James 2:18-26
This morning we continue our examination of James’ very practical letter to the Church, and we continue to find that it is about loving our Lord God almighty with all we are and have (heart, soul, mind, and strength), and loving our neighbour.
Now today we follow directly on from last week, which finished with the blunt statement of v.17, “So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” This morning we are digging onto this a bit more because it is very easy to grab the wrong end of the stick and view faith and works as opposites of each other.
Now James understood this which is why he opens today’s passage in v.18 with, ’But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works”’ (v.18). As if some have mouths to proclaim their faith once a week, and others, somehow, have the heart to do as Jesus did and serve others.
As if somehow the body of Christ has people who believe and people who do. This is not so!
James is making as assumption here that the readers of and listeners to this letter know what salvation means. It is the same message that Jesus himself makes time and time again.
It is the same message that the Paul writes in all his letters. In Romans 10:9-10, he writes that Jesus, the very Word of God, needs to be in our mouths and our heart, not either/or. He writes that if we confess with our mouth that ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead, then we will be saved.
This is James’ starting point. Now Jesus says when we do this (i.e., believe in our hearts and confess with our mouth), something happens. In the majestic words of John 3, it is like we are born again from above; we are different people.
As we said last week, Paul describes it as being transformed by the renewing of our minds. We think differently. We no longer focus all our emotional and physical energy on ourselves, but on others. This is what transformation looks like.
James is saying that if we aren’t transformed in this way, then our faith is all show. Very strong words. Now James uses two examples from the Old Testament.
Abraham, along with Moses and King David, was the most revered figure for Jews at the time of Christ. All the Israelites are the seed of Abraham. He then contrasts that by using the example of a very lowly, Canaanite prostitute called Rahab, instrumental in the walls tumbling down in Joshua’s assault on Jericho.
But I think the most effective way to say what I’m trying to say this morning is the New Testament. Jesus is even more blunt than his younger half-brother, James. (Same Mum, different father).
Jesus himself (Matthew 25:31-46) says that when he comes again, in the twinkling of an eye, he will separate the sheep from the goats. The believers from the unbelievers.
Just so people knew who the true believers, the sheep, were going to be, Jesus says the sheep were the ones who gave him food when he was hungry, a cup of water when he was thirsty, who visited him when he was in jail.
The sheep will say, but Lord we didn’t do that for you personally. Jesus replies, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of people, you did for me.”
The goats will say to Jesus, but we didn’t know you needed a cup of water, or food, or visiting. If we did we would have visited you. Jesus will say to them. All those times you didn’t give a cup of water, or food, or visit the least of people, it was like you refused it to me. Go away from me because I don’t know you. Gosh.
The faithful people of God, the sheep of his pasture, through the faith that transformed the way they think and act, fed and cared for others, which is actually doing it for Jesus himself.
I think most of us would do anything for Jesus if he knocked on our door, physically looked like he does in the Sunday School books, and asked us to. By serving others, it is exactly like directly serving Jesus in the flesh.
This is the crux of what we need to understand in James. Last week’s and this week’s passages could be summarised thus: ‘If we aren’t prompted in our new life and our transformed way of thinking and looking at the world to focus on others, do we even have faith?’
Now this is not only challenging, but sounds very hard. It could sound like a real burden has been laid on us. We may want to cry out ‘but who will look after me!’ It could sound pretty exhausting, and so unattractive that we could say, ‘blow it, I’ll take my chances with the goats.’
But it is not like that at all. It’s the very opposite of that.
Jesus says to us, all the time, not just once, (Matthew 11:28-30), ‘Come to me, all you who are wearied and burdened, and I will give you rest.
‘Take my yoke upon you (i.e., the servant heart of Jesus himself) and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, … for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’
Now in practical terms, how do we do this. Like everything in life, we take a step, just as we spoke about last week, and Jesus does the rest. This is the great step of the Christian life.
It is the thought of the step that is burdensome and weighs heavy on our souls, not the step itself.
The first step is prayer. ‘Father, show me what my first little step is, in Jesus name, Amen.’ In making this decision to allow the Holy Spirit to form the heart of Jesus in us, we open ourselves to experiencing the amazing gentleness of God. There is no other word for it.
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says, in effect, take one day at a time. Don’t worry about tomorrow, just today. Whatever you do this day, do it all in the name of Jesus. That’s the first step.
“Show me my first step, Lord.” He answers by allowing us to see the unmet need of someone else. He always begins really small. But every small thing is just as important as all the big things to God.
This small thing we do is as big a deal to our Lord as the big things that Mother Theresa did!
It is at precisely this point that we pick up our cross and follow Jesus!
The person the Lord puts in your path may only need something as small as help getting an item from the high shelf at the supermarket. It could be as tiny as a smile to someone whom no-one has smiled at in years.
It is as if we were doing it for Jesus himself.
When we are faithful in very little things, the Lord trusts us with bigger things. None of which will appear burdensome or hard. The Holy Spirit creates a desire in our hearts to serve others in specific ways and areas which totally suit our personality and nature that God himself gave us, and we ourselves are fulfilled.
This is the joy and freedom offered by Jesus.
Now here is the main point, right at the end. We not only are being Christ to others, but we are also permitted to see the suffering Christ in others. Jesus took all the suffering, pain, sickness, loneliness, abandonment, and horror of the world onto himself at Calvary.
When we see those things in others, the Holy Spirit permits us to see Christ himself, and we can’t help but be moved to our very core, just as Jesus will say of his beloved lambs when he returns. This is who we really are.
All this begins with prayer, so let us pray ...