Faith and Works - September 8, 2024 - Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 18) - Text: James 2:1-10, 14-18

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul writes, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). In our text for today, James writes, “14What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” (James 2:14). The question always arises, does Paul contradict James, or does James contradict Paul? The answer is neither, rather they compliment each other. We see this as we read on in verse ten of Ephesians chapter two which reads, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:10). God did not create us to be or do nothing in His world, rather He created us to do the good works which He has prepared in advance for us to do, good works which are a response of faith, which flow out of faith given by God and worked in and through us by God. Paul stresses salvation by grace through faith and James stresses that good works naturally flow from such faith, they compliment each other.
 

We begin at verse one of our text, “1My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?” (v. 1-7). James begins by telling us not to show favoritism. So we might ask, how is favoritism seen? James gives us the example of distinguishing between a rich person and a poor person. We see favoritism even more so in our world today when it comes to people of different ethnicities or cultures, colors, languages and the like. Unfortunately, as sinful human beings we cannot help but be prejudice and show favoritism, because to show favoritism is simply our nature.
 

James reminds us that God does not show favoritism.  Rich and poor are alike in God’s eyes. James’ words remind us that Jesus shed His blood for everyone, for all people, regardless of ethnicity or culture, language, or skin color. How great it would be if we could see other people with the eyes of Jesus. How great it would be if when we look at another person that we could say, Jesus loved that person so much that He shed His holy, precious blood for that person, who are we to love them any less? Now that type of action is not showing favoritism.
 

Continuing on with our text we pick up at verse eight, “8If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it” (v. 8-10). James reminds us of the royal law found in Scripture, which is the summary of the second table of the commandments dealing with our relationships with each other, that is that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. If we could love our neighbor as ourselves we would not break any of these commandments; we would not despise those in authority over us; we would not lust after another person; we would not kill, hate, hurt, or name call; we would not steal, gossip, nor covet anything that is our neighbors. To sum it up, if we could love our neighbor as ourselves we would almost be perfect.
 

To keep us from thinking we can be perfect or that we can work our way into heaven, James reminds us that if we keep the whole law, if we can obey every commandment perfectly, if we could keep all of the law, except at one point, then we are guilty of breaking it all. The best example I can give is to think about an electric wire. An electric wire carries electricity. Yet, if you were to touch the wire at only one spot, you would still be subject to the entire amount of electricity in the whole wire. Likewise, if we try to get to heaven by demonstrating how good we are, how obedient we can be, yet we fail in one little point, it is that little point which drains all our good works and we become guilty of all.
 

Moving on to verse fourteen we read, “14What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (v. 14-18). James gives a practical example of what he means. We all have many opportunities in a day when we have the opportunity to show our faith through the way we live, that is as we live as priests in our vocations. When everyone at work is bad mouthing the boss around the coffee pot, we can say something nice in his defense. When a collection of can goods is being collected for those who have nothing to eat, we can be the first in line to give, and not just give those old cans of food we have not eaten, but new cans of something we might like and think others might like as well. When no one else will befriend the stranger, hopefully the guest, but at least the visitor, in church, we can be there to hold out our hand and say, “welcome”. There are many ways we can demonstrate the faith that we have in our daily living.
 

When it comes to faith showing itself in action, it is almost like we do not have a choice because we cannot help ourselves, we must demonstrate our faith through our actions. When we go to church and wear the name Christians, we are saying that we are examples of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. How we live then is a loud and clear example of what we believe about Jesus. Have you ever stopped and asked yourself, what are my actions saying about my Savior and my faith in Jesus?
 

Indeed, just as faith shows itself in actions and so the opposite is just as true, a lack of faith shows itself in a lack of actions. As you have heard me say before, faith’s desire is to be where the gifts of God are being given out. When we have little or no desire to be in Divine Service and Bible class, when we have no desire to read and study God’s Word, when we have no desire to participate in the fellowship of the Christian church that is a sign of a lack of faith. That is why we are to encourage each other in the body of Christ, lest our brother or sister so continue to refuse and reject the gifts of God until their faith has dried up to nothing.
 

James tells us that faith without works is dead? The best example I can give you is this: if I told you I owned one of the most expensive cars on the market and that I kept it in my garage (supposing I could get it into my garage) would you believe me? As your pastor you might believe me, unless you think about how much I get paid. As I remind you to be as the Bereans, then you probably would not believe me, at least not unless you saw it. Likewise, if I go around telling people that I am a Christian, and tell them what a Christian should be and do, and yet do not act accordingly, then they will not believe that I am a Christian.
 

The way James puts it, it is almost an automatic thing; faith must show itself by good works. This is especially where Paul and James are so complimentary. Paul reminds us that we are sinful human beings. He reminds us that in the midst of our being sinners and enemies of God, that during our being sinners and enemies of God that is when God sent Jesus to take all our sins upon Himself, to suffer the eternal consequences for our sinning. Because of God’s great love for us, through faith in Jesus, we have forgiveness, life and salvation. So, because of all that God has done for us, how can we do anything else, but respond, with the help of the Holy Spirit, by living our lives according to His good and gracious will.
 

So we have almost already answered the “what does this mean?” question this morning. To put it back into the language of the text this means that we will want to ask ourselves, “How often do we betray our unbelief by showing favoritism?” “How often do we show our unbelief by sinning against the ten commandments?” How often do we betray our lack of faith by putting something before God and worshiping Him, refusing and rejecting His gifts by not being in divine worship, by not reading His Word, by not having private and family devotions and the like? Unfortunately, the answer is more often than we think, or would like to admit.
 

Thanks be to God that He does not show favoritism. Or maybe we should say thanks be to God that Jesus showed His favoritism for us in that while we were in the midst of sinning He died for us. Thanks be to God that no matter how sinful we are and can be, our sins have already been forgiven. Every morning we wake up knowing that we have been given today as a gift from God and each day is an opportunity to live it to His glory. And even if we mess today up, He has already forgiven us.
 

Thanks be to God that with the help of the Holy Spirit we can show our faith in our actions. When we think and believe we can be the people God would have us to be, that is when we try to do good things on our own, in a futile attempt to earn heaven, just a little, we need to remember that electric wire which we touch at only one point. By ourselves, because of our sinful nature, we can do no good thing, but with the help of the Holy Spirit we can and do great things.
 

Do you remember the Song, This Little Gospel Light of Mine? One of the verses expresses the very thing we have been saying. It is the verse that goes, “This little gospel light of mine I’m gonna let it shine, hide it under a bushel, no! I’m gonna let it shine.” When we think about all the good gifts and blessing our Lord has given to us, and all that He has in store for us, how can we hide all that?  How can we do anything except give Him thanks and praise and live our lives to His glory.
 

Both Paul and James help us to keep our focus right. They both begin and end with Jesus. As we have been reminded before, God created us for a purpose. The first and foremost reason God created us was in order to love us. As we have heard here many times, even before God began creating the world, He knew how it would turn out. Even before He began creating the world, He knew what Adam and Eve would do. Even before creating the world, God knew us. He knew you and He knew me. He knew us by name. And yet, God still created the world. He created the world to love the world, and specifically to love us. This is how we know we worship the one true God, because our God needs nothing from us, but gives everything to us, that is why He created us. The second part of Paul’s message and James’ message is that God also redeemed us for a purpose. Jesus lived, suffered, died and rose for a reason. He lived, suffered, died and rose so that we might have forgiveness, life and salvation. And, finally, as a response of faith, as Paul and James tell us, our response of faith is this, as the Holy Spirit gives, strengthens and keeps us in faith, as the Holy Spirit works in and through us, through the means of grace, so with His help and by His power we do the good works which He has prepared in advance for us to do and they are good works because He motivates us to do them, He works them in and through us, and they are done to His glory.
 

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:8-10). With the help of the Holy Spirit, we leave here today, giving glory to God through our very lives. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Strong in the Lord - September 1, 2024 - Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 17) - Text: Ephesians 6:10-20

Paul set out in his letter to the Ephesians to give the Ephesians and us, that is to give us Christians, a better understanding of God’s eternal grace and purpose in our lives and in His Church. Two weeks ago we were exhorted, by Paul, to be imitators of Christ through the Holy Spirit working in and through us. Last week we were instructed in the good order God gives, flowing out of the order of creation, to put Christ and others first in our lives. This week Paul instructs us in fighting the good fight. As Christians living in this sin filled and sin corrupted world, we are constantly doing battle. We battle with the devil, the world and even our own sinful nature. Paul begins instructing us with and giving us encouragement to be strong, as he says, “10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” (v. 10)
 

Paul instructs us by defining our battle and our enemy. He says, “11Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (v. 11-12). Paul encourages us to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. The devil has been scheming since his own creation and rebellion against God and being cast out of heaven. The devil has been scheming since the Garden of Eden where he enticed Adam and Eve to question God and His Word, to disobey God and to bring sin and death into this world. And the devil continues with his schemes yet today. We see the devil constantly scheming in our world today as God and His Word are questioned day in and day out. We see the devil continue scheming with the temptation that we can be like God, even being our own gods and goddesses in living our lives our own way without any regard to our Lord and His will for us.
 

Paul further defines our battle as being not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers. As Christians, our battle is not so much a physical battle, although that might be the case from time to time, but our battle is more often than not a battle against the devil and his evil angels. Our battle is against the evil, atheistic, unbelieving leaders of the world, the false teachers and those who teach falsely concerning our Lord and His Word, including false religions, cults and sects.
 

Yes, our battle is against spiritual forces in heavenly places. Our greatest battle is a spiritual battle. As the world looks to and embraces other gods, which really are nothing, so it continues to work to undermined and destroy the Christian Church. And this is a great battle indeed.
 

How do we fight this battle? We fight this battle by being armed for the battle. Paul tells us about the armor with which our Lord arms us. Paul says, “13Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (v. 13-17).
 

The first line of defense in our armor is the belt of truth. A belt is that thing that wraps around our body, usually around our waist and holds up other parts of what we are wearing, in particular, our pants. Mainly, though, the belt surrounds us. Paul speaks of this as being the belt of truth. One of the first things that is attacked in the Christian faith is truth. Truth is questioned. God’s Word, as truth, is questioned. As the serpent asked Eve, so the devil continually questions today, “Did God really say?” “Did God really mean?” We live in a world where, for too many, truth is relative. What is true for you may not be true for me and what is true for me may not be what is true for you. When we fasten the belt of truth around us, we are surrounding ourselves with truth, with Jesus who alone is truth. Apart from Jesus, there is and can be no truth. Jesus is the truth, as He is the way and the life. Thus, we begin by surrounding ourselves with Jesus and we do this by surrounding ourselves, immersing ourselves in His Word. To put this into practical terms, I always ask, “Are human beings, even smart human beings, ever wrong?” And the answer is of course, “Yes.” Is God ever wrong? And the answer is of course, “No.” So when there is a difference between what fallible humans say and what God says, I am going to believe God all the time and figure that humans have gotten it wrong and need to go back and rethink it.
 

Next, the breastplate of righteousness is put on us. We are clothed with righteousness, that is we are clothed with Christ’s righteousness and this is done through the waters of Holy Baptism. At our baptism our Lord puts His name on us, He puts faith in our hearts, He writes our names in the book of life, He clothes us with His robes of righteousness. As we remember that we get it right when we point to Jesus, then we also understand that we get Holy Baptism correct when we point to Jesus. Holy Baptism is not something we do. Indeed, we cannot baptize ourselves. Just as a drowning person cannot save himself, or he would not be drowning, so we cannot save ourselves or we would not need saving. Holy Baptism is what God does and according to His Word, what God does in Holy Baptism is that He uses the simple ordinary earthly means of water connected with His Word to give us the gifts He has to give, faith, forgiveness and life, as He reminds us in first Peter, “Baptism now saves you (1 Pet. 3:21).”
 

Being surrounded with the belt of truth, immersed in the Word of God, being clothed in Christ’s robes of righteousness through the waters of Holy Baptism, we then have put on us the shoes which make us ready to share the gospel of peace. Here we are reminded that true peace is that peace which comes only from forgiveness of sins, for without forgiveness there is no true peace. And we are also reminded that this is indeed how our Lord works with us, namely through means. As we are immersed in the Word, as we are washed and robed through Holy Baptism, we understand that through these means our Lord has His way with us. And here, even through confession and absolution we are given forgiveness and peace.
 

Having our bodies covered, we move to gain protection through the use of the shield of faith. Here we understand that faith is an instrument and faith is a gift, given through means, the Word and the Sacraments and yet, faith in and of itself does nothing, again, it is an instrument. In order for faith to be saving faith it must have an object and the object, the only object of saving faith is Jesus Christ. Thus, as a shield absorbs the impact and pain the enemy attempts to inflict, so Jesus has taken care of the pain, the price, the suffering, even the eternal death of hell which our sins cost us.
 

The last defensive piece of armor that is put on us is the helmet of salvation. The helmet protects our head as the breastplate protects our heart. The head and the heart are two important and vital organs. With the heart we believe and with the head we know. Both knowing and believing are important for us as Christians. And so, the helmet, along with the rest of the armor work to protect us from losing faith in Jesus.
 

Finally, Paul tells us that we are allowed one offensive weapon. The only offensive weapon he allows is the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. And what a weapon the Word of God is. If only Adam and Eve had used it in the Garden. We see how it is used and how effective it is as when Jesus was tempted by Satan. He wielded the sword of the Word of God and Satan had to leave, for a more opportune time. When temptations arise, we too, are to wield the sword of the Word of God.
 

Paul has warned us of the battle. He has equipped us with armor and now he gives us our supply line in the battle. We pick up at verse eighteen, “18praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak” (v. 18-20). In a battle, if the army runs outs of ammunition or equipment or even food too quickly, the battle could easily turn to the favor of the enemy. Thus, a supply of reinforcements, a supply of ammunition and equipment continues to be necessary. Our Lord supplies us for battle through the means of grace, His Word, Holy Baptism, Holy Absolution and His Holy Supper. It is as I continually tell you, as we make regular and diligent use of the means of grace that our Lord has His way with us, supplying us with all that we need and even more than we need in order to be ready and to fight and win against the enemy, the devil, the world and our own sinful nature.
 

Our Lord constantly supplies us with aid through His means of grace. We also receive help from others in particular through prayer and through the Holy Spirit answering our prayer. What a powerful tool we have in prayer. Our Lord promises to hear and answer our prayer and certainly He does, thus we see the need to constantly be in prayer as well.
 

Our Lord speaks to us through His Word and in our prayers we are speaking with our Lord.. Thus, we are in conversation with our Lord. And the great thing about our prayers is that they can be prayed anytime, anywhere, for perseverance and for boldness. We are to pray for ourselves and others and we are to know that others are praying for us. And God answers our prayers and their prayers.
 

What Does this Mean? God never promised that life in this world would be easy. And, actually, after God created the world and put Adam and Eve in the Garden He had created for them, He gave them work to do. Work is not a result of the fall into sin. The result of the fall into sin is that now we are constantly at battle in this world. We are in a war. We are constantly doing battle against the unholy three of the devil, the world, and our own sinful nature.
 

Even though we continue to be at war and continue to be doing battle, the fact of the matter is that Jesus has already won the victory. Satan has been defeated and he knows he has been defeated, yet he constantly works in our world to undermine our Lord and His authority. The devil is fighting for us, not because he loves us and desires that we should be on his side, but because he hates us and he hates anything that is from God or of God. But again, Christ has won. Through His life, the cross and death, Jesus defeated sin, death and the power of the devil. The victory is His.
 

And yet, while we remain in this world we will continue to fight the good fight. We will fight against temptation and sin. We will fight against the temptations of the devil, the world and our own sinful flesh. Yet, we will not fight alone. We will fight with Christ Jesus on our side. And as Paul tells us this morning, we will fight as we are armed with the means of grace.
 

And so, this morning, we have Paul’s instruction to us in fighting the good fight. We do live in a sin filled and sin corrupted world. Thus, we must constantly do battle. We battle against the devil, the world and even our own sinful nature. Paul instructs us and encourages us to be strong because we are well armed and well equipped through our faith, faith given, and strengthened by the Holy Spirit through the means of grace. We have the whole armor of God. We have the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of readiness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. And we have this confidence, that the battle has been won and by God’s pure grace, through His gift of faith, we have eternal life. To Him be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.