#BibleLesson Expressions of Faith. James Ch 2. Use Your Heads!
Opening Statement
The spiritual needs of humanity take precedence over the political concerns of culture at large.
Background
I first read that sentence last week in a post by a long-time friend. Dr. Robert Smith is a former pastor, a gifted teacher, a Bible scholar, and a lover of fountain pens and all things Spam. His ability to explain Biblical truths in layman’s terms is a gift. I got permission to use his writing in my Timeless Truth post, “Serving the Gospel,” on 7/2/2020.
My Sunday school class is studying the book of James. The sessions are open discussions of a series of questions I provide. Often, insight from my class members humbles my thoughts on a topic.
I hope by the end of this three or four week (more if needed) series, you have an enhanced appreciation of James’s letter and a desire to address the Opening Statement in a manner you might not have considered before.
To give rightful credit to Dr. Smith, all quotes from his original “Serving the Gospel” are italicized.
Scripture quotes from James are from Eugene H. Peterson’s “The Message – The Bible in Contemporary Language.” Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson and used as allowed by the author.
As I write this in July 2020, America is experiencing unprecedented upheavals in race relations, government control, personal freedoms, and hypocritical living, among others.
- Hypocrisy is defined in Miriam/Webster’s Dictionary as
feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not; behavior that contradicts what one claims to believe or feel
- News reporters and politicians now switch opinions and what they report or support as factual with unparalleled frequency.
Why?
In verses 19-20 of Chapter 2, James addresses the hypocritic acts of some early Christians and what that is doing to their Spiritual life and their impact on others. Without combining faith and works, you will do hypocritical acts.
Use Your Heads!
19-20 Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That’s just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands?
James moves from building a case to making his message personal.
- Although the percentage has declined over the past two decades, most Americans indicate they believe in God.
- James starts this section with that statement but immediately converts that idea into a backhanded compliment at best.
The fact that demons believe in God might be a shock to you.
- However, when you consider that Satan is a fallen angel, his demons were recruited from the ranks of angels, and God created angels, it’s easy to understand why demons believe in God.
Too many early Christians equated belief in God with serving God.
- When James asks, “… what good does [belief in God] do [demons]?” he’s pointing the finger of hypocrisy straight at do-nothing Christians.
- To emphasize his point, James equates faith without works and work without faith (cutting them apart) with Spiritual death.
- If someone listened to your talk about God and recorded video of what you do in your life, would the words heard match the video images?
Faith is essential to living a Christian life.
The amount of faith you need is an exclusive amount.
- Don’t get caught making comparisons of what you see in others and what you see in yourself.
- Peterson uses “trust” in place of “faith” in Romans 10:17 where Paul writes:
17 The point is: Before you trust, you have to listen. But unless Christ’s Word is preached, there’s nothing to listen to.
- Listen to God’s Word by reading your Bible and attending services with sermons consistently.
- In other words, "Use your head!"
As your faith increases by doing this, you’ll find following James’s direction of combining faith and works to be a natural outcome.
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