Faith Without Works is Dead

Ascension Presbyterian Church Longwood

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Please remain standing for the reading of the word from James chapter 2

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We begin reading in verse 14 James chapter 2 beginning at verse 14

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What does it profit my brethren as someone says he has faith, but does not have works

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Can faith save him If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food and One of you says to them depart in peace be warmed and filled

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But you do not give them the things which are needed for the body. What does it profit?

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Thus also faith by itself if it does not have works is dead

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But someone will say you have faith and I have works Show me your faith without your works and I will show you my faith by my works

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You believe that there is one God you do. Well, even the demons believe and tremble

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But do you want to know Oh foolish man that faith without works is dead Was not

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Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar

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Do you see that faith was working together with his works and by works faith was made perfect and the scripture was fulfilled which says

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Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness and he was called the friend of God You see then that a man is justified by works and not by faith only

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Likewise was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way

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For as the body without the spirit is dead So faith without works is dead also

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Please pray with me now. Oh Lord, we thank you for your inscripturated word

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We know that it is holy and infallible Inerrant Authoritative and sufficient.

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I Pray that your people would be instructed and that they'd have even greater confidence in their salvation in Christ and in The truth of your word today as a result we ask these things in Jesus name

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Amen Please be seated. Thank you for those of you who are

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Needful needing an outline I have four points for you. I'm not going to follow them very systematically, but they will be

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Your notes can be organized into those headings first Abraham an example of living faith.

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That's the first point. I'd like you to consider Abraham an example of living faith second faith and works in concert

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Faith and works in cards and concert harmony in the midst of a perceived contradiction faith and works in concert third

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Rahab an example of living faith that I believe she is going to get shortchanged a little in the message

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I'm going to say a couple of things about Rahab, but that will be the third point And we'll close again with the simple statement faith without works

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Is dead faith without works is dead one more time very quickly Abraham an example of living faith number two faith and works in concert three

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Rahab an example of living faith that same language as the Abraham reference

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Rahab an example of living faith and Four faith without works is dead faith without works is dead are

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James and Paul at odds over faith and justification That's the issue that we're going to really be diving into today.

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They both quote Genesis 15 6 This is the controversial passage in James Both say

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Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness But listen to the difference in their use of Genesis 15 in this example of Abraham James says you see then that a man is justified by works and not by faith only

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James 224 and Paul says for if Abraham was justified by works.

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He has something to boast about Romans 4 2

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Now one lesson that has to be learned here is that we can't pluck

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Individual verses out of Scripture and pit them against others This is a very common practice

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We build doctrines off of single verses with be careful not to do that some of the controversy and apparent

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Contradiction is cleaned up and resolved when you put both of them back into their context

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Is there a contradiction? between James and Paul and if there's a contradiction between James and Paul then we'd have to say that there's a

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Contradiction in Scripture, I would say to you James and Paul are not at odds and there is not a contradiction in Scripture that the starting place of the people of God is one of implicit trust in the

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Word of God If we find ourselves Struggling with what we see is some kind of paradox or contradiction.

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We have to understand the deficiency is in our interpretation Not in the most holy

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Word of God We don't worship the scripture But we worship the God who authored it and preserved it and protects it for us.

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So we have great confidence We don't have to dance around James chapter 2 because we are reformed and we're concerned that the

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Protestant Reformation is going to become unraveled by the exposition of a text of Scripture James and Paul Seem to be in contradiction, but they're not the unbelieving

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Skeptics believe that the scripture is full of contradictions We do not both of these authors

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Inspired by the Holy Spirit are zealous that their audiences would be genuinely united to Christ by faith and live accordingly

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So let's dig into it Historically there have been two ways of reconciling

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James and Paul and I'm going to offer The third more simple option at the end, which is my final conclusion of this

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Most of this is taken from William Pemble, a Puritan The first he does a good job of concisely stating the arguments.

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This is supported through Calvin and other places So this is a good place for us to consider.

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I've taken his works with some modification, but he's the original source of these

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How are Paul and James reconciled? How do they both quote Abraham believed

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God and it was accounted to him for righteousness Saying what appears to be very different things

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These are the two most common answers to this and I believe these are supported by scripture as well.

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The first Way of reconciling James and Paul is by distinguishing the word justification and this may be taken either for the absolution of a sinner and God's judgment on the one hand or For the declaration of man's righteousness before men

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When reformed people see justified they see capital J doctrine of justification

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They put that in everywhere that it says the word justified is and that is not always appropriate to do there is a systematic theological principle of justification

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Which cannot be denied but in every instance the word justified doesn't mean in Total the doctrine of justification.

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Does that make sense? There are two options here the absolution of a sinner in God's judgment or The declaration of a man's righteousness before men.

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This is going to be very important in James, I believe We're gonna see more of that in just a moment this distinction this author claims is certain and has its ground in Scripture Which uses the word justify in both ways for the acquitting of us in God's sight and for the manifestation of our innocence before man against accusation or suspicion of fault

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They apply this distinction to reconcile the two apostles in this way

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Paul speaks of justification in the forum of God James speaks of justification in the forum of man for Paul in God's sight a man obtains remission of sins and Reputed to be just only for his faith in Christ Not for his works sake and we say hallelujah.

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Amen Reformation doctrine, right? for James a

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Man is justified by works And not faith only in man's sight.

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We are declared to be just by our good works Inward and invisible graces are made visible to man in the good works

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The good works that they see us perform Now that's a general overview of the first Position the text and James supports this in our section in chapter 2 verse 18

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James says show me your faith without your works and I will show you my faith by my works

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The true Christian calls out the hypocrite the hypocritical professor by a real proof and not just a verbal profession in the

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James text Abraham is said to be justified when he offered up his son

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Isaac on the altar James 2 21 It's scripturally evident that Abraham was justified in God's sight long before at least 25 years

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Genesis 15 Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

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He started walking after God in faith Years later he is put to the test and he is called by God to offer his son

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Isaac on the altar and Abraham's belief

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Was testified to by his actions his obedience to God Therefore in his offering

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Isaac his son He was declared before all the world to be a just man and a true believer

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And it seems for this purpose that God tested Abraham in this great trial of faith that all believers might see a rare pattern of lively and justifying faith and See that Abraham was called the father of faithful Abraham's faith produced works which made his faith complete

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That language of perfect we've already touched on it in James it's where we get the idea of teleological comes to its end its completion its purpose so Abraham could make great declarations about God, but It really is evidenced in his actions.

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It's true for us, isn't it? We can say we really love Christ, but if we live like pagans it really betrays our declaration that we love in Christ and last week we learned that the the kind of faith is very important in this discussion that the

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Qualitative nature. Do we really have a genuine faith in Christ? It is our salvation and if we do have this it's also going to be our

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Transformation. We're not going to live as the worldly live. Well, that's the first one

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There's a second. It's really dealing with the language and use of justification in the first one the second one is the use of faith the second way of reconciling these passages is by Distinguishing the word faith, which is taken in a double sense

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Is first taken for that faith, which is true and living Faith which works through love and is fruitful in all manner of be of obedience

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Second it is taken for that faith, which is false and dead and this is what James is talking about The man professes

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I have faith and James says your faith looks like dead faith Because there are no corresponding works that flow out of your faith

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Only a bare Acknowledgement of the truth of all the articles of religion accompanied with an outward formality of profession

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It's yet destitute of a sincere obedience even

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The demons believe and have some kind of faith and tremble But they don't have that kind of faith.

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They don't have saving faith when Paul affirms that we are

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Justified by faith only he speaks of that faith, which is true and living working by love

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When James denies that a man is justified by faith only he disputes against that faith, which is false and dead

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And without power to bring forth any good works Here there is not a contradiction because Paul teaches that we are justified by a true faith and James affirms that we are not justified by a false faith

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Are you thoroughly confused yet? Let's go back to the book of Romans really quickly. I Hope you understand this.

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I'm going to give it to you now so that it comes up a couple of times Paul and James are

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Refuting two different errors That's why they sound different They both esteem and treasure

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Genuine faith in Christ, but there they have a different problem that they're addressing in each of these books

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That's why plucking those verses out and causing a contradiction It is unwise because it doesn't take into account the circumstances of which

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The authors are speaking Paul says clearly we are not justified by works

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James emphatically says we are justified by works James understands works to be a working faith.

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We learned that in the last couple weeks a Faith that produces something in us in opposition to the idol and dead faith of the hypocrite that empty profession that James seems to be fighting against Paul says we are not justified by works

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James says we are justified by a working faith There's almost a positive and negative doctrine in each both

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Paul and in James Paul severs works from our justification, but not from our faith

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We say that again Paul severs works from our justification, but not from our faith

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James joins works to our faith but not our justification

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It's interesting It's two sides of the same coin two very different angles arriving at the same place the supremacy and preeminence of Christ in union with him and faith in him and an

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Outward way of living that's reflective of an inward reality of faith and in Christ Let's look at our text here.

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I think I'm going to help set the stage for us for Understanding this a little bit better First off there is a discussion about the

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Jews and the Greeks turn back to chapter 3 of Romans I'm going to cite a couple of these for you and Then it's going to help us

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I believe Romans chapter 3 What advantage this is verse 1 then has the

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Jew or what is the prophet of circumcision? much in every way

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Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God for what if some did not believe

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Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect the argument the question here is

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The Jews have the oracles they have the covenant signs Does the unbelieving

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Jew render the promises of God of no effect? The answer is no

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Certainly not Indeed let God be true. But every man a liar as it is written that you may be justified in your words and May overcome when you are judged

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It should be noted. This is not James. This is Paul from chapter 2 For not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God But the doers of the law will be justified

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That's Paul in chapter 2 That sounds a lot like James, doesn't it?

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The Gentiles who do not have the law by nature do the things in the law These not having the law are a lot to themselves who show the work of the law written in their hearts

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Their conscience also bearing witness in between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them

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Indeed you are called a Jew verse 17 of chapter 2 and rests on the law and make your boast in God and know his will

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And approve the things that are excellent And are confident that you yourselves are guides to the blind a light to those who are in darkness instructor of the foolish a teacher of the babes

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You therefore who teach another do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal do you steal you who say do not commit adultery?

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Do you commit adultery you who a poor idols? Do you rob temples? Do you make your boast in the law?

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Do you dishonor God through the breaking of his law for the name of God is blasphemed among the

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Gentiles Because of you as it is written Now it's important to see

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That what Paul is combating is certainly a works law righteousness

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In context, he's going to even invoke the circumcision of Abraham He's gonna say you guys are putting your confidence in your circumcision your

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Law -keeping and your works, but you have missed the more central more crucial matter

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And that is faith in Christ In James the hypocrite says, oh

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I have faith in Christ His life betrays it. He has no concept of obedience

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Both of them fail to have genuine faith in Christ and to walk in his ways

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Paul confines all Jews and Greeks under sin So if you've got a works righteousness

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Paul is going to shatter it. He says verse 9 of chapter 3. Are we better than they know not at all for we have previously charged both

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Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin as It is written.

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There is none righteous No, not one. There is none who understands there is none who seeks after God They have all turned aside.

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They have all together become unprofitable There is none who does good.

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No, not one Their throat is an open tomb with their tongues. They have practiced to see the poison of asps is under their lips

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Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness their feet are swift to shed blood Destruction and misery are in their ways and the way of peace.

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They have not known there is no fear of God before their eyes Now we know that whatever the law says it says to those who are under the law that every mouth may be stopped and All the world may become guilty before God therefore by the deeds of the law

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No flesh will be justified in his sight for by the law is the knowledge of sin

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Skipping down to verse 28 of chapter 3 again. Is there a contradiction? Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law

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The Gentiles also since there is one

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God who will be justified the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith do they we then make void the law through faith certainly not

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On the contrary we establish the law. I appreciate your patience continue down into chapter 4

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What then shall we say that Abraham our father is found according to the flesh

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For if Abraham was justified by works he has something to boast about but not before God For what does the scripture say?

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Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness the same text that James quotes

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Now to him who works the wages are not counted as grace But as debt but to him who does not work but believes on him who justifies the ungodly

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His faith is accounted for righteousness Just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom

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God imputes righteousness apart from works Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered

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Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin Here's a very important part of this discussion

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The Jews are gonna say Abraham is our father and we followed after him.

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We've had circumcision And we're pretty good at keeping the law Therefore we should be accepted in the sight of God look and see how

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Abraham is perfectly able to represent both the Jew and the Gentile as a father of faith

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Look at verse 9 and following it says does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only or upon the uncircumcised also?

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For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness How then was it accounted?

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This is very important Was he declared to be righteous while he was circumcised or uncircumcised?

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Not while circumcised Paul writes but while uncircumcised and he's received the sign of circumcision a seal of the righteousness of the faith, which he had while still uncircumcised

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Paul is combating and even in Romans just like Galatians this Judaizing tendency to cling to circumcision and law -keeping and works apart from sincere and genuine faith in Christ He smashes their argument here

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Abraham Didn't have to be circumcised in order to be called right in his standing with God God declared him to be righteous in that standing before circumcision but enter

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James but in his faithfulness, he was circumcised and He lives 25 to 35 years as a faithful man following God then

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God puts him to the test and he says Take your son your only son and offer him on the mountain and Abraham says yes, sir

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And he goes and he begins to do it He received the sign of circumcision a seal of the righteousness of the faith, which he had while still uncircumcised

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That he might be the father of all those who believe Though they are uncircumcised that righteousness might be imputed to them also

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Paul invokes the Jew and Gentile Salvation issue here and he uses

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Abraham exquisitely to show That God is not respecting persons.

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He's not pre qualifying them on the basis of circumcision or uncircumcision that faith is the real issue verse 12 the father of circumcision to those who are not only of the circumcision

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But who also walks in the steps of which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised so there is a very strong interplay in Paul between faith and works and Justification just like we have in James For if those who are of the law are heirs faith is made void and the promise made of no effect

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Because the law brings about wrath For there is no law.

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There is no transgression. Let's go back to the book of James Thank you for your patience and going through that with me

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We're gonna get back into the language of our text in James 2 We're not going to go and read

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Genesis 22 is very familiar to us as a church If you have some questions about that, please go back in and reread this afternoon

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Genesis 22 But the declaration of Abraham as a righteous man is made long before Genesis 22

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That's very important in our text Genesis 22 reveals the

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Sincerity and the genuineness of Abraham's faith and his obedience the hypocrite that James is confronting in his book

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Here he would not be found faithful 20 -something years later Because he had an empty hollow faith a mere profession of faith

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I'd like to offer an additional solution

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I think it's pretty basic, but I think it could be helpful to you to this perceived problem

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The contradiction between Paul and James Paul as we saw was preaching faith in Christ alone and Combating that law and works righteousness.

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He was refuting that Circumcision law keeping and works were sufficient to save The reality is

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Paul's hearers and the error that he is Refuting is they didn't have faith and were not believing on Christ.

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They were trusting on other things and James is rebuking the opposite James is combating a faith profession that is devoid of fruit a work and it has no works of Righteousness, it's very different things the professor in Paul's Argumentation says

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I'm a child of Abraham. I've been circumcised. I keep the law. I have good works

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I'm accepted by God and Paul says no you need to put all of your faith in Christ James has a guy who's saying

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I have all of this faith in Christ and he has nothing to show for it

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He says your faith is dead both of these errors are

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Resolved by a genuine faith in Christ, which is transformative in the heart and life of a believer causing them to perform good works

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It's interesting, isn't it? Let's look at our text again

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Was not Abraham our father justified? That word means to make or render righteous but it also means to show or exhibit or Evidence that you are righteous

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So we have the doctrine of justification where God declares a man to be righteous and we have a man who

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Does things that show that he has been declared to be righteous because he walks in righteousness

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Abraham our father was justified by works When he offered

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Isaac his son on the altar This verse is very important verse 22

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Do you see that faith was working together with his works and by works faith was made perfect Abraham's faith was shown to be complete because he walked with God and he obeyed him brothers and sisters

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Is that true of you Everyone here would make a bold profession of their faith in Christ But do the works

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Adorn your profession your good deeds Flowing out of a transformed heart a completely a work of God and his grace you've done nothing for it

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But but if it's happened, is there evidence is there fruit in your life that that God has transformed you?

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Abraham was living in err of the Chaldeans and he became the father of all the nations

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There's evidence that he really believed God and he walked in his way as you can see he got up and left everything changed for Abraham Has everything changed for you?

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This isn't sinless perfection, but do you have a new appetite for God and his holiness?

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as we pray today, do you actually hunger and thirst for righteousness if Christ has saved you if God has

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Elected you and called you if the Holy Spirit has applied the work of redemption to your heart.

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You are Transformed verse 23 says in the scripture was which fulfilled which says

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Abraham Believed God and was accounted to him for righteousness to usages of Justified to usages of faith seemed to be a supported very well by the scriptures to very different problems being addressed by the authors and the power of the

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Holy Spirit both a needful message Do you know I was talking with one of you?

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I don't remember a few weeks ago about this If if a man was talking to me about all the ways and all the things he does to perform all

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These religious duties I would hammer him like Paul hammers in Romans 2 and through 4 in this section and If someone says oh,

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I have a great profession of faith in Christ, and it doesn't really matter what I do I would be hammering on James chapter 2.

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Does that make sense? the the occasion calls for the use of these different texts

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Paul and James are not at odds Genuine faith living faith in Christ is salvation and guess what it always produces good works

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How's your fruit today? Last week.

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I invoked an illustration about the fruit trees the citrus trees in our yard, and I was thinking about this

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When we think about fruit We have to think about the root of the tree

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Good trees bear good fruit The real health of the tree is unseen

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It's the inner man The root structure and the health of all the things going on inside of that citrus tree

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The real health is there It's unseen from the world.

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It's it's between God and the man But if that inner man is healthy

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It's gonna bear fruit, and I think both authors are supporting this argument very strongly well

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I'd like to be called the friend of God wouldn't that be amazing last half of verse 23 and Abraham was called the friend of God Verse 24 he continues this argument you see then that a man is justified by works not by faith only the kind of faith that James here speaking of is not the same qualitatively

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Same kind of faith that Paul speaks of this is an empty profession And then there's another example here, and it's that of Rahab And what's amazing about the invoking of the name of Rahab in this section is

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Another Sabbath day reading for you in Joshua chapter 2 And then later in chapter 6 of Joshua She is brought basically into the nation of Israel and given a place to live with her family

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Rahab is a Harlot a quintessential wicked woman and she's a

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Gentile But she's transformed Now Abraham we can understand because he's going to be the father of many nations

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He's gonna be the father of Isaac and Jacob But God is going to take a harlot prostitute from Jericho and she's going to become the grandmother of David and Jesus a

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Living faith is implanted into the life of the harlot Rahab, and she is transformed

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She becomes a righteous woman and there's some dispute in terms of if you ever do the

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Genealogies of this of whether she's a grandmother or mother of Boaz. There's year gaps and hard to figure out

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Her son or grandson Boaz Would take a

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Gentile woman to be his wife To be the kinsman

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Redeemer in Bethlehem and to be A picture of Christ.

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Where do you think he had the substance of that? It's his family history

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It's interesting that there are two Gentile women

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Pretty close together in the genealogy of Israel's greatest earthly King David and the

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King of Kings Jesus It seems that God wanted us to see that His mercy and grace extends to the ends of the earth

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Rahab didn't continue in her harlotry. She became a daughter of the king living in Amongst the people of God and she had a reputation of godliness and holiness.

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Why because she had a living faith so her life was transformed in Christ and we have to remember for all of our friends and Extended family and the wicked people even here today at the festival

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Christ can transform their lives and bring them into the covenant You see this is no impotent gospel, this is a powerful gospel an all -powerful

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Christ who saves Ape Rahab is transformed by God and she hides the spies

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And she becomes the grandmother and many generations of David and even the grandmother of the

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Blessed Lord Jesus Christ Verse 26 for as the body without the spirit is dead

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It's a great way to think about death, isn't it?

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And the spirit departs the body life is gone So if you have a faith that doesn't have any

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Fruits of faith if you don't have any works to testify to your faith, then you have a dead faith faith without works

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Is dead a couple words of application and then we'll conclude here today, we're going to have a off -site fellowship meal of Thanksgiving I Think it'd be appropriate for us today to rejoice and give thanks for the great salvation of our

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God We've been transformed by his grace

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You and I need to reject both errors Sometimes we like the

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Galatians start in the spirit and end in the flesh We start taking in stock of our lives and say look at all these things.

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I do that make me right with God I I bring my children to church and I read the Bible and I do these things and that's what makes me righteous

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No, you do those things because Christ has saved you and made you righteous

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Those things have not made you righteous. They are the fruit of what Christ has done

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There's also a tendency in our day to to have an easy believism just pray a prayer and say you believe in Christ and never don the

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Church again never read your Bible never put sin to death. That is no salvation

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You have to reject both errors Brethren, this is a hard question.

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It's not meant to discourage you but to to spur you on to love and good works

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Does your life match your profession? That's the real issue.

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Are you as transformed as Rahab and Abraham are

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Are you a transformed Christian bearing good fruit?

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You might have to prune some dead branches off your life You might have to take in some water and some fertilizer and get healthy in Christ again that you might bear more fruit each of us

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Needs to ask are we living in a way that matches our profession and for Calvinists, do you believe that our

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God can transform lives like he did with Abraham Rahab? James and Paul, I believe he can because I have experienced it and you have to There is no one out there who is too far gone for Christ and his gospel and his grace.

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It's very exciting and encouraging, isn't it? let us proclaim the good news that Jesus Christ saves sinners and this salvation includes the glorious Transformation of their lives.

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I Think that's what Paul and James are really teaching us faith without works is dead, but faith with works is

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Spectacularly alive Let's rejoice in these things. Please pray with me.

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Oh Lord, we thank you that there is no contradiction in your word We thank you for an emphasis on faithfulness on the one hand and faith

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Simply trusting in Christ alone on the other. Oh what I pray that you would grant your people both.

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Oh Lord if there be a legalist tendency in our hearts

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We pray that you would smash it with grace And Oh Lord, if there be a libertine spirit within us

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We pray that you would crush it with the call to repentance and obedience that we might be a well -ordered well -rounded people of God or we thank you so much for the hope of your gospel a

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Salvation that doesn't leave us but changes us and transforms us and Lord We we ask that you would even transform us more in this process of sanctification

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That would be more holy and we'd love your ways more and more Increasingly so until we reach glory

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You know Lord help us to not be bashful about this salvation And call the

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Rahab's and the James's and the Paul's To salvation and you that they might see the great wonders and works of God Lord give us a great heart for evangelism and missions

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And Lord help us to be an example that others Would like to follow that they would say those are no hypocrites over there.

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They have a living faith They they love to follow Christ and look how much they love one another