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NOT BY
FAITH ALONE Texts: Genesis 15:1-6; 22:1-3,10-18; James
2:14-26 INTRODUCTION TO JAMES & THE
HISTORICAL BAGGAGE OF ITS INTERPRETATION A. James 2:14-26 has been one of the most controversial passages of Scripture for almost 500 years. B. The controversy, regrettably, was inherited from Martin Luther. 1. Following Paul, Luther taught that we are justified (made right before God) by faith alone (see Romans 3:28; Galatians 2:16). 2. James says, “a man is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24). a. In Luther’s original preface to his
translation of the New Testament (1522), but not in the 1545 version, Luther
called James “an epistle of straw.” b. “Many sweat hard at reconciling James
with Paul . . . but unsuccessfully. “Faith [alone] justifies” [Paul, in
Romans 3:28] stands in flat contradiction to “Faith [alone] does not justify”
[James 2:24]. If anyone can harmonize these sayings, I’ll put my doctor’s cap
on him and let him call me a fool.” (Luther’s
Works, Vol. 2, p.277f.) “We
should throw the Epistle of James out of this school [Wittenberg], for it
doesn’t amount to much. It contains not a syllable about Christ. Not once
does it mention Christ, except at the beginning [Jas. 1:1; 2:1]. I maintain
that some Jew [remember that Luther had a very low view of Jews and wrote a
pamphlet in 1543 {Luther was 60} entitled, Concerning the Jews and Their Lies] wrote it who probably
heard about Christian people but never encountered any. Since he heard that
Christians place great weight on faith in Christ, he thought, ‘Wait a moment!
I’ll oppose them and urge works alone.’ This he did. He wrote not a word
about the suffering and resurrection of Christ, although this is what all the
apostles preached about. Besides, there’s no order or method in the epistle.
Now he discusses clothing and then he writes about wrath and is constantly
shifting from one to the other. He presents a comparison: ‘As the body apart
from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead’ [Jas. 2:26]. O
Mary, mother of God! What a terrible comparison that is! James compares faith
with the body when he should rather have compared faith with the soul!”
[Martin Luther; Luther’s Works
54:424]. C. Statements by Luther and some Lutherans seem to indicate a deficient view of faith and the Christian life. 1. “Even though we are forgiven sinners who
claim the benefits of Christ's death on the cross, we do not necessarily
exhibit a notable change in the moral quality of our lives.” (Living the Faith: A Lutheran Perspective
on Ethics) 2. “No sin will separate us from the lamb, even though we commit fornication and murder a thousand times a day.” (Martin Luther) 3. “Whenever the devil harasses you, seek the company of men or drink more, or joke and talk nonsense, or do some other merry thing. Sometimes we must drink more, sport, recreate ourselves, and even sin a little to spite the devil, so that we leave him no place for troubling our consciences with trifles. We are conquered if we try too conscientiously not to sin at all.” (Martin Luther) I. THE
PROBLEM JAMES IS ADDRESSING IN HIS EPISTLE: LONELY FAITH (vv.14-17,26; cf. 1 Cor.6:9; Gal.5:6,19-21). A. In James’ day, people within the church were
separating faith from works (see James 1:22-27; 2:14-26) B. The non-Christian must trust in Christ alone for his salvation. But faith alone that leads to salvation is not alone because we were created in Christ Jesus to do good works (Ephesians 2:8-10). II. AN ILLUSTRATION OF A FAITH THAT DOES NOT SAVE:
THE BROTHER OR SISTER WITHOUT CLOTHING AND IN NEED OF DAILY FOOD (vv.14-17; cf. James 2:8) A. “The statement “Go in peace” is mere lip service (cf. Judges 6:23; 1 Sam.20:22; 2 Kings 5:19; Mark 5:34; Luke 7:50; 8:48; 24:36; John 20:19; Acts 16:36). B. You can’t say you have faith in Jesus if you don’t feed, show hospitality to, cloth or visit Jesus! (see Matthew 25:42,43) III. JAMES
CALLS FAITH WITHOUT WORKS (LONELY FAITH) FOUR DIFFERENT THINGS A. FAITH – WORKS = USELESS/WORTHLESS
(vv.16,20; note the pun in v.20: e[rgwn ajrgh) B. FAITH – WORKS = FOOLISH (v.20; cf. Matthew 7:26; 25:2ff.) C. FAITH – WORKS = “DEMONIC”
(v.19; cf. Mt.8:29; Mk.5:7; Lk.4:41; Acts 16:17; 19:15) D. FAITH – WORKS = DEAD
(vv.17,26)
IV. THE FAITH
OF “FATHER” ABRAHAM AND “MOTHER” RAHAB (vv.21-25) A. Faith was integrated with works in the
life of Abraham 1. Abraham was about eighty years old and
childless when God promised that his descendants would be more numerous than
the stars of the sky (Gen.15:1-6).
Abraham’s FAITH was demonstrated by his believing God’s
promise (Gen.15:6) 2. Abraham’s WORKS were
demonstrated over thirty years later when he offered up his beloved son Isaac
on the altar (Gen.22:1-12; note especially verse 12!!) B. Like Abraham, Rahab believed God was giving the land to Israel and she ended up becoming a “mother of Israel” because she was one of the women through whom the Messiah traced His lineage (Joshua 2:1-16; Heb.11:31; cf. Matthew 1:5). “Some have imagined that the doctrine of a
free Justification now by grace, through faith alone, is inconsistent with
that of a future judgment according to works; and for this reason they have attempted
to show, either that Justification and Judgment are precisely the same, or
that we must modify the doctrine of Justification by faith alone so as to
bring it into accordance with that of a judgment according to works. But
there is no real inconsistency between the two doctrines. They relate to
different parts of the divine procedure; and are equally necessary, -- the
one for the immediate relief of the sinner's conscience, -- the other for the
regulation of the believer's conduct. "I would have every
preacher," said Dr. Chalmers to the author, "insist strenuously on
these two doctrines -- a present Justification by grace, through faith alone
-- and a future Judgment according to works;" and all faithful ministers
have made use of both, that they might guard equally against the peril of
self-righteous legalism, on the one hand, and of practical Antinomianism, on
the other. But we refer to the future judgment only as it affords an
additional proof of the distinction between actual and declarative Justification.” (James Buchanan, The Doctrine of Justification (1867),
reprinted by Banner of Truth Trust (1991), pp. 233-4 & 237-9) QUESTIONS FOR
DISCUSSION & MEDITATION Take what you have learned this
morning and turn it into a prayer.
Pray that God would help you to live presently based on the fact of
your future accountability. What
was the title of this morning’s sermon and why? Why
did Martin Luther believe that James could not be harmonized with Paul? Is
Lutheran theology the same as Reformed theology when it comes to faith, works
and the pursuit of holiness? Can you
list some differences? What
are the “two sides” of faith? (see
Ephesians 2:8-10) What
four things does James say that faith without works is? Why is Rahab an excellent example
of faith? |
