A counselor at church camp told of his experience with a nine-year-old boy who started to cry when they turned out the cabin lights the first night. "Was he afraid of the dark?" the counselor asked. "No," the boy replied; "he just didn't want to be attacked by the 'killer rabbits.'" Some older kids at home had told him that there were "killer rabbits" that would come out at night and attack the campers.
Jesus was constantly reassuring the disciples with the words, "
Fear not." Their fears betrayed their lack of faith. When one traces these words and their usage throughout the Bible, it seems that one of man's constant needs is to be reassured of the presence and comfort of God almighty. Christians can draw on this presence to find comfort and destroy their fears.
The problem is that when many have gotten into the habit of “whistling through the cemetery,” trying to be brave and do whatever it takes to get through. Many confuse “bravery” and “taking risk” with faith. Bravery is facing something, showing courage. Taking risk suggests a continuance, but implies a holding back due to the possibility of pain, loss or danger. Faith believes God. Belief is (literally) where the being lives. The difference between bravery or risk-taking and living by faith is that one is man-centered and the other is God-centered. The same implications lay in the confusion between “success” and “excellence,” (but that’s another blog) or “success” and “effectiveness” (that has been another blog). Allow me to clarify:
The greatest risk I have seen anyone take is found in the space race of the 1960’s. The United States and Russia heard the starting gun and the moon was the finish line. Though we saw more failures than successes in getting started, the one’s with the most fear about getting the job done was found in the test pilots who became astronauts. The greatest fear they faced was not that they would be sitting on top of a 10-story bomb that had a 50-50 chance of blowing up or flying. No, their greatest fear is that someone else would get to be first. Honestly, I can’t decide if it was Chuck Yeager, John Glenn or Neil Armstrong who was the greatest risk-taker (read Tom Wolf’s book “The Right Stuff”). I am inclined to tap Armstrong, because he was the first to go boldly where no one had gone before. If there was any faith to speak of on their parts, John Glenn might be the greatest in the next category, but only God knows.
The greatest step of faith I have ever seen someone take was when Benard sat across from my desk and did not so much ask me but told me that I was coming to Africa to teach Systematic Theology. Not only had I never taught a class in the areas he wanted me to cover, but I had no clue how I was going to raise the funds in a few short months, or if I could write the materials. God provided miraculously and worked marvelously. You can view some of the pictures from that trip
here. I gave two seminars, not one and preached to well over 1000 people, seeing hundreds respond to God, that they would become dedicated students of scripture.
Then there is George. George is also from Africa, and believe me, there isn’t another George. He has the gift of breaking off my tusks and pulling out my claws (that’s Kenyan for “he teaches me, even when I don’t want to learn”). George demonstrates great faith that speaks volumes and I could not begin to chronicle examples save this: he knows what being God-centered is and you would know it too if you met him (look out California, he’s coming your way).
I get around people like Benard and George, or look back to Edwards or Spurgeon and sort of chastise myself, praying for their mantle fall on me! I ask God for that kind of faith . . . forgetting He’s given it already, it just remains unused. This is another place we need correct our thinking—we don’t need a greater capacity for faith, we all have the same capacity (we hold the same amount). What we need is to actually put the faith to work! We need to “believe God.”
Let’s consider a scenario and see if this is an act of faith or an act of foolishness: back in the old days, some people heard “the Macedonian call” and packed up everything in a coffin and boarded ships for one-way trips overseas to be missionaries. Were these people taking risks and being brave, or living by faith?
Consider another: a young man and his wife, perhaps with a small child or two, feels the call of God on their lives to quit their jobs, pull their kids out of school and move across the country to go to Bible College or Seminary. Faith, or foolishness? I know for a fact that young man feels (or has felt) like he was walking in a fog, leaving everything familiar behind and being totally clueless about what lies ahead but all he knows is that he is obeying God.
I believe the difference between a faith decision and a foolish decision is if one holds back and has reservations concerning what he is doing (figuratively or literally), yet moves ahead anyway is moving into a foolish decision. Faith is a daily necessity whether one is getting married, taking a job, struggling with an illness, or overcoming a handicap. And faith in God is the cornerstone of all other faiths. As one counselor said, "When I learn a patient has no faith in God, I dismiss the case. There is nothing to build on." Rejections, defeats, and failures we experience can create enough negative feelings to destroy us. This is where we need to be careful! Often the most painful wounds are not the scars that are outwardly seen, but the hidden wounds deep in the heart. Being hidden, they are often the most dangerous. We can decide to avoid pain and prepare for risk instead of living by faith! Setbacks in our lives can take the joy out of living. Our faith is weakened and if we collect enough hurts it will stop us from wanting to press forward. Even success can make one the target of criticism. Don't let the hurts hurt your faith!
As we approach James 2:21–26 we must recall how we have just contrasted living faith from dead faith (vv. 14–20), saving faith from non-saving faith, productive faith from unproductive faith, and godly faith from a kind of faith that is exercised even by demons. We will now consider some examples of those who have a living faith, “the right stuff” in James 2:21-26.
Jonathan Edwards reminds us, “It appears plainly to have been in the visible church of God, in times of great reviving of religion, from time to time, as it is with the fruit trees in the spring; there are a multitude of blossoms, all of which appear fair and beautiful, and there is a promising appearance of young fruits; but many of them are but of short continuance; they soon fall off, and never come to maturity.”
[i]“Abraham’s and Rahab’s justification was not demonstrated by their profession of faith, their worship or ritual, or any other religious activity. In both cases it was demonstrated by putting everything that was dear to them on the line for the Lord, entrusting it to Him without qualification or reservation. They were supremely committed to the Lord, whatever the cost. It is in the vortex of the great plans, decisions, and crossroads of life—where ambitions, hopes, dreams, destinies, and life itself are at stake—that true faith unfailingly reveals itself. Long before Jesus’ crucifixion, Abraham and Rahab were willing to take up their crosses, as it were, and follow Him (Mark 8:34). They hated their life in this world in order to keep it in the world to come (John 12:25). Abraham and Rahab stand for all time as examples of those whose living faith passed the test.”
[ii]A number of years ago I stood in the parking lot of my workplace where a female co-worker and I would carry on meaningful after-work debates. She was a Jehovah’s Witness and she and I would glare at each other through the day, then at times would literally go to the parking lot to verbally “have it out.” One thing I was constantly challenged with was her rationale of James 2:21, stating that her salvation (as it were) depended on works because right there it plainly states in the New World Translation, “Was not Abraham our father declared righteous by works after he had offered up Isaac his son upon the altar?”
I don’t remember how I answered her then, but now would turn to Galatians 3:6-11 for the answer. Dr. John MacArthur’s commentary provides a stellar explanation:
“For several reasons, James cannot mean that Abraham was constituted righteous before God because of his own good works: 1) James already stressed that salvation is a gracious gift (1:17,18); 2) in the middle of this disputed passage (v. 23), James quoted Gen. 15:6, which forcefully claims that God credited righteousness to Abraham solely on the basis of his faith (see notes on Rom. 1:17; 3:24; 4:1–25); and 3) the work that James said justified Abraham was his offering up of Isaac (Gen. 22:9,12), an event that occurred many years after he first exercised faith and was declared righteous before God (Gen. 12:1–7; 15:6). Instead, Abraham’s offering of Isaac demonstrated the genuineness of his faith and the reality of his justification before God. James is emphasizing the vindication before others of a man’s claim to salvation. James’ teaching perfectly complements Paul’s writings; salvation is determined by faith alone (Eph. 2:8,9) and demonstrated by faithfulness to obey God’s will alone (Eph. 2:10).”
[iii]“But,” someone may object, “how can Abraham and Rahab be saved if Jesus was not born yet? Were Abraham and Rahab really saved?” They were saved by faith by looking ahead to what God would accomplish through His Son in the same way we are saved by faith looking back to what God accomplished through His Son. Jesus Himself told the Jews, “Your
father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” (John 8:56) Not long after that Jesus said to Thomas, “
I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (14:6). Acts 4:12 reinforces this truth, “
And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
Hebrews 11:8-10: “
By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
James gives us a striking phrase, that Abraham “
was called the friend of God.” What can that possibly mean? Abraham was a liar (Gen. 12:19; 20:2), he had the wrong conception of God and took matters into his own hands becoming an adulterer by wife’s maid and having a son—he broke at least 3 of God’s 10 Commandments (though not given yet, they operated in principle) so he was obviously not a good person in God’s eyes and deserved the wrath and punishment given to any sinner, an enemy of God. How could he be called “the friend of God?”
"James’s point is that, in the overall pattern of his life, Abraham faithfully vindicated his saving faith through his many good works, above all else by offering Isaac. When a man is justified before God, he will always prove that justification before other men. A man who has been declared and made righteous will live righteously. Imputed righteousness will manifest practical righteousness. In the words of John Calvin, ‘Faith alone justifies; but the faith that justifies is never alone.’”
Abraham is called God’s friend two other times in scripture: 2 Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8. He had accepted God’s free gift of grace and lived, moved and made his being in God, looking ahead to what God was going to do in the same way we look back and see what He did! Jesus told his disciples, “You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:14-15)
Rahab is another person mentioned in James’ letter. She was obviously an adulterer and a liar at heart, deserving hell and eternal separation from God. What was it about Rahab that demonstrated, or vindicated, the presence of saving faith in her life? She heard what God was doing, believed what God was doing, repented of her sin and was delivered! She got the right understanding about God, accepting the way out to freedom He was providing. Her actions proved it!
“
Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?” (2 Cor 13:5)
Alexander MacLaren (1826-1910) preached the sermon
THE DISCIPLE'S CONFESSION AND THE MASTER'S WARNING wherein he describes the need for Christian men, “to search and make sure that their inward life corresponds with their words and professions. I wonder how many thousands of people will stand up this day and say, "I believe in God the Father Almighty, and in Jesus Christ His only Son," whose words would stick in their throats if that question of the Master's was put to them, "Do you now believe?" And I wonder how many of us are the fools of our own verbal acknowledgements of Christ. Self-examination is not altogether a wholesome exercise, and it may easily be carried too far, to the destruction of the spontaneity and the gladness of the Christian life. A man may set his pulse going irregularly by simply concentrating his attention upon it, and there may be self-examination of the wrong sort, which does harm rather than good. But, on the other hand, we all need to verify our position, lest our outward life should fatally slip away from correspondence with our inward. Our words and acts of Christian profession and service are like bank notes. What will be the end if there is a whole ream of such going up and down the world, and no balance of bullion in the cellars to meet them? Nothing but bankruptcy. Do you see to it that your reserve of gold, deep down in your hearts, always leaves a margin beyond the notes in circulation issued by you. And in the midst of your professions hear the Master saying, ‘Do you now believe?’”
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[i] Edwards, Jonathan.
The Religious Affections. Carlisle: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1984.
[ii]MacArthur, John.
James : Guildelines for a Happy Christian Life. MacArthur Bible studies, Page 52. Nashville, TN: W Publishing Group, 2001.
[iii]MacArthur, John Jr.
The MacArthur Study Bible. electronic ed., Jas 2:21. Nashville: Word Pub., 1997, c1997.
