The Church of Eleven22 - Week 7: Faith Works

Episode Date: July 23, 2023

When you have been run over by the grace train of the gospel of Jesus Christ, it changes everything about you, especially the way you live your life. Works are the fruit of the changed life; the gospel is the root.

How we're doing, church? Good. You're looking good. Grab your Bibles. We're in the book of. You nailed it. Look at you. You're crushing it already.

We're going to be in chapter two. It took a seven weeks to get here. Well, I guess last week was there. So six weeks to get to the second chapter. Today, what we're going to do, okay? If you're new to Bible study, you better buckle up, all right? This is basically just theology 101. This is a master's class in soteriology.

And if you're like, what's soteriology, that's why you need to go to class. That's what we're going to study. One of the most controversial past. not to normal people, but to theologians that we're going to study. Martin Luther didn't love it. I love him. He was awesome, man. He says some outlandish stuff.

That's why I like him. He didn't like this passage. This is what Protestants and Catholics fight over, and the Catholics are wrong? There's a guy in our church. He's Catholic. He's probably here. He serves all the time. He's like, why do you pick on the Catholics so much?

Because it's so easy. And he's like, you pick on us the most. And the Southern Baptists are like, no-uh, okay? Southern Baptist also get this wrong? not in their theology, they nail it in their theology, it's just in their practice where they get it wrong. And what we're going to talk about is what it's about faith and works. That's what we're going to talk about. Because you've got to understand what it means to be saved.

In fact, this passage answers the question that I get as much as I get any other question. There's something in the human spirit that cannot receive grace. We have a really, really hard time understanding that grace is a free gift from God. Really hard, man. In the gospels, this rich young ruler comes up to Jesus and asks this question, what must I do to inherit eternal life? That's the question everybody wants to know. What must I do? What's my part in this?

What must I do? And this, James, is going to answer to this question. you're new to Bible study, James is the bold younger brother of Jesus. James is kind of the blue-collar scholar, man. Not a lot of stories. He's just going to get right to it. And I think the reason is because he grew up with his big brother being Jesus. So he's like, we ain't telling any farming stories.

We're just going to tell you here's what it is. Now, by the time we get to verse 14, which is where we're going to pick it up, what I need to understand is we are still drafting off of what we're going to. we studied weeks and weeks and weeks ago where James says, be ye not merely hears of the word and so deceive yourself, but do what it says. And then he gives us a bunch of dues. He gives us things like, be slow to anger. Remember that week? He gives us things like take care of the widow and the orphan, or like last week, show no partiality. Now he is going to get to the theology behind the things that we are going to do. Verse 14 starts out this way.

It's a question. What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Let me answer that. What good is it? No good. That's what he's saying. That that kind of faith is no good. This is where the rubber meets the road.

Let me revisit my illustration that I've used a hundred times that I'm writing a whole book about. If you have been run over by the grace train, it changes everything about everything about everything. If you showed up here and told me you got run over by a train, but you look the exact same way, I would say, I don't think you got hit by a train. And if you say that you have met Jesus, and the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, is exponentially more powerful than any freight train, but nothing in your life has changed than you may have felt a thing, you may have thought a thing, but you did not meet the savior of the universe. If you showed up and say, I have the flu, but you have zero symptoms. You got issues. One of them is just

not the flu. I think this is what James is saying, that there are symptoms of a gospel-infected life. Now, here's what you've got to understand. He's writing to a religious audience. James is the pastor of the first church. The church in Jerusalem, he's the pastor. Everybody in his church grew up Jewish grew up super, super, super religious. And they're used to like slaughtering goats and offering up dubs and doing all kind of religious stuff over and over and over. And now they have heard the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ means that you're saved by grace through faith, not by your works.

And they're like, oh, cool, so we can just sit back and do nothing? And he's like, nope, that's not what I'm saying at all. What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but doesn't have works? Answer, not good. And then he asks another question. Can that faith, underline the word that faith? Can that faith save him? Answer, no.

This is what's key to understanding this passage. James is not, James is saying that there is a faith that's not actually faith. That's what he's saying. There's a quote unquote faith. There's a show up and sit in church. There's an acknowledge that Jesus is the son of God, died on the cross and resurrected from the grave. there's this kind of mental assent to true theology, but that's not actual faith.

James is saying there's a fate that isn't actually faith. You see, amen. The Bible knows nothing of a fruitless faith. Nowhere can you find in the Bible the kind of faith that doesn't change things. So like Jesus calls Lazarus out of the grave, remember that? And the first thing he tells him to do, Lazarus, take off the dead man's clothes. Why? Because you're alive.

You shouldn't wear dead people. clothes. Then when he heals the paralytic, he says, get up and walk and take up your mat and walk. Why? Because crippled people don't lay on dead people's mats. In the sermon on the mount, he says, if salt loses his saltiness, it's worthless. You know what saltless salt is? Not salt. Matthew 25, we studied this two weeks ago. That the final exam, when you get into heaven, is what did you do for the least of these? Not to try to earn a right standing before God, because you were the least of these, and Jesus poured it all out for you, so you are willing to pour it all out for them in Jesus' name.

That faith always leads to action. The Bible knows nothing of an actionless faith. Now, Exhibit A. Here's his hypothetical situation. Verse 15. If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, go in peace, be warmed and filled. without giving them things needed for the body, what good is that?

Let me answer that for you. That's not good. Well wishes to the hungry have never helped anybody. If you see somebody starving and go, I hope you get a sandwich. God is saying they do have a sandwich. It's in your refrigerator, dummy. Go give it to them. Now, let me just tell you this about you.

You have done good. You did real good. two weeks ago we put packets all over all of our campuses and a text two number online to sponsor children who are without food and in need and you did good people did not walk by and just feel a thing you sponsored we sponsors because i did it too we sponsored 3,400 children were rescued from poverty in Jesus' name. Now, which totals 20,976. That's how many kids that we have done what James says that you're supposed to do. And I've told you this before. It's not a competition, but we're winning. And we're not just kind of winning. We are like the Georgia bulldogs of child

sponsorship. Just back to back to back. I see you gator shaking your head. Listen, man, I know you went to Florida. You're smart. You're real smart. You're super smart. It's just, They're not good at sports, but it's fine. Now, we're laughing the competition. We are. And let me tell you, let me tell you why this matters to me. I am so competitive by nature. I am so competitive by nature.

Which is not good. C.S. Lewis says that competition is one of the greatest forms of pride, and pride is the chief of all sin. So I'm winning at sinning. That's what I'm doing. Like, I've never lost a game. me checkers ever in my whole life. You know why? I've never allowed a game that I was losing to go to the end. I just kicked the board over. That's what I do. It's a real dangerous thing when you're the

pastor of growing church and you're competitive. So a part of what meekness means is to turn the reins over to the master, right? And so meekness means like a bit bridle horse. So you take the thing that the energy, the power that God has given you and you just put it in his hand. So what I try to do is be competitive in the things that matter to Jesus, like taking care of the poor. So all you pastors watching, and I know a bunch of you do, I dare you to take us on. Y'all could clump together two or three churches at a time. Try to sponsor more kids than we do. I dare you.

See what we're doing there? Because what happens? More kids get sponsored. Okay, so. All right. So you're winning. Good job. We sponsored 20,976 kids in total.

3,400 in one weekend. It's the most, like, single event sponsorships, compassion's ever had. Take that. Ha. Now, here's the thing. man. God doesn't need your good works. People do. God doesn't need your good works. You see the Lord is in heaven going, oh, no, no, what am I going to do? 1122 doesn't do this. No, no, no, no, man. He's got the whole world in his hands. He knows exactly what he's doing. He doesn't need your good works. He just

wants to work through you for the sake of people for his glory. Think about this. The greatest law, this lawyer comes up to Jesus. It says, all right, of all the laws, 613 laws in the old covenant. What's the number one? He goes, I got you. He quotes Deuteronomy 6, the Shema. He says, Shima Israel, the Lord of God, the Lord is Akkad, one. And you shall love the Lord of your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And then he adds, Leviticus 19 and says the second one is like it. You should love your neighbors yourself.

He's like, these two things totally go together, that you love God and you love people. He's saying what James is saying. If you have faith in God, then there will be some works that demonstrate it because God changes your life. If you don't love people, first John says this. He says, if you see someone in need and don't love them, can the love of God be in you? John's answer is, no, it cannot. Here's what James is saying. Lips service is useless.

Lifestyle matters. Lips service is useless. And religion is full of lip service, man. Come in and say the prayers and chant the things and, you know, just ta-tat-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta with your mouth. and then walk out of the meeting, feeling all the feels, and not doing anything about it. You realize, dads, if you look at your family and say, I love you, but don't do anything about them, you don't actually love them. I'm not saying you don't have affection for them in your heart, but according to the scriptures,

love is not a feeling. Love has feelings. According to Ephesians chapter 5, the definition of what it's like for a lot. a husband and a dad to love his family is provision and protection. That's primarily what it is. In fact, when Paul is talking to Timothy, put this one in your theological cap. Ready? Paul says to Timothy, a man that does not provide and protect for his family is worse than an

unbeliever. Well, what the heck does that mean? Unbelievers go to hell. You don't take care of your family. You get to hell, and you're like, this is terrible. And they go, well, you're not done. We've got like a basement that you get to go into. You see, love is an action.

Love is a verb. Love is my joy in the Lord towards you at great expense to myself. And what James is saying was when you encounter that kind of love for Jesus, for God so loved the world that he gave. He didn't just look down at earth and say, well wishes, I'll think good thoughts about you. He did something about it. And so when we get run over by the grace train,

it should change everything about everything, about everything. Verse 17. So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. So here's what he's saying. He's saying that there is a type of faith that's not saving faith. It's dead faith. That's what he's saying. There used to be this worship leader guy named Rich Mullen.

You don't know him. He was the best. He had this song, and in it had this line said, Faith without works is like a screen door on a submarine. I love that line. What use is the screen door on a submarine. It's useless. Now, just to be clear,

James is saying that there's a kind of fate that isn't real faith. So when he talks about faith that works, he's distinguishing between a saving faith and an unsaving faith. He's saying that there's a dead faith. Because real faith, saving faith, faith that's a gift from God,

always produces fruit or always produces works or there's always evidence. There's always symptoms to the gospel infected life. This is very important. This is why people battle over this between faith and works because they misunderstand what James is saying. James isn't pitting fate versus works. He's pitting real faith against a false faith, a fake faith, a dead faith, just a mental assent that isn't actually a surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. this is very, very important, order matters like crazy.

It's all about order. If you get it out of order, then your whole life is going to be disordered. You see, the Bible never ever teaches that obedience precedes acceptance. It's the exact other way. Not because of anything that we have done to deserve it, but through the blood of Jesus Christ, for anybody that believes on him for salvation, then you are accepted as a son. a daughter of the Most High King, and it's that acceptance that drives obedience and never the other way I say it all the time is this, identity precedes activity.

And if you think activity precedes identity, that's a dead faith. And if you think a change in identity does not change your activity, then that is a dead faith. You see, we studied this two weeks ago in Matthew chapter 7. In Matthew chapter 7 as Jesus is wrapping up the sermon on the Mount, the best sermon ever preach. The sermon on the Mount is one of the most misunderstood pieces of Scripture in the Bible. It starts with the beatitudes, and I have a hard time finding people that understand what the beatitudes are about. The beatitudes are not eight separate circumstantial blessings. You know how I know this? How about this one? Blessed are the pure at heart. Would all the pure at heart people

please stand up? And the moment you self-identify as pure at heart, you're the most wretched-hearted person in the room. See, it starts with, blessed or the spiritually bankrupt, the poor in spirit, because theirs is the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is at hand when you realize that you can't do this on your own, you need a savior. And then it is a progressive walk from your understanding of your wretchedness to meekness, which is to surrender your life to the Lordship of Christ, and then how the Spirit of God begins to change you to act more and more like Jesus until finally you are persecuted in this world like he is persecuted. That's how the sermon on the Mount starts. It starts with the gospel, and then by the time you get to the very end of the sermon on the Mount, it ends with the gospel.

Blessed is the man that builds his house on the rock, the solid rock, of the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And then right before he ends it, he gives this warning to church folk. Listen, we studied it two weeks ago. Matthew 721, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. You know what this means? On the day of judgment, they're going to be surprised people in line. there are going to be some people into goat line. See Matthew 25.

They're like, wait, what, hold on, I'm in the wrong line. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my father. John chapter 6 says the will of my father is that you would believe that I am his son. That's the will of the father, that you would trust in Jesus. But the one who does the will of my father, who is in heaven. And on that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name.

And then I declare to them I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. Do you know him? Not do you know about him? Not do you attend church. Not do you sing with your hands up? Not did you sponsor five kids. No, no, no, no, no.

Do you know him? And when the Bible says no, it doesn't mean like know about. I always let the Bible be commentary into itself. How about this in the book of Genesis? And Adam knew Eve, and she bore a child. Like, there's no one, no one. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, are you in a relationship with the Lord?

Not everyone who cries out, Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven. Yet Acts 13, 1013 says, and all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. What it means to call in the name of the Lord means to align yourself under submission to the name of Jesus Christ. See how that's different than just going to church? You see, works will not save you. And yet in Matthews chapter 25 that we studied two weeks ago, the sheep are rewarded for their faith-driven works. But it's because they were not trying to earn their salvation. They were just exhibiting that they had been saved.

See, here's those crazy. Here's what's crazy about this one. The exact same activity, the exact same activity, whether it's serving or generosity or the words you speak, the exact same activity could be a fragrant offering pleasing to the Lord, or it could be offensive to God, the exact same activity. Like, let's take your giving, for example. Okay, you know around here we don't pass a plate. If you wrote a chat, or if you, well, who has checks anymore?

But if you gave, and if you do it, simply because you know that God is first and God loves first and God went first and out of an act of obedience and worship, you just want to love him by bringing him your first and your best. Then according to Philippians chapter four, actually Paul is talking to the Philippians about their offering to his ministry. It is a fragrant offering pleasing to the Lord. And yet, you could write a check with an extra two zeros on the end of that one, but if you think that thing puts God in your debt, that he is offended by that.

He's like, that's dead. Depart from me, I don't even know you. This is what Isaiah is talking about in Isaiah 64. In Isaiah 64, Isaiah says this, that even our righteous deeds are like filthy rags before the Lord. Here's what he means. Those righteous deeds are like, when we think it's our right activity that puts us in right relationship with God, it is like, the English translation is filthy rags. But it's because the people that do Bible commentary, have you met these people? They're not the edgiest guys you've ever met in your life, okay?

But they're real smart. And they know you've got to read it in church, and most churches don't talk like we talk. That word filthy rags literally is used menstrual cloth. I think Isaiah is trying to think of the nastiest thing in the history of nasty that he can think of. That when we, see, grace is not anti-effort. Grace is anti-earning. And when we try to earn a right relationship with God, it's offensive. Oh, husbands, just us.

Wives, don't listen to me. Husbands. can you imagine if for your anniversary your wife was like baby i got you a present and you were like do you did and then she brings you this well wrapped gift and you begin to unwrap it and you open it and it was filthy rat you'd be like oh what are we doing that's what it's like when we by works try to tell god he owes us forgiveness in a right standing with him you see it's at the heart of the matter faith-driven works or a fragrant offering pleasing to God, works-driven righteousness or a fake faith is like filthy rags.

Again, grace isn't anti-effort, man. It's anti-earning. See, Kane and Abel. They both brought an offering. Abel brought the firstborn. Kane brought his leftover crops. God accepted Abel's. Is it because he likes meat better than vegetables?

Well, who doesn't? But that's not the point. It's because Abel brought his first, and Cain brought leftovers. Verse 18, but someone will say, because there's always a naysayer, right? But someone will say, you have faith and I have works. Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. Now, one of the questions I want you to ask yourself is this, is if you are a believer in Jesus, what works or God is God asking you to step into?

what activity is he asking you to step into because of your relationship with him maybe it's forgiveness or generosity or sharing your faith or repentance or maybe you go back a few weeks to the discipleship journey and you ask yourself what's my next step of obedience but you see works are produced from the inside out they're not manufactured from the outside in this is why this is why the new testament causes the fruit of the spirit like in galatians chapter five it's called the fruit of the Spirit. Then when you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, he plants like a seed, the Holy Spirit, into your life, and then the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, and gentleness, and self-control. You don't manufacture them from the outside end, you produce them from the inside out. This is why when you go to the fruit section at the grocery store, it's not a manufacturing plant. It's the produce section because it is produced from the inside out. if I take a two by four and nail an orange tree, I nail an orange to the two by four, it does not make the two by four an orange tree.

This is what a bunch of Christians try to do. I'm just going to try to be patient. And then you're impatient with how long it takes for you to become patient. It's not how it works, man. But you abide in Christ and he abides in you, and as you are in him from the inside out, things begin to be produced in and through you. In other words, your life is changed because of your faith in Jesus Christ.

That's what he means. And the Bible knows nothing of a fruitless faith. In fact, one time Jesus wanted a fig, you know where you go when you want a fig? Fig tree. Fig tree had no figs. He got ticked, cursed, cursed it. This should just not make trees nervous. This should make Christians nervous.

When you want the fruit of the spirit, you know where you go to, you go to, you go to people to have the spirit. And what he's saying is, if there is no fruit of the spirit, you might want to check and make sure you got the spirit. That's what he's saying. And then this one. How about this? Woo, he gets real serious.

You believe that God is one? He's quoting the Shema. Shema, Israel. The Lord our God, the Lord is one. The Lord is Akkad. Not just number one on your list, but like the paper on which you would write your list. He's like, you have right theology, right doctrine, cool. You believe that God is one.

You do well. even the demons believe and shudder. Here's my question. Is your faith divine or demonic? That's what he's talking about. He says there's two different kinds of faith. There's a divine faith that is a gift from God that changes everything about your life.

And then there's this other faith that's either dead or demonic. And be careful, they'll be tricked. Here's what's crazy, man. A fruitless faith is a demonic. faith. In the Gospels, do you realize who the first group of beings were to recognize who Jesus actually is? It was always the demons. Mark chapter 1, Jesus rolls up on a man with an unclean spirit. The unclean spirit begins to talk to him. What are you doing here? We know who you are.

It literally says, we know who you are. Were those demons saved? Nope. And they could beat you on a theology exam because they had not surrendered their lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. in Luke chapter 4 Jesus shows up man with an unclean spirit and the demon said are you already going to throw us into the pit of the fire of hell they recognize who he is but they have not surrendered you see divine faith is a saving faith it's a gift from God that leads to a changed life it leads to works it leads to fruit in your life a demonic faith is either works-based righteousness where you're trying to earn it, or a fruitless faith where it doesn't change you. Now, let me just give you a warning right here, okay? Only God knows the difference. Only God can see the heart.

Because I know what happens. Maybe you're sitting right here, and you're like, I think she's got demonic faith next to me. I saw her in the parking lot. Okay. All right. You see, the reality is that when you get saved, our salvation has a past, a present, and a future tense.

that the moment you trust Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then he saves us once and for all for the penalty of our sins. And he is currently saving us day by day from the power of sin over our life. And one day when we breathe our last and then we breathe our next in eternity with him, he will save us from the very presence of sin. That's called justification, sanctification, and glorification. And from the moment that you surrender your life to Jesus to the moment you, you die here on this earth. This thing is called progressive sanctification. And it's progressive,

which means we all still got a long way to go. Sanctification just simply means that the Spirit of God takes the word of God like a hammer and a chisel and just chisels away everything in your life that doesn't look like Jesus. And the reality is we don't all check the sanctification boxes in the same order. I mean, some of you, the moment you met Jesus, man, all the like external visible sins just dried up quick. You quit cusses a month. You quit cusses a month. you quit getting drunk, you just quit like that. But internally, you still got a whole bunch of trash going on. Ego and pride and judgmentalism.

And for other people, the Spirit of God begins to sanctify the inside first, some of the things that everybody can't see, but you still use the same dictionary that you did pre-Jesus, all right? That's not for us to judge. It is for us to love one another to hold each other accountable. But we're talking about progress here, not perfection. He keeps going in verse 20. He says, do you want to be sure?

shown you foolish person? I love how James is. He's like, you don't believe me yet? It's because you're dumb. That's what he's saying. I love him so much. Do you want to be shown you foolish person? That faith apart from works is useless? He's going to give two examples. First one, Abraham. Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac to the altar? Let me tell you a little bit about Abraham just in case you knew the Bible study. This is Genesis chapter 22 and then also the New Testament gives commentary unto it in Hebrew chapter 11. you see Abraham is known as the father of faith Abraham is about 80 years old still living at his parents house

all right you want to talk about a failure to launch and then God shows up and says I'm going to invite you on the greatest adventure of ever ever ever ever ever and it is going to be a blessing to the entire world like my plan of salvation Abraham is going to come through your obedience in your family and here's what's crazy okay Abraham has got a wife named Sarah and she got he goes home after meeting with a Lord, and he says to his wife, baby, we're moving. The Lord told me we're moving. She said,

okay, where are we going? And he said, I don't know. He said, he'd tell us on the way. And here's what's crazy. She moved with him. That might be the greatest miracle of all time. I can't get my wife in the truck with me if she cannot pre-look at the menu of which I said we're going to eat at. You understand? And she packs it all up and just goes to I don't know where until we get there, all right and so on the way god makes a promise to abraham and says because sarah his wife was barren she could not have a child the bible says that she's older than old don't ever tell you wife that this is what the bible says and angel the lord says you are going to be with child and through this child through this promised son of yours this miraculous son of yours i'm going to bless the entire world

and abraham you are going to become the father of many nations by the way this is one of I'll do a whole sermon on it one day, that before God uses Abraham to bless the world, he makes him a father. You could trace almost every problem in our country back to fatherlessness in our country. It's just the order of how things work around here. And so how many of you know that God's on his own timing? He's never in a hurry. He waits 20 years to fulfill this promise.

Then one day the angel shows up and tells Abraham, all right, by this time next year, your old wife's going to be pregnant. she laughs ha ha ha ha so they named the kid laughter his name's Isaac he's the son of the promise now here's what i need you to know real quick okay because sometimes sometimes like if you go to sunday school you uh you get kind of a gloss over picture of the life of abraham he's called the father of faith but from the moment he moved to the moment he had a son his life was a dumpster fire he screwed up over and over and over what do you what how pass How did he do that?

Well, how about this? He pimped out his wife twice. Two times in order to save himself, he said, well don't you sleep? This is my sister, not my wife. Also, he slept with his servant, his maid servant, because he didn't trust God. Later, he's going to be willing to kill his kid,

which, honestly, we've all been there. But that's different. Okay, so if he was applying for a job at 1122, I'd be like, I don't think you qualify, you don't get to pimp your wife out and be on our staff. okay and yet god never gives up on him because it's not about his it's not about abraham's faithlessness it's about god's faithfulness to him then he gives him this promised son isa Isaac and then the bible says that

god tests abraham god tests abraham why because faith is testable because faith is not a feeling man faith is not just a mental assent faith is not passing a theology exam faith is acting as if you actually believe god is who he says he is and he always keeps promises. And so God comes to Abraham and says, I'm going to test you. I want you to take your son, your only begotten son, the son of the promise, the son of your love, and I want you to take him up on Mount Moriah, and I want you to sacrifice him unto me. And Abraham is willing to do it. Abraham takes his son. By the way, now if you grew up in Sunday school, you probably think Isaac, his son is like a little guy, because you saw it on flannel graph or veggie tails or whatever

the app you have today, depending on your age. No, no, no, no. Isaac is probably 17 years old, which means when they get up on Mount Moriah, he carries the wood, he helps make the altar, he asks his dad, we got the fire, we got the wood, but where's the sacrifice?

And this means that the son had to be willing to submit his will to the will of his father and lay himself down on the altar. How do you know that, pastor? Because Abraham had him when he had, was 100 years old. This means at this point he's 117 years old. Have you ever tried to wrestle a 117 year old? You could probably take them. I don't know anybody 117. Dr. Paul's the oldest I know. Give him a shot. You could probably get him, right, Dr. Paul? So this means that

Isaac, a 17-year-old. I got a 17-year-old. He is looking forward to the day where he can get me. It ain't here yet, though, okay? All right. And so what Abraham does is he takes him and he's willing him to sacrifice his son and you think how in the world can he do this? Here's how by faith. We get two clues, one in Genesis, one in Hebrews. Genesis says that Abraham with his son, Isaac, looks at the servants and says, my boy and I are going up on this mountain. It's translated worship in English. It's literally in Hebrew, the word is sacrifice. He says, we're going to sacrifice and we will return. Why? Because he believes. God said he's going to bless the world through this boy. He can't bless him through a dead boy. And so I don't know how it's going to work,

but I'm going to do what God told me to do, and I'm going to get up there, and I trust that God is who he says he is, and he'll always keep his promises. That was his work. Hebrews chapter 11 lets us know that Abraham believed in the resurrection. And so he gets up there, he raises the knife, and the angel of the Lord says, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, don't use your son. We use mine. That's what he says. Which, by the way, this will be shocking. Don't do what God told you to do. What are you saying, pastor? No, no, no, no, no, no. do what God is telling you to do. Too many times the church gets stuck in what God told them to do,

and then God is telling them to do something, but you're still hanging on to yesterday. If I did what God told me to do, I would never have started 1122. I'd still be a youth pastor. And God did tell me to be a youth pastor, so I did that for that season. And then when he told me to launch 1122,

then I did what he's telling me to do now. That's what Abraham does. And this whole event was just a picture of our salvation. A couple thousand years later, there would be an only begotten son, a son of a promise, a son who was miraculously born, who would put wood on his back, who would climb up that exact same mountain, Mount Moriah, which means the Lord will provide, who would willfully and willingly lay himself down on the altar because of his father's will, and he would be the substitutionary atoning sacrifice for the sin of all mankind. Abraham believed. That's what he's talking about.

Verse 22. You see that faith, not that faith, but that faith. What kind of faith? Saving faith. Divine faith. That's what he's talking about. That kind of faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works. This is James' way of saying, your works don't save you, but you have been saved two good works.

That's what he's saying. There was a young theologian that asked Charles Spurgeon. Charles Spurgeon is one of the greatest preachers of all time. And this young theologian said, how do you reconcile James and Paul? Spurgeon says James and Paul are friends, and friends don't need to be reconciled. They are not in conflict. They are not in conflict at all. They compliment one another.

Paul says it this way in Ephesians chapter 2. Paul says, very famous passage, and you, he's talking to the church. and you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind.

Around here, we sum all that up in this, man. You were a wretched, black-hearted sinner. or at least you were, every single one of us. And if you're offended, it's because you were a wretched, black-hearted sinner. Which also means, which also means nobody in the church should ever be able to look down their nose at anybody else. And it's impossible to look down your nose at another human and keep your eyes fixed on Jesus Christ, the author and the perfector of our faith, man. We were all there. Every single, we don't talk, a lot of churches don't talk about this.

Children of wrath. You ever heard of worship? song on that. Your wrath, oh Lord, burn us to a crisp. No, we don't talk about that. It's just true. That's the diagnosis. But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his great. And he might show the immeasurable riches of grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

And then here's summation of his theology of soteriology right here. For by a grace you have been saved through faith, and it is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. That's where most people stop, but you can't stop there. Paul didn't stop there. For we are his workmanship. That word means masterpiece. It's where we get the English word poem.

Like everything else on the planet, he spoke into existence. and yet he knit you together in your mother's womb, and he came up with the idea that is you, and it's by grace that you have been saved, not because you're awesome, but because he is, created in Christ Jesus four good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. You're not saved by good works, you're saved by the finished work of Christ,

but you are saved two good works. So because of the work of Christ, on the cross, we should get to work because we are sons of the most God. That's what he said. Back to James, verse 23. And the scripture was filled. saying Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. He trusted God.

He bestuo, that's the Greek word, in God. And it was credited. It counted to him as righteousness, not right activity, as right standing before God. A great picture of this in the New Testament is when Jesus teaches on the prodigal son. If you've ever heard this story, the prodigal son comes home and he's covered in pig slop. And the father goes running to him, covers his face with kisses. And the first thing that he does is he wraps his robe around. him. Why? So that when everybody sees him, they don't see the filth that he's made of his life.

They see the perfection of the robe of the father. That's called imputed righteousness. Second Corinthians 521 says, and God made Him who was without sin to be sin for us, that we would be made the righteousness of God. If you're in Christ, then God looks at you, he sees the perfection of his son, Jesus Christ. Most people in churches today believe half the gospel. You believe half the gospel. if some people would have come up to you and ask that famous Daytona spring break evangelism question if you were to die tonight where would you go if you were to die tonight you were standing before the Lord and he asked you why should I let you in my heaven what would you say which I'm just going to put this out there that's a weird question to ask a stranger I can remember we were in Myrtle Beach when I was a teenager and I was a Christian my dad was not

and back in the 80s if you couldn't come up with a legit mission trip for your students you would just take into Myrtle Beach and sick them on all the tourists. And so I can see these Christians walking up to us. They just had this air about them. You know what I mean? I mean, they got like collared shirts on the beach. My daddy and I are just sitting there chilling. And this kid walks up to my daddy and goes, sir, if you were to die tonight, do you know

where you go? And he's like, we're just going to go eat seafood. What's happening tonight? Okay, so, again, you sound like a serial killer when you say that, but I understand. But here's what most people in church with. say, if you were standing before the Lord and he said, why shall I let you into my heaven? What would you say? Many people would say, because I believe you died on the cross for my sin. Is that true? That's absolutely true. It's just half true. It's not the whole truth.

Here's the illustration. Imagine you were trillions of dollars in debt. I know. It's beyond imagination. But just imagine you personally were trillions of dollars in debt. And you go to the bank And you say to them, look, there's no way I can pay this off. If you give me 20 lifetimes, there's no chance I could ever pay back what I owe you. And the bank president comes down to the teller that you're standing at and says, you know what? Because of mercy, I'm going to cancel your debt. And that's all he does. Would you be grateful?

For sure, you would be grateful. You'd be so grateful. And you know what else you would be? Broke. You would have nothing. So when you walked out of the door of the bank, what would you have to do? You would have to get to work to earn a living. That is not the gospel.

Jesus did die on the cross for your sin and imputed or credited to you his righteousness. So back to the bank analysis, the gospel is the bank president comes down and says, because of my mercy and grace, not only am I going to cancel your debt, but I'm going to adopt you into my family, change your name, and here you go. You have access to all of the assets of the entire bank, not with a credit card, but with a debit card. Here you go. All that I have is yours. And then how would a normal human respond to that out of gratitude?

You would store that gift that you had for the rest of your days for the glory of your dad. That's the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That Abraham believed God, and it was counted, credited him. as righteousness. And he was called, this should blow your hair back if you got any. And he was called a friend of God. A friend of God? But I thought he pimped out his wife twice, yeah.

And he used to be a friend of God? Mm-hmm. I thought he slept with his maid servant, and we're still paying the price for that 4,000 years later. And he's a friend of God, mm-hmm. He's willing to kill his own kid. Well, we'll give him a pass on that. Friend of God.

Yeah, man. Jesus Christ is the only one that has ever claimed divinity and invited us to be his friend. John chapter 15, he's sitting down with his service. He's like, I don't even call you service anymore, man. I call you friends. This is why the most important thing about this church is we are a movement for all people to discover in deep. And here it is, a relationship with Jesus Christ. Is he our master and lord?

He is. And yet, our master and Lord says, how about we just call each other brothers and friends? That's what we're invited in. to. He says, you see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. A person is justified by works and not by that kind of demonic faith that says, yeah, I believe, but it hasn't done anything. Because when you believe like that, you believe like a demon. That's not what he's talking about. The Bible says that a tree is known by its fruit, Matthew 713, Matthew 12, 33. And then here's how he closes it up. And in the same way, was not also Rahab,

the prostitute, justified by works. When she received that, the messengers and sent them out by another way. This one's always a head as a leader. This one's a head scratcher for me. Okay? Joshua too. Joshua sends in a couple of spies. And then eventually they make it out and they come back. They're like, all right, boss, good news.

We can take Jericho if we just do what the Lord says. But one thing is we've got to take care of Rahab. And I'm sure Josh is like, who's Rahab? Well, she's a prostitute. Okay, cool. How'd you know her? You're like sharing the gospel on the streets? we kind of stayed at her place for a little bit.

Huh? The Bible makes no commentary, but the first place they go, they're hanging out of the prostitutes out. Do that with what you want to. But here's the faith that Rahab has. Here's part of the reason I think God uses Abraham, the Father of Faith, and Rahab with the sketchy past. What if, I think he's exemplifying show no partiality

because God will save the righteous and the unrighteous because we all need Jesus. That's what he's saying. And so she says to them, show up in a room, she's like, I believe your God is the one true God. And essentially they say, well, if you actually believe that, then will you cover us, will you keep us hidden and let us get back home? And when we come back to take over Jericho, we'll save you. And she acts as if she actually believes that he is the one true God. And she hangs a scarlet thread out of her window, and God

saves her. You see, all were invited to put their faith into action by trusting Jesus as their Lord. His final statement is this, for the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. In other word, faith and works go together like the body and life. Here's the point. Faith works. Faith does stuff. Faith takes action. When you've been run over by the grace train to the gospel of Jesus Christ, it changes everything about you, especially the way you live your life. Works of the fruit of the changed life, the gospel is the root. Please hear this, man. Like, I'm hoping today some Christians will get saved.

Now, in actuality, a Christian can't get saved unless by Christian, it's just like when you take a survey, you check Christian. Or you think going to church makes you a Christian. I've told you this a million times. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian anymore than sticking your head in the oven makes you a biscuit. That's not how it works, man. You don't get to inherit it from grandma.

You don't. That information plus perspiration does not equal salvation. salvation is revelation that leads to regeneration that turns out to be transformation you cannot divorce Jesus as Savior and Lord for a long time I've heard this testimony and it's horrendous theologically I know what people mean but they're just using the wrong words they'll say things like I met Jesus as my Savior at camp as a kid but he didn't become my Lord until this other point in my life that's a demonic belief that Jesus is Savior and Lord you don't get to divorce the two

that the moment you trust that when he died on the cross somehow that counted for me he is your savior and when he saves you then you submit and surrender your life to his lordship which simply means you do what he says it's a demonic faith that tries to tear those two things apart like i'm saved by grace but now i don't do anything about it let me tell you why this terrifies me as the pastor of 1122 Because from my point of view right here, guess what? Y'all all look saved. Everybody looks like a sheep. Sponsoring kids, raising your hands during worship,

laughing at the funny part of the sermons and mooing at the good, all the things, man, you're doing it. But the question is, do you know him as your Lord and Savior? That's what divine faith is. That's what saving faith is. It's not works-based righteousness, but it's also not a fruitless faith. There's no such thing.

what are you talking about? Here's what I'm talking about. Matthew chapter 26. Jesus is sitting down with the boys, his disciples, the apostles. He's going to institute the Lord's Supper. He's about to be dead, buried, resurrected. Then before this, he looks at him in Matthew 2620 and he says this.

When it was evening, Jesus reclined at the table with the 12. And as they were eating, he said, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, and they were very sorrowful. So they had all the right feelings. They were very sorrowful. And begin to say to him, one after another, is it I, what's that word? Is it I, Lord? 11 times.

Is it I, Lord, Curios is the Greek word. Is it I, Lord? Is it I, Lord? Very sorrowful. Is it I, Lord, gets to Peter, not me. Makes all these bold promises. You ever make bold promises? is it I Lord 11 times and he answered them he who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me the son of man goes as it is written of him but woe to that man by whom the son of man is betrayed it would have been better for that man if he had not been born and judas who by the way the bible says is filled with the spirit of the devil at this point in other words Judas has a demonic faith

Judas who's followed him for three and a half years Judas who took notes at the sermon on the mouth Oh, it's just good, Rabbi. Judas who was in the boat when Jesus calmed the storms. Judas who did miracles. Oh, you got works?

Judas took one twelfth of the bread and the fish in his hands and then began to hand it out and through the hands of Judas, Jesus fed 5,000 people. In fact, if you're not, We didn't know the end of the story, and I were to give us a survey at this point in the ministry, somebody's going to betray him and somebody's going to take charge. Who do you think the betrayer is?

We wouldn't pick Judas. He was the treasurer. He had a job. Now, he was stealing money, but they didn't know that yet. You know who we would all pick? Peter? I think it's going to be Peter. Why?

Because he's the worst. I heard one time Jesus called him the devil. He said, get behind me. Satan. When the Son of God called you the devil, you got to. issues, okay? Well, turns out Jesus puts Peter in charge of the whole thing. And yet here's Judas, who's been here the whole time, following, leaves everything,

does miracles, has all the work. And Judas, who would betray you here and answered him, is that I, what's that word? He didn't know him as Lord and Savior. That's the demonic faith. He didn't know him's the Lord and Savior. From the outside, I don't know, you can't tell the difference between Peter and Judas. standing up here, I cannot tell the difference between those who believe and those who just go to church. I just want to ask you this, do you know him as your Lord and Savior?

Do you believe? When he says in Matthew chapter 7, depart from me before I ever knew you, do you know him? I'm not saying you're perfect, but you're different. Are you trusting in yourself to earn your salvation, or are you trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross? Have you ever gotten to the point where you call him Lord? for all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. And to call on the name of the Lord is not lip service, man. It's a total lifestyle adjustment where you say,

I submit and surrender my life to who you are, my Savior, and my Lord. Because that's not demonic faith, and that's not dead faith. That's called divine faith. And that kind of faith is a gift from God that we can't even boast about. Have you ever done that? I want to give you the opportunity right now to receive the free gift of the grace of Jesus Christ through faith that you would be saved. And trust me, if you receive that gift, it'll change everything about everything about everything for the rest of your eternity. Would you bow your heads?

Would you close your house? And if you would say, that's me, for the very first time, I am ready to receive faith. that I am ready to be saved by grace through faith. I admit it. I can't do this on my own. I need the finished work of Christ on the cross. I believe when he says it is finished, somehow that counted for me. And in this moment, I am calling out to the Lord.

If that's you, if you're ready to put your faith in Christ, would you lift your hand as high as you can? Would you say, Father, here I am, save me. Praise God, praise God, praise God, praise God. Our good and gracious heavenly, Father God, we love you more than anything because you first loved us. Lord, for the men, for the women, for the students right now that are receiving that divine faith, that give from you, God, we give you all the glory because it's not a hand in the air that saved us. It's the finished work of Christ on the cross that does. And Lord, for the believers in this room, Lord, would you remind us once again that we need to do whatever it is you tell us to do? God, if we've gotten lazy in our faith, if you've gotten lazy with your grace, God, would you inspire us to put to work the good news of the

the gospel that you have implanted into us. May we abide in you knowing that you will abide in us. And through your abiding in us, we will produce fruit. God, we love you. We thank you for your imputed righteousness. That you're never disappointed in us because you have purchased us, that you have redeemed us, you have clothed us with Jesus' perfect life. And God, may that inspire us to live like it. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Church, would you please stand as we respond to the gospel demands a response?

Okay? We need to sing like save people because there's a bunch of people that just got to say. We're going to pray. We're going to pray. I would invite you to sprint down here to the altar, get on your knees, get on your face, and cast all you cares upon him because he cares for you. And not to put him in our debt, but because he is worth it, we are going to bring to him our ties, our offerings, our first, our business, our

best as an act of worship, a fragrant gift to the Lord. Let us sing, let us bring, let us pray. Let's respond.