Faith With Legs Attached
James 2:14-26

Good Morning.

INTRO: Today’s lesson will be from the book of James chapter 2.

I want to tell you a sad story about a woman of means who invited all her friends over for a special dinner. She wanted to impress them so she hired a maid, a butler, and a chef. She purchased the best steaks she could find and a top brand of mushrooms to accompany them. When the chef noticed that the mushrooms seemed a bit off color, the lady suggested he feed a few to the dog and wait an hour, since it was late and there was no time to purchase more mushrooms. 'If the dog eats them and doesn't get sick, they're probably alright!' That’s what the chef did.

The dog eagerly consumed the mushrooms and showed no sign of ill-effect; therefore the chef completed the meal and served the guests. Later, as the desert was being served, the maid hurried in and whispered to the lady of the house, 'Ma'am, the dog is dead!' Not waiting to hear any more, she jumped up and told the guests they had no time to lose! They had eaten tainted mushrooms and must rush immediately to the hospital!

Later that evening, after the lady and her guests had their stomachs pumped, she asked the maid, 'Where is the dog now?' 'Out in the front by the bushes ma'am,' replied the maid, 'where he crawled after the car hit him!'

I guess the moral of the story is that it's good idea to investigate a matter before leaping to hasty conclusions which may result in harsh consequences. When the Bible talks about faith we need to do the same. We need to investigate what kind of faith the Bible is talking about.

For example, Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. In Ephesians 2:8 Paul tells us that we are saved by grace through faith. Paul also tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:7 that we are to live by faith and not by sight.

I. We all know the importance of faith in the life of the Christian. James is going to talk about three different types of faith and he is going to emphasize that only one of these faiths can actually save us.
A. As we go through the sermon this morning, folks, I would like each of us to take a close look at ourselves and ask ourselves which one of these faiths we possess. The first kind of faith which James is going to talk about in found in James 2 and he calls it a dead faith. What is a dead faith? Let’s read;
B. James 2:14-17 – “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? 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,'' but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” James says “If your actions do not prove your faith what good is it?” He says if faith is alone and includes no actions, it is dead.
C. There are some Christians who just love to say the right things, but never do anything about it. These are the Christians who sound great and know the proper words to use when they are praying. They know the Scriptures and when you’re talking to them they can quote the right Scripture, but there’s a problem, their faith has no legs attached.
D. In other words they don’t practice what they preach; their walk doesn’t match their talk. Folks, if that’s us this morning - then James tells us that this type of faith is lifeless, it’s dead. Why is it dead? Because it’s what we might call an intellectual faith.
1. People who have this kind of faith know in their mind the doctrine of salvation, but they have never really submitted themselves to God and trusted in Jesus for salvation. They know the right "words", but they do not back up their words with their "works."
2. This faith isn’t doing anything; the faith which they possess hasn’t got any legs attached. If that’s us this morning we need to ask ourselves, can this kind of faith save us? Can it actually save you? According to James the answer to that question is: No. Three times in this passage, James emphasizes the thought that "faith without legs attached is dead."
3. Let me read what James says in verse 17 “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” Then in verse 20; “But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?” Look at verse 26 “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
4. In other words, don’t tell me you have faith in God if your life hasn’t been changed by the gospel. That’s really what we are talking about this morning. Don’t tell me you have faith in God if your faith doesn’t lead you to do good works in Christ. Folks, that type of faith is a counterfeit faith and leads people into a false confidence of eternal life.
E. What good is it to say to the homeless person, ‘I’ll be praying for you’ when they have to spend another night out in the freezing cold? What good it is to say to someone who hasn’t eaten in two days, ‘I pray that God will provide food for you?’
F. If your faith had legs attached you would take that homeless person to the shops and buy them some clothes. If your faith had legs attached you would take that hungry person to a restaurant, buy them a meal and then you would take them to a supermarket and buy them some food to keep them going. My point is this, some Christians are very good at saying the right things, but they never take the action to do anything about it.
G. Let me ask you, if you were to touch a live high-voltage cable, would that have an effect on you? Absolutely! It would and what James is telling us, if our walk does not measure up to our talk or if our works do not measure up to our words, it could be because our faith is dead. The truth of the matter is, folks, no one can come to Christ by faith and remain the same, any more than they can come into contact with a live high-voltage electric wire and still be the same. You have to change.
II. The next type of faith which James describes is an interesting faith to say the least. He calls it a demonic faith. In James 2:18-19 he says; “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. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe and tremble!” What James is saying is that some people claim to be saved "by faith only," while others are diligent to maintain good works which are the proof of faith. One would be hard pressed to illustrate ones faith without works.
A. Of all the ephemeral, uncertain, untrustworthy and utterly fallible assurances of salvation ever advocated, that of the trust/faith of sinners has to be declared the most unreliable of all. A faith without works, unproved by any act of obedience, cannot ever be known to exist with certainty by anyone supposing that he has such faith.
B. James reminds us that even "demons" have a kind of faith -- the kind that believes. They believe in God. Not only do they believe in God, but they believe in the deity of Christ. Mark 3:11-12 “the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God.''” These demons believed in the deity of Jesus.
C. Not only do they believe in the deity of Christ, they also believe in the existence of a place of condemnation. Luke 8:31 - “And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.” They believe in the deity of Christ and the existence of a place of condemnation and they also believe that Jesus will be the Judge.
D. For a moment let’s look at Matthew 8:28-29 – “When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way. And suddenly they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Look at the next part of the verse Have You come here to torment us before the time?''” They believed that Jesus is the judge.
E. What kind of faith do "demons" have? We just saw that the Christian with a "dead faith" is a Christian who has been "touched only in his intellect." The demons are "touched also in their emotions." Notice that James says that the demons "believe and tremble." This faith which James is describing is one step above a "dead faith" because it involves both intellect and emotions.
F. We need to think about this and we need to ask: can this kind of faith save us? According to James the answer to this question is: No. Why? Why, James? I believe the Scriptures; I’m moved in my heart by the Scriptures, why can’t this faith save me, James?
G. People can be enlightened in their mind and even moved in their heart, but they can still be lost forever. You see, true saving faith involves something more. It involves something that can be seen and recognized.
III. True saving faith can be seen and recognized in a changed life. Paraphrasing James 2:18 “But someone will say, "One person has faith, another has actions." My answer is, "Show me how anyone can have faith without actions. I will show you my faith by my actions."
A. James is telling us that being a Christian involves trusting Christ and living for Christ. In other words, as someone once said, you first receive the life, and then you reveal the life. We need to ask ourselves, do we have this kind of faith? Or the kind of faith that believes the right things and feels the right things, but doesn’t go any further.
B. Folks, I often meet people who tell me they are Christians, but their lifestyles are reflecting something different. One of the many dangers Christians face is that their service to God needs to go beyond their intellect. It needs to go beyond quoting the right scriptures. It needs to go beyond emotional experiences they have while they are attending services.
C. Folks, true saving faith does more. It goes beyond words. It goes beyond feelings. It goes beyond believing the right things. Let me share with you some thoughts on this type of faith. These are questions which I’ve written down for us to answer in our own minds.
1. Does our faith in God have legs attached which shows people Jesus Christ through our actions? …
2. Does our faith in God have legs attached yet can’t be bothered to take us to worship our God every week? …
3. Does our faith in God have legs attached which only lead us to night clubs and bars and other ungodly places? …
4. Does our faith in God have legs attached which refuse to walk us to special meetings to support our brethren? …
5. The biggest question of all is: Does our faith have any legs attached?
D. Only you and I can answer those questions about ourselves, folks. What James is warning us all about this morning is that; if our faith only involves intellect then it’s a dead faith. It won’t save us. If our faith only involves intellect and emotions, then our faith is only a demonic faith, that’s not going to save us.
IV. If we want a real faith with real legs attached, a faith which is going to save us then listen closely to how James describes it in James 2:20-26. Before we get there, we need to remember that if we want a real saving faith, our faith needs to be an active faith. What’s so special about this faith? What makes this faith different from all the others? We know, from the Bible, that this kind of faith is based upon the Word of God.
A. In Romans 10:17 – “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” In other words, this faith is an active faith because it involves our whole being. In our mind we understand the truth. In our heart we desire and rejoice in the truth and the will, the whole body, acts on that truth.
B. What James is saying is that this faith is different from the others because this faith has legs attached. This faith leads us to do something with our faith, it leads to action. It’s not intellectual contemplation. It’s not emotionalism. It is a faith which leads to obedience.
C. To elaborate this point James gives us two examples from the Old Testament. Now let’s look at; James 2:20-26 – “But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 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, "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. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
1. How was Abraham put right with God? It was through his actions, when he offered his son Isaac on the altar. His faith and his actions worked together; his faith was made perfect through his actions.
2. You see, then, that it is by our actions that we are put right with God, and not by our faith alone. It was the same with Rahab. She was put right with God through her actions, by welcoming the Israelite spies and helping them to escape by a different road. As the body without the spirit is dead, also faith without actions is dead.
D. Those who are of the faith only persuasion really need to take the time to study James’ letter. They really do, because James is clearly teaching us that faith without actions won’t save anybody.
E. James begins his illustration by taking about Abraham and Rahab. I don’t know if you couldn’t find two more different people. They were completely opposite from one another. Abraham was the father of the Jews; Rahab was a Gentile. Abraham was a godly man; Rahab had been a sinful woman, a harlot. Abraham was the friend of God; Rahab had belonged to the enemies of God.
1. Why did James use these two people to illustrate his point about faith and works -- actions? The answer is found in what they both had in common, they both exercised saving faith in God. In other words, Abraham demonstrated his saving faith by his works.
2. Hebrews 11:17 – “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,” Abraham’s faith had legs attached.
3. Let’s look at Rahab because she too demonstrated her saving faith by her works. Hebrews 11:31 – “By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.” Rahab’s faith also had legs attached.
F. In the part of James we just read, verses 20 through 26, twice James tells us that faith without works is a dead faith. He says in James 2:20 “You fool! Do you want to be shown that faith without actions is useless?” He also says in James 2:26 “So then, as the body without the spirit is dead, also faith without actions is dead.”
G. I’m by no means a scholar, and this late in life I will not become one, but clearly James tells us that ‘faith only’ can never justify a person before God. In fact, he does mention faith alone but it’s not the faith that saves us. He says in James 2:24 “You see, then, that it is by our actions that we are put right with God, and not by our faith alone.”[para] If you want that saving faith with legs attached, then listen to what James tells us in James 2:22 - “Can't you see? His faith and his actions worked together; his faith was made perfect through his actions.”[para]
H. Do we see what James is telling us? He’s telling us that people can know the Scriptures; they may even be moved in their hearts by the Scriptures, but if their faith doesn’t work together with actions then it’s all a waste of time.
V. I’m going to tell a story about an old fisherman who had a small boat and usually fished by himself for his needs. One day the old fisherman painted the word "faith" on one oar of his boat and "works" on the other. His friend went out with him and asked his reason for this. In answer, he slipped the oar with "faith" into the water and rowed. The boat, of course, made a very tight circle. He didn’t get anywhere.
A. Then the old fisherman said, "Now, let's try 'works' without 'faith' and see what happens." The oar marked "works" was put in place and the fisherman began rowing with just the "works" oar. Again the boat went into a tight circle, but in the opposite direction.
B. When the old fisherman again returned to the dock, he interpreted his experiment in these strong and convincing words, "You see, to make a passage across the lake, one needs both oars working simultaneously in order to keep the boat in a straight and narrow way.”
C. That old fisherman understood that if you don’t use both oars, you won’t make any progress across the water. What James is telling us today is that if you don’t use both faith and works you won’t make any progress as a Christian.
D. You might be thinking, wait a minute, doesn’t Paul tell us in Ephesians 2:5-8 that were saved by grace alone? Isn’t this a contradiction? First of all, we need to remember that Paul is writing to Christians who thought they could merit their way to heaven by good works. James is writing to Christians who thought that their faith alone would merit their way to heaven.
VI. Let me try to explain this by using the most quoted Bible passage in the world. John 3:16 where it says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Folks, for us to understand these passages we really need to understand the relationship between grace and faith.
A. This passage talks about grace which is God’s gift and this passage also talks about faith which is man’s response. In fact, a few verses later in John 3:36 Jesus goes on to explain this even more, he says, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
B. In both sentences, believing is a positive action, while its opposite is disobedience, a negative action. What Jesus and James are telling us is that salvation is God's gift but the gift must be taken hold of by man's response in obedient faith.
C. In other words, grace makes salvation possible, and obedient faith makes salvation actual. When a person responds in Biblical faith to God's offer of salvation, they are neither earning nor deserving the gift, but only accepting it on the condition on which the Lord has promised to give it. We do not earn salvation. Works will never earn our salvation. We must comply with the conditions laid down by the Lord in order to receive the free gift of eternal salvation.
VII. Perhaps you have heard someone say something like this; I’m a good person and I do good works, God will not allow me to be lost.” This person certainly is not alone in his wish. Millions harbor the same desire to be saved without any commitment or change in lifestyle. Spending any time with Scripture will show this is certainly wishful thinking. We might call this wishful faith or uninformed faith.
A. God called us to live for Him through dying to self Romans 6:1-11 - “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
B. Good works may make us look good in the eyes of the world but by themselves they are as nothing for our salvation.
C. Yet, works are important! Certainly someone will ask, "Did not Paul just say that salvation is 'not of works'?" Certainly he did - no question about that.
1. Referring to Ephesians 2:8-9 when Paul said, "not of works," he also added, "lest anyone should boast."
2. Folks, this expression, "not of works," does not eliminate obedience to Christ. Jesus says clearly in; Matthew 7:21 - "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who DOES the will of My Father in heaven". The stress here is on DOING the will of the Father in heaven. And this doing is the WORK God requires. God’s gift is salvation by His grace, but faith is the condition He calls us to meet in order to be saved by His grace.
3. Then in Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” This places a responsibility upon every person who has been truly saved by grace through faith.
D. God does not save sinners by His grace just so they can look nice, feel good, be happy, live in fine homes, and worship in beautiful buildings. He does not create something for simple admiration. His creation is designed to be productive and active. His creation is far more than a work of art to be admired. It is to be filled with profits for Himself. That is only achieved through the works He Himself ordained for His creation.
E. There is but one safe and sensible course of life to follow - "Do all you do, in word or deed in the name of the Lord" (Colossians 3:17). When you turn in your record at the end, there will be no boasting, no pride, nothing in your hand of your own devising to bring. However, there will be your simple obedient faith that has led you throughout life in a pathway God Himself has outlined long before any of us were even born.
F. Folks, it is by faith working through love that we do the Will of God (Galatians 5:6). We urge every rational believer today to study His word, obey His word, practice and teach His word, and recoil from every man-made device and doctrine (cf. John 12:48; Hebrews. 5:8-9).

CLOSE:
Folks, what kind of faith do we possess today? In all honesty only you can answer that question for yourself. I do hope and pray that our faith has legs attached. I hope and pray that ours is not a faith which only involves our intellect. Is our faith today one which hasn’t got any legs attached and only involves intellect and emotions? I hope and pray that we understand that a dead faith won’t save us; a demonic faith won’t save us; and just looking good to the World won’t save us.

The only faith which counts is the faith which works hand in hand with good works–a faith which has legs attached; a faith which proves itself through actions. Let me leave you by asking you to read a passage of Scripture with me and which I hope and pray we can all honestly ask God to do what I’m about to read in our lives.

Psalm 139:23-24 Some prayers are tough. I believe this is one of those tough ones. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.”

Taken from sermon by Mike Glover