How Do You Prove that Your Faith Is Not Dead?

James 2:1-18 (selected verses)

1 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?

8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.

How Do You Prove that Your Faith Is Not Dead?

Is your faith alive? How can you tell?

I have a stethoscope here. Where could I put it to hear your faith’s heartbeat? Or maybe we take a trip up the road to the medical imaging center and borrow their MRI machine. Where could we see what your faith looks like?

It’s not that simple, is it? There is no body part that makes your faith function. But faith is a part of your life, and faith itself can be alive or dead. The question is, how can we tell the difference?

James gives us a few ways to know whether faith is alive or dead, and they might not be the first things you would have thought of. The two proofs that James mentions in chapter 2 that a person’s faith may be dead, or at least deathly ill, are snobbery and insincerity.

I don’t know about you, but those seem like rather minor things, don’t they? I mean, don’t get me wrong, they’re not good; I wouldn’t advocate for you being an elitist hypocrite, but are those really mortal sins?

James says so, and he reminds us that every sin is a mortal sin. You might have heard the way that Paul puts it in Romans 6:

For the wages of sin is death.[1]

This is the way that James puts it in the verses we read a moment ago:

If you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as law breakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.[2]

All it takes is one sin to make a person a sinner. All it takes is one hole in a balloon for that balloon to be totally useless. It’s not going to hold any air no matter how big or many holes it has. All it takes is one sin to make a person a sinner. And so, while the “big ticket” sins, like murder and adultery, may have greater consequences than snobbery and insincerity, they carry the same guilt.

A sin is a sin, and all it takes is one to make you a sinner.

But James mentions two and warns us against these two in particular because of how fatal they can be to your faith.

First, James says:

My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.[3]

Can you imagine making a poor person sit on the floor at church because they are “less than” some other more important person? I’ve seen Christians come up who in church and excited to hear about Jesus for the very first time – I’ve seen Christians come up to them and say, “You’re in my seat.” What does that say about who is more or less important?

I’ve heard church leaders – men who serve on church councils – talk about budgets and when the projected income is less than the expected expense, they say, “I guess we’ll just have to start doing more evangelism so that we get more people to give more money so we can pay our bills.”

Have your eyes ever gotten big when someone new comes to church – they have kids to support our Sunday School, they musical talents that can be used in worship, they have property on a lake you’d like to visit. That’s favoritism.

It’s not as rare as you might think, and it’s more serious than you might like to imagine.

Favoritism goes against everything that Christianity stands for. Favoritism forgets the forgiveness that God has given to you. God didn’t choose you because of your status, because you belong to his favourite segment of society, because of what you could offer him. James says:

Listen, my brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?[4]

God didn’t choose you because of how wonderful you are. He chose you because of how wonderful he is. He didn’t choose you because of how rich in worldly wealth or earthly ability you are. He chose you because of how rich in mercy he is. And in the riches of his compassion on sinners like you and me, who commit many more than this one sin of favoritism, he chose you to be his heirs, to make you members of his family by sending his Son to become one with you – to share flesh and blood with a sinner like you, to live and die for a sinner like you, so that a sinner like you could see the kingdom he promised as your eternal inheritance.

You don’t earn inheritances. They’re given to you because someone loves you. And God didn’t love you because of who you are. He loved you because of who he is.

You could be recovering from an addiction to alcohol, drugs or pornography. You could be a lifelong Christian or brand-new to the faith. You could young, old, male, female, rich or poor. God didn’t choose you because of who you are. He chose you because of who he is – a God who loves sinners of every shape and size, who doesn’t show favoritism, but who loves all of us equally.

That’s why favoritism is so fatal to faith, because it works in cross purposes to God’s unconditional mercy and grace.

But favoritism is not the only thing that can make your faith flat-line. The other mortal sin that James mentions is insincerity. Again, it’s not as rare as you might think, and it’s more serious than you might like to imagine.

That’s why James paints this picture of a homeless person without food or clothes. It’s preposterous to think that the “Christian thing to do” would be to say, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,”[5] but not do anything to help him.

And yet, don’t we do that? Don’t we sometimes say all the right things but then fail to do anything? James warns us that if your faith is not active, then it could be dead, or at the very least deathly ill.

Now, you don’t have to rake the leaves. That doesn’t have to be your expression of faith. You don’t have to give a monetary gift to a person in need. You don’t have to serve on the Refugee Committee, the Sunday School program, a service team, the altar guild, as an AV technician. You don’t have to install a speaker in the library, contribute to the new hymnals, sing in choir or play for worship. You don’t have to do any of those things to have a faith that’s alive.

But if you have a readymade list of literally dozens of various options for people of every talent level and time commitment, options that directly serve other people’s needs, and you don’t do any of them, what does that say about the vitality of your faith?

Now, I want to be clear about this – and this is James’ whole point – we cannot critique other Christians according to how much they contribute. Our contributions, our time, our money are not measuring sticks to compare Christians with each other.

But they can be a self-diagnostic tool, i.e. a way for me to judge myself – to try to put a stethoscope on my heart of faith, if that were a thing. How faint – or strong – is your faith’s heartbeat? Of course, you don’t have an organ in your body that you can measure. But you can look at what you do. Do I claim to have faith but don’t follow through? Do you say the right things, but don’t actually do them?

Looking at your own works, then, can be a way for you to do some self-reflection. And again, “works” does not necessarily mean volunteering at church. Church is not the center of the universe. You can show that your faith is alive by what you do at home, at school, at work, on the bus. You can show your faith by loving your spouse and caring for your children; by being a good employee at work or student at school. You can show your faith by the kindness you show to strangers, and not just lip service or when other people are looking. James’ whole point goes back to his first verse:

My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ...[6]

James appeals to your identity as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus didn’t just talk the talk, he walked the walk, all the way to his cross on Calvary. He did everything he said he would in his love for you. He won that inheritance for you by swapping places with you so that God could have mercy on you. He took the punishment you deserved for your fatal sins and gave you the right to be called children of God, just like he, your brother, is the one and only Son of God.

That’s why James calls him our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.[7] And that’s why James starts this section of Scripture reminding you who are in Christ. Your worth and value doesn’t come from what you do; it comes from what Christ has done for you. But it does matter what you do, because every action is a reflection and confession of your faith in Jesus.

So, go. Show that your faith is alive. Love your neighbour, not only as you love yourself, but as Jesus loved you – without prejudice or partiality, with sincerity and action. Be who James calls you – a brother or sister in faith, but especially a believer in our glorious Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Be who God has made you and show that your faith is alive by what you do, because of what he has done for you. Amen.

[1] Romans 6:23

[2] James 2:9,10

[3] James 2:1

[4] James 2:5

[5] James 2:16

[6] James 2:1

[7] Ibid

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The True Value of Worldly Wealth

Luke 16:1-15

1 Jesus told his disciples: “there was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his
possessions. 2 So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

3 “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— 4 I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

5 “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

6 “‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.

“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’

7 “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’

“‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied.

“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

8 “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15 He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.”

The True Value of Worldly Wealth

That Gospel Lesson for today was a doozy, wasn’t it? Jesus tells a story about a manager who was really bad at his job. The first thing we find out about him was that he was “accused of wasting his possessions.”[1] That’s not exactly the quality you want in the guy you’re asking to take care of your stuff, is it?

If I had a second house that I rented out and hired a landlord to manage the property, and I gave him $200/month to take care of it, but I came to find out that he didn’t spend it on the house – instead, he spent it on booze – I’d say the same thing to my landlord that the master does to his manager in Jesus’ parable:

“What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.”[2]

And then, as if the squandering, the wasteful wickedness of the past, weren’t already bad enough, this dishonest manager deprives his master of even more income by slashing the prices of what his master’s debtors owe him, just so that he, i.e. this despicably dishonest manager, would have a better chance of finding another job after he got fired for being really bad at his current job.

Now, we get that. We see that in life. We see people who are wasteful, who squander wealth, who steal from their employers, who manipulate and deceive their clients, and who do it all in their own self-interest. 

What we’re not used to seeing is Jesus praising people like that. But he does! To wrap up this parable, Jesus says, “The master commended the dishonest manager.”[3] How?? Why? What part of this horribly selfish person’s life is worth praising?

Only one thing:

“Because he had acted shrewdly.”[4]

That’s what God wants you to be. He doesn’t want you to be dishonest. He doesn’t want you to be wasteful or to squander the gifts God gives you. He doesn’t want you to be manipulative or deceitful or self-serving. He wants you to be shrewd. He wants you to see the true value of what he gives you and to use the things that he has given you wisely. He wants you to use the wealth he’s given you, but for a specific purpose and with a specific perspective.

Unfortunately, all too often we think like the dishonest manager from Jesus’ parable who was accused of “wasting his possessions.”

I’m a grammar nerd. Pronouns and their antecedents are my jam. So, when I read a sentence like this, I want to know whose possessions “his” refers to. Are they the master’s possessions or are they manager’s possessions? Grammatically, in Greek, it’s a little hazy. I think it was a little hazy in the manager’s mind too. That was his problem! He lost sight of whose possessions he was using.

We do the same thing. All the time. We like to imagine that we’re the masters of our own domains. I’m the king in my castle and I get to do with my stuff whatever I want because the sole reason it exists is to serve my every whim.

That’s a problem, because the reality is that none of the things you have in your life belong to you. They all belong to God. Even the things you worked hard to earn don’t truly belong to you, because you earned them on company time, so to speak. Or, to put it the way Moses did:

You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.[5]

We are managers of literally everything that is in our possession. They all belong to God, from the clothes on our backs, to the electronics in your pockets, to the cars in the parking lot. They all belong to God. He is your master; you are managing everything you have for him.

And just like with the dishonest manager from Jesus’ parable, a time will come when God will demand that you give an account of what he’s given you. What will he see? Will you be accused of wasting your possessions?

And this is the thing today – wasting your possessions doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re careless with your money. We can even waste God’s gifts by investing them in a low-risk, high-yield mutual fund, if we do it because we’re afraid God won’t provide for us without it, or if we’ve become accustomed to a certain quality of life.

It’s all about purpose and perspective. Why are you doing what you’re doing with the gifts that belong to God? What value do you place in the possessions God has given you? Are they there to serve you and whatever selfish, petty, fearful ambitions you might have? Or have they been given to you by God for a higher purpose?

Jesus answers that question for us. He says:

“I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”[6]

It may sound self-serving at first – “Use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves,” – but Jesus is just making a reference back to the dishonest manager. He used what little time he had left to make friends for himself so that when he was fired, he’d be welcomed into their homes. Jesus wants you to have a similar perspective, in these 3 ways:

1. Your time is limited. God only knows how long you have left on this earth, or with the things that he has given you now. Find some urgency in your management of what God has given you.

2. There is value to what God has given you – to make friends, to make connections. The question is, “Why?” So that you can have someone to talk to, hang out with? No! And this is the key –

3. So that you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Allow me to phrase it another way. Use your worldly wealth to make connections with people so that through you and the gifts God gives you, they can find out about Jesus, so that when you die, you will see your friends in heaven.

God wants you to be shrewd. He wants you to see that the things he’s given you have value far beyond cushioning your bank accounts. He wants you see that the gifts you manage for him have a purpose more noble than giving you pleasure. God wants you to be shrewd so that you can use what he has given you to bring salvation to the souls of those around you.

That means that even though it may be wise for you from a worldly point of view to work on Sunday mornings so that you can accomplish your financial goals and save for an early retirement (there’s nothing inherently sinful with saving or an early retirement, by the way), it may mean that you are squandering the time God has given to grow closer to him yourself.

That means that even though it is wise for you to invest in your children, you may be wasting that time by sending them to practices, games, sleepovers instead of giving up those good things for an infinitely better thing like Sunday School where they can be prepared to enter heaven with you.

That means that even though it can be wise to save up for a car, a house, a boat, a holiday, you can still squander the wealth God has given you by spending it all on yourself and not setting some aside for making friends you’ll someday see in heaven.

I could go on, but the point of Jesus’ parable is this:

1. Everything you have, truly belongs to God; you’re just managing it for him.

2. You have a limited amount of time, so make the most of it.

3. What God has given you is valuable, when you understand his purpose for it – to bring others closer to him, so that you can all welcome each other to heaven.

And this is the last thing I want to say. Jesus doesn’t tell you to do these things because he wants you to do his dirty work for him. He was willing to do all of this for you. He left his throne in heaven, gave up the greater glory, to become a poor carpenter and later on a wandering preacher. He could have spent his time on earth earning and saving, living in the moment or being a first century financial savant.

But he didn’t. Instead, he was willing to live a lower quality of life so that you could have eternal life. He didn’t own his own home. Oftentimes he didn’t even know where his next meal would come from, but that was OK, because Jesus was willing to use everything at his disposal to forgive you. He even gave up his life on a cross, to pay for all of your sins.

In short, Jesus wanted to be your friend and he spent everything he had to do that, so that when you die, the first friend who welcomes you to heaven will be Jesus. Use your worldly wealth so that when your friends die, the second friend they see in heaven is you.

God bless you and your wealth. Amen.

[1] Luke 16:1

[2] Luke 16:2

[3] Luke 16:8

[4] Ibid

[5] Deuteronomy 8:17,18

[6] Luke 16:9

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