This morning, we begin with the second part of this series: BE the Church. I know that it sounds a bit strange to be standing in a church while exclaiming the church needs to be the church. But sometimes, we need to be reminded of who we are and what we are called to be.
We have to be reminded because there is something innate within humans that leads them to presume that just having knowledge of the truth and going to church occasionally is enough to make them righteous. But as the great preacher of the early 20th century is known to say,” Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you an automobile.”
Herein, brothers and sister, is the problem that pastors all over the world face. A mentor of mine, Michael Slaughter often uses this diagram of concentric circles to illustrate the different levels of faith and discipleship:
- The outer ring are those who stand far back from interacting with their faith. They are curious about what faith means but are so caught up with themselves and the drama around them, their faith means little to them.
- The middle ring represents those that are convinced that there is something real about their faith and Jesus, but they can’t quite grasp the essence of it. They try to make their faith fit into their understanding of the world rather than to be shaped by their faith.
- The inner core circle is that of the committed. They realize that their faith is the essence of their life is meant for God’s glory and purpose.
It is the role of pastors to continually try to move people from the outer fringes to the center.
Recently, I was thumbing through some of my father’s sermon notes and stopped as I saw where he scribbled as a side note, “ The greatest distance is between the head and the heart.” I thought about that for a bit and the more I thought about it, the more I said, “Yeah…that’s pretty profound.” But then I asked myself, “How do you know when someone has made that journey, from just knowing about Jesus, to being a real follower?”
Well, the epistle writer known as James gives us some insight into that inquiry. Let’s take a look at what he says in the second chapter of his letter, verses 12-14
James 2:14-18
14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
[PRAYER]
James is known to be a straight shooter in his theological assertions and this passage is a prime example of that. The problem though is that is seems to contradict what Paul is known to proclaim – that
Ephesians 2:8
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God
They just seem to contradict each other, don’t they?
Well, the great reformer, Martin Luther believed it to be that way and since Luther regarded Paul as a true apostle, he demoted James. He regarded James’s teaching as inferior to any of Paul’s. The problem was magnified as time moved on because Luther had enormous influence on New Testament scholarship, so many sided with Luther in his marginalization of James.
Today, most scholars fall either into two camps, those who continue to agree with Luther’s premise or that Paul and James aren’t at odds with each other after all. Let’s take a moment to consider this.
In Paul’s writings to the church in Ephesus and to the Romans, he is addressing Jewish converts who are still caught up with their Jewish traditions and rituals. Thus, they seem to be falling into that middle circle that we were referring to a few moments ago. They are convinced that there is something real about their faith and Jesus, but they can’t quite grasp the essence of it. They try to make their faith fit into their understanding of the world rather than to be shaped by their faith. Up until now, they believed they believed all they had to do was continue to follow the rules and their salvation would be secured. But Paul is saying, “No, doing all this stuff is going to save you at all!”
Now as we come back to James, we realize that he is saying something different than Paul. He is talking to a group of people with a very different mindset. Let’s look again at what he said:
James 2:14-18
14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
These folk were claiming to have faith, but there was no proof of it.
The Greek word for faith is pistis, which suggests here an intellectual affirmation of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In other words, they had the head knowledge of Jesus.
James knew that just having knowledge was not enough. Knowledge isn’t faith, it’s just belief – and what does he say about that? In verse 19b
James 19b
Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.
Ouch! So, there is no doubt that James believes that belief must be accompanied by action if it is going to be considered authentic, living faith.
We get his defense of the reason just a few verses later as he says:
24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
There’s another word we need to look into a bit - Justify, in Greek it's dikaioo, which means to vindicate, to prove or demonstrate something to be true or just.
You see, deeds of loving service are not a substitute for, but rather a verification of our faith in Christ. That’s why James demands, “Show me.” It is a natural demand for evidence
Who here knows the nickname for the State of Missouri? Right – it’s the Show Me state. Do you know how it got that name? One report is of one of their congressmen, Willard Vandiver, who once made a speech that include this: "I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me."
I think this passage from James would fit right in with what Congressman Vandiver avows – it takes more than just words to make what you say real.
Perhaps then, what James is providing in this passage is the prerequisite to any "relevant" evangelism. If we are truly going to BE the Church, our words must be buttressed with our action.
Friends, people are not interested in shallow promises, false claims, and pious platitudes. What they covet is example; they want the real thing. Such as with Mother Teresa. She is not so much remembered for her words of theology, but the world was awe-struck by her lived-out theology.
For many years now, I have admired the tenacious audacity of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Shortly before he was exterminated in a Nazi concentration camp, he said, “[The Church] must not underestimate the importance of human example; it is not an abstract argument, but example, that gives its word emphasis and power.”
So, in a couple of weeks, we will celebrate our love for Jesus as we go and BE the Hands of a loving and merciful God. To BE the Church is sustain the presence of Jesus in the world.
Let’s BE the Hands…Let’s BE the Church!
Amen.
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