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On this Lord’s Day when we are celebrating the Lord’s Supper, I thought it would be appropriate
to consider a passage of God’s Word that speaks to realities that the Lord’s Supper points us to,
namely our justification before God. And we’re going to consider a passage this morning from
the Epistle of James, a passage that has often been disputed. It’s an apparent teaching on
justification, so we’re going to sort through this passage. James chapter 2 verses 14 through
26. James chapter 2 verses 14 through 26, and you’ll find that on page 1200 in your pew Bible.
This is God’s Word. Let us hear it with reverence and awe.
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.
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. You believe that God is one. You do well.
Even the demons believe and shudder. Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart
from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son
Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by
his works. And the scripture was fulfilled that says Abraham believed God, and it was counted to
him as righteousness, and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by
works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by
works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way. For as the body apart
from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. The grass withers and the flower
fades, but the word of our God endures forever. Let’s pray for the Lord to bless the proclamation
of his word. Our Lord and Father in heaven, we ask that you would grant us great wisdom and insight
as we consider this portion of scripture that has often been a source of much exegetical
controversy in the history of the church. And we would ask the Lord that by your spirit through
the word you would grant us clarity on these matters. And we pray that once again that you
would set a guard over my lips that I might speak only that which is faithful to your word,
faithful to the gospel, and faithful to my savior the Lord Jesus. For it is in his name that we
pray and all of God’s people said, Amen. You may be seated.
Title of my sermon this morning is justification by faith or works. And there are four key words
you can be listening for in my sermon today. The first is a long word, a big word, the word
antinominess. And I’ll explain what that means in a few minutes. And then the word justification,
faith, and works. Well, my dear friends, as most of you know, the Bible says that we have all sinned
and fallen short of the glory of God as it is said by Paul in Romans 3 verse 23. And I imagine that
many of you know that scripture by heart. We have all missed the mark. We have all failed to live up
to the righteous requirements of God’s holy law. God’s law requires that we love God with
our entire being and that we love our neighbors as we love ourselves. God, of course, has the
right to require us require this of us for after all, he is our creator. And he is a God of infinite
holiness and perfect righteousness. And he rightly demands of us a perfect creaturely righteousness.
If we would enjoy his favor and stand in a right relationship with him. But here’s our dilemma.
And I know that many of you, I know that you know this, but we need to be reminded.
Our dilemma is that we have all sinned. And because of that, we lack this perfect righteousness that
God requires of us. Indeed, in our fallen condition in Adam, we stand before God’s judgment throne
guilty and worthy of God’s righteous wrath because of our sin. As that very familiar passage
of Romans 6 23 tells us at the beginning of that passage, for the wages of sin is what? The wages
of sin is death. So this raises a very pressing question. How can we who are guilty sinners,
how can we ever be restored to a right relationship with God, our holy creator?
To rephrase the question, how can we who are guilty sinners ever be declared not just forgiven of our
sins, but declared positively righteous in the sight of the righteous God who rightly demands
righteousness of us? The biblical term for this divine declaration of righteousness is the term
justification. Now, what does it mean to be justified? Our Roman Catholic friends,
according to their church’s catechism, in their view, right, justification is an inner renewal
by the Holy Spirit. It’s something that that God does within our hearts. But that’s not the biblical
understanding. That’s not a biblical understanding of the term justification or the term justified.
You see, friends, to be justified before God means to be declared righteous. Justification is
actually, it’s a forensic, a legal term, a courtroom term, if you will. And when it is used
to speak of our standing before God, our creator, it is a term that contemplates God as our divine
judge, a judge who declares us to be either righteous or guilty in the courtroom of heaven.
When it comes to earthly courtrooms, if you’re brought before the court, if you have an accusation
against you, a charge has been brought against you, you can declare one of two verdicts. You’re
either declared to be what? Guilty or not guilty, or in the words of the scriptures, you’re either
justified or you’re condemned. So justification is a legal term. Justification before God is
therefore objective. That is to say it takes place not within our hearts. Regeneration and
sanctification are aspects of our salvation that do take place within us and do transform us
inwardly and conform us more into the image of Christ. And certainly that’s part of the
salvation package, but justification does not take place within. It’s not a subjective thing.
Rather, it takes place outside of us. It takes place in the courtroom of heaven. God’s word makes
it clear, and that especially in the writings of the apostle Paul, that our justification before
God is not grounded in or based upon our own good works. Indeed, all Christian traditions would
agree that the ultimate foundation and grounding of our justification is not based upon our works
or merits. Instead, it is grounded upon the perfect obedience and atoning sacrifice of our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. However, while our justification before God is grounded in the merit
and sacrifice of Christ, one of the biggest controversies in the history of the Christian
church has been the issue of how we sinners receive God’s justifying verdict grounded in the
merit and sacrifice of Christ. Christ has done the objective outside of us work, but how do we get
connected to that work? How do we receive the benefits of what Jesus did for us by his obedience
and sacrifice on the cross? What is the means or instruments by which we sinners are justified and
thus restored to a right relationship with God? Are we justified by means of faith that is personal
trust in Christ alone, or are we justified by some kind of faith plus works combination?
Now, historically Protestant churches like the Orthodox Presbyterian Church have correctly and
biblically affirmed that our justification before God is received by faith that is by personal trust
in Christ alone for salvation from sin. And that faith by which we are justified, we receive that
justification by faith alone apart from good works. And we Protestants will often cite passages like,
for example, Romans 3 verse 28 in order to support this position. Romans 3 verse 28 says this,
for we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. If you’re justified
apart from works of the law by faith, that means you’re justified by faith alone.
But professively Christian communions like, say, the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox
churches teach that our justification and salvation, while grounded in the merit and
sacrifice of Christ, that our justification and salvation are received not by faith alone,
but by some kind of faith plus works combination. Sometimes our Catholic friends describe this
faith in the words of the Apostles Paul in Galatians 5-6, where Paul talks about faith
working through love. And so they’ll say, we’re justified by faith working through love.
One of the biggest challenges to our biblically Protestant understanding of
justification by faith alone that is often raised by our Catholic and Orthodox and non-Protestant
friends is the passage that we are considering this Lord’s Day morning chapter 2, especially they
point us to verse 24. Verse 24 says this, you see that a person is justified by works and not by
faith alone. And so our Catholic and Orthodox and other non-Protestant friends will point that out
to us and say, see you Protestants, you’re wrong. You say we’re justified by faith alone, but James
2 verse 24 says very clearly, very explicitly, you see that a person is justified by works and not
by faith alone. How do we respond? How do we answer that? Well, in my sermon this morning,
I hope to demonstrate that when our passage for this morning is correctly and contextually
interpreted, there is no contradiction or tension between what Paul teaches on the subject of
justification and what James here is teaching us on the subject of justification. I also hope
to demonstrate that what James teaches in this passage is perfectly compatible with a biblically
Protestant doctrine of justification by faith in Christ alone apart from works of the law.
In other words, to use the Latin sola fide. Now the epistle of James has historically and rightly
been accepted in the church as being written by a very particular James, namely James the brother
of Jesus. You might recall that James the brother of Jesus was a prominent leader in the early
apostolic church in Jerusalem, and if you doubt that, I’d encourage you to read Acts chapter 15.
James was a very important figure in the early church, and this is, I believe, and the church
has historically believed, is the James that pens this epistle that carries his name.
This epistle also seems to have been written to Jewish Christians. If you go back to the very
opening chapter one where the author identifies himself and identifies those to whom he is writing,
he says this in James 1 verse 1, James a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice,
by the way, that he puts God, meaning God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, on the same
level here. This is a clearly implicit affirmation of the full deity of Christ. In any case,
he describes himself as James a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the 12 tribes
in the dispersion. That terminology of being written to the 12 tribes in the dispersion
is taken by commentators, or some commentators at least, to indicate that he’s writing to fellow
Jewish believers in this epistle. In any case, our passage for this morning,
in our passage for this morning, James maybe is addressing this matter that we consider today,
and this passage may be divided into basically three sections. The first section is the proposition.
James makes a proposition in verses 14 through 17, and then in verses 18 through 25, James
supports that proposition with arguments from Scripture, and particularly looking at the
Patriarch Abraham and also the Old Testament figure of the prostitute as examples of the
proposition that he’s making. And then this passage concludes with a concluding statement
in verse 26. So that’s basically how we’re going to work our way through this passage. So as we
approach this passage of God’s Word, the first thing I want us to consider, beloved, is the
particular issue that James is addressing here. And this is the first main point in your outline.
The issue that James addresses is the issue of what we might call antinomianism. The issue
that James addresses is the issue of antinomianism. Antihou? Who are you talking about? What’s
antinomianism? Well, it’s a fancy theological word that is taken from two Greek words, the word
anti, which means against or in place of, and then nomos, which means law. So antinomianism,
the term antinomianism, literally means against the law. And so antinomianism is a theological
heresy. It’s a very dangerous and prevalent heresy. It’s a heresy that makes the claim
that God’s grace given to us in Christ not only frees us Christians from the curse and the
condemnation of God’s law, but it even frees us from any moral obligation to keep God’s law
as revealed in the Ten Commandments. The basic implication of the antinomian heresy
is that grace basically is a license to sin. There’s a little ditty that’s been invented
to kind of describe the antinomian mindset, and that is, free from the law, O blessed condition,
I can sin all I want and still have remission. But friends, if grace is a license to sin,
then faith in Christ can be completely fruitless, that is to say completely devoid of the fruit of
good works, and still be the means of receiving salvation. Not just in this passage, but throughout
his epistle, James implicitly but vigorously denounces and refutes the mindset of this heresy.
For example, go back to chapter 1. Let me read verses 22 through 27. We see this emphasis on
faith manifesting itself by deeds, and he says in verse 22 of chapter 1,
Sometimes I feel like that in the morning before I’ve had my first cup of coffee. I look at myself
in the mirror and then what did I just see, right? But that’s what this is being compared to.
The one who looks, he says, but the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty
and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets, but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his
doing. In other words, he’s not just a forgetful hearer. He looks intently at the perfect law,
which I think is talking about the gospel, and then there are fruits and evidences of that gospel
in his behavior. And so we see this emphasis on being not just a hearer of the word, but a doer
of the word, even in chapter 1. We also see that, for example, if you turn to chapter 2,
in the context immediately preceding our passage for today, in verses 8 through 10, we read this.
If you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, you shall love your neighbor
as yourself. And by the way, notice he’s quoting from the Old Testament. He’s quoting from the
law of God as if that law is still relevant for the Christian. This in of itself should
refute the antinomian heresy. But in any case, he says, if you really fulfill the royal law
according to the scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. You are doing well.
But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
For whoever keeps the whole law yet fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.
So again, we see this implicit emphasis that opposes antinomianism, this implicit emphasis
that true faith will bear fruit in good works. And that brings us to our passage for today. Let’s
consider James’s proposition as he lays it out for us in verses 14 through 17. He says this.
He asks a question. It’s a probing question, but it’s a question that ought to imply a negative
answer. What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith? In other words, he professes
Christian faith, faith in Christ. What good is it if someone says he has faith but does not have
works? He says he’s a Christian, but he doesn’t have the fruit or evidence in his life to back it
up. And he says, what good is that? The implication is it’s no good at all. And then another question
that assumes a negative answer, can that faith, that kind of faith save him? The expected answer
is obviously no. And then he goes on to give an illustration. He says, if a brother or sister
is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, we’re talking about a brother or sister,
a fellow believer is poorly clothed, lacking in daily food. This is what we might call,
if someone that you know of is the worthy poor. He’s not talking about the entitled poor. He’s
not talking about those who are poor because of bad decisions that they’ve made and are gaming
the system or anything like that. He’s talking about the worthy poor, the genuine, those in
genuine need. 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? Again, what’s the expected answer to the question? No good at all.
And then he comes to the conclusion. So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
That doesn’t mean that it was alive before and now it’s died. It means that it’s never been alive.
It is in a state of. And so contrary to the Antinomian heresy, a faith that does not bear
fruit and good works is not a faith that can save for it is a dead lifeless so-called faith. The only
faith that saves, the only faith by which we receive the gift of salvation is a living faith
that connects us to Jesus Christ, the resurrected living Lord and Savior. And so again, going back
to the surface level contradiction, it’s not a real contradiction, but the apparent contradiction
between Paul and James. Paul saying that we’re justified by faith apart from works of the law.
James saying, you know, you see that a man is not justified by faith alone. How do we harmonize these
two? Well, there’s no contradiction between Paul’s doctrine of justification and James’s
doctrine of justification because in their teachings on justification, Paul and James
were addressing completely different errors and heresies in the church. Paul’s doctrine of
justification as highlighted, especially for example, in his epistle to the Romans, as well as
in Galatians, Paul’s doctrine of justification was a doctrine of justification that refuted
the heresy of legalism in particular. Legalism is the idea that we can earn or merit or contribute
to our salvation by doing good deeds. So if you think you get to heaven by being a good person,
by doing good deeds, then biblically speaking, you’re a legalist. You’re a legalist. You think
you can be saved by your works. You don’t understand God’s requirement, the requirements
of God’s holy law. You don’t understand the holiness of God or the utter sinfulness of your
own sin. And so the law of God needs to instruct you and show you that you’re a sinner so that you
may see your need for a savior. That’s what Paul is addressing in his teaching on justification.
You know, he’s addressing the error of legalism. But James, as we’ve seen, James’s doctrine of
justification addresses the heresy of antinomianism, which again is the idea that we can be saved by a
lifeless dead faith, a faith that does not evidence itself in good works. As the magisterial reformers
like Luther and Calvin said, we are indeed justified by faith in Christ alone, but not by
a faith that is alone. We are justified by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone, but rather
a faith that is always accompanied by every other saving grace and which bears fruit in good works.
We do not receive salvation by our works, of course, but salvation by a living faith in Christ,
the living Lord, will inevitably produce the spiritual fruit of good works in our lives.
And so that brings us to ask a probing question of our own consciences. Is our faith a living,
fruit-bearing faith or is it a dead, lifeless faith? So again, Paul and James are addressing
two distinct issues. Paul addressing the issue of legalism, James addressing the issue of antinomianism.
We also need to understand justification according to James, and that brings me to my next point.
Let’s consider justification according to James. Now again, to contrast what James is teaching in
our passage for today with what Paul teaches, the Apostle Paul in his writings focuses on
the sinner’s justification before God. And to demonstrate this, let’s just look at a couple
places in Paul’s writings. Let’s look at Romans 4 verses 1 through 8. Here, Paul writes this.
He says, what then shall we say was gained by Abraham? He goes to the patriarch Abraham
to support what he’s teaching on the truth of justification by faith. He goes to the patriarch
teaching on the truth of justification by faith alone. What then shall we say was gained by Abraham,
our forefather, according to the flesh? For if Abraham works, he has something to boast about,
but not before God. Notice, before God. The focus is boasting before God and thus justification
before God. For what does the scripture say? Abraham believed God and it was counted to him
as righteousness. That’s a quotation from Genesis 15 verse 6. And then he goes on to say,
Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift, but as his due.
And to the one who does not work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is
counted as righteousness. Just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts
righteousness apart from works. Again, the focus is on our justification before the throne of God.
And he quotes from David. Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin. Again, Paul has in view
our justification before God, our justification in the courtroom of heaven. And this is confirmed
also in chapter 5 verses 1 and 2 where Paul writes, Therefore, since we have been justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access
by faith into this grace in which we stand and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Well, what are you saying, pastors? Is James talking about some other justification? Yes,
he is. Let’s go back to our passage for today. Paul is talking about our justification before God,
but on the other hand, James focuses on the justification or vindication of the believer’s
faith in the eyes of man, in the courtroom of human observation. And this is brought out if we
carefully read what James is saying here. For example, let’s take a look at verse 14. He says,
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says, if someone publicly professes before other men
that he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? So the focus is on how others
perceive the reality of your faith. We see that also in the language that James uses.
Skip down to verse 18. But someone will say, you have faith and I have works. Someone will say,
we’re talking about outward profession, and then it goes on to say, show me your faith apart from
your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. What James has in view is a justification
of our faith in the presence of our fellow man. See, God, the all-knowing one, he can see your
faith, but other people can’t see into your heart. They can’t see the faith in your heart like God
can, but they can see the fruits and effects of your faith in your life. We see this language,
show me. Verse 20, you skip down to verse 20. It says this, do you want to be shown, you foolish
person, that faith apart from works is useless? And then verse 22, where we’re talking about,
he’s talking about Abraham. He says, you see that faith was active along with his works.
God already saw his faith, but you see his faith was active along with his works,
and faith was completed by his works. And then skip down to verse 24. You see that a person
is justified by works and not by faith alone. The point, beloved, is this. If you are a believer
in the Lord Jesus Christ, then God can see your faith, for he is, again, he’s the omniscient one,
he’s the all-knowing one. He sees into the inner depths of your soul. But your fellow man, your
neighbor, your neighbor can’t see into your heart, into your soul. Your neighbor can’t determine
whether your faith is a true and living faith or a dead faith simply by looking into your soul,
because they can’t read your mind or read your heart. But man can see your works and genuine
good works, as defined by God’s word, God’s moral law. Those works are the fruits and evidences of a
true and living faith. And so, we show our faith to others by our works, and therefore our good
works, the genuineness of our faith, is justified before others. And so, that’s how we are to
understand what James says here in verse 24. He says, you see that a person is justified by works
and not by faith alone. You see it. You, other people. This is talking about justification of our
faith before man, not our justification in the courtroom of heaven. So again, to put it another
way, Paul writes about our justification before God in the courtroom of heaven, but James in our
passage for today is writing about the justification of our faith in the courtroom of human observation.
And then he backs all of this up with some illustrations in verses 19 through 25. He says
in verse 19, you affirm monotheism, which is a foundational biblical doctrine. You’re doctrinally
sound. You believe that God is one. You do well. That’s a good thing. But then he reminds us even
the demons believe and shudder. The demons are very good theologians. Their theology is very correct,
but they obviously don’t trust the Lord. They don’t believe in the Lord with any kind of saving
faith. And then he goes on to say in verse 20, do you want to be shown, you foolish person,
that faith apart from works is useless? And he gives the example of Abraham. Was not Abraham our
father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was
active along with his works and faith was completed or brought out in its fullness
by his works. And the scripture was fulfilled, which says Abraham believed God and it was counted
to him as righteousness. And he was called a friend of God. Now it’s interesting in this example
of the patriarch Abraham, his act of offering up Isaac, which is recorded in Genesis chapter 22,
which I read for you earlier in the service, that act of being willing to obey God and trust
and trust God enough to offer up his son Isaac on the altar. Remember Isaac was the son of promise.
Isaac was the one that God promised to give to Abraham to carry on the covenant promises.
And so by being willing to give up his own son in obedience to God’s call, Abraham,
as we’re told in the epistle to the Hebrews, Abraham counted, trusted that God was even able
to raise the dead. He trusted that, you know, I don’t know what the Lord’s doing here, but he’s
telling me to offer up my son. I’m going to trust him. He’s got this. Abraham’s faith was manifested
by that action. And Genesis 22, the account of Abraham offering up Isaac or about to offer up
Isaac on the altar, that took place many, many years after God had said, was said to have counted
Abraham’s faith as righteousness. James quotes again from Genesis 15 verse six, there was a
significant time gap between Genesis 15 verse six and Genesis chapter 22. In verse 22, James says
that Abraham’s act of offering up Isaac completed his faith. In other words, the reality of his
faith was manifested in this act. I once, and I know this is perhaps a little bit of a cliche,
maybe you’ve heard it before. I remember seeing this once on someone’s bumper sticker.
The question was, if you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to
convict you? That’s a probing question, isn’t it? But this is the kind of question that James is
getting at here. He’s saying, is your faith a living faith? We are saved, justified before,
we show the reality of our faith before our neighbors by our works. They can’t see into our
hearts, but they can see our works. And finally, I want us to consider what we learn here about
faith according to James. As James wraps up this passage in verse 26, we consider what James means
by faith. So consider, James is dealing with a different issue than Paul is. James is dealing
with antinomianism. Paul’s dealing with legalism. James has a different justification in view than
Paul does. Paul is thinking of our justification before God in the courtroom of heaven. James is
thinking of the justification of our faith before our fellow man. But what does James mean when he
uses the term faith in opposition to Paul? Not in opposition to, but in comparison with Paul. Verse 26,
it says, for as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
Now, it’s important to understand that in his writings, when the apostle Paul
speaks of faith, he is usually referring to a living, saving faith, the kind of faith that trusts
in and clings to Christ and Christ alone for salvation. We see this, for example, in Ephesians
chapter two, verses eight and nine. A very familiar passage to many of you, I’m sure.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of
God. You’re saved by God’s grace through the instrument of faith, as it has been described.
Faith, saving faith is simply the empty hand that reaches out to receive the gift of salvation
offered in the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so Paul says, for by grace you have been saved through
faith, and this is not of your own doing, it is the gift of God. Even our faith, we can’t even boast
in our faith, for that too is a gift of God. The entire salvation process from beginning to end,
including faith, is a gift of God. And so we see that we are justified and saved by faith alone.
So Paul is talking about this living faith, but in our passage for this morning from James,
when James speaks of faith here, he is speaking of a dead fruitless faith. A so-called faith that
involves a mere intellectual ascent to the Christian truths and propositions, but a mere
ascent that lacks personal trust in Christ. You know, it’s possible to sign on at an intellectual
level to sign on to the Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed, and even the Westminster standards,
and yet be lacking in saving faith, because it’s just an intellectual gain, because you just,
that’s the kind of faith James is talking about. This kind of mere intellectual ascent,
as important as that is. Ascent is a part of saving faith, but it’s not the fullness of saving
faith. The crowning element of true saving faith is personal trust in Christ alone, a living trust
that connects you to the resurrected living Lord, Jesus Christ. But in James again, when he talks
of faith, he’s talking about a fruitless faith. Because such is a dead faith, it does not connect
the sinner to the living Christ, and therefore it lacks the fruit of good works. Again, both Paul
and James would agree that a true and living faith will produce the spiritual fruit of good works.
I read to you from Ephesians 2 verses 8 and 9, which affirms that we are justified by faith alone,
apart from works, and that it’s a gift of God, but then we often neglect to read on in verse 10
of Ephesians chapter 2. After affirming that we are, by grace we’ve been saved through faith,
apart from works, not a result of works, verse 10, for we are his workmanship created in Christ
for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Paul is saying
we’re not saved by our good works, but we are saved, justified by grace through faith,
apart from works for good works, and God has prepared those works beforehand. We are his
workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works. So I hope you see, brothers and sisters,
there’s no contradiction between James and Paul, and there’s no tension or contradiction between
what Paul teaches about justification and what James teaches. Paul is dealing with our
justification before God in the courtroom of heaven. James is dealing with the justification
of our faith before man. Paul speaks of faith as a living faith that connects us to the living Lord.
James is talking about a dead faith that is useless, fruitless, that does not bear good fruit.
Dear ones, by the grace of God, let us turn to the living Lord Jesus Christ with a living faith,
a faith that manifests itself in the spiritual fruit of good works done for the glory of God
and in service to our neighbor. Let us continue to cling to and abide in Christ, for only as we abide
in Christ, the true vine, will we as branches connected to the vine be enabled to produce
good fruit? Amen. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you and praise you for your amazing
sovereign grace given to us in Christ. We ask, O Lord, that you would grant that our faith
would indeed be a living faith, a faith that trusts and clings to, relies upon Christ and
Christ alone, our resurrected living Lord, and that transforms us and bears fruit through us.
We pray all of these things, Heavenly Father, in Jesus’ name and all of God’s people said. Amen.
Let’s respond to what we’ve heard today by rising and we’ll sing as our closing hymn and in
preparation for the Lord’s Supper, number 460, Thy Works, Not Mine, O Christ, 460.