded: she and her family were saved. Even more important, she became an ancestor of Jesus.
We read her name in Matthew 1:5—she was the mother of Boaz. Rahab’s faith, despite her past sins, is contrasted with those who refused to turn to God and obey him.
The roll call of heroes continues. The Old Testament records the lives of many people who experienced great victories; a few are selected for mention here. None of these people were perfect; in fact, many of their sins are recorded in the Old Testament. But these were among those who believed in God:
Gideon, one of Israel’s judges, was known for conquering the Midianite army with only three hundred men who were armed with trumpets and jars. Barak served with Deborah (another judge of Israel) in conquering the army of General Sisera from Hazor. Samson, another judge, was a mighty warrior against God’s enemies, the Philistines.
Jephthah, still another judge, delivered Israel from the Ammonites. David, the beloved king of Israel and a great warrior, brought peace to Israel, defeating all of his enemies.
Samuel, the last judge of Israel, was a very wise leader. He also was a prophet. Samuel, along with all the prophets, served God selflessly as they conveyed God’s words to an often rebellious people.
These people demonstrated that faith will accomplish much:They overthrew kingdoms. Throughout their years in the Promised Land, the Israelites had great leaders who brought victory against their enemies. People such as Joshua, all of the judges, and King David were great warriors. They ruled with justice. Many of the judges, as well as leaders such as Nehemiah, administered justice to the people.
They received what God had promised. Some people actually did see the fulfillment of some of God’s promises, such as possession of the Promised Land. They shut the mouths of lions. Daniel was saved from the mouths of lions. They quenched the flames. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were kept from harm in the furious flames of a fiery furnace. They escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. Hezekiah was one who regained strength after sickness .
They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight. This refers to Joshua, many of Israel’s judges, King Saul, and King David. Some even received their loved ones back again from death. The widow from Zarephath received her son back from the dead because of Elijah, and so did the Shunammite woman, through Elisha.
We, too, can experience victory through faith in Christ. We may have experiences similar to those of the Old Testament saints; more likely, however, our victories will be directly related to the role God wants us to play. Your life may not include the kinds of dramatic events recorded here, but it surely includes moments where faith is tested. Give testimony to those moments, publicly and honestly, and thereby encourage the faith of others.
While the above examples mention great victory—there is a victory that may not seem so. Other believers were tortured, preferring to die rather than turn from God. These faithful people experienced the blessings and endured persecution because they placed their hope in the resurrection. These people lived by faith because they knew that gaining the world and achieving this world’s success was not their objective. They waited for a better life that would begin after death. This promise of a better life encouraged them during persecution and other difficulties.
SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)
In 2 Corinthians 13:5, it says, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith." Test yourselves. So what I want to do this today is to give us a little pop quiz regarding your faith. And you can examine yourself and ask yourself, "How can I tell if I've got real faith? How do I know I've got the genuine stuff -- not the phony stuff, not the counterfeit stuff? How do I know I've got the kind of faith that pleases God? How do I know I have the kind of faith that gives me access into heaven?" As your pastor, I am concerned that you not get to that final quiz and have the wrong answer. Fortunately, in the book of James, chapter two, James tells us four things that faith is not. And then he tells us what it is.
The first one, real faith is not just something you say.
The first one, real faith is not just something you say.
James says, "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such `faith' save him?" Notice the word, "claim". He's not saying here that the guy actually has faith, he says he just claims it. In other words, he talks a good line. He knows all the right phrases. He's got the jargon down pat. He can talk Christian language. He claims faith, but that doesn't mean he's necessarily got it.
Gallup says that there are fifty million people in America who say, "I am a Christian." But not all of those fifty million can back it up with the lifestyle that they live. And just because a person claims it, doesn't mean they have it. You know, typically we tend to label people today, if they vaguely sound Christian, we go, "Oh, he must be a believer." You know, at the end of a World Series, some guy'll come on in the locker room, and they're pouring champagne, and he says, 'I just want to thank the good Lord." Oh, he must be a Christian; he said "Lord". Well, not necessarily. A lot of celebrities have claimed faith and we've seen no change in their lifestyle and their behavior.
The point I just want to make here is that real faith is more than just talk Not everybody who has a Christian bumper sticker on their car is a Christian. Have you figured that one out? I mean, you don't have to get flipped off a couple of times, and you figure, that guy's not a believer. He borrowed the car. Or he bought it second-hand and couldn't scrape it off. Jesus said, "Not everybody who says to me, `Lord, Lord' is going to enter into heaven." Not everybody who claims to be a believer really is. He says there's a big difference between being a professor and a possessor, between saying it and actually having it. Now what does God say? What value is this kind of faith, that just claims it? He says there's no value at all. It's worthless. Talk is cheap. because faith is more than just something you say.
Number two, faith is more than just something you feel.
Gallup says that there are fifty million people in America who say, "I am a Christian." But not all of those fifty million can back it up with the lifestyle that they live. And just because a person claims it, doesn't mean they have it. You know, typically we tend to label people today, if they vaguely sound Christian, we go, "Oh, he must be a believer." You know, at the end of a World Series, some guy'll come on in the locker room, and they're pouring champagne, and he says, 'I just want to thank the good Lord." Oh, he must be a Christian; he said "Lord". Well, not necessarily. A lot of celebrities have claimed faith and we've seen no change in their lifestyle and their behavior.
The point I just want to make here is that real faith is more than just talk Not everybody who has a Christian bumper sticker on their car is a Christian. Have you figured that one out? I mean, you don't have to get flipped off a couple of times, and you figure, that guy's not a believer. He borrowed the car. Or he bought it second-hand and couldn't scrape it off. Jesus said, "Not everybody who says to me, `Lord, Lord' is going to enter into heaven." Not everybody who claims to be a believer really is. He says there's a big difference between being a professor and a possessor, between saying it and actually having it. Now what does God say? What value is this kind of faith, that just claims it? He says there's no value at all. It's worthless. Talk is cheap. because faith is more than just something you say.
Number two, faith is more than just something you feel.
A lot of people confuse emotions and feelings with faith. They come to a church service and they are emotionally moved, they're inspired, and they're stimulated. They get a quiver in their liver and, you know, "Oh, man! I'm moved!" And they go out after the service and maybe they're even cried or felt God's presence. Just because you've felt God's presence doesn't mean you have real faith. There's a big difference between faith and feeling.
Jams goes on to say, "Suppose a brother or sister is 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?" He's saying here faith is not just mere sentimentality. You go out on the street and you see some homeless person who's destitute. They're poor, they're hungry, they're cold, they need clothing and shelter. And you walk up to them and say, "Cheer up," or "Don't worry, be happy!" You know? "Feel good! Put on a happy face. Smile, smile, smile!" That's not faith. Sympathy has been defined as saying, "I'm sorry you hurt." That's sympathy. Empathy is, "I hurt with you." Empathetic people say, "I hurt with you." Compassion is, "I'll do anything I can to stop your hurt." Faith is compassionate.
How many times did Jesus say, or was it said about Him, He was moved with compassion for people. Faith is practical. It gets involved in people's hurts. And when you see a need, you do something about it. You don't just spout off and say, "Well, I'll pray for you." You do something about it. That's real faith.
Number three, real faith is not just something you think.
Jams goes on to say, "Suppose a brother or sister is 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?" He's saying here faith is not just mere sentimentality. You go out on the street and you see some homeless person who's destitute. They're poor, they're hungry, they're cold, they need clothing and shelter. And you walk up to them and say, "Cheer up," or "Don't worry, be happy!" You know? "Feel good! Put on a happy face. Smile, smile, smile!" That's not faith. Sympathy has been defined as saying, "I'm sorry you hurt." That's sympathy. Empathy is, "I hurt with you." Empathetic people say, "I hurt with you." Compassion is, "I'll do anything I can to stop your hurt." Faith is compassionate.
How many times did Jesus say, or was it said about Him, He was moved with compassion for people. Faith is practical. It gets involved in people's hurts. And when you see a need, you do something about it. You don't just spout off and say, "Well, I'll pray for you." You do something about it. That's real faith.
Number three, real faith is not just something you think.
You know, some people think of faith as a philosophical quest. It's something they want to discuss and debate and argue about. And when they think about faith, it's their mental stimulation, it's a concept to be debated, it's an idea to be discussed, it's a principle to be bandied about. And we don't make any decision on it, and we certainly don't make any commitment to it, we just discuss it. They treat faith as a mental challenge. Now James imagines this kind of person, this philosophical debater, he says, "But someone will say, `You have faith -- I have deeds.' Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do."
What's he talking about here? He says, "Well, here's this guy who says, "Hey! You're into faith. Hmmm. I'm into deeds." Different strokes for different folks. You're into that, I'm into this. Let's debate it. Let's talk about it. Let's discuss it. And James is making a point here. He's saying faith is not something you debate. It's something you do. Real faith is something you do. The key phrase in here, "show me". He says, "Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do." Folks, when it comes to faith, I'm from Missouri. What is that state? The "Show Me" state. That's right. Prove it! I dare you!
So how do you know when you've got it? How do you know if you've got the real kind of faith that pleases God? How do you know you've got the kind of faith that gets you into heaven? Well, the bible says look at your lifestyle. That's how you can know, it'll show up in your life. You'll not only know it, but you'll show it. You see, today, I think, in America we have too many of what I call "Lady Clairol Christians". Only God knows for sure. You don't have any idea if they're a believer or not. There's absolutely no difference between them and everybody else. You see, faith is like calories. You can't see them, but you can sure see the results. And when a person really has Christ in his or her life, you can see it. And if you can't see it, you have every reason to doubt, "Do I have the real, legitimate stuff?
So how do you know when you've got it? How do you know if you've got the real kind of faith that pleases God? How do you know you've got the kind of faith that gets you into heaven? Well, the bible says look at your lifestyle. That's how you can know, it'll show up in your life. You'll not only know it, but you'll show it. You see, today, I think, in America we have too many of what I call "Lady Clairol Christians". Only God knows for sure. You don't have any idea if they're a believer or not. There's absolutely no difference between them and everybody else. You see, faith is like calories. You can't see them, but you can sure see the results. And when a person really has Christ in his or her life, you can see it. And if you can't see it, you have every reason to doubt, "Do I have the real, legitimate stuff?
Number four, real faith is not just something you believe.
A lot of people have strong beliefs about Jesus Christ, strong beliefs about God, strong beliefs about the Bible. I mean, they went to catechism, they know the creed, they know the religion, they've got the doctrine down, "I believe in this and that and this and that . . ." and all those kind of things. Oh, they have great beliefs! But that's not enough. And James points this out, he uses a little sarcasm. He says, "You believe there's one God? Great. Good. Fantastic! But even the demons believe that. And they tremble." He says, "Big deal! You're not doing anything different than Satan does." Satan believes in God, but you're not going to find him in heaven. Why? He hasn't made a commitment.
You see, the bible says the fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." You see, it's foolish to say there's no God. I mean, just look at the world! The intricacies of this world and how the earth tilts on its axis at a certain degree that if it tilted just a little bit either way we'd either burn up or freeze up. Or look at the birth of a child and the intricacies . . . it takes more faith to not believe in a creator than it does to believe in one. Because the odds of all this just "happening" are so preposterous. It's like taking a watch and taking it apart and putting it in a paper bag and shaking it all up and all of a sudden, it just came out right. It would be far more possible for that than everything happening in the world. Just how can you have creation without a Creator? It takes far more faith to not believe in a Creator, to think that it all just happened by chance, than it does to believe in a Creator. So it says, "Satan believes in God. The fool says there's no God. Satan's no fool. He's not an atheist. But you don't find him in heaven. Why? Because he doesn't really believe.
The word "believe" in Greek in the Bible is the word estevo, it means "trust in, cling to, rely on, adhere to, sell out to," it's a commitment. It's more than just head knowledge. You see, I believe in George Washington. I've never seen a photograph of him, because there weren't photographs in that day, so I really can't prove that George Washington existed, I can't prove it and neither can you. There's no photograph of him. But I believe in George Washington. But I'm not a Washingtonian. But I believe in Christ and I'm a Christian. Why? Because I have committed my life to Him. I have accepted Him. I have chosen to follow Him. You see, a lot of people are going to miss heaven by 18 inches, because they've got it up here, in their head, but they don't have it here, in their heart.
You see, the bible says the fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." You see, it's foolish to say there's no God. I mean, just look at the world! The intricacies of this world and how the earth tilts on its axis at a certain degree that if it tilted just a little bit either way we'd either burn up or freeze up. Or look at the birth of a child and the intricacies . . . it takes more faith to not believe in a creator than it does to believe in one. Because the odds of all this just "happening" are so preposterous. It's like taking a watch and taking it apart and putting it in a paper bag and shaking it all up and all of a sudden, it just came out right. It would be far more possible for that than everything happening in the world. Just how can you have creation without a Creator? It takes far more faith to not believe in a Creator, to think that it all just happened by chance, than it does to believe in a Creator. So it says, "Satan believes in God. The fool says there's no God. Satan's no fool. He's not an atheist. But you don't find him in heaven. Why? Because he doesn't really believe.
The word "believe" in Greek in the Bible is the word estevo, it means "trust in, cling to, rely on, adhere to, sell out to," it's a commitment. It's more than just head knowledge. You see, I believe in George Washington. I've never seen a photograph of him, because there weren't photographs in that day, so I really can't prove that George Washington existed, I can't prove it and neither can you. There's no photograph of him. But I believe in George Washington. But I'm not a Washingtonian. But I believe in Christ and I'm a Christian. Why? Because I have committed my life to Him. I have accepted Him. I have chosen to follow Him. You see, a lot of people are going to miss heaven by 18 inches, because they've got it up here, in their head, but they don't have it here, in their heart.
They've got a head knowledge. They know all, "Sure, I believe, yeah, yeah!" But let me see it in your life. They say, "Well, I'm Catholic." Fantastic! Great. "But I'm Jewish," Fantastic! Fine. "I'm Buddhist." "I'm Baptist." "I'm Morgan." "I'm Lutheran." "I'm Presbyterian." Fine. Listen, there's no verse in the Bible that says, "Religion is the way to heaven." Because it's not. Jesus didn't say, "I've come so that you might have religion." Or rules, or regulations, or rituals. He said, "I've come that you might have life." It's a relationship. And so you may have all kinds of religious background. That's not good enough. Real faith is not just something you believe. It's more than that.
Number five, real faith is something you do.
Number five, real faith is something you do.
Faith is active. It's not passive. It's a commitment. It's something that you can demonstrate. James says, "When will you ever learn that `believing' is useless without doing what God wants you to? Faith that does not result in good deeds is not real faith." He's saying, how will you know that you've got real faith? You look at your lifestyle and see what kind of actions follow as a result of it. He's saying that if you've got the real stuff, faith can be demonstrated, it can be shown visibly. You say, "How do I visibly show that I have faith?"
Well, the first thing you need to do is to be baptized. That's the very first command of Christ. He said, "Go. Make disciples and baptize them." Baptism is publicly identifying myself. What's happened in my heart, I want to tell the whole world about it. I had a little boy ask me one time, he said, "Pastor Rick, when can I get advertised?" I like that. Because that's what baptism is. Baptism is an advertisement for Jesus Christ. Baptism is saying to the world, "I'm not ashamed to say I'm a Christian. I'm not ashamed to follow the first command of Christ, to identify myself as a believer." Does baptism make you a Christian? No. Does baptism get you into heaven? No. Does baptism give you salvation? No a chance. What's it for? It is the outward symbol of an inward commitment. It's proof. By following His command.
What else do you do? You start following the other commands of Christ. The Bible says that you show, you prove your faith by your lifestyle. That faith is proven by how we live. As my grandmother used to say, "Actions speak louder than words." That's right. And your behavior shows what you really believe. Now, don't misunderstand me. This is too important to misunderstand. You say, "Mike, are you saying that I've got to work my way to heaven?" No. "Are you saying that I've got to do good works to be saved?" No. No. No. Good works are not the root of salvation, they are the fruit of salvation. They don't make you a Christian, they show you are a Christian. They don't deliver salvation; they demonstrate salvation. You do good works not to get it but because you've already got it. Get it? I pray so. Live out your faith.
Well, the first thing you need to do is to be baptized. That's the very first command of Christ. He said, "Go. Make disciples and baptize them." Baptism is publicly identifying myself. What's happened in my heart, I want to tell the whole world about it. I had a little boy ask me one time, he said, "Pastor Rick, when can I get advertised?" I like that. Because that's what baptism is. Baptism is an advertisement for Jesus Christ. Baptism is saying to the world, "I'm not ashamed to say I'm a Christian. I'm not ashamed to follow the first command of Christ, to identify myself as a believer." Does baptism make you a Christian? No. Does baptism get you into heaven? No. Does baptism give you salvation? No a chance. What's it for? It is the outward symbol of an inward commitment. It's proof. By following His command.
What else do you do? You start following the other commands of Christ. The Bible says that you show, you prove your faith by your lifestyle. That faith is proven by how we live. As my grandmother used to say, "Actions speak louder than words." That's right. And your behavior shows what you really believe. Now, don't misunderstand me. This is too important to misunderstand. You say, "Mike, are you saying that I've got to work my way to heaven?" No. "Are you saying that I've got to do good works to be saved?" No. No. No. Good works are not the root of salvation, they are the fruit of salvation. They don't make you a Christian, they show you are a Christian. They don't deliver salvation; they demonstrate salvation. You do good works not to get it but because you've already got it. Get it? I pray so. Live out your faith.
I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.
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