Dead Faith Can’t Bless You | Lessons From the Lord's Brother Season 2

I just think about a lot of people that I know, they're Christians but their faith isn't alive to the place where their devotion to Jesus is being greatly manifested in their overall lifestyle. I mean, these are people I love, people that are committed to going to church, people that are sincere, but yet a lot of times nobody knows that they're believers except those closest to them because they're not living out their faith in the world by their actions. So James is challenging us and he's saying faith without works is useless. He said, what good is your faith if you have no works that are being evidenced by it? What use is it, I covered last time, if you say you believe but there's no evidence through your mortal body? Because we're going to be judged, the Bible teaches us, by the deeds that we've done in the flesh. So saving faith has to be manifest from the flesh. I know we have the story about the thief on the cross, he turned to Jesus at the last moment and Yeshua said to him, today you'll be with me in paradise. But consider this, the thief on the cross didn't have any opportunity to manifest any works because he was crucified that day. If he would have had an opportunity to be taken off that cross and given another chance to walk upon the earth, he would have had works because he had a saving faith. There's no such thing of faith without works and that's what James said in James 2.20. Faith without works, he said, is useless. It can't save you. It's not enough, you've heard this before, it's not enough just to believe the right things. Listen, James continues on, this is really powerful because we're so much taught that, you know what, we're saved by faith through grace and that nothing else matters and that's true. We're saved by faith through grace alone. A hundred percent, I am a grace, grace, grace teacher. I was saved by grace. But real faith that is given to us as a gift from God is alive and it will be manifest in the world by our works in the way that we live. We'll be alive in Christ. People will see, wow, there's something colorful in the Holy Spirit about that person's life. They have something I don't have. They see it by the way we live. So James continues to make his point that faith, if it's a real saving faith, will be manifest by obedience and your actions, the way that

we live and talk and love God. Listen to what he says, was not Abraham our father, how was Abraham our father? Because Abraham's the first believer, right? Jew and Gentile alike have their father in Abraham because Abraham was called a believer and was justified before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the father of all believers, both the uncircumcised and the circumcised because Abraham then went on to birth Isaac and then Isaac Jacob who became obviously the line of Israel comes through that seed, that bloodline. So Abraham is the father of all believers. So James says, was not Abraham our father, get this now, justified by works when he offered up Isaac, his son, on the altar? You say, Rabbi, but we're not justified by works, we're justified by grace through faith alone. That's true. But real faith is evidenced by works and if there's no works, the faith you say you have is not saving faith. And so if you really have saving faith, it will be evidenced by your action and when you complete faith by your works, when you let faith to reign through you, you'll be blessed. So James continues, was not Abraham our father justified, I didn't write this, he wrote it. You got to listen to what I'm saying. I'm not saying this. I'm reading right out of the word here. Was not Abraham our father justified by works? That's different than what many of us have been taught. Yes, we're justified by grace through faith alone, but real faith is evidenced by work and works, the obedience of faith, completes the salvation process. We believe in our heart and then we what? We do something. We confess. If you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, but it doesn't stop there, right? It says, and confess. You see your confession completes the saving faith and confess with your mouth Jesus Lord you'll be saved. Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son in the altar? You see that faith was working with his works and as a result of the works faith was perfected. Faith couldn't stay hidden. It had to be outworked by obedience. It says once again faith was working with his works and as a result of the works, get it now, faith was perfected. It's not until we cooperate with faith by obedience that God's

blessing is released through and upon our lives. James continues and the scripture was fulfilled which says and Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. Again it seems to contradict other portions of scripture. In fact Martin Luther, the great reformer, the founder of the Protestant Reformation, he didn't think that the book of James should be included in the Bible because he felt like the writings of James, particularly what I'm teaching on right now, conflicted with what he so believed to be true that man was saved by grace through faith alone. He couldn't wrap his head around what James was saying here and the reason Martin Luther had such a strong reaction to works is because he came out of the Catholic Church which taught salvation by works. You could even buy your salvation. So Martin Luther was so upset by this and he came to the revelation that man was saved by grace through faith that he couldn't wrap his head around James's writing when James said you see that faith was working with his works and as a result of works faith was perfected. And I'm gonna read it again then I'm gonna go to the book of Bereshit. And Abraham believed God and it was reckoned him as righteousness and he was called the friend of God. You see James continues and concludes that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. So I want to go now to the original context to which James is referring and that's in the book of Beginnings, the book that we call Genesis or we call Bereshit in Hebrew to where the Torah records the incident in which James is drawing from. So I'm going to Bereshit or Genesis chapter number 22 and I'm picking up here in verse 16 where Avraham was obedient to the Lord when Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh called him to sacrifice his son Isaac on the altar on Mount Moriah. So Abraham believed God and he was going to be obedient to God. He was just about to slay Isaac and God spoke and Lord said by myself I have sworn declares the Lord declares Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh Yahweh because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son your only son indeed I will greatly bless you and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the

heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed because you have obeyed my voice. So Abraham's faith was perfected by his works. It wasn't until Abraham acted that God said because you have done this thing Avraham and did not withhold your son from me I myself have sworn that I will greatly bless you and in your seed Avraham all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. So you see James says Abraham's works were working with his faith and perfected his faith and the same is true for you and I and so James used the example in the beginning of the chapter if you see somebody that doesn't have a nickel in their pocket has nothing to eat and you say God bless you but yet are not a blessing to them by doing something to literally help them in the here and now in the natural world James says what good is your faith that's not real faith and so on this is this is cause for us to continually say Lord tell me how I'm doing how am I how am I walking we always walking in a spirit of self-examination I strive to not to walk in a spirit of condemnation, but examination. Like, Lord, am I living up to my calling? The scripture says that we should walk worthy of our calling. And so James is helping us to do that. He's putting the magnifying glass of the Holy Spirit on our heart, wanting us to deal with our heart. He got done previously in the chapter talking about mercy. Are we living as people that show mercy? We need to monitor, am I showing mercy to people, Lord? Or is my attitude full of hate and condemnation or accusation?

And when I find myself in a spirit of accusation towards others, I need to repent. Say, God, help me, help me, Lord. Help me to walk in your love and your mercy. And similarly, now James is helping us to examine our walk with Hashem, Father God, by saying, now listen, let's talk about faith. You say you have faith, but does the world see that you have faith? Are you living in obedience to God's commands? Okay, let's move on. And so he uses the example of Rahab the harlot who was justified by her works when she received the messengers. Remember the spies that we read about in the Torah into her home. And so James concludes this topic by saying in verse 26, for just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. Baruch Hashem, amen? Blessed be the name of the Lord. Be encouraged. This isn't to condemn us. This is to help us, amen? To bring us up to the next level, to let us examine ourselves by the light of the Holy Spirit, to let the Holy Spirit examine us. You know, David prayed to the Lord in the Psalms. He said, test me, he said, and know me

and find out if there's any impure way in me and cleanse me and sanctify me and deliver me from all transgression. So this type of preaching, beloved, it's not to make you feel bad. It's to help us, to separate ourselves unto the Father and to live in the light of his word. What James continues now with something that's kind of interesting. In the third chapter, he says, let not many of you become teachers. Let me say it again. Let not many of you become teachers, my brother, knowing that as such, we will incur a stricter judgment. But James says something interesting. He said, let not many of you strive to become teachers because teachers are gonna incur a stricter judgment. We're gonna be held to a higher level of accountability. So I just want to say to those of you that are teachers, we need to measure ourselves by our calling. We need to walk worthy of our calling because we're gonna come into the light of God's spirit. Spirit, when we stand before him and there's gonna be more required of us than is going to be required of those that haven't been given as much. The scripture says as to him that's been given much, much is required. So if you've been given the call or the office of being a teacher,

there's more required of you. Your lifestyle and my lifestyle has to be more disciplined than somebody that's not a teacher. It doesn't mean that we're not all called to be conformed to the image of Christ, we are. But somehow as those that are leaders, we are called to model Yeshua and Jesus in a way that is excelling beyond someone that is not walking in this office. So I want you just to open your heart if you teach to recognize that you've been called as a soldier. I mean, a soldier when they entered the army, they have to live a disciplined lifestyle. I mean, they're all about service to the country. They're all about waking up in the morning and serving their country and the military service that has enlisted them. And so you and I, especially those of us that are teachers need to recognize that we don't belong to ourselves. And we can't just go live in a way that we're trying to get the most out of life in terms of looking to the world. We need to recognize that we are enlisted to model Christ to the world. Let's move on. He said, for we all stumble in many ways. This is the first way that not only teachers need to look at themselves and examine themselves, but all of us for that matter. For we all stumble in many ways.

If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man and able to bridle the whole body as well. So James is now moving to the topic of bridling what we say, bridling the tongue. And in the next episode, I'm gonna get more into some of the illustrations that James gives us. about this. But here James said, and what I just read, that he that bridles his tongue is able to direct the course of his entire life just by bridling his tongue. For we all stumble in many ways, if anyone, get it now, does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, now get this, able to bridle the whole body as well. So if you can control your tongue, you know what's going to come next? You're going to get a rain on your thoughts. You can't get a rain over your thoughts without first controlling your tongue. It's easier to control the tongue than it is to control your thoughts. You start with controlling your tongue. You don't let anything that proceed out of your mouth that's unwholesome, or that you sense is coming, get this now, from a wrong place. Listen to what I just said. Don't let anything come out of your mouth, my beloved son and daughter in the Lord, that's coming from the wrong place. You can feel it if you're open to the Holy Spirit. If you're looking to the Lord and willing to allow yourself to be examined by the Holy Spirit, your heart is open and available to the light of the Holy Spirit, and you're examining yourself in his light, you'll be able to tell when you say something whether it's coming from the right place. Why are you bringing that subject up? Why are you asking about that person? Is it coming from a pure place? Is it coming from a place of goodness? Or is it coming from a place of jealousy, hatred, pride, gossip? James says if you'll bridle your tongue and only let come out of your mouth what is good, you'll then be able to control your entire body and your thoughts will come into divine alignment. In the book of Numbers chapter 6, the Lord gave instructions to Moses and Aaron to speak this blessing over his people, and the Lord said when you speak these words over my people I will place my name on them and bless them. Receive the impartation of the Lord's blessings.

Yisra'el yahweh panayv eylecha vi'chuneycha Yisra'el yahweh panayv eylecha vi'chuneycha Shalom The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift you up by his countenance and the Lord give you, beloved one, his peace. God bless you and shalom.