Lip Service Faith
Sermon Audio
Sermon Notes
Intro:
Hey everybody my name’s Louis I’m one of the pastor’s here at the church, it’s great to be with you this morning. Today we’re continuing our study on a book of the bible Jesus’ little brother wrote called James, and today James is gonna talk about the difference between having true faith and having lip service faith which is a very relevant topic for our city context. It’s a very relevant topic because East Orlando’s full of nominal Christians, full of people who claim to be Christians but really aren’t, and it’s also full of people who claim they’ve tried Christianity before but it didn’t work for them. They’re like, “I’ve been there, done that, tried this whole Jesus thing before and it didn’t work for me.” But what James is gonna teach us today is it’s not Christianity that doesn’t work, it’s nominal artificial Christianity that doesn’t work. A nominal, artificial relationship with Jesus never works, but a true authentic relationship with Jesus always works. Today Jesus’ little brother James is gonna tell us to take a look in the mirror to see which type of faith we have. Is it a nominal, artificial, lip service faith in Jesus, or is it a true authentic faith in Jesus? Let’s turn to James 2:14-26 and find out. The title of today’s message is “Lip Service Faith.” True faith is seen by your lifestyle, not your lip service.
Context:
Here’s your context. At the end of ch. 1 James talks about the importance of being not just hearers of the word, but being doers of the word, and in ch. 2 he gives us a few examples of how the Christians in his church aren’t doing that. In particular they’re not being doers of the word when it comes to living out the Royal Law to love God and love your neighbor as yourself. So James reminds them of the Royal Law and in today’s text he’s gonna tell them if they aren’t living it out, if they’re not loving God and loving their neighbors as themselves, then their faith’s a lip service faith that’s not helpful to them or anybody around them. He’s gonna tell them their faith’s dead, because true faith’s seen by your lifestyle, not your lip service. Let’s check it out.
The Word:
James 2:14-26 states this, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith...” Notice we’re talking about lip service faith here. James doesn’t say the person HAS faith, he says the person “says” he has faith, meaning we’re talking about someone who has lip service faith.
Again vs. 14, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” When James talks about works he’s talking about the way we express our love for God and others through things like our deeds, actions, and words. And what he’s really asking is, “Can a person with lip service faith, a person who says they have faith but doesn’t live it out, can they really have saving faith and be considered a true follower of Jesus?” The answer is no. James’ answer to that is no, because true faith in Jesus is seen by your lifestyle, not your lip service. He’s gonna give us some examples to prove it, here’s the first.
Vs. 15 states, “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 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? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” He says faith without works “is dead,” it’s a dead lip service faith that doesn’t have a growing love for others. It’s the 1st sign a person has lip service faith, it’s that their faith isn’t growing them in their love for others. They might say they love others, but like the guy in the text they don’t act on that love. James gives us an example of a few poor people who needed help, they needed clothes and food, and the guy who says he has faith takes a bite out of his 2 for 1 McGriddles saying, “Yeah you should really do something about that. If I were you I’d get something to eat and some clothes.” James is like, “What good’s a faith like that? A faith like that’s a dead lip service faith that doesn’t help anybody, it doesn’t have a growing love for others.” Now he’s not saying we need to help every homeless person we see or meet every need in our city because it’s not possible. But what he is saying is true faith in Jesus will change your heart to where you’ll grow in your love for others, and you’ll act on that love. He’s saying if you’re not growing in your love for others, if your lifestyle’s not changing to reflect that love, then you have dead lip service faith like the guy in the text. True faith is seen by your lifestyle, not your lip service.
Vs. 18, “But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works...” James is giving us another example, a hypothetical argument to show that true faith needs to be followed by a lifestyle of good works. He says, “Show me your faith apart from your works” which is a brilliant challenge to lip service faith people because you can’t do it. The only way to show you have faith is by your works, by the way you live your life. It’s like the metal chairs you’re sitting in. I know you have faith in those chairs, you have faith they’ll hold you because you’re sitting in them. If you didn’t have faith in the chair you wouldn’t sit in the chair, and the act of standing would have proved you didn’t have faith in the chair. But you’ve chosen to sit in the chair, because you have faith in the chair, and that faith was proven by your works, your actions, the act of sitting in the chair. In a similar way James is saying if you have faith, then prove it, take a seat...Take a seat...If you say you have faith in Jesus, then prove it by taking a seat in the chair of faith, by doing good works, by letting your lifestyle reflect that you have faith. He’s not saying to boast about our good works, he’s just proving a point that faith and works go together and are equally important to the Christian life. It’s your life and lifestyle that proves you truly have faith in Jesus. True faith is seen by your lifestyle, not your lip service.
Again vs. 18, “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. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe, and shudder!” There’s a 2nd sign that a person has lip service faith. The 1st is they aren’t growing in their love for others, the 2nd is they aren’t growing in their love for God. James says “even the demons believe,” meaning the demons don’t have a doctrine issue, they have a love and submission issue. The demons have sound doctrine, they know God, know Jesus, know the bible, know the gospel, and even believe it’s all true, but they don’t love God and won’t submit to God. As Christians we’ll sometimes wrestle with submitting to God over certain areas of our life, we’ll wrestle with doubt, even find ourselves praying “Lord I do believe, help my unbelief.” That doesn’t mean you aren’t a Christian, it just means you’re a wresting Christian. But a person with true faith will wrestle with the Lord while still loving and desiring to submit to the Lord. James is saying there’s people out there who don’t have faith like that, instead they have faith like a demon. They know a lot about Jesus, but don’t really know Jesus, love Jesus, or want to submit their lives to Jesus. They could win a bible trivia game at Buffalo Wild Wings, but still lose their soul because they never loved and submitted to Jesus. James is saying you can know a lot about Jesus, but if you’re not growing in your love for Jesus and your love for others, if your lifestyle’s not changing to reflect that love, then you have dead lip service faith like a demon. True faith is seen by your lifestyle, not your lip service.
Vs. 20, “Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works.” James is now giving us examples of true faith. He gave us examples of lip service faith, but now he’s giving us examples of people who have true faith to show what true faith is, and to prove that faith and works go together. He says Abraham’s faith was active “along with” his works, meaning faith and works go together. But he also says Abraham’s faith was “completed,” meaning it was proven to be true faith by his works.
Again vs. 22, “You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 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.” Abraham was called “a friend of God,” and notice he became friends with God by faith, not works. James says “Abraham believed God” and it led to his righteousness, it led to friendship with God. Genesis 15:6 states, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” It’s faith in God that saved Abraham and made him friends with God, but it’s his works that proved he was saved and friends with God. So the 1st sign of true faith, of true friendship with God, is having a love for God and acting on it. Unlike the demons, you’ll have a growing love for God, you’ll act on it, and your lifestyle will change to reflect it. City Awakening do you love God like a friend?.. Is God your friend or your crutch, you only show Him love when you’re in trouble?..Is God your friend or your security blanket, you only show Him love because you’re afraid of hell?..Is God your friend or your Karmic Genie, you only show Him love to get something from Him?..Do you truly love God like a friend, or do you use God like a convenient store only going to Him when you want something?..Abraham was God’s friend. He loved God, became a friend of God, and his lifestyle changed to reflect that love. God stopped Abraham from giving up his son Isaac, but Abraham proved he loved God more than anything when he was willing to give up his son for God. Abraham’s love for God didn’t start that strong, it grew to become that strong. It took 40 yrs after Abraham first believed for the situation with Isaac to occur. His love for God didn’t start strong, it grew to become that strong. It’s not about how strong your love for God starts, it’s about do you love God and is your love for God growing. It’s about your lifestyle changing to reflect your loving friendship with God. True faith is seen by your lifestyle, not your lip service.
Vs. 24, “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” Some critics of the bible claim James is contradicting Paul here because Paul says in Romans 3:28, “We hold that one is justified by faith apart from works.” Paul says we’re justified by faith, James says we’re justified by works, and so it appears like they’re contradicting each other, but they’re not. Sometimes words have double meanings and back then the word “justified” meant “to be made right,” or “to prove your right,” and when Paul uses the word justified he’s talking about being made right with God. But when James uses the word justified he’s talking about proving that we’ve been made right with God. Paul’s saying we can only be justified, we can only be made right with God through faith in Jesus alone, and James is saying the way to justify that claim, the way to prove that we’ve been made right with God is through our works. It’s not a contradiction it’s just different usages of the same word. Both James and Paul agree that we’re saved by faith alone, and that it’s our works that prove we’re saved, that prove we’re friends with Jesus. James even say sin vs. 5 that God has promised that those who have faith, those who love Him will be “heirs to His kingdom. An “heir” is someone who inherits something, meaning you don’t earn God’s kingdom you inherit God’s kingdom. You don’t earn the kingdom, you enter the kingdom by faith, not by works. James say says it’s a promise for those who love God. So like Paul, James believes we’re saved by faith alone in Jesus alone, but it’s our works that prove we’re saved.
Vs. 25, “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?” James is giving us another example of someone who had true faith. Rahab was a prostitute who helped some of God’s messengers, some of God’s people when they were in trouble. These messengers were about to be killed by some of the people in Rahab’s country, but Rahab stepped in to help save their life. Rahab had true faith, she loved God, loved others, and acted on that love. A person who has true faith will love God, love others, and act on that love. James is telling us Rahab turned to God, and her life and lifestyle changed to reflect her growing love for God and others. Rahab’s story should be like an airbag of grace that’s just been deployed on us, because a text like this can really wreck our hearts. It can wreck our hearts and even cause some people to question if they’re saved, if they’re truly a Christian. But Rahab’s story should be like an airbag of grace that’s just been deployed to catch us, because if God was willing to save and change the life of an outcasted prostitute like Rahab, then it means He’s willing to save and change our life too. So if you’re questioning your faith, or if you’ve done some things you’re ashamed of, go to God like Rahab did, because He’s more than willing to save and change your life like he did Rahabs.
Vs. 26, “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” It’s dead lip service faith that doesn’t help you or anybody around you, and overall James’ point is that you can’t meet Jesus and not be changed by Jesus. You can’t have friendship with the Creator of the universe, and not be changed by that friendship. A person who has a true loving friendship with Jesus will be changed by that loving friendship. It doesn’t mean you won’t mess things up sometimes because you will. Christians aren’t perfect people, they’re changed people. They’re changed by Jesus, made different because of Jesus, and sent to make a difference in the name of Jesus. They’re not perfect people, they’re changed people, and it all starts with Jesus doing a work in us, and then he does a work through us. Just like you plug your dead cell phone into a power source to give it new life, when you plug into a friendship with Jesus you’re given a new life and access to the life changing power of Jesus. It’s a great, loving, life changing friendship where he’s constantly working on growing you in your love for him and your love for others so you can have a heart like his heart and love like he loves. James is saying if this isn’t happening in your life, if your faith isn’t changing you, if it’s not growing you in your love for God and others, then you have dead lip service faith not true faith in Jesus. It’s because you can’t have true friendship with Jesus, and not be changed by that friendship.
The Big Idea:
Let’s get to the big idea. Here’s the big idea. True faith is seen by your lifestyle, not your lip service...True faith is seen by your lifestyle, not your lip service, and I know this was a heavy text. Some of you are like, “Dude’s having a bad day?” No I’m having a heavy day because it’s a heavy text. It’s a very heavy text, and the last thing I want you to do is to run off thinking you need to check off a bunch of good works boxes to prove your faith or earn God’s love because that’s not James’ point. If you notice James never gives us a checklist of things we need to do. It’s because he’s not telling us to check a box, he’s telling us to check our hearts. He’s telling us to check our hearts, to look in the mirror to see if we truly have a friendship with Jesus, or a lip service friendship with Jesus. The way you tell the difference is by your works, by your growth in your love for Jesus, your love for others, and by your lifestyle changing to reflect that love.
So to the nominal Christian, if your nominal artificial faith’s just been exposed by James, instead of running from Jesus, accept the invitation to become friends with Jesus. Jesus didn’t have your nominal artificial faith exposed today to hurt you, he exposed it because he loves you and wants a true, loving, lasting, growing friendship with you. So accept his invitation and become his friend. To the “it didn’t work for me” person, the reason Jesus didn’t work for you isn’t because Jesus doesn’t work, James says it’s because a nominal artificial friendship with Jesus doesn’t work. A nominal artificial friendship with Jesus never works, and if you truly want the life change you sought after in the past, then accept the invitation to become true friends with Jesus. To the non-Christian, you’re here today not because your life’s perfect, but because you’re looking for something different, you want your life to change. Jesus is the one who can give you that life change, so accept the invitation to become friends with Jesus. Nominal Christian, “it didn’t work for me,” non-Christian, all of you can have your life changed today. It can happen today, right now, in the very chair you’re putting your faith in. You put your faith in the chair by sitting in it, put your faith in Jesus by turning to Jesus. Repent of your sins, believe Jesus died for yours, and turn to him. Take a seat in the chair of faith and let today be the day where you truly become friends with Jesus. It’s not a perfect life, but it is a changed life with Jesus as your friend.
For those of you who are Christians, we have work to do. Sometimes we get so caught up in our daily routine of wake, work, sleep, repeat that we can forget why we’re here, forget why we planted City Awakening, forget our purpose is in this city which is to introduce people to a real life saving, life changing friendship with Jesus. With our city being the 9th most unchurched city, 6th most de-churched city in America out of 19,000 plus cities we have a lot of work to do. We have people to love, people to care for, people to serve, people to be helped, people to be fed, disciples to be made, disciples to be sent, all out of a growing love for Jesus and a growing love for the people in our city. We’ve been loved by Jesus, changed by Jesus, and sent out by Jesus to make a difference in our city and turn this nominal, artificial, it didn’t work for me view of Jesus around. It won’t happen with lip service faith, it’ll happen when those who are truly friends with Jesus, let their life and lifestyles be a reflection of the love of Jesus. It’ll happen as we grow in our friendship with Jesus, and live our lives in ways that intentionally spreads the love of Jesus. True faith is seen by your lifestyle, not your lip service. If you say you have faith, let’s act on it.