Sermon -- 17th Sunday after Pentecost (September 19, 2021)

JAMES 2:14-18

FAITH IS REVEALED BY WORDS AND ACTIONS.

In the name + of Jesus.

     How do you know that you have God’s favor upon you and that you are in his kingdom?  This question is THE question which religion is supposed to answer.  The answer will either fill you with immense comfort and confidence, or it will leave you full of doubt and fear.  So, the question is of utmost importance for your eternal salvation and for your peace right now.

     How do you know that you have God’s favor upon you and that you are in his kingdom?  You will end up putting your focus on one of two places—yourself or something outside of you.  If you look to yourself, you are trusting in your obedience, your sincerity, some decision you made, some experience you had, or the strength of your faith.  It sounds appealing because it leads you to believe that you are in control.  We always like to be in control.  When we are not, we are annoyed—such as having to wait our turn at the Secretary of State, or we are afraid—such as when we wait for the results of a medical test.  If you are in control of your salvation, it is up to you to win God’s favor. 

     You might think you can win God’s favor.  Perhaps you think you have.  If you are pleased with yourself, you’d think God would be, too, right?  But God tells you what is pleasing to him.  He demands perfect obedience to his Commandments.  For, this is what the Lord says, “Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it” (James 2:10).  You only have to poke a balloon once to ruin it.  You only have to violate God’s Law once to break all of it. 

     Many religions will tell you what you must do to make God happy.  Some people are very devoted to doing what is demanded of them.  Even if their zeal is impressive, it cannot save them.  The Bible states the truth: “There is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins” (Ecclesiastes 7:20).  You and I are fools if we trust ourselves in any way to win God’s favor.  We have failed to keep God’s Law in more than one point.  We are guilty.  We have earned wrath, not favor. 

     So, let’s go back to our question: How do you know that you have God’s favor upon you and that you are in his kingdom?  If you would have comfort for your conscience and confidence to stand in God’s judgment, you have to look outside of yourself.  This is the point of faith.  St. Paul wrote, “We hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (Romans 3:28).  It’s not that the Law can be ignored.  The works have to be done for God’s favor to be given.  But the works have been done.  Jesus Christ has done the works for you.  By putting our trust in Jesus and his promises, you and I are credited with what Jesus has done.  Salvation comes through Jesus by faith alone. 

     Having laid all that groundwork, we get to the letter to St. James who seems to say the exact opposite.  St. James wrote, “Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:13).  James seems to be saying that we have to add our works to Jesus’ work if we are to be saved.  If that previous verse did not confuse it enough, James goes on to write it even more forcefully: “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24). 

     If the epistle of St. James is the word of God (it is), and if God does not lie (he does not), then there is no contradiction.  On the surface, it looks like James and Paul disagree.  But they do not.  St. Paul declares that we are saved by faith alone.  St. James declares that a living faith is never alone.  Faith is living and active, eager to do good works.  If those works are not there, faith is not living.  Or, as St. James says it, “Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:13).  Faith reveals itself in words and actions.

     Words and actions should never be pitted against one another.  Faith is not a two-faced thing.  What the heart believes, the mouth confesses.  What the mouth confesses, the body does.  If words and actions differ, something is wrong.  It does not automatically mean that faith is dead.  It might mean that we are deceived or misdirected.  But if we remain deceived or misdirected, faith will eventually die.  Beware.

     Faith is revealed by words and actions.  Words confess the faith.  We repeat what God says and give our assent to it.  God tells us, “I am Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”  We confess, “I believe in God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”  The Bible teaches that Jesus is God in the flesh who is the atoning sacrifice for our sins.  We confess, “I believe in Jesus … who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven … and was made man.  He suffered, … was buried, and rose again” (Nicene Creed).  The Bible tells us, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13).  So we gather together to call on the name of the Lord for the forgiveness of sins and salvation.  Faith reveals itself by such words.

     But faith is not mere talk.  St. James highlights this.  “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?  Can that faith save him?  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 the things needed for the body, what good is that?  So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:14-17). 

     Yes, we believe and we confess God’s word.  We are saved by faith alone, but faith is never alone.  Faith is living and active.  God created in us a clean heart and renewed in us a right spirit.  That right spirit wants to do the right things.  Our Lord has not only set us apart from sin and death, he also set us apart for good works.  He who will not do good works might say all the right words, but he betrays that he does not really believe them if he does not do them.

      “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?” (James 2:14).  What good is it if a man boasts that he does not cheat on his wife but neglects her?  He may have avoided the evil, but he does not do the good.  What good is it if we say that we are sorry for our sins but have no intention of giving them up?  What good is it if we confess that God has set us apart from a world which boasts of its immorality and debauchery, but we still engage in immorality and debauchery?  Who would ever believe that we are any different from the world if we embrace worldly ways and ideas?  Even the godless mock such a faith.  Faith which is only words is useless.  A living, saving faith is revealed by words and actions.  The words are God’s word, and the actions follow God’s word.

     This is the part where the word “hypocrite” begins to enter the scene.  If you are a Christian and you sin, some will accuse you of being a hypocrite.  The devil himself may try to convince you that you are one.  A hypocrite is one who says all the right words, but whose actions are contrary to those words.  Granted, we do this whenever we sin.  But there is one key factor that would prove you to be a hypocrite—that is if you deny your guilt.  If you say that God’s word does not apply to you the same as it does to others, that would make you a hypocrite.  If you confess your sins with no intent to forsake them, that would make you a hypocrite.  God is not fooled by fine words from lying hearts.  Repentance is not just words.  When Jesus told people to repent, he told them to put away their sins.  This is faith in action.  Faith is revealed in words—which is confession of your sins, and in actions—which is repentance of them.  That is why James says, “Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17). 

     You are not a hypocrite because you are a sinner.  Christians confess what God says.  His word shows us that we are sinners.  We confess, “I have sinned against you in my thoughts, words, and actions.”  If our works are not what God commands, we acknowledge it.  We repent, which means we cast off our sin and amend our lives.  Faith is revealed in words and actions. 

     If sins had become a habit, you will have to fight hard so that you do not return to them.  If you have strong desires to live and act against God’s word, you will need to pray fervently so that you can deny yourself.  Jesus said that this is not optional.  “If anyone would come after me,” he said, “let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34).  The cross that you bear may be the temptations which plague you.  The cross is for putting things to death, including the sins that entice you.  But the cross also drives you to Jesus.  If temptations highlight your weakness, they show you just how badly you need Jesus.  And Jesus does not despise you if you are weak, if you struggle, or even if you fall.  Jesus will not excuse you or embolden you to continue in your sins, but he will forgive them.  Those who are grieved by their sins will find a Savior who is constantly merciful and endlessly compassionate.  He forgives the penitent; for he has taken up your sins and has paid for them. 

     Since your sins are paid for, Jesus is pleased to declare peace and pardon to you.  It is not your battle against sin which saves you; it is Jesus’ sufferings and death which saves you.  God’s favor and your place in his kingdom come from outside of you—from Jesus to you.  They are delivered from outside of you—through words preached to you and sacraments given to you.  By these, God has created in you a clean heart and renewed in you a right spirit.  That right spirit is what compels you to do the right thing and to order your life according to the word of God.  By sustaining and strengthening your right spirit, God works in you the very good works he desires.  The Holy Spirit does not just sit there.  The Lord and Giver of Life dwells in you so that faith is not limited to your lips but is put to work in your life.  That is a living faith.

     How do you know that you have God’s favor upon you and that you are in his kingdom?  The Lord Jesus Christ tells you so.  God’s gifts come from outside of you—by word and sacrament—but they are richly given to you.  Faith lives through these gifts.  You are saved by faith alone, but faith is never alone.  It is a living and active thing which not only confess God’s word but also puts it into practice.  Faith is revealed in words and actions, just as Jesus acted to save you and gives you the words of eternal life.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.