UNDERSTANDING THE EPISTLE
OF JAMES
"And if by
grace, then it is no longer of works;
otherwise
grace is no longer grace.
But if it
is of works, it is no longer grace;
otherwise
work is no longer work."
(Rom
11:6)
Many have some misunderstanding
of the book of James,
concerning the relationship between faith
and works.
It is misunderstood by the unbelievers,
and also by many who are saved.
This happens when one does not understand
the theme,
and subject of the book of James.
James’
epistle
is not in conflict with the theme of the Apostle Paul,
but rather compliments and adds to Paul’s
writings.
Paul is the author of grace and faith,
and James is the author of works and evidence.
Paul is speaking of
the source,
which is grace and faith,
and he is speaking from God's point of
view.
James on the other hand is speaking
of the result,
which is works, and the evidence of faith.
James is speaking from man's point of
view.
You will have no conflicts if you remember
this.
James
subject is works from man’s point of view.
Man cannot see one’s faith, which
is in the heart,
thus he can only verify one’s faith by
the person's works.
If he does not see a man’s works, then
he is saying,
to me your
"faith is dead being alone".
If I see your works, then to me,
your faith is real and so your faith is
made perfect to me,
by what I see, but not before God.
The Pharisees and
all those that are trying to show that they are holy,
may succeed as far as a man can see.
But God looks at the heart,
and this is where the real motives comes
from.
God will not comdemn you as long as He
sees your faith.
Man will not comdemn you as long as he
sees your works.
That is, condemn or judge you as guilty.
God knows that if you have faith in Him,
good works will follow;
and to God faith alone is
what saves you.
Man deems that when he sees your good works,
that you have faith but to him
you are saved
because of your good works.
When a person says to you that he is a
Christian,
you believe and welcome him or her.
But if you do not see goodness manifested
in his or her life,
you have doubt of the person's salvation.
So to you he is justified by works.
However we can be mistaken and we only
judged
or draw a conclusion by what we see.
There is standoff if you do not understand
this as the
Christian will stick to Eph. 2:8,9;
and the other religious group will stick
to James 2:20, 26.
You must make them realize that they are
speaking from man's point of view
and you speaking from God's point of view.
James says;
"Was not Abraham our father justified
by his works
when he offered up Isaac upon the altar."
(2:21).
But Paul says;
For if Abraham were justified by works,
he hath whereof to glory; but not
before God.
Jesus
answered and said unto them,
Well hath
Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites,
as it is written,
This people honoureth me with their lips,
but their
heart is far from me.
(Mk. 7:6)
Ifone
has faith, it is absolutely true that works will follow.
But we must remember that good fruit only
can come from God,
through His grace. and by our faith, that
comes from His love.
A good tree will bring
forth good fruit.
God looks at your
faith and seeing your faith,
He will perform the work in you and eventually
through you,
and bear the fruit for His glory.
His glory is the attribute
of God, and the fruit that is produce by Him,
is what others see in you.
They come to know Him as they taste the
fruit.
A
man cannot distinguish a good fruit from a bad fruit immediately,
for we cannot look into man’s heart and
his motive.
Works may deceive the man but not God.
James views the Christian
from man's point of view,
and Paul views it
from God's point of view.
James is saying,
if you have faith,
then works must be evident or your faith
is to me dead, being alone.
It is dead to man for man cannot see your
faith.
James
is the book of pure religion, observance,
or doing what a man believes in.
He says, if a rich man comes to your gathering,
you say to him,
come and sit on this good chair,
and a beggar comes and you make him sit
on the floor,
these things ought not be so
(Jas. 2:1-4).
If you believe, than
out your mouth,
both blessing and cursing should not come
,
(3:10-12).
James is saying your
works,
must substatiate your faith or it is dead
to me.
James
says;
"be ye doers
of the word and a hearer only".
What does God's
word say?
"The Justshall
live by faith", and "from faith
to faith."
Do not put the cart before the horse.
Have faith in His word and good works
will follow.
Do not try to put the fruits on the tree.
When the tree is mature it will bear fruit.
We need to take good care of the
tree,
by watering it and taking care of it.
Do not worry about the fruit,
a good tree will produce good fruit.
We must learn to sit with Christ and learn
of Him,
before we can walk in this world,
and stand against the wiles of the devil
(Eph. 2:6; 4:1; 6:11).
When
a baby is born,
surely the parents do not expect the baby
to do any work.
The baby must be nurtured and fed and
loved,
before the baby can even begin to walk.
The parents must spend many hours with
the child,
imputing in the child, their values and
desires,
and the way of life as they see it.
Even Jesus
childhood life is not mention until he was twelve years old.
God is very patient. Abraham had
to wait 25 years,
before his first son of promise,
was given him.
The Jews had to wait hundreds of years,
before being restored as a nation.
God did not send His Son to die on the
Cross,
immediately after Adam and Eve sinned.
Jesus came 4,000 years later to died on
the cross.
God does things in His time,
and we must be patient, and wait on Him,
to produce the good works in us and through
us.
Now let us view the well known
verses,
that is often quoted,
by those who misunderstand the book of
James.
Chapter 2:14-26
James asked
the question in v.14.
“What
doth it profit, my brethren,
though a man
say he hath faith,
and have not
works; can faith save him?”
Notice
that James asked a question,
but does not answer it. Why?
Simply because he is looking from man’s
point of view,
and cannot answer either yes or no,
unless he sees the evidence of works.
When he asked “can
faith save him?”
He cannot say NO, because faith and only
faith does save.
He cannot say yes, because he must see
works first,
and without works, to him,
faith is dead.
In James 2:15-20;
the
key words are;
"one of you
say"
“a man may
say,”
“show me”,
"I will show
thee”.
"Wilt
thou know o vain man."
By
these key words,
one can see he is speaking from man’s
point of view.
What a man sees is works, for man cannot
see faith,
thus he can only judge by his works.
When a person says to us that he is a
Christian,
we take his word for it,
but we wait and look
for evidence of his faith.
If we see good works then we believe he
is saved,
but if we don’t, then to us his faith
is dead.
That
is what James is saying.
Faith without works,
to me, is dead, being alone.
James
goes on to talk about Abraham;
"Was
not Abraham our father justified by works,
when he offered
Isaac his son,
upon the altar?"
"Seest thou
how faith wrought with his works,
and by works
was faith made perfect?"
That is
true, but only to you and I,
for we judge only by what we see.
God sees the heart and if He sees no faith,
his works though there may be many,
will be burnt up like wood, hay and stubble.
It must be based on Gold, Silver and Precious
Stones
(1Co. 3:12-13).
Apostle Paul says,
this
about Abraham.
concerning the same incident.
"What
shall we say then, that Abraham,
our father,
as pertaining to the flesh hath found,
for if Abraham
were justified by works,
he hath something
of which to glory,
but
not before God."
Rom. 4:1-4
Before men yes, for
men sees the works which is the evidence of his faith,
but God looks at the heart.
So
the question must be asked. Are you saved by faith plus works?
If you say yes, salvation is by faith
plus works,
then you have a problem with Eph.
2:8-9;
"For
by grace are you save through faith,
and not of
yourselves, it is a gift of God,
not of works
lest any man should boast."
If you say, no!
You are saved by faith alone and not of works,
then faith must stand alone, even in your
walk with God.
Now you can explain why James says
"faith
without works is dead being alone."
James
is
speaking from man's point of view and saying TO ME,
I must see your works or your faith is
dead being alone.
A good illustration is found in Luke
7:36-50;
When Jesus is talking
to a Pharisee named Simon,
about the woman who washed His feet with
her hair,
he points to all her works, for Simon
cannot see her faith.
But when Jesus turns to the woman,
he says in v. 50; "Thy
faith has saved thee."
He did not say, they works has saved thee.
Because it is faith that saves,
but works is the evidence that man can
see to verify that she has faith.
Thus: Faith without
works, is dead to man (Jas. 2:20).
Works without faith,
is dead to God (Heb. 11:6).
The word patient
is mentioned in this book some seven times in only five chapters.
More than any other books per chapters.
The key verse is Jas. 5:7;
"Be patient,
therefore, brethren,
unto the coming
of the Lord.
Behold, the
farmer waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth,
and hath long
patience for it,
until he receive
the early and the latter rain."
Christianity is: