"Faith that Works (James)" - Pastor Doug Batchelor

but before we begin our study as always we want to ask God special blessing to guide us in the study of his word so let's just bow our heads for a word of Prayer dear father once again we thank you for the opportunity that we have to study the Bible and we just ask for the Holy Spirit to come and guide our hearts and our minds and Lord impress upon us those important lessons that you would want us to know thank you Lord for this opportunity be with those who are watching and listening wherever they might be and lead us all into a deeper and a fuller understanding for your will for our lives for we ask this in Jesus name Amen Thank You pastor Doug we'll turn the time over to you thank you Pastor Ross today we are in lesson number six dealing with a very important subject of faith and works I should also say it's a somewhat of a controversial subject and pastor Ross mentioned we do have a free offer I should also tell you that the free offer you can download it at the amazing facts website but something else that's really neat is if you would like to have the study itself the Sabbath School lesson itself the book of James lesson number six we now have the PDF we have permission to make available to you the PDF of that lesson you can go to the amazing facts website you can go to the Granite Bay SDA website and download there the information so you can have the lesson you're gonna have the free offer of course you got the Bible and then we'll upload our notes also for whatever they're worth of this particular study well in our study guide for tonight we've got like I said a very important study dealing with the subject of faith and works and somewhat of a controversial study because it seems like there's two extremes in the church that some believe in righteousness by works and what do you call those people legalists we say and if somebody believes that let's say they take the grace option too far we don't call them legally Sooey it's kind of like righteousness by presumption I've heard people call it turning grace to disgrace or loppy agape and there's you know a lot of insulting terms for those who say well because we're saved by grace you can just live like the rest of the world it's sort of once saved always saved I come to Jesus say a prayer and then you don't do anything differently and so there's like this this a conflict between these two extremes something I thought well let me start with our memory verse James 2:26 and if you have that in your lesson it's in the New King James Version I invite you to all say that with me you ready James 2:26 for as the body without the Spirit is dead so faith without works is dead also now what other New Testament writer does it sound like James is totally opposite from here when you think about is the writers a New Testament who wrote most of the New Testament Paul do people often turn to Paul and try and make it sound like or because we're saved by grace the work should never at all be considered let me read a very famous verse in Ephesians chapter 2 you've got this and you go to verse 8 seasons 2 verse 8 for by grace you have been saved through faith not of yourselves it is the gift of God not of works lest anyone should boast okay now without peeking at your Bible what is the next verse say verse 9 well you're picking I see someone peeking yeah verse 10 I'm sorry notice for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works we are created for good works we are saved by grace through faith not of works but when we are new creatures old things are passed away all things may new we are created for what is considered in the judgment behold he comes in the clouds to reward every man according as his work shall be we're now we're saved by grace why would God judge us by our works and save us by grace doesn't that sound like opposites or do your works demonstrate if you are saved by grace now in James he makes a pretty strong statement he said if you say oh I'm saved by faith by faith alone but you don't have any change in behavior he says faith without works is what did I heard of a mom who was upstairs trying to help get her little girl ready for the day she said where are your slippers and the little three or four-year-old said they're downstairs in the kitchen and she said what are they doing down there the daughter said mom they're not doing anything down there because there's no feed in them and if if there is no spirit in your life there'll be no works and so it stands the reason that if you are a new creature and you have the Holy Spirit you will be doing the works of Christ that's what that's all about so first section here under dead faith talk about that for a minute James says in James 2:14 and again you notice we are plotting treats are these lessons getting it a little further you'll be all the way through the book of James when we're done with this quarter so you'll be scholars James 2:14 what does it profit my brethren if someone says he has faith but does not have works can faith save him well the quick answer would be yes faith can save him but James is saying if a person after they accept Jesus stops at faith then it doesn't save them let me see if I can illustrate that were the children of Israel the whole Exodus experience and the saving of the children of Israel is a microcosm of salvation what he did to save that nation from slavery is what he does to save us from sin so we're the children of Israel saved from Egypt because they obeyed the Ten Commandments did the Ten Commandments come before or after he saved them from slavery came after what came first the law or lamb in the Exodus story remember the whole Passover was based on the lamb they began their journey after sacrificing the lamb last of the plagues was the Passover they sacrificed the lamb they sprinkled the blood they began the journey the next day matter of fact they were supposed to eat that meal with their shoes on and the staff in the hand meaning the commencement of the journey hinged on the lamb they hadn't even heard the Ten Commandments come from Mount Sinai doesn't mean they had no knowledge of the law because you know there's varying degrees of the law they all knew before it was even written down Joseph knew that adultery was a sin right way back before the Ten Commandments and Cain that goes pretty far back came musa nut knew that murder was a sin and Bible is pretty clear that they had a good concept of idolatry being wrong and a number of other things before you ever get to Mount Sinai so after he saves him when he gives him the Ten Commandments the first of the ten and we talked about this says I am the Lord your God that brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of bondage I'm the God that saved you is what he's saying then he says thou shall not have other gods don't use my name in vain don't worship graven images they got them out of order sorry remember the Sabbath day honor your father and mother he goes through the Ten Commandments basically saying I've saved you now if you love me keep my Ten Commandments okay were they saved from slavery by the law by the lamb by faith in the shed blood of the Lamb then they just had to follow did they enter the promised land if they refused to obey the law after being saved by God's grace God said I didn't save you because you're a wonderful people you are a stiff-necked and stubborn people they weren't saved by works they were saved by grace after he saves them by grace they're not quite in the promised land yet they don't make it to the promised land if they persist in refusing to trust and obey God now I know that confuses some people the thief on the cross example that as soon as you accept the blood of the lamb you are forgiven and accepted you're saved if he had been somehow rescued and taken off the cross I expect he would have lived a different kind of life because of the love of Jesus that took his place I always wish in others legends is nothing in history to prove it I always wished that you could find out what happened to Barabbas after he heard them say set Barabbas free crucified Jesus on his cross and suddenly someone takes his place he was he was on death row he was gonna die he was under a death penalty like us and then suddenly the Romans cut the ropes he says now what says you're free here's your stuff you can go home why okay there's gonna die in your cross and you won did he just go back to his old ways did he find out more about Jesus and become a follower you know we really don't know and I guess that's because that's up to you we're all sort of like Barabbas Jesus died on our cross he took our place it's the love of God that constrains us to be different creatures in all right someone look up for me Colossians 2:13 I don't know who has that first verse alright you'll be next just a minute Emma I'm gonna read James 2:26 now this of course is our memory verse 4 as the body without the Spirit is dead so faith without works is dead now I read an amazing fact years ago yeah here it is stormy night 1910 a group of travelling musicians arrived in the city of Riga on the Baltic Sea to fulfill a concert engagement the weather was terrible though and the conductor of the orchestra tried to persuade the manager of the hall cancel the concert well the manager said look we've advertised it he says if one person comes you have to do the concert I said no one's going to come out in this weather it was blowing it was raining it was just terrible storm and her manager came back he said look we have a man sitting out there and so all these the guys in the orchestra said oh alright and so they go out they play the entire concert man sitting in the middle of their old fella just sitting there smile through the whole thing and then he sat there when they got done and and they thought we can do an encore no not for one person so they started to pack it up and manager came out to tell the man that the concert was over and and touched the man shook the man realized he was dead he had come in and sat down and had a heart attack or something like that and they had played an entire concert for a dead man now here's the rest of the story because they did this and they did not take the earlier ship over to Finland the ferry that they were supposed to be on sank that night and so because they had done that concert for a dead man they were all saved how that fits in with my sermon are my lesson here I really don't know but I just thought the idea of sometimes a person who looks like by the way I've preached the congregations that are like before they look like maybe they're alive but you can't tell but it's easy for us to confuse who is really spiritually alive and who is not and a person might say you know I've got faith and that means that I'm a believer but it's more than just faith that ought to be seen in the works of the life here's just some other examples how that word dead is used biblically with a spiritual meaning if you read for instance in Revelation 31 Jesus says and unto the Angel of the Church of Sardis write these things says he that has the seven spirits of God and the Seven Stars I know thy works that you have a name that you live and are dead so as that just for the Church of Sardis tour can it be people living in the last days who outwardly they've got a name that they're believers but spiritually in sight they're dead and go ahead why don't you read there Colossians I think you got to 13 and you being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh hath he made alive together with him having forgiven you all trespasses before we're saved how does the Bible consider us spiritually dead you remember when in Matthew 8:22 someone to Jesus said Lord I want to follow you but first I've got to wait and bury my father you know there was dad was getting old and they knew that his his demise was imminent he said you know I can't do that right now Jesus kind of shocks us with his answer he said follow me let the dead bury the dead and the first time when I read that in my mind because I had no Christian background I always take everything literally and you know I didn't understand the metaphors that Jesus used and I was really troubled when Jesus said if your right hand offends you cut it off I thought yeah I was a shoplifter back then oh man now what do I do Hey so and then I started realizing he's speaking metaphorically in some of these terms but when I thought about this let the dead bury the dead I in my mind I was conjuring up pictures of zombies conducting funerals I couldn't figure out what does that mean I mean is that what you think of what does it sound like but he was talking about those who are dead in trespasses and sins Jesus said he our John actually says it he that has the son has life he that has not the son has not life it's those that have Jesus that have life if you read in 1st Timothy 5 6 but she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives so a person could be living and if they're just living for the purpose of earthly pleasure they can be spiritually dead at the same time now let's remember what we're talking about faith without works is dead now when you look at what is a great chapter in the Bible when you think about the great chapters in the Bible to talk about faith what chapter comes into your mind Hebrews 11 sometimes I call that the Hall of faith because they are the writer which by the way I believe is Paul he just goes through and chronicles all of the great heroes of faith starting all the way with Genesis and and he doesn't cover them all but covers a lot of the mountain peaks and I just took a few and look for instance it says by faith Abel offered well because of faith he did something by faith Noah prepared by faith Abraham he comes up later in our lesson obeyed by faith he obeyed does God say if you've got faith you no longer need to obey or do we obey by faith that's very important I hear a lot about grace and people think that grace is somehow a giant cover-up for sin but actually the grace of God is a power that God gives us to obey he gives us grace to do what he asks us to do by faith you know says they Noah found grace as well by faith Abraham obeyed by faith the harlot Rahab she comes up later it's interesting that Paul mentions Abraham and Rahab and James in the lesson you'll see mentions Abraham and Rahab by faith the harlot Rahab received and you started going through that Hall of faith you'll find out that each one of the heroes of faith then demonstrates their faith by what they did that's why James says show me your faith without your works and I will show you my faith by my works and so you know I got a whole section here of quotes let me see here it is all right I'm gonna go on record Jesus says we're saved by works now someone's gonna take just that clip all by itself they're gonna edit it out and play it and play it and they're not gonna get the rest of what I say that's really to tease you do you know Jesus said that let me tell you John 6 28 and 29 then they said to him they're talking to Jesus what shall we do that we may work the works of God and Jesus said to them this is the work of God that you believe so if someone says there's nothing I can do to contribute to my salvation it's entirely by faith you ever heard that believing according to Jesus this is the work that you should do believe now I don't know if I believe you never sound felt like work to you but sometimes it's hard to believe and sometimes it takes effort to step out in faith and Jesus and they said what is the work the most important work than any of us do that contributes to our salvation this is what I was teasing about is belief but what does that belief produce how do you demonstrate belief I never forgot in the story of Daniel and the Lions then the wording that's used when Daniels pulled up out of the Lions Den and it says no manner of harm was found on him because he believed in God what did Daniel just believe or did he do something to show his belief what did Daniel do when everybody else was cowering and hiding their faith because of the Kings law they didn't want to go to the Lions Daniel said I'm gonna trust God may have taken your he probably had to think about it the devil probably was tempting Daniel to think well you know look at all the good you can do if you don't just throw yourself in front of a train right now and just close your windows and don't kneel down that looks too much like you're praying look like you're admiring the sunset and because he was praying towards the Sun setting at the end of the day because he's praying towards Jerusalem he was in Babylon just look like you're admiring the sunset and pray quietly don't open your mouth and pray but Daniel did everything he could visibly do to show that he was praying he opened his window he got in a physical posture prayer probably folded his hands or lifted them up and then he prayed out loud and he just went all the way to say I'm not gonna hide he showed his faith and it says because he believed in God so when Shadrach Meshach and Abednego did not bow down they showed they believe in God but they showed their faith by works now those are works where we're talking about some great trial but showing our our faith by our works is really demonstrated in the little things of life every day it's when you can think of a sarcastic quip to say to somebody that maybe hurt your feelings but you say no that's not gracious Jesus want to do that the Holy Spirit says say something nice don't be biting don't be unkind or you have an opportunity to let someone get ahead of you you're both heading for the same aisle they're in Walmart and you're trying to get you know that you can just speed up a little bit you're gonna beat them because all the registers are busy and you realize I'm not gonna race in to try and duck into the aisle before that person and just pause and you say I'm gonna let you go first that's showing your faith by your works I've just little things of trying to practice real Christianity every day it's how you're showing your faith doing what Jesus would do in all these little situations in the family it's where it's the toughest it is and with some people closer to you because they know that you can be UNCHR iced like sometimes in your works and but I think that's what James is saying he said if you see somebody that is they're hungry or they cold don't just say you're gonna say a prayer for them and then you know the Bible writers go through a litany of trying to illustrate people who are once saved because they stopped believing we're then lost I know that our sons engaged in a some interesting discussions at a school regarding the subject of once saved always saved if a person persists in known sin even after they've come to Jesus by faith are they saved Hebrews 10:26 if they if we continue to sin willfully after we've received the knowledge of the truth there remains no more sacrifice for sin but a fearful expectation and fiery indignation that will devour the adversaries if we continue to sin willfully after we know what God's will is that doesn't mean that if you fall after you know it means if you willfully continue to do what you know that you're not supposed to do then it's you can be in danger of grieving away the Holy Spirit that's the that series it doesn't mean most of us have sinned wilfully I'd venture to say all of us have sinned wolf so I'm not talking about Aysen it's talking about persisting in it so this idea can you think of anyone in the Bible that had the Spirit of God that accepted God they evidently were saved by grace but then they rebelled and they turned away King Saul was called by God filled with the spirit even prophesied and he finally grieved away the Holy Spirit God wouldn't speak to him and he fell on his own sword how about Balaam was he a prophet for him to be a prophet he was called by God God prophesied through him but he coveted after the reward of righteousness of filthy lucre of wickedness rather and and he ended up dying he was slain because he took the site of the Moabites in the battle Judas Judas was one of the Apostles now some will argue well he was never saved he went out preaching the Bible says that the twelve came back and said even the Devils are subject unto us he was out teaching with the rest of them I'm sure we know Peter said things where Jesus had to turn to Peter and say get behind me Satan so all of the disciples were arguing among they all were kind of in the same boat of going through a conversion process while they were following Jesus Judas still had hope during that time also but he persisted and even though the Lord used him and he was one of the twelve he killed himself and so it's very dangerous to say once I say a prayer and I come to Jesus then I can't be lost he will never let go of you but we don't lose our freedom to let go of him and so and you know this is this is a struggle because especially with young people they said they're they just think I'm never gonna make it you know I've got so many problems and and they want that purity of heart what am I gonna do there is assurance that a believer can have he that has begun a good work in you will perform it the Bible calls him the author and the finisher of our faith God is going to finish what he started if we continue coming to him and turning to him God will make you so miserable in your sin you'll have to give up God or give up sin yeah something happens but you keep coming to them and you'll go through a struggle and your heart might be broken like Peter went out and wept bitterly like Mary wept and you know you'll go through that conversion we just say I'm totally gonna get myself to God and you can have that peace all right back to our lesson till we're under the section talking about dead faith and then he says in James 2 talking about the practical James 2:15 practical side he mentions this metaphor again if a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food now he's talking about you notice he's not talking about a person who's wanting dessert he's not talking about a person who's wanting designer clothes he's talking about a person who has no clothes and no daily food and you're a Christian Jesus says if you've got two shirts and someone has none the Christian thing to do is share with those that are shivering right if a brother or sister it's not just people on the outside it says one of your own you know you'd be surprised if you read through the New Testament the majority of what it says about charity not all but the majority what it says about charity it says that Christians should show brotherly kindness among each other to start with and then from there go on and show it to the world but that that is a pretty consistent teaching and they don't have food or they don't they don't have clothes and you say to them depart in peace because I've got faith be warmed and be filled but you don't give them those things that are needful for the body what does it profit thus also if faith by itself does not have works it's dead what profit is it all right now let's talk a little bit about saving faith and someone look up Galatians 5:6 you'll have that next okay Kathy James 2:18 moving on but someone will say you've got faith and I have works show me your faith without your works and I will show you my faith by my works how are we to share the gospel a couple ways you can share the gospel one you're verbally reason with people and to is you can show them what you believe by your life a sermon with shoes on is always more effective you ever heard the expression talk is cheap anyone can talk I remember hearing this pastor in India was preaching to a house full of people it was a home it was in the church and while he was talking and he noticed that one lady she just she just looked a little cynical she got up and she left he thought oh well she's gone and you know sometimes you're preaching you'll touch on a tough subject you see someone say and they get up and they walk out and I've had that happen before I think he kind of wonder then I've seen people get up and walk out and say what did I say and then they come back in so you never know well she he was doing that and she left here we gone for a little while and she came back in and after the service he said I at first I thought I saw you go out and I thought you weren't coming back she said well I went out and I talked to your driver and I asked the driver I said this Christian man that you're taking around and he's speaking does he live what he's saying and the driver said yes he does he's a good man she said then I figured I'd come back in I keep listening that's all you know people are gonna watch what is the most common argument or criticism that you hear about Christianity hypocrites why cuz if they look at people and they say oh they say they're Christians but look at what they do and so preaching is important I believe very much in communicating and teaching but I think the gospel is gonna go by like wildfire when Christians really practice their faith in their lives if we continue to say grace grace grace and we don't talk about really living the life then we're missing out because it's such an important part jesus said all men will know that you're my disciples because you talk about grace they say no we do need to talk about grace the reason I'm harping on this is because I'm hearing grace abused in a lot of churches he said people will know that you are his disciples by your love for one another and that's to be demonstrated with what we would call works people don't like the word works because it sounds like work and some people don't like work depends on what the work is right if you tell your kids I got some work for you does that make him happy and you know just even the very it's a bad word for advertising it because when we think about works we're thinking about behavior that's another word that conjures up when your kids and you hear about behavior didn't always give you warm feelings are they makes me Holl it's usually bad behavior right and so the words works and behavior can even make Christians uncomfortable because it just conjures up all the the wrong kind of feelings but it's really talking about lifestyle so all these things the Bible says good works it's talking about being christ-like and that should be a goal that should be something that we embrace that we're excited about being like Jesus not just the words of the Bible but living the life of the word which is Christ okay James 2 verse 8 I read this already we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them and then you can go to Roman's 4 what is the fruit of salvation Romans 4 4 now to him who works the wages are not counted as grace but a debt I heard about l.l.bean they they sent out this email to know probably hundreds of thousands of people and it said open for your free offer your bonus offer and a lot of people they fell for it they opened the email and said learn here how to earn your bonus points well it starts out with the title saying gift and then you open it up it says it's a gift to be earned now you know you've probably have been tricked into opening envelopes an email like that before and then you find out it's not really a gift how many of you have been tricked into reading some mail or says you have one three million dollars you are a finalist oh you know I I don't know if I should say this but I had one dear old Saint I won't tell you what church it was and they came up to me and said pastor we I've got to have an appointment I need to talk to you so I said okay so we made an appointment we sat down and they said I'm about to come into a lot of money and I just want you to know that I plan on making a very generous contribution to the church and I'm preparing to get ten million dollars and that made me very happy and then I don't know what brought it up but I said so how did this come about and I pulled an envelope out from some sweepstakes and it's said yeah it says you are the final finalists and this deer points saying I had to try to explain to him they're not getting anything and it was just yeah everywhere ten thousand people got the same letter but yeah you ever been fooled into thinking you got something you found out you didn't really but when Jesus is offering us the gift of everlasting life it's not like they're strings attached he said I really do give you everlasting life then because we are so happy about this new life we want to do what pleases the Lord and I mean when you think about it what's in would be of so much value that you would gamble everlasting life for it if you believe you've got everlasting life you act differently if you really believe he's giving it to you um John 6 well I already read that one to you Hebrews 10:24 it says yes is another good one let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works what goes together love 10 commandments are summed up in love love in good works let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is but exhorting one another ran into a brother this week in and didn't make it to church been several weeks since they've been in church and they said oh you know but I was out in nature and you almost feel like you're being works oriented when you say you know you need to be gathering together for corporate worship on God's Sabbath day it's part of the Sabbath it's called a holy convocation and we are to stir up each other we are to even he's telling us that we should make each other accountable notice that exhorting what does exhort mean exhorting one another have you noticed this adjust me that even Sabbath keepers are becoming sloppy about regular worship I mean if things happen I mean they're you know sometimes you get sick or something like that happens but whenever our family travels we look up where the local churches and we say part of our vacation is we're going to go to church usually it helps cuz I'm preaching somewhere not always but but even when even when I'm not know you know what sometimes happens is we go on vacation and somehow you know we'll be skiing or whatever it is and someone will find out pastor drugs encounter you show but y'all can you preach and so okay I get invited to preach but we always make that part of the Sabbath plan and and I think that's the way it's supposed to be exhorting one another because we need each other it's saying that we need to keep each other accountable now if you notice that somebody has accepted Jesus but there's something that in their works that contradicts their profession and you were to approach that brother assistants and brothers sister you know you you're Christian and maybe it's not just going to church but maybe there's just some real inconsistency in their life maybe they're struggling with bad habits or just some ungodly behavior with it and if you call them on that is that right or wrong what are you accused of when you do that if you try to call a brother or sister to be accountable or to raise the standard you're accused of judging and they say judge not your casting stones take care of yourself don't don't judge me but is that really an accurate use of that verse or does God want us what did Cain say to God when he said where is your brother he shrugged and said am I my brother's keeper what a what a sarcastic thing to say to your Creator after you've killed your brother and he uses the analogy of like a shepherd because Abel was a shepherd I'm not his Shepherd what am i he needs to take care of himself as though God didn't know but that's the attitude you take care of yourself I'll take care of myself mind your own business but if you're in a family and if you're in a church is there a time to call each other in a loving way the Bible says that we should approach them in the spirit of meekness that's one thing considering yourself we should do it meekly consider yourself don't want to be holier than thou but please don't fall for that very common propaganda that we're all being told that Christians should not hold each other accountable for godly living if we never say anything to each other what's going to happen to the standards in the church it'll continue to go to the lowest denominator it'll just siphon on down and pretty soon nothing stands for anything we're to exhort one another so that there should be these godly works the fruits of the spirit should be in our lives all right let's go under faith of demons that doesn't sound like a happy subject but James talks about it James 2:19 you believe there's one God you do well even the Devils believe in tremble now why did James say that you can just hear it James is talking to someone about their behavior and he said I believe and we're saved by faith I believe long as I believe just believe and James is going oh how you believe that's great are you aware the devil's believe and it's not saving them that's I think where he's coming from I think it's a safe exegesis of that verse now do devils believe that God exists let's look at a few verses in Matthew chapter 8 28 and 29 when he had come to the other side of the country of the gurgles that met him two demon-possessed men now if you read in mark and Luke it says there's one demon-possessed man that's there probably two of them one was a lot more upfront and outspoken and so to the Gospel writers focused on the one in particular there are two demon-possessed men came 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 son of God have you come to torment us before the time did the Devils know who Jesus was did they say that was going to save them did they believe in Jesus and what I mean by that is did they believe that he was the son of God does the devil believe that Jesus died for our sins was he there I'll venture to say the devil believes more than anybody here that Jesus died for our sins he not only has a videotape he was a witness of the whole thing is that gonna save him so just believing the Bible's true and believing the devil died for your sins doesn't necessarily save you and by the way I'm James says in the beginning in James 2:19 you believe there is one God you do well you know why he said that when you were a Hebrew the most holy statement you get at her was called the Shema and that's in Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 4 word says hear o Israel the Lord our God the Lord is one and they all used to say I believe in the One God of Israel and so James is saying well you believe there's one God that's wonderful so does the devil and so he's actually saying that's wonderful that you believe this teaching and again just to give you the historical context what did the Greeks believe one God or many what did the Romans believe one God or many I had a pantheon of gods and the Egyptians one God or many most of the religions that surrounded Israel were polytheistic they just believe in all this you know they couldn't keep up I've been to India where our dear Hindu friends have thousands and thousands of God you can't count them all you could be Hindu your whole life and not all they know all the gods and so you can understand the Jews felt a certain arrogance and again I'm Jewish no I'm just saying that they thought all these nations are deceived by idolatry but I believe in the one true God that's good James the Saint great good for you that's true but that's not what saved you because the devil believes that too can you understand why that would really shake people up to hear James say that and it's true go ahead read for us mark 3:11 and the unclean spirits where ever they saw him fell down before him and cried out saying you are the son of God who wants the devil to advertise for your evangelistic means you know we're going to Albuquerque and now just a few weeks to do our landmarks of prophecy series by the time this program airs I expect the meetings will be in progress and I was telling some of our friends as we're thinking about how to advertise the meetings that there was an evangelist in one city and I don't remember the city I heard this at an evangelistic council years ago one of the evangelists hired an actor to dress up like the devil and carry a sign back and forth in front of the Coliseum where their meetings were and it said prophecy seminar unfair do not attend and he thought that would actually have an opposite effect now that's really pretty clever there you know we might even make the news if we did something like that do not attend the landmarks of prophecy but make sure you dress them up like the typical view at the devil right and of course that reinforced the wrong image but it is be this clever advertising but who would want the devil to advertise for them Jesus whenever he casts out these Devils they said we know who you are and he told him to be quiet mark 123 now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit do devils go to church they do did you just go to church sometimes there's thieves in the church so don't be discouraged if there's hypocrites in the church Jesus had hypocrites in the church the devil wants to turn people away so they'll always be false representatives an unclean spirits whoa wait a second at mark 123 there is a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit he cried out saying let us alone what have we now is there more than one in this man what have we to do with you Jesus of Nazareth did you come to destroy us I know who you are the Holy One of God you remember in mark chapter five actually it's in Luke chapter 8 where he cast the demons out of the man Jesus is what is your name and they say Legion for many devils had entered that man and so yes the Devils believe and again Luke 441 and demons also came out of many crying out and saying it's talking about the Ministry of Jesus demons came out of many crying out and saying you are the Christ the Son of God and he rebukes him and did not allow them to speak for they knew that he was Christ was that going to save them alright Jude 6 is this you got that one we'll get to you in just a second you know to be doing Jude say verse 6 and revelation 12:12 let me read this therefore rejoice o heavens and you who dwell in them woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea for the devil has come down unto you having great wrath because he knows he has a short time does the devil believe that he's gonna meet his end he believes he has a limited time alright go ahead read for us Jude verse 6 and the angels who did not keep their proper domain but left their own abode he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day so these are angels who were once saved but then they lost their everlasting abode they're reserved in chains of darkness that's kind of like the chain talks about Satan being bound in Revelation 20 these Devils are all kind of restricted to our world now they can't more rod through the galaxies anymore and try and tempt others Balaam I talked about him just a few minutes ago Balaam the prophet he was a prophet he knew about God he believed in God and matter of fact in one of his prophecies in numbers 23 10 he says let me die the death of the righteous and let my end be like his now that's a good sentiment that should be emulated but did he he didn't have a death of the righteous even though he knew that Israel was right that they were blessed by God that their God was the right God he didn't surrender to that and so he perished alright next section we're going to talk about Abraham here for a moment and somebody's got Hebrews 11:17 all right you'll be next and I'm going to read James to 21 continuing through James chapter 2 was not Abraham our Father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son upon the altar see how faith wrought with his works and by works was faith made perfect and the scripture was fulfilled which saith abraham believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousness okay you ever heard of righteousness by faith there you have it abraham believed God and it was counted or imputed to him as righteousness we receive the righteousness of Christ by faith but what did Abraham do to show he believed God he surrendered everything if someone says all right if you're gonna follow Jesus you've got to do what that rich young ruler did you've got to cash out your bank accounts give it to the poor put your house on the market just get your clothes and on your back and follow me that'd be pretty tough but you know it's harder than that offer your child is there anyone here that would not give everything they have to save their child so when Abraham showed that he believed God what tests could be brought to any human greater than the love of a father for the child not just any child this is the child through whom all the promises were gonna come and let's face it this was Sarah's last chance because you know she here had this miraculous baby at 90 it's not like she's he's gonna come back and see you Sarah and now you know at this point Isaac's like 17 so Sarah is now like 117 107 sorry and that's why she does a checkbook so can you imagine him going back and saying Sarah you know I know it took you a long time to produce a child you produced one but I gone and wrecked them you need to make another one so can you imagine the faith that it would take him but go ahead read for us Hebrews 11 verse 17 by faith Abraham when he was tried offered up Isaac and he had received the promises offered up his only begotten son of whom it was said that in Isaac shall thy seed be called accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead from whence also he received him in figure in other words when it says once he also received him in figure Isaac was bound in all the altar with a knife ready to come down as far as everyone was concerned he had committed to killing him and Isaac had committed himself to dying so it was like a resurrection that's what it says he was a figure of having raised in that point abraham believed that even if he had followed through God was able to raise him up because God had made a promise and that God that promised that through Isaac all the world would be blessed if he had to raise him up he would do it now there hadn't been anybody raised from the dead up to that point Enoch went to heaven in a while we don't know if you want a chariot an up Edenic went whether it went to heaven but i ka bruh hams time there's no resurrections were there it's easier for you and I'd believe in a resurrection because we got about a dozen of them in the Bible Abraham didn't have any that takes a lot of faith he's believing that God is gonna raise up his son if he offers him and so when it says Abraham was made righteous by faith at what cost did he demonstrate his faith the ultimate sacrifice willingness to offer everything Abraham is considered the father of the faithful faith is a big thing abraham believed God it was counted to him for righteousness but you know what it says about his faith Genesis 26 verse 5 because Abraham obeyed my voice kept my charge my commandments my statutes and my laws in case anybody wonders if God had law before Ten Commandments is a pretty clear verse abraham believed he's a father of the faithful he's a perfect example of the great believer and we are children of Abraham by faith the Bible says but what kind of faith that Abraham had Abraham obeyed my voice kept my charge not only Commandments but charges that God gave him Commandments statutes laws any kind of testimony ordinance that you could think of is really included in this passage it means Abraham did everything I told him to do he not only obeyed the laws now wait a second didn't Abraham tell a big old fib when he went to stay with the Egyptians he might have called it a white lie in our terminology today because she was his half-sister but it was very misleading to say Sarah was his sister when she everyone knew she was very well his wife so God is looking at the he's not looking at it was Abraham perfect he's looking at what is the pattern of Abraham's life I I like that quote you find in the book steps to Christ that it's not the occasional good deed or the occasional misdeed that determines whose side were on but it's through the habitual words and acts what is the pattern of your life the pattern of Abraham's life was that he obeyed that's how he showed his faith now it's interesting both in Hebrews and in James James identifies two characters to demonstrate that we show our faith sure works Abraham and Rahab Abraham was he a Jew or Gentile it's a trick question he wasn't either early the Jews that we get the Jews as a derivative from the tribe of Judah Abraham was the father the Jews so he was not a Gentile Gentiles were typically non-circumcised Abraham had that covenant he is the father of the Hebrews he's what we would call a Semite Semitic Rahab is the opposite Abraham is a man and he is a Hebrew Rahab is a woman and she is a Gentile and so by choosing these two opposite extremes the Bible writers both Paul and James are demonstrating it's interesting who wrote first Hebrews or James if you were here for our first presentation on James James is first so here's a case where Paul is looking at the book of James and he's using the same two illustrations but it kind of demonstrates God doesn't have one type of salvation of works for Jews and Hebrews and one of grace for Gentiles have heard people say they the Jews are under the dispensation of law they are saved by works nonsense nobody saved my works if Abraham saved by grace then why would any Jew be saved by works nobody's working their way into heaven and in Jesus you know where he preached all the Jews he always brought told and taught that was a salvation by grace same for the Gentiles everybody is saved by faith so Rahab how did she demonstrate her faith you remember when the two spies came well let's read at James 2:25 likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works when she received the messengers and she sent them out another way but wait a second we just read in Hebrews 11 21 where Paul says by faith Rahab perished not where she saved by faith or works I heard one pastor this this is an imp perfect illustration there was this hole this is an old sermon illustration this man came to a ferry where they used to have to row you across rivers he was travelling between towns he got into this ferryboat he gave him the nickel the man at the ferry he sat in his seat and he began to row and the man sitting in the passenger seat of the little boat he noticed this as the man is rowing them across it as the paddles come out of the water one paddle has got burned in it the word faith and the other paddle has got the word works burned in it and he said I see you got one or that says faith and one that says works what's up he said hah I'm glad you asked watch this the man pulled in one oar and his horde was one oar and you know what happens then go in a circle I said now what hat what happens if I just use the works he he rode he doesn't he said if you want to get across the river he says we need both now that is kind really an imperfect illustration because nobody is saved by work so long there are people that are saved by faith alone but if you are saved by faith alone it will be accompanied by works and so you know don't take that illustration too far because it is imperfect but it does kind of prove the point that if you really do believe there's going to be the fruit of the Spirit in our lives amen well friends I'm looking at the clock and I'm looking at my lesson and I know I have just enough time to remind you about our free offer one more time so if you'd like to get a free copy of the book hidden eyes and closed ears we'll send it to you we're glad that you've been studying with us when you call it's eight six six seven eight eight three nine six six that's eight six six study more ask for offer number seven twenty six you can download it for free at the amazing facts website

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Length: 54min 56sec (3296 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 02 2020