STAND STRONG
STAND STRONG
7.6 - James 2, No More Than Four
In this episode, Paul and Noah spend time on some important phrases in James 2:
"The honorable name by which were called"
"Judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy"
"You believe that God is one"
"Faith apart from works is useless"
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Paul and Noah both preach and teach with the Cedar Park church of Christ in Cedar Park, TX. You can visit our site at: https://www.cedarparkchurchofchrist.org/
Well, happy Monday. If this is a Monday for you, it's we're on a Monday schedule here with our podcast. We're in season seven, journeying through James episode six.
Noah:That's what I have.
Paul:Episode six. We're in chapter two of James. So if you're just now joining us in this journey, you might want to go back and pick up some things that we've mentioned in chapter one. We're following the format. And so today's episode, while in chapter two of James is what we call the no more than four. So what we've done already in chapter two Noah is we've looked at God. We've tried to see God in James chapter two. Then we want to see ourselves in James chapter two. And then you and I just gave ourselves permission to cherry pick like our top two, what we want to talk about each of us get to there's the no more than four. So welcome to our listeners today. We've got no more than four. In James chapter two, we're going to put ourselves on the clock. Really? Maybe not really. All right. I'm kicking it to you, Noah. What did you have? What's one of the things in James chapter two that really gets your attention?
Noah:Oh man, James chapter two is so packed. It's one of those things where you could tread all over the chapter, but one thing that we, we didn't spend a lot of time talking about previously. And I wanted to touch on again is in verse seven, he, he's, After he rebukes the idea of showing distinction between the rich and the poor, he kind of asks this question, you know, aren't the rich the ones who oppress you, the ones who drag you into court? And then verse 7 he says, Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you are called? And, you know, I think we, in general, we get what's being said there. There, there's kind of just a general understanding of it. But I think in the context, there's also something worth pointing out. And I felt like this would be a good place to start. In verse 1 of chapter 2, he says, Show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. So in this context, he's talking about us holding faith In Jesus you could say in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so then in verse 8, you know, we read verse 7 and verse 8, he turns around and he says, If you really fulfill the royal law according to scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. You are doing. So we could get into a whole discussion about the fact that, you know, Christ is not Jesus's last name. It's his title, right? Christ is the anointed one, the Messiah, the coming King. So verse one, he talks about holding faith in Jesus. the Christ, the King. And then he refers to this name by which we are called, which is by the name of Christ. We are his. And in verse eight, he says we're to keep this royal law. So there's this aspect of faithfulness to the King. I think something that's Wrapped up in all of that is, we are called by his name, we are called in his name, and we should desire to live by his authority. And that kind of undergirds everything that James talks about in this section. From not showing partiality to, in the second part of the chapter, you know, a faith that's active and that kind of thing. There's this idea that you're called by his name, you should live by his name, and you should want to live under his authority as Christ.
Paul:Oh, I like that. I like that. I had this somewhat connects to the context and what James was saying. They were, they'd been showing partiality and you drop down to verse 12. So, speak and so act as those who are judged by the law of liberty, and notice he says speak and act. It's not just how you treat others, it's how you speak to others or speak about others. And then he says, because this, verse 13, judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. And then he says mercy triumphs. And what, what he's been talking about in this context is the idea of judging correctly, treating others fairly. Don't show favoritism or partiality. Point is, judge others the way you want to be judged. Jesus had talked about that. You talk about that, that noble name and the authority of Jesus and we're, we're Christ followers. Well, what Jesus has said in the Sermon on the Mount. Noah and Matthew seven, we know this. Do not judge Matthew seven, one and two or you two will be judged. And he says, for this, in the same way, you judge others, you will be judged. And with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Noah:Yeah.
Paul:That's the big deal. And that's what James is talking about. We're acting mercilessly, mercilessly, There you go. When we show favoritism.
Noah:Yeah.
Paul:So speak and act as those. Who will be judged by the law of liberty.
Noah:Yeah.
Paul:This is a standard, not of perfection. If, if, if we're judged by a standard of perfection, judged based upon the, the, the merits of the law and keeping the law, none of us are going to get there, get to heaven. But he says, look, I've already talked about that royal law. I've already talked about the perfect law of liberty. And I'm telling you, you're going to be judged by the law of liberty. And James is very direct. He says, look how you see other people and treat other people. Is going to impact you in the judgment you want to be showing mercy in the judgment and everybody's like yes, yes, yes, yes, yes He says okay, then how are you treating the poor? How are you seeing other people? And so practically for us today, it just says, Noah, don't show partiality. Don't make shallow estimations of others. I mean, I think that goes back to chapter one, the practicing of pure and undefiled religion.
Noah:I know
Paul:he talked about the orphans and the widows, but do I have pure and undefiled religion or whatever. More to the point, pure faith, genuine faith. Right. How do you hold the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ? So this, do not judge people by their outward appearance. Do not judge based upon race, wealth, how people dress, their age, I even added this, their weight. Somebody says, we don't do that. We can get shallow. Judging people based upon weight or status. Show mercy. Do not pass judgment on these things. Why? Jesus says, blessed are those who show mercy because they will receive mercy in judgment. Matthew 5, 7. That's mercy that triumphs over judgment. I like that. Anything that talks about mercy, I think we need to hear more about that.
Noah:Yeah. Yeah. Excellent. Excellent reminder on that because we're so. We can be we can work ourselves into a state where we are quick to make snap judgments that we wouldn't want made about ourselves. And yet, we do it anyway. And the reminder here is that mercy should triumph over judgment. That's a good reminder. Well, you know, I have a feeling that as we're getting into the second part of, of James chapter two, we're going to be treading some of the same ground here in our no more than four. But I wanted to call out as my second one, I wanted to call out a specific verse in verse 19. In this discussion of faith and works James says, you believe that God is one. That's an interesting phrase. I mean, that's not a phrase that we necessarily use a lot. You believe that God is one. If I, if I just went to say, do you believe that God is one? They might give me a little bit of a strange look. But James is referring to, A very specific phrase in the old law, if we went back to Deuteronomy chapter 6, you know, the, there, there in verses 4 and following, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Now what's interesting though is what follows is you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And we're really familiar with that. You shall love the Lord your God. But later in the law or in a different section of the law, I should say in Leviticus 19, you shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. So there we have the other half of the greatest commands 22, when Jesus says, These are the two greatest commands love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself so we have we're familiar with all of that, but That's all that kind of teaching is all wrapped up when in this phrase you believe that God is one You do well because what James is talking about here is believing the fact of Deuteronomy chapter 6 God is one is not the fullness of what God desires. Jesus said in Matthew 22 that all the law and the prophets hang on these two greatest commands. And what's the second? The second is to love your neighbor as yourself. That brings us right back into this context. So this this phrase, you believe that God is one, you do well. Is James saying, you've got to do more than just believe the fact that God is one here Deuteronomy chapter six, you have to believe what flows from God's character and that is you have to love your neighbor as yourself. Huh.
Paul:I mean, he follows that up. That's an excellent point. I mean, to his audience, they would have understood all that was involved, as you said, in that phraseology or that concept. God is one.
Noah:Mm hmm.
Paul:But he follows that up, making it very practical. So now verse 20, but are you willing to recognize you foolish person? And I can hear those people in James like he's not talking to me, looking at everybody else because he just said foolish. And that's not me, but James's point is, faith without works or faith apart from works, do you not understand that that's really no faith at all? He calls it dead or useless. The point is, you claim that you have faith, but faith demonstrates itself. Faith in God, belief in God, demonstrates itself in some way. Like this, like this, like this, and if my faith doesn't move me to show reverence and respect for God, but ultimately in the context of James 2, for the, for those people that God says he values, or demonstrate faith on a level that can be seen he said the demons believe. And even their belief. produces in them an emotion, but it's not just emotion. It's not like we, I think we talked about last podcast, you know, the little house on the Prairie and shedding tears. I mean, I can hear a sermon and be moved to emotion, but not necessarily action.
Noah:Right.
Paul:What does James call that? Very foolish. If I walk away saying I've got faith, genuine faith I want to add this about a practical side, so that was my point, you know, that merges well with what I wanted us to see when James talks about a faith that is dead, a faith that is useless following the thought, now I'm beginning in verse 22 of James 2. You see, talking about Abraham. You see that Abraham's faith and his actions were working together and his, Abraham's faith, was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness and he was called God's friend. Here's the point. You see then, verse 24 of James 2, that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. So, to connect to your point, to connect to James point, true faith is proven by how it manifests itself. Alright, my faith, how do I live? My faith, can it be seen? So here's a point maybe that stings a bit, Noah, just making it practical where we, on a level where we are. If all my faith consists of is me sitting in a church building on Sunday. James would call that a dead faith. In fact, he'd say that's no faith at all.
Noah:What,
Paul:what different are you, how different are you than the demons?
Noah:Right. I
Paul:mean, you have belief. You, you have correct theology in regards to God, but your faith is, is useless. It's not showing itself through your works or your actions, like loving your neighbor as yourself and, you know, being merciful to others, demonstrating kindness.
Noah:Yeah. That, that translation of. Of belief or faith into not just emotion but into action and not just any action, but action that reflects the character and the law of God. That is, that is when Mere belief, if you wanted to use that term accommodatively, mere belief becomes true faith. When it, when it, yes, it should elicit that emotional response. Yes, it should provoke action in us, but it, it needs to be action that, that is reflective of what God is looking for, which again, on all the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments. Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself. I, I was reading recently and I ran across this quote from N. T. Wright. He said, Translating belief into action. That's where that term translating even came into my thought process for this. Translating belief into action, even when it seems impossible or downright dangerous. That is the faith that matters.
Paul:Oh, okay. Okay. Wow. So he says impossible. What was the other, even when it seems impossible or
Noah:downright dangerous.
Paul:Okay. Not to interrupt your thought. I just, I just want people that are listening to that today seems impossible or downright dangerous. Seems impossible. Who does he mention? Abraham.
Noah:What
Paul:about Abraham offering Isaac?
Noah:Right.
Paul:All right. Then he says, but it's dangerous.
Noah:Yeah. Rahab. Rahab.
Paul:That was N. T. Wright?
Noah:Yeah.
Paul:Okay. Shout out to N. T. Wright. I'm going to remember that now. I love that. Okay. Go ahead. Sorry.
Noah:Well, no. I just, I think that that's a really, a really good brief way of summarizing what James is saying here. And like you said, pointing to the specific examples of when. We, we don't see how we're coming out the other side of this. We don't see how this is going to make sense. But what we do see is we believe this is what God has called us to do. And I think that sometimes we have trouble applying that specifically in the context of loving your neighbor as yourself. Because even the examples that James gives here, as far as Abraham sacrificing Isaac and Rahab with the spies, we think of these really big moments, these really big events, that James points to, when, again, contextually, there's a reference here to just the very basic, fundamental ideas of loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself. So the question is, If we, if we're not able to demonstrate our faith, to translate our faith, our belief into action when it comes to loving God and loving our neighbor as ourselves, what makes us think that we're going to be able to translate our, our faith into action in any larger, grander scale, like the examples that James gives? And I think that that ought to challenge us. We, we sometimes think too big and we overlook the opportunities we have to fulfill the royal law on a daily basis.
Paul:Yeah. Man, a hundred percent Noah, I agree with that. That's, that's something that I needed to hear today. All of us need to hear. I can tell you as a preacher, I think, I know I have missed the simplicity of James 2. Because I'm trying to figure out how do I connect Romans 4 and James 2 with my audience of 200 or 400 people who want to know this about salvation and this about salvation. Tell me the difference between grace and law. What, well he says, you know, justified by faith in Romans 4. And James says, justified by works, in James 2, let me hear, brother preacher, what you have to say. And we have to let them stand on their own. They're not in conflict to each other. Different audience, different subject, the commonality is justification. But James is making his point beautifully. Just look at James 2. Abraham and Rahab, you know, Abraham, what a great example of faith. And he says in the context, I mean, James makes this point about Abraham and where he was in life and the offering of Isaac there in James 2. But if you go to Genesis 22, the point that is made is now I know you fear God. Now I know you fear God. Now I know your faith is such that you trust God on a level that you're willing to do what God asked you to do, even though it doesn't make sense. You don't understand, or it's very hard or difficult. You're willing to do it. There's faith, and he connects faith to his fear of God, his reverence for God. Noah, he's saying. Abraham did something. Yeah. So James is not saying faith plus something else saves. He's saying faith saves.
Noah:And this is what faith looks like.
Paul:Yes.
Noah:Yeah. The Rahab one though.
Paul:That was a head scratcher for me.
Noah:There's a whole rabbit hole that we can go down on Rahab, but I'm looking at the time. I don't think we've got, I don't think we've got enough time in this podcast for the Rahab rabbit hole. Y'all that are listening, you let us know if we need to go down a rabbit hole. Regarding Rahab, that's a lot of R's, a Rahab rabbit hole in a different episode. But I think just like you said with Abraham, the bottom line of James example here when he's pointing to Rahab is she did something.
Paul:Well, who was she?
Noah:She was a prostitute. Yeah.
Paul:If you, what, if you, if you looked at, sorry, if y'all could have seen the look I just got from Noah, that was priceless. God, just I was trying to figure out what layer you
Noah:were
Paul:trying to get to. Where is he going? Of all people that we would say could not be used by God would not make a difference and didn't have this in her heart. There's no way she's capable of this. Look at her heart. Look at her faith. How did it demonstrate itself? So, back to James point, you know, you're showing favoritism to the rich people, and the rich people are the ones making your life miserable. Yeah. But how do you get that? So be like the Rahabs of this world who have the genuine heart that when they are confronted with truth and see truth and, and how they can be a benefit and blessing to other people, they're actively showing kindness and demonstrating mercy. What is that? That's faith.
Noah:Yeah.
Paul:Yeah. That's faith.
Noah:And with Rahab, you know, that my confusion when I was, I was trying to figure out what you wanted. It was partially because You know, there's two, there's two ways to look at Rahab, right? There's the, there's Rahab by what her occupation was before Israel entered the land. And then there's Rahab from the historical perspective, which is, where, what, what did end up happening with Rahab? Because of her faith, not only was she spared, but she contributed to the, to the line of David. And yeah, to the, excuse me, to the line of David and, and to the line of the Messiah. Right. And so what we see is imperfect people with imperfect faith doing to the best of their ability, what faith would have them do and how faith would have them act. And God blesses that faith.
Paul:Yeah, that's a sobering thought. Just in the context of James 2, I know we're coming up on the end, just letting James finish this up for us. What's the use of saying you have faith if you don't prove it by your actions? I'm reading from James 2, 14 and following. That kind of faith can't save anyone. Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing and one of you says to him, go, wish you well, be warmed and well fed, but does nothing about his physical needs. What good is it? 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. In fact, it's dead and it's useless. James had already talked about orphans and widows. He had already talked about the royal law that does not show favoritism or partiality, but demonstrates kindness and shows mercy on this level. Back to my faith. I can sit in a church building every time the doors are open and boast in my right theology. The truth is on my side. Well, what kind of faith do you have? What are you doing with opportunities? How do you see people?
Noah:You believe that God is one, you do well. I love it. I love it.
Paul:Well. Where are we going next? I guess it's chapter three. We've we've gone all through chapter two.
Noah:Yeah, we've gone You know front to back on James chapter 2 and and just like we saw with chapter 1 moving into chapter 2 chapter 2 Moves into chapter 3 so there's gonna be some some repeated themes that we'll see as we continue through the book of James Next week, we'll hit James chapter 3 and we'll focus on seeing God on seeing what we can learn about Who he is, his character, and, and what is reflected about him in the text of James there. So I'm looking forward to next week. I think that's probably always, so far, been my favorite part of this study, is getting to spend that time focusing on what, what can I learn about God? What can I uncover and better understand about the character of God from this text? So that's where we're going next week. To those listening, we really appreciate you coming along on this journey. As a reminder, if you look in the description of these podcast episodes, there's an opportunity there to submit a question and to leave some feedback for us, if you want to take the time to do that, we'd really appreciate hearing from you and you're welcome to, to do it that way. Or you can, you know contact me or Paul individually. We want to know if there's something in the book of James that you want to make sure makes it into this journey We would love to to have the opportunity to talk about that and to dig it dig into it a little bit more But as we continue this journey we want to make sure that we are seeking the truth of god both in Both in his character and then in how it should be reflected in our lives And so we pray that as you go out go about this week You can continue to do that and that you can continue to stand strong
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