Authentic faith in Action
Main theme to look at: the relationship between faith and actions.
Outline of study:
1:26-27 True Religion
Read 1:26-27
True Religion
-- James uses this word three times, and it’s a word we often react against: “Its
about relationship not religion!”. But what is James getting
at? What is this religion that James is emphasising so strongly here?
The Greek word used here is threskia, and it is used to describe religion in its  external aspect, -the
outward manifestations. What James is saying here, what he want to get
across is that the outward expressions or our faith, of our inner
spirituality, have immense value. And this is what he’s going to expand
on in the next chapter and beyond. But he uses three short examples as
a taster of what is to come:
1.the tongue
If
someone considers himself religious but what comes out of their mouth
is insult,negative words, lies etc ….then these outward expressions are
worthless – they don’t reflect the Father with whom the person
professes to have a relationship – then the religion is worthless! Note
–it is the religion that is worth less not the person!
So what does have value?
2. Caring for those in need
3. Keeping ourselves unstained from the world
These attributes reflect the character of God.
James
is certainly not saying this is the definitive list but they are
significant. One is towards social action, and the other is away from
being polluted and stained by the world (away from channel hopping late
at night….towards helping your neighbour when their in trouble… think
about practical examples here)
This
isn’t ‘you must act like this to be a Christian!’ but if your
heart is with God and in love with God, with Christ living in us -
these will be your natural responses. They match the character of
God and are valuble to him (not to mention to the world we live in and
to us!)
Form this James launches into chapter 2
Chapter 2
Being true to your faith
Read James 2:1-7
This Chapter opens with James warning against favouritism – judging by outward appearances. Matthew Henry wrote:
“you
should not make men’s outward and worldly advantages the measure of
your respect…so as to cloud or lessen the glory of our glorious God”
As ambassadors for Christ we must attempt to truly represent his character
Also…
“Trace
your partiality till you come to those hidden thoughts which accompany
and support it, and you will find them to be exceedingly evil”
Quite the opposite to a mr kiplings cake!
Is this old and out dated or is it practical advice?
I don’t know about you but judgemental, partial thoughts can jump into my head like that! And I think - woah- where did that come from -and if I trace it back it will often show up as pride, selfishness, etc - and from there we can ask God for help – for wisdom that Tim talked about in the first session.
Why is this partiality so wrong? Because it is in direct opposition with God’s character (vs5)_
The obedience of faith
Read James 2:8-13
We don't need to fear the teaching on the law here but it is important to respect it and understand it.
Is James grounding his teaching in that of Paul and the other apostles of the time?
An outward expression of our inner faith will be a desire to keep Gods laws even though we are Lawbreakers - sinners, who are saved by Gods grace and mercy alone
Active Faith
Read James 2:14-26
“The faith alone that saves is never alone”
- Is there a contradiction with Paul?
Paul says we are saved by faith and not by works, but James is saying “faith without deeds is useless”! How
do these two come together? Key is to understand the kind of works they
are talking about and the type of people they are addressing.
- Paul
is talking about works that are done to try and earn salvation or make
ourselves better in Gods eyes. He is talking to people who need a
clearer understanding of God's grace and mercy.
- James
is talking about works that come naturally as a result of faith. He is
addressing people who are claiming to have a faith but don't have any
works to show for it. He says 'Don't deceive yourselves! This isn't
true faith!'
A true faith without deeds is not a possibility! Vs 14 – If a man CLAIMS to have faith …
- Theology of a Social Gospel
Vs 15 – 17 God is practical – cf true religion
This is so heavily on the heart of CLC! It is the call to go in the community with practical help - the Noise, the summer blast, youth club etc. Have we grasped Gods heart for the poor?
William Booth used this analogy that I really like
'Faith
and works should travel side by side, step answering to step, like the
legs of men walking. First faith, and then works; and then faith again,
and then works again—until they can scarcely distinguish which is the
one and which is the other.'
And this is exactly what we see in James’ first example -
Abraham -
Great man of faith - a faith that God new best – that Gods way was the way to go --- he was willing to sacrifice his own son! That’s the obedience of faith that we looked at earlier
Abraham
showed a faith that looked beyond the circumstances to God. There is so
much we can learn from Abraham and his life. Read the story of Abraham
(Gen 12 ff) and allow his example to impact our lives!
Rahab -
A much smaller example -
this is no great father of a nation from whom God promised to start his
people. She was just a prostitute in a bad city, with little or no
connection to the true God - and what she did in the great scheme of things might seem relatively insignificant compared to Abraham's stuff...
But her faith was that she saw the authority and power of God and submitted to it.
You
don’t need to be given some great command form God that comes out of
the sky like a booming voice – living your faith hopefully wont involve
you be asked to sacrifice your only son
It could well start with small things - this was a step of faith from being lost to entering into a relationship with God.
Note the importance of the ACTIONS in these examples. 
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