Pastor
Tom Johnson, September 6, 2015
James cries foul. He
identifies a phony faith. James is a straight shooter. He calls them as he sees
them. And he has little tolerance for someone who says they believe but have
nothing to show for it. He gives us a good scolding and rebuke with a
rhetorical question: “What good is it,
my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works?” What
use is a profession with no work ethic? What worth is a religion that does not
make you a more caring and empathetic person? What a waste of breath to speak golden words but do nothing with your hands and feet! “Can faith save
you?” The question is better translated, “Can that faith save you?” as many English translations render it. “Can
such a fruitless faith liberate you to do the works of God?” No, of course not.
Empty faith is empty of works.
Just in case you
miss his point, he gives a very concrete example: “If a brother or sister is
naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep
warm and eat your fill,’ and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is
the good of that?” Saying you have
faith and no works to demonstrate your faith is as ridiculous as saying, “Go in
peace anxious one! Bundle up my naked friend! Bon appetite my starving comrade!”
They are faith-filled words but faithless because they are not followed up by
action. They are words that are completely useless to anyone. People don't care what you know; they want to know that you care. “So faith by
itself, if it has no works, is dead.”
In other words, genuine faith works.
Authentic faith produces good results.
The pitfall that James wants us to avoid is what we have already confessed in
our worship service: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the
truth is not in us.” In other words,
this Scripture wants us to not be self-deceived—to
be duped by our own phony religiosity—to
find false security in our own well-spoken words but have no action to back
them up. Several years ago,
guest Pastor Allan Buss reminded us that “We are saved by grace through faith
alone that it is a faith is not alone.” In other words, genuine faith does not
exist in isolation. Faith manifests itself through faithful deeds.
Let’s be clear.
James does not expect perfect faith
here. He wants us to have authentic
faith. He does not say that we generate our own faith. Faith is a gift. Faith is
born into our lives through Baptism. Faith is part of
the package that God gives with forgiveness and the assurance of eternal life. We
may feel stronger in faith one day over another—even one minute over another.
Faith is nurtured by the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, our fellowship, and
prayer.
Faith can be small
like a mustard seed but will grow into a tree. Authentic faith is just
that—like a healthy tree. Healthy trees sprout leaves, flowers, and fruit. As
Jesus himself says, “every good tree bears good fruit” (Matt 7:17). Faith
works. “What God has begun in us he will bring to completion.” Faith is our
trusting in God to transform our lives through forgiveness and the promise of
eternal life. Faith is the belief that God renews our lives where we grow in
our love for him and one another. Faith leads us on
a path to not only speak but also do acts of mercy, love, and grace. Faith
creates empathy and compassion for others. Knowing that we have been so
unconditionally and freely loved and accepted leads us to extend that same love
and acceptance to others.
The world
today—perhaps more than ever—has no patience for empty and phony religiosity.
People want to experience authentic faith. We want to be part of something that
genuinely makes a difference in peoples’ lives. As we gather here
this Sunday morning, tens of thousands of refugees are leaving Syria and making
a long journey into Europe. Not all nations and people are welcoming them. But
many are. Mayors of cities
have promised food and housing. The Pope is urging his church to show mercy and
offer shelter—even two families at the Vatican itself. Our partner church in
Germany called SELK has offered a home to Christian and Muslim refugees; and in
return, many Muslims have made their home in the Christian faith. One congregation
in Berlin has grown from 150 to 600 many of whom were baptized in that same
congregation. Hospitality works. Because what we see is faith at work. Faith
works. Our community
meals ministry here at First Saint Paul’s, where we provide a hot meal every
Saturday, does not earn us God’s love
and grace. We feed the hungry out of
God’s love and grace.
God says to us,
“Go in peace—go out into the world with the assurance and message of peace. Be
warm—be clothed in the perfect righteousness of Christ which covers all your
sin. Be filled—take, eat the body given and the blood shed for you.” God
believes in us that we can experience this life-transformation. “Go in peace, be
warm, be filled.” Our faith compels us. We get
to extend that same love and mercy to others. We have the privilege of
being both beneficiaries and conduits of the love of God.
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