"It Boasts of Great Things" -- James 3:1-12

The Sixth in a Series of Sermons on the Book of James

Living in Southern California, we are all far too familiar with frightening scenes of wind-driven brush fires consuming everything in their path. When a brush fire strikes, vital watershed, expensive properties and homes are destroyed in minutes. People and animals are displaced, the skies turn black, and panic is the rule of the day. And yet as James reminds us, a more painful kind of damage can be done almost instantaneously by the human tongue. The words which we speak are capable of great destruction. Just as a small spark can create a horrific fire, our words can inflict great personal pain, or even destroy someone’s reputation which they’ve worked a lifetime to build. And then there is the fact that our words reveal how deeply and thoroughly sin resides in our hearts. The words which we speak reveal to everyone our deepest thoughts, they reveal our true character, and they expose how wise we may or may not be. A brush fire causes great havoc and damage. But the damage done by a fire, often pales in comparison to the damage which can be done by the human tongue.

We resume our series on the Book of James. When we left off last time, we discussed one of the most controversial passages in all the Bible–James 2:14-26. In that passage, James makes his case that a living faith (i.e., a justifying faith) is a faith which inevitably manifests itself in good works. James has carefully set out the cause and effect relationship between regeneration, faith, and good works. In James 1:18, our Lord’s brother told us that God has brought us forth (regeneration) through the word of truth (the gospel). In verse 21, James speaks of how that same word has been implanted in our souls, giving rise to faith (James 2:1). Believers are to receive that word with meekness and humility. And that same word, which is able to save our souls, is also to be obeyed. Says James in verse 22 of chapter one, “be doers of the word and not mere hearers only.”

Then in James 2:10, James has told us that the law of God exposes all us to be sinners, since if we break but a single commandment, we are as guilty as though we had broken every commandment. Sin but a single time and God regards us as a law-breakers. And yet, since Jesus Christ has fulfilled the law through his own perfect obedience to the Lord’s commandments, and because Jesus Christ has died for all of those times we have failed to keep the law, for the Christian, the law is now described as a “law of liberty.” As James puts it, the Christian who gazes upon the law preservers during trials. Such a person is a doer who acts. But the one who only hears, but does not do, is like someone who looks at himself in a mirror and then immediately forgets what he looks like. The law exposes sin, reckons people law-breakers, and smokes out those who are mere hearers of the word only. When such people make a profession of faith in Christ, that profession is not accompanied by good works. They may claim to follow Christ, but give no hint of actually following him. They “hear” but they do not “do.”

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"Faith Apart from Works Is Dead" -- James 2:14-24

The Fifth in a Series of Sermons on the Epistle of James

It would be hard to find a passage of Scripture which is more controversial than James 2:14-26. The reason for the controversy is James’ assertion in verse 24 that “a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” On its face, this seems to fly in the face of a number of passages in Paul’s letters where Paul appears to be saying the exact opposite thing. Take, for example, Galatians 2:16. “Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” Those who believe that the justification of sinners is a process which is not complete until death (Rome), view James’ assertion here as a classic proof-text which supports this view. But those who see justification as an instantaneous declaration made about the sinner because the merits of Christ are imputed to them through the means of faith, seem to stumble all over James’ declaration that works are somehow tied to justification, and that we are not justified by faith alone. But as we will see, James and Paul do not contradict each other. In fact, when James’ assertion is put in its proper context, there is nothing whatsoever in James 2 which conflicts with the doctrine of justification sola fide.

As we have been making our way through the Epistle of James, we come the second half of James chapter 2. I have mentioned throughout our series that this section of James is somewhat of a sore spot to confessional Protestants who champion Paul’s doctrine of justification. One reason for this is because when addressing justification, the Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent (Canon X)–Rome’s official response to the Protestant Reformation–teach that justification is a day to day process, depending upon how effectively people submit themselves to God’s grace, so that they increase their justification over time, and hopefully, attain final justification. James 2:24 is cited by the Council of Trent as a proof-text supporting Rome’s view that justification is a process connected to the merit of our good works.

Granted, James seems to be saying something quite different than Paul. And those who oppose the Reformation doctrine of justification often seize upon comments made by James in this chapter to prove that we are not justified by faith alone, but that we are justified by faith plus continual inward transformation, and the performance of good works which merit (earn) a reward from God.

Let me be clear here. Yes, James is saying something quite different from Paul is saying. But James is not contradicting Paul. The two men are addressing two completely different issues. And this is the critical point we need to keep in mind as we proceed. Recall that in our first sermon on James, I labored to establish the fact that James wrote this epistle sometime in the mid 40's of the first century. If you’ve not heard that first sermon, I would encourage you to get a copy because the date of writing of this epistle, understanding the context in which it was written, and then keeping in mind the specific issue which James is addressing, is the key to understanding James’ teaching on justification. When these factors are in place, the supposed controversy between James and Paul, and the apparent contradiction between James 2:24 and passages like Galatians 2:16 and Romans 3:28, is easily resolved. In fact, there is no contradiction, since James is addressing a completely different matter than Paul is addressing.

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"A Transgressor of the Law" -- James 2:1-13

The Fourth in a Series of Sermons on the Epistle of James

Christianity is a revolutionary religion which utterly confounds those who do not have faith in Christ. Sinful human nature tells us that good people go to heaven and that bad people go to hell. But Christianity teaches that God justifies the wicked. Sinful human nature tells us that the standard by which we judge people is external: beauty, fame, accomplishments, power, and fortune. But Christianity teaches that God’s standard of judgment is the Ten Commandments.

In the first-century world in which the Epistle of James was written, society was dominated by social castes and wealthy land-owners. But James tells his audience that Christians must show no partiality, either to the rich, or to the poor. Furthermore, James points out how flawed human judgment can be when it comes to matters of sin and salvation. Sinful human nature tells us that people who have more good deeds than bad deeds somehow make it to heaven. But James tells us that God is not going to grade the final exam for eternal life on a curve–God’s passing mark is 100% perfect obedience. In fact, as James will point out, commit but a single sin, and God regards you as a law-breaker, guilty of breaking all of his commandments.

In this sense, Christianity is an utterly revolutionary religion because it completely levels the human playing field. All of us are sinners who deserve to be punished. This is why we have no business judging anyone else. God saves sinners based not upon their merits, but upon the merits of Christ. And once saved by the merits of Christ, all manner of good works spring forth. Non-Christians simply cannot understand this because this is so contrary to sinful human nature.

As we continue our series on the Epistle of James we now make our way into the first thirteen verses of James chapter 2. In this section of his epistle, James takes up a discussion of the evils of discrimination, in particular the way in which wealthy land-owners and merchants throughout Palestine and Syria were exploiting those in James’ audience who were suffering this persecution and hardship because of their loyalty to Christ. Many of those to whom this epistle is addressed–the twelve tribes of the diaspora (persecuted Jewish Christians)–had been cut off from all ties to family, work, and both the temple and the synagogue, because they became followers of Jesus. Evicted from the synagogue and rejected by their families, many joined newly formed house-churches, but were being looked down upon in these assemblies because of their poverty, an important pastoral matter James now addresses head-on.

In many ways, this section of James amounts to the author fleshing out several of the comments he made at the end of the first chapter. In verse 22, James exhorted his audience to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” In verse 27, James spoke of the need to show compassion to the poor. “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” Therefore, the theme of this next section of James–a theme to which James will return in chapter five–is that discrimination against the poor is a violation of the law of God. In fact, based upon what James has said in chapter one about those who hear the word but do not do the word, it is not a stretch to conclude that those who use worldly standards to judge each other in self-righteousness are actually self-deceived. The standard of measurement which counts is not someone’s opinion, or their sinful prejudices. The standard of measurement that God uses is his law. And when we are measured against that standard, all of us quickly realize that we are sinners.

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"Ask in Faith" -- James 1:1-18

The Second in a Series of Sermons on the Epistle of James

I wish I could stand here and promise you that God will not call you to suffer. I wish that I could tell you that living the Christian life is a very easy thing. But I can’t do that. The reason is simple. Neither of these things are true. As many of you know first-hand, God does indeed call us to suffer–some of us much more than others. And all of us who place our trust in Jesus know full-well that the Christian life often includes difficult trials designed to test our faith. Suffering, trials, temptations, and the testing of our faith, are all realities of the Christian life. And all of these difficult issues are raised in the opening chapter of the Book of James, a letter written to persecuted Christians living during the most trying of times.

This morning, we’ll jump right in and make our way through the first eighteen verses of the opening chapter of James. Last time, we spent a great deal of time on introductory matters–which are very important when it comes to interpreting this book correctly. In the introductory sermon, I attempted to make my case that we can best interpret this epistle by looking carefully at James’ role in apostolic history, which, I think, serves to eliminate many of the difficulties which are often raised by those who seek to pit James against Paul, and who see this book as nothing more than Jewish legalism. So, if you were not here last time, I strongly encourage you pick up a copy of last week’s sermon in the bookstore, because much of what we’ll be doing in the coming weeks grows directly out of the historical context which I labored to establish in the opening sermon.

To briefly recap, if the Book of James was written before the Jerusalem Council in A.D. 48 as recounted in Acts 15, this means that James is writing before the controversy between Jewish and Gentile Christians over justification broke out in the Galatian churches. An early date for the Book of James is an important key to resolving the supposed controversy between James and Paul over the doctrine of justification. James’ Epistle was very likely written before any of the gospels were written, and during that time in the mid-40's when Christianity was rapidly spreading throughout Jerusalem, Palestine, and Syria. This time frame helps us to identify James’ original audience (persecuted Jewish Christians), as well as the purpose for which this epistle was written–to exhort these persecuted Christians, to put their faith in Christ into action. James does not contradict Paul. Paul is dealing with a controversy between Jewish and Gentile Christians over the doctrine of justification, while James is writing to exhort struggling Jewish Christians not to be satisfied with being mere hearers of the word only. James is exhorting his reader to be a doer of the word, which is important counsel to persecuted Christians.

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"If the Lord Wills" -- James 4:13-17

Here's the link to today's sermon, the ninth in a series of sermons on the book of James.

http://links.christreformed.org/realaudio/KR20081026-James.mp3

"Faith Apart from Works Is Dead" -- James 2:14-26

Here's the fifth in our series on the Book of James.

http://links.christreformed.org/realaudio/KR20080921-James.mp3

"Ask in Faith" -- James 1:1-18

Here is the audio from today's sermon, "Ask in Faith," the second in a new series on the Book of James:

http://links.christreformed.org/realaudio/KR20080831-James.mp3