 So today we're in James chapter two. We're gonna be looking, as mentioned, at verses 14 through 26. And so what I'm gonna do here is I'm gonna introduce our study with just verse 14, and I'm gonna remind you once again, as I normally do, of some of the things that we looked at that lead to verse 14, and then we'll pick up at verse 14 and go through this passage looking at works and faith and how they work together. So beginning at verse 14, reading just verse 14, James writes, what does it profit my brethren? If someone says he has faith, but does not have works, can faith save him? And so as we look at this, let me give you an introduction. James has referred to the manner in which they speak and the way they act. He's just been sharing with them concerning that. And he said in verse 12, so speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. So he's been speaking to them concerning the manner in which they speak and the way they act. Now that's because our words and our actions testify either for us or against us. You see, our actions, the way that we live, are the product of our nature. And our actions can reveal whether or not we've been saved. Before we received Christ and His forgiveness, we lived as those who didn't know Him quite obviously, so we lived as the Bible would refer to us as unbelievers. We may have on occasion done something that was nice, a commendable thing, if you will, but our nature itself was unregenerated. And so because we had an unregenerated, our nature was not renewed, we weren't born again, because our nature was unregenerated, we were in bondage to sin. You see, without the freedom given to us by Christ, the Bible teaches that we are slaves, we're slaves to sin. In John 8.34, Jesus said, most assuredly I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. So as those in bondage to sin, we habitually did only those things that were natural for us to do. And Jesus spoke about that also in Mark chapter seven. When he began to speak about the things that the sinful nature does, the things that an unregenerated person actually will do with their life, the way it is, he says in Mark 7.21 through 23, from within out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, and evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness, and he went on to say all these evil things come from within and defile a man. He's speaking of our evil nature. These are the things that are naturally produced before we're saved. But Jesus came and gave a message. It's a message of freedom. It's called the gospel. And in this message, he calls on us to believe in him and to receive him into our life by faith. And the message is the standard that God gave for forgiveness as well as for entrance into heaven. All that man has said, all that man has done will be judged by that standard, the law of liberty. And the law of liberty, again, has been identified in chapter one, verse 25, as the gospel. So the gospel is a message of salvation that has been given to us by Jesus Christ. And it's this message that men will be judged by. In John 12, 48, Jesus said it like this. He said, he who rejects me and does not receive my words has that which judges him. And he goes on to say, the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. So we're judged by the gospel message. All that has been said and all that we have done is judged. In Matthew 12, 36 and 37, Jesus said, I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they've spoken for by your words, you'll be acquitted. By your words, you will be condemned. So the standard of his judgment, again, is the law of liberty. And God's law is completely fulfilled on our behalf by Jesus Christ, who took upon himself our sin and paid the penalty. And now we have liberty, the liberty to live for God and that comes through Christ. In Romans eight, verse two, it says, the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. And so he's been speaking about that. That's basically what he was sharing with us in verse 12, when he said, speak and so do is those who will be judged by the law of liberty. And then in verse 13, he had said, for judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy, mercy triumphs over judgment. So God freely without reservation grants mercy to all who would come to him in humility. Like it says in Psalm 86.5, for you Lord are good and ready to forgive and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon you. When someone withholds mercy, it's simply an evidence that they haven't received it. And Jesus said, it's the merciful who obtained mercy. And that way we can give what we ourselves have received. Somebody said, in the day of judgment, though justice might condemn every man according to the strictness of the law, yet God will cause mercy to triumph over justice in bringing those into his glory who for his sake have shown mercy to others. So if we don't receive mercy, we don't understand how to give mercy to others. And that's the backdrop. And that's what James is leading to now as we enter into verse 14. He's exhorting his readers to act mercifully. He's exhorting his readers to receive mercy. He's exhorting his readers to not just speak about God, but to live for him. He's been teaching them to live a life that's earmarked by good works. In James 1.22, he said, be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. And so being doers would consist of being swift to hear, slow to wrath, slow to speak. Being a doer would include laying aside filthiness and wickedness, bridling the tongue, visiting widows and orphans, keeping yourself unspotted from the world and not showing partiality to some people over others. And so he's been sharing about not only hearing but doing, and he continues to do that now as he is building on the theme of being doers of the word. And so in verse 14, he asks the question, what does it profit my brethren? If someone says he has faith but doesn't have works, can faith save him? What good is it if someone says he has faith but doesn't have any faith or rather works to prove that that faith actually exists? So James is saying that saying you have faith is one thing, but it's not the same thing as having a living faith. That's because it's easy to say that you believe. You see all too often today, there are many who have failed to understand what it means to be a Christian. There are many who don't realize that the Christian faith is a faith that's meant to be lived out and it's supposed to be the earmark of who you are. One of the authors that I like to quote is A.W. Tozer. And Tozer said, the idea that this world is a playground instead of a battleground has now been accepted and practiced by the vast majority of Christians. And that's true. So James is making it clear that good works will always be an earmark of true faith. We're not saved by good works, but salvation always produces good works. A life that avoids practicing evil and pursues what is good. Well, that's a life that reveals a sincere faith in Christ. It reveals Christianity. In Titus, when Paul was writing to Titus in chapter two, he said in verses 11 through 14, the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we're instructed to turn from godless living in sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with self-control, right conduct, and devotion to God while we look forward to that wonderful event when the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ will be revealed. He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin to cleanse us and to make us his very own people totally committed to doing what is right. So salvation is a free gift received by faith. It's not something that is purchased. It's not something won by human effort. It's something we receive like it says in Ephesians two eight and nine. It's by grace that you've been saved through faith. And this is not of yourselves. It's the gift of God and not by works. So that no one can boast. So James is making it clear that head faith, said faith, or even demon faith is not saving faith. There are people who have head faith. In other words, they have an intellectual awareness of what the Bible has to say. Maybe they have learned certain things in religious classes. Maybe they're able to recite certain things. Maybe they're able to speak concerning creeds and all of those doctrines of belief. And so when you speak to them and you ask them about Christ and all, because they've memorized a lot of information, they're able to repeat it to you and able to give orthodox answers and all. And that's what's called head faith. And then there are others who have said faith. When you speak to them, they'll say, oh yeah, I'm a Christian. Yeah, I go to this church. They might even be able to quote scriptures to you. But that's just a said faith. It's not the living faith. It's not a saving faith. It's simply a said faith. Something that they'll say if they're taking a survey perhaps and it says a religious persuasion. They'll write Christian. But it's not because they really are. It's because they say they are. And then you have, we'll see this in a moment in verse 19, you have what is called demon faith. Even demons believe the scripture says and they tremble. And so there are various aspects that we see related to that one word faith. But James is making it very clear that if you really have it, then your life is gonna show it. Because real faith is a faith that's lived out on a daily basis. Faith produces works, works of love. And these works demonstrate that a person knows God. In 2010, the Barna Group compiled a survey of opinions about Christians. And the results came from a cross section of those who were surveyed. In other words, not everybody was a Christian. There were just people being questioned and they were answering this survey. 20% of those who responded to the survey, 20% said Christians were violent and hateful in the name of Jesus. 13% disliked Christians for being against homosexual marriage. 12% were upset over sexual abuse scandals. 11% could not name a single positive thing about Christians. This reveals that Christians are often judged by stereotypes of common culture. It also shows that the institutional church is judged but not necessarily the individuals or our beliefs. Because you see many people don't have a friend who's a Christian, they don't have a relative who's a Christian. They don't know what believers do, they don't know believers personally, so they only have opinions. But what I found interesting about this survey was 25% could not name a single positive contribution made by Christians. 25, one out of four could not name one good thing a Christian has ever done. Isn't that interesting? One quarter of those who were surveyed could not name one single positive contribution of a Christian. So I did some research and let me read to you some things. No single group in human history has contributed more to education than Christians. No group in human history has contributed more to healthcare than Christians. Christians more than anyone else have contributed to the welfare and protection of children, beginning children's homes and pioneering modern social work. No other group in human history has fought the slave trade more than Christians. No other single group in human history has contributed more to the cause of charity than Christians or has worked to strengthen marriages or has advocated against infanticide or worked against abortion or child abuse. The church is the largest single provider of healthcare and education in the world, especially in some of the poorest countries. Christians began orphanages, built hospitals, started charities, founded universities, birthed the Sunday School Movement, established soup kitchens to feed the hungry, built nursing homes, cared for the homeless, provided medical aid for the needy. Medical missionaries traveled throughout the world ministering to the unsaved. Wycliffe translators have translated the Bible into more than 900 languages worldwide due to the fact that many languages are only spoken word. Christians have contributed tremendously to the well-being of this world because that's what we do. We do good works and that's what James is saying. We ought to be known by those things. James is saying that true faith is known for its works that glorify God, works that care for others. And it is by these works that spring from faith that reveal the genuine believer. So the question is asked here when it says in verse 14, what does it profit my brethren? If someone says he has faith but does not have works, can faith save him? So notice he says can faith save him? And this is where many begin to claim that James contradicts what is called the gospel of grace. We'll look at that in just a moment. But we need to remember that James is writing to Jews and that helps us to understand this question. You see, the Jewish people had a prayer. It was their spiritual creed. It's found in the book of Deuteronomy chapter six, verse four, where it says here, oh Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. Although they might make this statement, the statement without works is simply words. That's what James is saying. Simply repeat in a statement doesn't constitute genuine saving faith in God. You can say what you want, but if you're not doing things to back up your statement, James is saying it's just not true. It's not real. They may make the statement, but without works it's empty words. Simply repeat in a statement doesn't make you saved. It's not a genuine saving faith in God. They need to do the things that they're telling others to do. Jesus said that to the Pharisees. He said it to the scribes. In Matthew 23, two and three, Jesus said, the scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses's seat. Therefore, whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do. But do not do according to their works, for they say and do not do. So the hypocrisy that Christ approached at that time is something James is still speaking about. He says these are people who sit in a seat of authority, Moses's seat. Moses's seat was a physical seat within ancient synagogues where the scribes or Pharisees would sit during services. It was a place of authority. It was a place of judgment. And he's saying they are seated there as those who were authorities, but don't do what they say. And he said do what they say, but don't do what they do. Because they say one thing, but they don't do it. So they're saying that words without works are empty and good works must always accompany good words. And so he develops this by looking at verse 15 and he says, so we have a brother or a sister's naked in destitute of daily food. And one of you says to them, depart in peace, be warmed and filled, but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body. What does it profit? So he asks concerning that, if faith doesn't produce a life of good works, it's not genuine. Faith that doesn't motivate service to those in need isn't real. So his exhortation is that believers must not only speak words of faith, but live out our faith. And part of how we do this is through lovingly helping brothers and sisters in need. Galatians 6-10 says it like this, and therefore as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. This loving generosity was one of the earmarks of the early church. In Acts 2, 44 and 45, it says all who believed were together and had all things in common and sold their possessions and goods and divided them among all as anyone had need. But he says, if a brother or sister is naked in destitute of daily food, verse 16, one of you says to them, depart in peace, be warmed and filled, end of conversation. You do not, but you don't give them things which are needed for the body. What does it profit? Rather than pious cliches, we meet the need through faith when we have the ability to. Good works demonstrate the death of real faith. You know, I was thinking about this just today as was mentioned a little bit ago. We have our prison ministry. It was mentioned just a moment ago in our announcements and all. You know, Jose Vera is over that ministry. And Jose is quite a blessing to me in a lot of ways. I love him very deeply. He's on staff here, but he's not on staff here as the prison ministry over there. That's not what I hired him to do. If you walk out on the grounds, he and Sergio, but Jose is over this. And you look at the grounds. You look at the various, the tile work. You look at the trees, shrubs, things like that. If you go over here by the bookstore and you go and sit in that little meditation garden, those are things he did. He does those things. And I'm blessed by God for his craftsmanship. He's an amazing guy. And I love him deeply, but he has a heart for people in prison. Tremendous heart for them. So he represented our fellowship. He was asked to represent us by a group that he works with in Orange County. And they said, could you go to Washington in representation of the prison ministries? So he and Irene went, his wife Irene were in Washington, D.C. And they were there representing prison ministries. And in that, I'm very blessed that he did that and wanted to do that and came back with things that they spoke about and all. But he got back from Washington, got in his car and drove all the way to the Oregon border to Pelican Bay. And as I mentioned to you before, Pelican Bay is one of the toughest correctional institutions in the United States, if not the world. And yet he goes there and guys go with him. He came back from the East Coast. Three hours different jet lag, climbs into a car, drives for hours to get up there to minister to prisons. And in that ministry, these men who went there, 31 people gave their hearts to Christ. And that to me is a blessing. And that's called good works. And that's what James is talking about, doing good work yesterday. We had a woman's conference. We had a lot of ladies here. But you know what bottom line is? Is the overwhelming majority of the people who are serving here, volunteers. There's only a few, a handful that are paid staff. The overwhelming majority were people who took their day, came early, stayed late to do that. On Tuesday mornings, we have a men's breakfast. We discovered that men like burritos. And so we have people come and they actually come and they get here at five in the morning. And they go into our kitchen, these fellas, and they make breakfast for their brothers. 40, 45 men show up at six, whatever, and come for breakfast. This is all volunteer. These are guys who are volunteers. When you roll into the grounds here at the church and you have guys who point and say, could you park over here? Volunteers, none of them are paid. You walk in the door. And after dropping your kids off, we have two paid staff for children's ministry for your small children. All the rest, volunteers. When you come in here, you have people greeting you at the door. Volunteers. When you walk in, you have ushers who are helping you to find a place to be seated. Volunteers. Even our worship team only has one person who's paid. The rest are volunteers. This is what is called good works. That's how the church is supposed to work. The church is supposed to serve. And that's what James is saying. That's what he's pointing out. All of us have been blessed by these people that James is writing about. All of us. That there are people who say, I want my faith to be an act of faith. I wanna serve the Lord. You know, if you're in a small group, those are volunteers. We have hundreds. I think we have about seven to 900 people in small groups. They're all, the leaders are all volunteers. And so that's what James is talking about. He's saying these are the things that believers do. We have people who go to hospitals to do ministry. We have people who are volunteers here who are volunteers who actually have been trained to perform funerals. We have people who are trained to do so many things because we know that every member is to be a minister. And that's what James is teaching. So when he's saying if you say, but you don't do, he said there's a question that I have about that, whether or not you actually know the Lord. That's what James is saying. Because works are performed by those who are saved. Good works demonstrate the depth of real faith. Good works result in the outpouring of compassion, of personal attention, of proper priority, of loving others, of sacrificing of comfort, of sympathetic care, generosity of finances, of time, it's all part of being a Christian. It demonstrates the depth of your faith. As you serve him, James is encouraging them. If a brother or sister's naked destitute of daily food, one says to them, depart in peace, be warmed and filled. In other words, closes that conversation. But you don't give them the things which are needed. What does it profit? Thus also faith by itself. If it doesn't have works, he says it's dead. It's lifeless, it's just words. And so faith will produce good works. And because of the works, it proves itself to be alive. If there aren't any good works, it proves there's no living faith. We're not saved by works, but are saved for works. Ephesians 2-10 says it like this, we are God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. It's not that we have a list of you need to do these things for them to be good works, it's different than that. God prepared us to be those who do works. He saved us through Jesus Christ and by the understanding and awareness of what he's done that provokes us to go out and do something for him. It's like that. It's not a whole list of what I must do today in order to prove I'm saved. It's a fact that there are things that he has me to do that I'm willing to do every day of the week that demonstrates that I'm saved. And so verse 18, someone will say you have faith, I have works, show me your faith without your works. I'll show you my faith by my works. If you have no works, you have no claim to faith. These aren't separate, they're joined together. Faith must be worked out. Anything last is not genuine faith. You can claim to have faith, but I have works that prove my faith. Someone said there is no way to show we really believe in Christ, but by being diligent in good works from gospel motives and for gospel purposes. And then he moves on and he says in verse 19, you believe that there's one God, you do well. Even the demons believe and tremble. That's a pretty heavy statement, I'd say. True faith is deeper than simply intellectually agreeing with a statement of faith. This is what has resulted in so many people missing out on knowing Jesus Christ. They have a proper knowledge with no action of faith. Before I got saved, like many of you, if you'd approached me and you would have said, and it happened on a couple of occasions, two or three, if you'd have approached me to witness Christ. And again, remember this was back in the 60s into 1970. People were not during that period of time real open about faith. You may or may not know that. Some of you are old enough to know that. Some of you have perhaps heard that, but it's true. In the 50s, 60s, and 70s, early 60s into early 70s, they weren't open about their faith. Faith was always regarded as being something private. You kept it to yourself. You didn't talk about it. And then when the Jesus movement came, it changed everything. We became openly evangelistic, but it wasn't that way before. If you were a Christian, you kept your faith to yourself. And so when I grew up at the time that I was growing up, if you would have spoken to me, and I only had two or three people who were willing to do that, and they were Jesus freaks, by the way. But when that happened, I would argue with them, and I would talk to them, because I thought I was a Christian. Why? Because I was not. I don't know what your history is, and this is not an intentionally offensive thing to say. It's just true. It's my testimony. You may have been raised in a different way, and that's okay. I respect that. Mine was this. I was raised Catholic, like many people in this church. I was raised in a Catholic church. I was baptized. I received communion. I received confirmation. I went through the first three sacraments. You know, I did the sacrament of penance in the whole nine yards. I did all of that. I was raised there. And I went to my Catechism class at the age of seven and a half, eight years old. I got my first communion and went to confirmation classes at 12, and I knew the rudiments of Catholic faith and theology and all of that, and I held to it. So if you had spoken to me, I'd have been able to repeat the things I was taught. I was able to do that, like many of you. I was able to do that. So if you had said, do you believe the Bible is God's word? I'd have said yes. If you had said, do you believe that Jesus Christ is born of the Virgin Mary? I would have said yes. If you would have said that faith is necessary for a person to have a relationship with God, I would have said I agree. If you said that there's a place called heaven, I would have said yes. If you'd have shared with me a variety of things, those are all essentials and all fundamentals, and I would have agreed because intellectually, I was capable of doing that, like many of you. So when you told me I was lost, then we got in an argument. Because at that point, I would say to you, you're a Protestant. What do you know? That's fact. That's what I did. I don't know what you did. You're a Protestant. We're the first church. The Pope is the big honcho. You know, who are you? And we have the traditions. And I could argue those and I did argue those because I believed that I was a Christian. I really did. I just wasn't practicing my faith. I just wasn't. I was gonna one day marry a Catholic girl. I was gonna one day get right with God when I was like 80 or 90 and I couldn't sin anymore and I figured I might as well go now. I was gonna do that. And my hope for heaven was a good Catholic girl who would pray my soul out of purgatory. That was my only hope. And I'm not kidding. That's very real. That's how I thought. And I would have argued and I did when I was given an opportunity to have wood. And I would tell them these things because that's what I was taught. I had an intellectual. I had a head faith. And I even had a said faith because I would claim but I didn't have a saving faith. It was almost like a demon faith. You believe that there's one God that's good. Don't you know that demons believe in fear and tremble. They have a deeper fear of God than you. Why? Because God created the angels. They fell. They know who God is. Whereas you might be as a Christian I might be in a doldrum in some kind of despondency and I say I don't even know if he's there. They never say that. No demon ever says I don't know if I believe in God. No demon ever says that. Demons know there's a God where man might wrestle with it that demons don't. The demons know. James makes it clear. Demons know who God is. In Mark chapter one verses 23 through 25. Let me read to you. Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out. What do you want with us Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the holy one of God. Be quiet said Jesus sternly come out of him. Or Matthew 829, the men of the gatherings cried out saying what have we to do with you Jesus son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time? They know. They know, they identified him when the people around Jesus did not see him for who he is that demons knew and that's what James is talking about. You believe that there's one God. You have a creedal statement. Hero Israel, the Lord thy God is one. You believe this, you have a creedal statement and that's a good thing to believe there's one God not many gods because that's the cornerstone of Jewish religious faith. There is but one God. And you believe that. You need to remember demons believe in tremble. They're aware of the fact that they are gonna be tormented and that's why in Matthew 829 the question was asked have you come here to torment us before the time? They tremble at the name of Christ. They know who Jesus is and they tremble. We're unbelievers today don't. But he goes on and he says but do you want to know oh foolish man that faith without works is dead. Faith without works is dead. You see faith will always produce good works because if it doesn't it's not real. And so he illustrates it verse 21 was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar. Do you see that faith was working together with his works and by works faith was made perfect and the scripture was fulfilled which says Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. He was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works and not by faith only. Likewise was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way. For as the body without the spirit is dead so faith without works is dead also. We'll look at this for a moment. You see this is where people began to argue that the Bible contradicts itself. Notice verse 24 you see then that a man is justified by works and not by faith only. When I was first saved I was 20. I got saved in December of 1970 in March of 1971. I went into the army and when I was in the army I was doing basic training at Fort Ord. As a new Christian I began to, I went to the chapel and I met the chaplain his name was Chaplain Clark and I got to know him. I was a Jesus freak brand new Christian and I was instructed to read the Bible and that's what I did by habit. I'd been taught to do that and that's what I was doing and as I was reading the Bible I was reading the book of James. I had already read through the book of Romans and now I'm rereading the book of James and now I have this giant question in my mind and I still remember going to speak to Chaplain Clark. He ultimately is the guy who baptized me. I got baptized in the military on Fort Ord. And so I remember going to speak to him and I remember being seated in his office and I looked at him and I said Chaplain I have a real problem and my faith is being disturbed and he said what may it be and I said listen I said how come Paul says that it's all by grace and faith and how come James makes a different statement because James said a man is justified by works and not by faith only that threw me into a tailspin. I said I don't know how this works and maybe some of you I wonder if any of you ever read Romans and then read James later on and if you ever went into a kind of like a spiritual questioning a place tailspin even I wonder how many of you have raise your hand so I know what I'm talking to see the rest of you don't read see because you get questions when you read the Bible and I had questions how come it says justified by faith and James says justified by works perhaps you've wondered so do I I'm not gonna tell you let's pray let me explain it to you because Chaplain Clark I'll always appreciate him smiled at me when I said this crisis of faith and he gave me an explanation let me give you the kind of explanation that he gave to me this is not a contradiction it's a logical conclusion to an argument about works he's been saying that faith always produces works that are visibly seen and Abraham is used as a supreme example of a faith that worked when you read your Bible and you look all the way into the book of Genesis back into chapter 15 in Genesis chapter 15 verse six that verse says Abraham or Abraham believed in the Lord and he God accounted it to him for righteousness he believed in the Lord now when you're reading in chapter 11 into chapter 12 of Genesis you see that that Abraham was a believer from when he left what is called Ur of the Caldees at the age of 75 and he'd been a believer for over 40 years when he offered Isaac now people wonder about that now notice verse 21 was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar a lot of times people will think of Isaac and they think he was a small child Isaac was not a small child there are a lot of commentators who have postulated his age some say and I agree with this that he would have been over 20 probably as old as 23 when he actually was being offered up on the altar there are others who say that he probably was 15 or so because it would have been easier to sacrifice him when he was 15 because if you ever had a 15 year old and God said kill him you say yes Lord amen I'll show you my faith so they say he must have been a teenager but we know that he was older we know that he was able to ask questions related to the sacrifice he knew about it we know he was strong enough to carry the wood that was for the sacrifice so he was in a little boy he was older and so if he was 20 to 23 years old which he more than likely was and some say he may have been 30 that tells us that Abram has already declared to have had faith for 40 plus years so the sacrifice of Isaac is being mentioned here again verse 21 was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac that tells me that he's already been walking with the Lord and knowing God for over 40 years and yet according to Genesis 15 6 he believed God it was accounted to him as righteousness he believed God it was accounted unto him as righteousness he already was righteous when he offered his son and that's the point you need to remember the context of that and so as this is being presented it gives us insight into what Paul said to the Romans in Romans 4 3 and 5 Paul said what does the scripture say Abraham believed God it was credited to him as righteousness now when a man works his wages are not credited to him as a gift but as an obligation however to the man who does not work but trust God who justifies the wicked his faith is credited as righteousness so James is not saying Abraham's works saved him he is saying his works revealed his faith the word justified in verse 24 when he says you see then that a man is justified in this context the word justified speaks of vindication it speaks of a proof of righteousness in other words his supreme vindication of faith came when he offered up Isaac visible works justify invisible faith because what you believe you act upon and he's saying Abraham believed God his faith moved him to trust God to keep his promises because God had told Abraham that through Isaac the nation would be blessed Abraham believed him and he knew what God had promised would take place in Hebrews 11 17 through 19 by faith Abraham when God tested him offered Isaac as a sacrifice he who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son even though God had said to him it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead and figuratively speaking he did receive Isaac back from the dead it was an act of faith trusting the Lord he wasn't justified by the work but work that he did was based on faith and that's why it says in verse 23 Abraham believed God it was accounted to him for righteousness he was called the friend of God in verse 25 likewise was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way so you guys remember Rahab Rahab lived in a city called Jericho and she's an example of faith that is brought up she was a Gentile Abraham was the father of the Jews but he includes a Gentile in this picture and there she was in the city of Jericho it's recorded in Joshua chapter two that two spies had been sent in and they came and she took them into her house two spies from Israel came they were spying out Jericho and she took them and brought them in and protected them in her home and they were speaking these spies are speaking to her and she told them that she had heard that God had dried up the Red Sea and that God had delivered some powerful kings to the nation of Israel and she told the two spies that God your God is God in heaven above and on earth beneath so she was evidencing faith and she took them and she protected them and because of this faith well she hid the two spies and she received the mercy of God and what's interesting about her is no writer ever dwells on her past it's interesting they declare it this is what she was but no writer ever just rests on her path and wants to speak concerning the fact that what she was other than make you mention if that was her former life and that's how the Lord works by the way in your life too Rahab was a harlot, Rahab was a prostitute and yet when she came to faith in God that's not even remembered as a matter of fact but it's really a blessing about this is this woman who was a Gentile actually ended up in the line of Jesus himself in Matthew chapter one verse five she's included in his genealogy that gives you insight into what God will do to a life that's been transformed a life that has been forgiven a life of faith your past is not brought up to you it's not spoken of it may have been recorded and that may be obvious your testimony is there it's not going away but the bottom line is God doesn't remind you of it listen when you gave your heart to Christ and you said God be merciful to me as sinner I want you to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that all of your sins were forgiven that God doesn't bring them up he cast them into the sea of forgetfulness as far as the east is from the west so far as they separated your sins from you your sins have been covered by the blood of Jesus Christ you're alive in him and he doesn't remind you of him and that's faith that's what your faith is you have lived for Christ and so he speaks of Abram one who is willing to sacrifice a promise because he had more trust in the promiser than in the promise I did a whole study one time on sacrificing your Isaac a lot of people look at the promises and we forget to look at the promiser God is the one he is our inheritance all things come through him all things that he does in our life lead us to worship him more he forgives he leaves it alone and he transforms and what we do is we love him and we serve him so we're not chameleon Christians acting a certain way on the job site acting a certain way with our family but acting differently when we're with Christians we're always the same loving the Lord seeking God for everything serving him openly without shame like a rehab the more you're forgiven the more you love when you really come to realize when we really come to realize how much he forgave us and he forgave us everything and how many things we did that were so bad that he is covered with the blood how could you help and love him and so you're going to live for him it's not burdensome it's a joy and so he closes by saying as the body without the spirit is dead so faith without works is dead also if you really have a relationship with God you're going to serve him your works will demonstrate your faith you can say it and you can confess it but it's seen when you live it and that's what we're called to do