Commentary On Faith
Continued: Good Deeds Please God
gtcotr/ws082306
Key Scripture: Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (NKJV)
For centuries people have argued the doctrines of faith and works as though they were two separate issues. This, I believe, is where many bible scholars make their mistake.
You see, there is an inseparable link between faith and good works.
What do faith and good deeds have in common?
For decades now I have been preaching that while grace may get you into heaven, works decides the seating arrangement.
However, to get a more biblical understanding of faith and works, lets look at:
Ephesians 2 (KJV)
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
I really like the way that the New Living Translation reads here:
Ephesians 2 (NLT)
8 God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
God does not save us because we did good things but rather so that we can do good things.
Works alone won’t save a person. We must have a Savior and then we should live a life dedicated to fulfilling His will.
It’s not about what you do, but who you are doing it for.
Our key scripture, Hebrews 11:6, talks about the impossibility of pleasing God without faith. This verse is followed up by verse 7 which describes the action faith requires:
Hebrews 11 (NKJV)
7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;
10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
v.7 By faith Noah prepared
v.8 By faith Abraham obeyed
v.9 By faith he dwelt
v.10 By faith he waited
All of these give firm reference to the fact that faith required action.
In order to get a better handle on this doctrine, lets simply let the word of God speak for itself as we pick up where we left off last time in James 2. Actually, lets back up to the last two verses of Chapter 1, just because I like the way they read.
Please don’t check out on me here … I could never be a better preacher than James, the half brother of Jesus who was also the recognized pastor of the first church in Jerusalem.
Imagine each Sunday Peter, John, Andrew, Phillip, Steven, Mary, Martha, Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemas, and many, many others, listened to James preach his messages from the fresh inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Let’s listen to him now as he is already in the middle of his sermon. I don’t expect we will get finished with this tonight, but you can continue later yourself. This message will change your life!
Remember we are talking about our good deeds being a key to pleasing God.
James 1 (NLT)
26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are just fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.
27 Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means that we must care for orphans and widows in their troubles, and refuse to let the world corrupt us.
James 2
1 ¶ My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim that you have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people more than others?
2 For instance, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in shabby clothes.
3 If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, "You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor"—well,
4 doesn’t this discrimination show that you are guided by wrong motives?
5 Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him?
6 And yet, you insult the poor man! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?
7 Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear?
8 ¶ Yes indeed, it is good when you truly obey our Lord’s royal command found in the Scriptures: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
9 But if you pay special attention to the rich, you are committing a sin, for you are guilty of breaking that law.
10 And the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as the person who has broken all of God’s laws.
11 For the same God who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." So if you murder someone, you have broken the entire law, even if you do not commit adultery.
12 So whenever you speak, or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law of love, the law that set you free.
13 For there will be no mercy for you if you have not been merciful to others. But if you have been merciful, then God’s mercy toward you will win out over his judgment against you.
14 ¶ Dear brothers and sisters, what’s the use of saying you have faith if you don’t prove it by your actions? That kind of faith can’t save anyone.
15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing,
16 and you say, "Well, good-bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat well"—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
17 So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good deeds is no faith at all—it is dead and useless.
18 Now someone may argue, "Some people have faith; others have good deeds." I say, "I can’t see your faith if you don’t have good deeds, but I will show you my faith through my good deeds."
19 Do you still think it’s enough just to believe that there is one God? Well, even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror!
20 Fool! When will you ever learn that faith that does not result in good deeds is useless?
21 Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was declared right with God because of what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?
22 You see, he was trusting God so much that he was willing to do whatever God told him to do. His faith was made complete by what he did—by his actions.
We all ought to stop here a moment and think about our own lives. Faith puts demands on our life to trust God so much that we are willing to do whatever He says. If He says love, forgive, submit, give, go, tell, whatever --- then we trust that He knows more about it than we do and He knows best.
It is easy to obey when we trust.
23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: "Abraham believed God, so God declared him to be righteous." He was even called "the friend of God."
24 So you see, we are made right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.
25 Rahab the prostitute is another example of this. She was made right with God by her actions—when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road.
26 Just as the body is dead without a spirit, so also faith is dead without good deeds.
James 3
1 ¶ Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged by God with greater strictness.
2 We all make many mistakes, but those who control their tongues can also control themselves in every other way.
3 We can make a large horse turn around and go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth.
4 And a tiny rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot wants it to go, even though the winds are strong.
5 So also, the tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do. A tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.
6 And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is full of wickedness that can ruin your whole life. It can turn the entire course of your life into a blazing flame of destruction, for it is set on fire by hell itself.
7 People can tame all kinds of animals and birds and reptiles and fish,
8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is an uncontrollable evil, full of deadly poison.
9 Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it breaks out into curses against those who have been made in the image of God.
10 And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!
11 Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water?
12 Can you pick olives from a fig tree or figs from a grapevine? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty pool.
13 ¶ If you are wise and understand God’s ways, live a life of steady goodness so that only good deeds will pour forth. And if you don’t brag about the good you do, then you will be truly wise!
14 But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your hearts, don’t brag about being wise. That is the worst kind of lie.
15 For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and motivated by the Devil.
16 For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every kind of evil.
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no partiality and is always sincere.
18 And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness.
Good deeds done for God please Him like nothing else!
