09/09/18
“Faith That Works: Body & Soul”
Rev. Kevin Hay
James 2:1-17
2:1 My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism
really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?
2:2 For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes
comes into your assembly,
and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in,
2:3 and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say,
“Have a seat here, please,”
while to the one who is poor you say,
“Stand there,” or, “Sit at my feet,”
2:4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves,
and become judges with evil thoughts?
2:5 Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters.
Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith
and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?
2:6 But you have dishonored the poor.
Is it not the rich who oppress you?
Is it not they who drag you into court?
2:7 Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name
that was invoked over you?
2:8 You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture,
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
2:9 But if you show partiality,
you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law
but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.
2:11 For the one who said, “You shall not commit adultery,”
also said, “You shall not murder.”
Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder,
you have become a transgressor of the law.
2:12 So speak and so act as those
who are to be judged by the law of liberty.
2:13 For judgment will be without mercy
to anyone who has shown no mercy;
mercy triumphs over judgment.
2:14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters,
if you say you have faith but do not have works?
Can faith save you?
2:15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food,
2:16 and one of you says to them,
“Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,”
and yet you do not supply their bodily needs,
what is the good of that?
2:17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
As we move forward in our worship series on James
exploring “Faith That Works”
we move from James’ opening exhortation to the early Church
to be doers of the word
encouraging us to…
Just Do It!
Just be the Church…
we move from James giving us a kick in the pants
to stop talking and start doing…
into the meat of his letter
the central focus…
where James begins to unpack and explain what we ought to be doing…
what it means to be doers of the word…
built around the royal law
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
and James’ most famous influence on the church
where he says
2:17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
So often we tend to focus the conversation of this passage
on the great debate of
whether or not we are saved by the grace of God through our faith
or whether we have to earn our salvation through works?
We’ve talked about this before…
Faith vs. Works…
but I heard an interesting perspective this week on a podcast
that really got me thinking…
some seminary professors from Luther Seminary
were having a debate about the phrasing of verse 2:14
2:14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters,
if you say you have faith but do not have works?
Can faith save you?
the debate was whether the translation was correct in saying
Can faith save you?
or whether it would be more accurate to say
can faith save him?
and then, they debated the implications of the difference…
and this really got me thinking
we tend to think about this passage
as focusing on ourselves, our own personal journey…
and how our own faith or works plays into our own personal salvation
and while that’s certainly part of what’s going on…
James also seems to be making some points about those we serve…
pointing us to the other, those in need around us…
that’s all James talks about leading up to these famous words
offering a scenario between the rich person and the poor person
and our inclination to be judgmental and show favoritism…
that’s what leads into James asking us…
2:14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters,
if you say you have faith but do not have works?
Can faith save you?
so instead of just thinking about our own personal salvation through
Faith vs Works
perhaps another question is
Body or Soul?
in sharing the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ
as we spread the word…
are we trying to save one’s Soul?
or are we trying to save one’s Body?
too often, in the name of evangelism,
of sharing the good news…
we think our sole purpose is to save people’s souls
to win people to Christ…
that is the Great Commission after all…
as Jesus tells us…
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.
but as Magrey DeVega says
“We see this expressed today by those whose evangelistic efforts
focus solely on what happens to us after we die
and whether or not we are going to heaven.”
instead, she goes on to say
“James elevates to equal importance what happens to human bodies,
because if we do not supply their bodily needs,
“what is the good of that?” “
2:14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters,
if you say you have faith but do not have works?
Can faith save him, or her?
Can faith save those in need around us?
It’s certainly a question I’ve asked myself many times…
On the many mission trips I’ve been on in my life
building houses for the poor in Mexico or with Habitat in the Carolinas
repairing houses for those struggling in Appalachia
serving meals to the homeless at soup kitchens in Asheville and Miami
sorting through clothes to hand out at a clothes closet
or working to fight human trafficking…
and in local mission as well
handing out Senior Food Boxes and Christmas Food Boxes
knocking on doors of Budget motels to give out some food and toiletries
preparing meals of rice and beans to be sent overseas…
packing bags of food for kids to take home with them after school
so they don’t go hungry…
through various acts of service, helping those in need…
being doers of the word…
I’ve found myself asking
is my purpose here to save their soul?
or to save their body?
and I’ve seen various people take different approaches…
I’ve been on mission trips and local service projects
where people went out trying to be sure you pray together, read scripture,
or even invite them to a bible study or worship
and I’ve been on mission trips and local service projects
where people tried to simply offer what was needed,
with no strings attached…
and I’ve wrestled with what’s right…
on these mission trips,
or in helping those in need in our local community…
even though we are called to share the good news
is it fair to impose my beliefs in exchange for the basic necessities of life?
Is it fair to expect someone in need to be willing to pray, or read scripture
or come to bible study or worship
in order to receive the help they need so desperately?
am I doing these acts of service
for the purpose of saving their souls?
bringing them to Jesus?
or is it to save their bodies?
provide for their basic needs…
If we’re called to go out and make disciples of all the nations
baptizing them and teaching them the ways of Jesus…
maybe we should be praying together,
or inviting them to worship or bible study,
or at least offering some scripture in the box of food, or backpack
or shoe box sent overseas…
how can we reach out w/our works
being doers of the word
without also doing some evangelism…?
without also sharing the word…?
But as Magrey DeVega explains…
“… James is not interested in a debate
between works-based and grace-based righteousness.
He is less interested in the source of salvation
and more committed to its effects.
God’s grace ought to prompt us toward good works,
not as a way of earning our salvation,
but to demonstrate its power for those in need.
In regard, James is one of the most evangelistic books
in the whole New Testament.”
God’s grace ought to prompt us toward good works…
… to demonstrate its power for those in need.
Like I said,
I’ve been on a lot of mission trips in my life so far…
but the most formative for me was during High school
every year our huge youth group
would take over 100 youth to Mexico to build houses
and we’d build 4 houses each year in a week
which was pretty awesome to be a part of…
and we’d rotate houses so that every person on the trip
helped build part of each of the 4 houses…
but the most powerful moment each year
was the final day, as we put the finishing touches on each house
then we would go around to each house
and all 100 of us would put our hands on the houses
and we’d pray over the houses
as we blessed and dedicated the houses to God…
it was always such a powerful, spirit-filled moment
a moment when you could feel God moving
it gives me chills to even think about it…
and in fact, that’s part of what made me think last minute…
to have us pray over the Christmas food boxes last year
after we finished packing them all and before we started distributing them
if anyone remembers that…
and what I believe we were doing with those houses, and with those food boxes
was entrusting God’s power to use our works for God’s glory
or as DeVega talks about…
God’s grace prompted us toward those good works…
and then we prayed for God to use those good works
… to demonstrate God’s power for those in need.
every year the mission trip went to different parts of Mexico, different cities…
but typically it was in a 3-4 year rotation…
so at some point, if you went all 4 years,
you might get to go back to one of the work sites from before…
My Senior year,
we went back to the same city as my Freshman year
and we had the opportunity to go back to the work site
and we got to go back and see the houses we built 4 years before
and visit with the families
which was quite a joy to reconnect…
but after visiting for a while
the families got all excited to take us around the corner
to show us what they’d been up to since we were there 4 years earlier…
and as we turned the corner
they were so excited to show us
that they had built a Church!
after providing for their basic bodily needs
needs for shelter
these people came together to build a church
so they could gather for worship and bible studies
and fellowship events…
and the thing is…
that never would have happened
if someone hadn’t found a way to save their bodies first
to provide for their basic needs first…
but once those needs were provided for
God’s power was demonstrated to those in need
and God used it to also save their souls
to make disciples of all nations
to baptize them and teach them the ways of Jesus…
so is it…
Body or Soul?
in sharing the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ
as we spread the word…
are we trying to save one’s Soul?
or are we trying to save one’s Body?
I’m thinking that it’s probably BOTH
BOTH Body AND Soul
but… the catch is…
we can’t save someone’s soul
if we don’t save their bodies first.
so as we go out to be doers of the word
seeking to save their bodies first
through ministries like:
the Senior Food Box Ministry
the Backpack program
or the Christmas Food Boxes
and as we dream of ways
that we might take each of these ministries deeper
in providing for the needs of our community
may we also pray over these ministries
for God to use our works, as doers of the word
to demonstrate God’s power
so that we can save BOTH
Body AND Soul
For…
2:14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters,
if you say you have faith but do not have works?
Can faith save you?
him, or her? or them?
Can faith save those in need around us?
as James reminds us…
2:8 You do well if you really fulfill the royal law
according to the scripture,
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
AMEN