Doers of the Word: Faith and Deeds
Please read Psalm 146 and James 2 v 1-17 and then pray; Almighty God, may your Word produce fruit in my life, fruit that will last, fruit that will glorify your Name. Amen.
Christianity is a faith that is dominated and directed by the Word of God. Our faith understands and proclaims the Word of God in two ways. Firstly, our faith is fundamentally centred and built upon the person and work of Jesus Christ, who was and is proclaimed to be the Word of God. (John 1: 1-2, 14, 1 John 1:1, Revelation 19:13). Jesus is the Living Word of God – the greatest revelation of God’s Word and Glory to the world. The Word became flesh and lived amongst us: (John 1:14) – is how John’s gospel speaks of Jesus’s entrance into this world; and this is how John describes Jesus in Revelation; He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. (19:13)
Secondly, Christians understand the Word of God to refer to the Bible – the Old and New Testaments. The Word of God is a unique library of books (66 in all) – all of which communicate with living power the saving message and truth of God’s salvation to the world. Central to that message is the person and work of Jesus. A Christian knows Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour and humbly submits to the authority of the bible – the Word of God!
As we discovered last week, James, the half-brother of Jesus, whose life was transformed by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:7), was a biblical writer who stressed the importance of the word of truth. (James 1:18) He was referring to the gospel message contained in the bible. James emphasised 4 things about the Word of God.
- The Word, like so many other precious gifts given by God the Father to his children, should be received with immense joy and gratitude. (James 1:17-18)
- The Word of truth activates Christian faith and life in the first instance. Christian life or new birth begins through the power and truth of the Word. (James 1:18)
- The Word must be received and go on being welcomed and retained in our hearts with (James 1: 21, James 4: 7, 11)
- The Word must be put into practice. Christians are called to be hearers and doers of the Word. (James 1: 22-25)
This final point about Christians being doers of the word and not merely hearers is without a doubt the main message of this challenging letter from James. And this is what we will consider today – the practising of the Word in Christian living and faith. James sounds a mighty trumpet call which heralds this message;
Faith (hearing, believing, and receiving the Word) must be accompanied with deeds of obedience and love. If this is not the case – then faith is dead – faith is not real and alive – the person claiming to have faith is a fraud. James shouts from the roof-tops; Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. (2:18) James wants every follower of Jesus to say;
I WILL SHOW YOU MY FAITH BY WHAT I DO.
This core message of James is particularly found in chapter 2;
In the same way, faith by itself, if not accompanied by action by action, is dead. (2:17)
As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. (2:26)
Before we get into some of the practical challenges which James presents on how the Christian faith must be lived-out, it is important to understand some other key points about the Word of God.
Firstly, much of what James describes as the Word of God is the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are numerous references and inferences to the teaching of Jesus in this letter. James is asking his readers to live out Jesus’s message about the kingdom of God, much of which was presented in Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. So, James for example, in Chapter 5:12 writes;
Above all, my brothers, do not swear – not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your “yes” be yes, and your “no” be no, or you will be condemned.
This teaching from James is virtually a carbon copy of Jesus’s teaching recorded in Matthew 5:33-37.
Or take James’s reference to “peacemakers” in Chapter 3:18. Surely James had this Beatitude from Jesus is in mind. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. (Matthew 5:9)
James believes true Christianity primarily involves faithfully putting into practise the teaching of the Lord Jesus. This is the Word that must be lived-out as well as heard, thus building a strong foundation on rock. (Matthew 7: 24-27)
Secondly, James shows how the Word of God is related to the wisdom that comes from God. (1: 5-7, 13-18). James is teaching his readers how to live wisely according to the Word. In one sense, James’s letter is like the Old Testament book of Proverbs – full of challenging sayings about how to live with the wisdom that comes from God through his Word. Here is one brilliant example;
My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. (1: 19-20)
Through this verse (19), James presents not one, but three key areas of his teaching which Christians should heed as the wise approach to living: To be good listeners, to be thoughtful and careful speakers; to be people who do not get easily angered. All these areas of teaching James will expand upon later in his letter, but here, it is all condensed into one memorable saying. Or take one other wise, pithy saying or piece of practical advice from James 4:7;
Submit yourselves, then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Do you recall how Jesus summarised what wise Christian living consisted of? Right at the climax of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught;
Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and PUTS THEM INTO PRACTICE is like a WISE MAN who built his house on the rock. The rains came down, the streams rose, and the wind blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. (Matthew 7:24 f)
Thirdly, James links the Word of God to doing the will of God. Doing the will of God proves a person’s genuine faith and true priorities. (Read James 4: 13-17) Once again, we can see links between James’s teaching here about the will of God to that of Jesus in the gospels. (Read Matthew 12: 46-50)
So, in summary, real Christian faith is revealed through practising the teaching of Jesus, through embracing and heeding God’s wisdom, and through aiming to do the will of God throughout life.
Now we will briefly consider some very practical ways James tells us how we can practise the word, the wisdom, and the will of God our Father and Jesus our Teacher and Lord. (Matt 7:21) Let me list some points of practical faith – deeds done in love which reflect the will of God;
Being a doer of the Word in practical terms means;
- Resisting temptation to disobey God’s Word (James 1: 13-15) This is how faith works!
- Persevering in the Christian faith where there will be trials and tribulations (1: 2-3, 12, 5: 7-11)
- Controlling our tempers and avoiding anger (1; 19-20, 3: 9-12)
- Controlling our tongues – speaking with love not judgement (1:26, 3: 1-12)
- Caring for the most vulnerable – widows and orphans – old ones and young ones. (1:27)
- Supporting the poor, clothing the naked, feeding the hungry (2:15-17)
- Avoiding favouritism – showing equal love and respect to all inside and outside the Church community. (2: 1-4)
- Avoiding slandering another. (4:11) Never lie to hurt or defame the reputation of another.
- Avoid quarrelling and fighting (4: 1-4)
- Resisting moral pollution from the world which is anti-God (1:22, 27, 4:4)
These are some the things James positively encourages his brothers and sisters to do and to avoid doing. This is how the faith is practised and expressed. Faith in action. This is following and obeying Jesus. This is what it means to bear fruit – remembering the words of Jesus that by their fruits you shall know them. (Matthew 7:20)
This of course also means that when such things which are contrary to the Word are done by individuals or Churches in the name of Christianity – such deeds are mistaken and misguided. You cannot hate in the name of Christianity. You cannot ignore or exploit the poor in the name of Christianity. You cannot discriminate in the name of Christianity. You cannot tell lies or slander another person or group of people in the name of Christianity.
This is why anything in the history of the Church which manifests racism, including antisemitism, homophobia, excessive storing and enjoyment of wealth to the detriment of the poor; abuse of power and privilege, cannot be said to represent the face of Christianity to the world – because it goes against the Word – the express word of God and Jesus. Such misguided “Christianity” does great harm to the cause of the gospel. It has nothing to do with the wisdom or will of God! Take the Crusades in the middle-ages as just one obvious example, or the system of apartheid as another which incredibly was sponsored by some Christian groups in South Africa. These were appalling deeds, not sanctioned by Jesus or by the Word – and yet individuals claimed to be doing the right thing, the godly thing, but they were horribly mistaken.
Two concluding points then; if we want to show the world that our faith is genuine, Jesus-centred, and Word-based, we must be people who read, study, and then obey the Word. As Christians, we must be well acquainted with the Bible, so that we know the practical implications of our faith. We want to know what to do and what to avoid doing. By taking time to study James or any other book of the bible by ourselves or with others, we gain a clearer knowledge of what practical Christianity involves including avoiding favouritism and supporting the economically poor. As someone has correctly said;
Our lives may be the only bible many people ever read.
But we can also recognise actions that cannot possibly claim to be Christian if we are biblically aware, alert, and astute. We can test our actions and the actions of others by the Word and the Wisdom of God. The Word is the bench-mark or the plumb-line which we use to measure genuine Christian praxis.
Three Christian charities are going to receive attention from Christchurch today and over the need few weeks – all of whom help us to put faith into practice. Faith leads to loving and obeying God, and loving and serving all neighbours. These charities, which put into practice teaching from Jesus and James are;
Gloucester City Mission – a work dedicated to being a practical blessing to the homeless.
The Gloucester Foodbank – a work that concentrates on making sure the hungry are fed.
Christians Against Poverty – a work that acts to lift people out of serious debt and away from perpetual poverty.
These are Christian Charities which present the true face of Christ and true faith of Christ to the world. According to Psalm 146 we worship and serve a God who upholds the cause of the oppressed, gives food to the hungry, sets prisoners free, gives sight to the blind, lifts those who are bowed down, watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow. Consider again what James proclaimed with deep conviction. I will show you my faith by what I do. (2:18)
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (1:19)
In the same way, faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead. (2:17)
May God be glorified through our faith, and may that faith be one which in the words of an OT prophet, acts justly, loves mercy, and walks humbly with God. (Micah 6:8)
Amen.
Pray that the faith you profess may be reflected in the life you lead.
(Revd Peter J Clarkson 8.9.24)