Considered Righteous

James 2:25-26

We've made it. Today we look at our last point from this week's passage. James offers another example of faith in action from the beginning of the Old Testament. Yet, unlike the powerful patriarch of Abraham, the second example is a pagan prostitute, Rahab. If you are unfamiliar with Rahab's story, you can find it in beginning of the book of Joshua. The specific part that James refers to here is found in Joshua chapter two. Rahab was a pagan prostitute living in Jericho at the time Joshua sent two spies to evaluate land for the beginning of the conquest of Canaan. Rahab not only protects the spies, but offers a powerful statement of faith in the one true God of the Hebrews. She admits that the Lord God of Israel is the one true God and that He has given the land of Canaan to His people, the Israelites. It is one of the longest statements of faith in God made by a woman in the whole Bible! Again, James tells us that Rahab was "considered righteous" and we have to ask by whom? Like Abraham, I think the right way to read this is that she was "considered righteous" by the people of Israel then and now because of her actions. Her heart was considered righteous by God when she placed her faith in Him. That is a moment we as other humans can never really see in anyone else. We only look at the exterior of a person, but God sees into the heart. So, when we are talking about Rahab's outward actions of faith, and being considered righteous, it the people who view her as righteous for her actions. Like Abraham, Rahab had a moment of decision prior to the event in question and her sheltering of the spies was because of her faith, not the establishing of it. We should take a lesson from both Abraham's and Rahab's examples and act from a place of faith and realize that our behaviors should be motivate by our beliefs. 

Prayer:
God Almighty, You and You alone see my heart. You know that kind of faith I have even better than I do. Please help me to grow in my faith and direct my behaviors to follow it. Use me as an ambassador for Your love and grace in my family, friends, church, and community. Amen. 

Reflection: 
How do your behaviors reflect on your beliefs? 

How much influence do your behaviors have over your beliefs? 

What changes are you going to make this week to grow? 

Abraham's Righteousness

James 2:20-24

Has this week been challenging at all for you? It has for me. Thankfully, James takes a break from the next level truth that he has been dropping on us and gives us two examples of faith from the Old Testament to illustrate the points he has already been making. In our reading today, we first look at Abraham, the lead patriarch of the Jewish people. Remember in the opening verse of the book of James we saw that "bad things happen to good disciples". It is to these Jewish disciples that he now appeals to their Scriptures, which we call the Old Testament to show that faith in God hasn't changed. In the example, James focuses in on Abraham's moment of faith on Mount Moriah when God asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac. James tells us that Abraham was considered righteous because of "what he did". This is true, but we need to be careful to ask, "considered righteous by whom?". If we go back to the full story of Abraham, we see that the first time Abraham is considered righteous by God it is 30 years before this mountaintop moment. Abraham is viewed as righteous by God back in Genesis 15:6 when all he did was believe God. This is a great example of faith alone! 30 years after Abraham placed his faith in God, then he is asked to ascend Mount Moriah with his son. So, who is really observing Abraham and "considering him righteous" because of the mountaintop moment? People, others Jews, not God. The Jews as a people considered Abraham righteous because of the way he exemplified his faith in God. When James says that "a person is considered righteous by what they do" he is referring to the way people view other people as righteous, not the way God sees them. 

Prayer:
My God and King, I am not sure how others view me. I want them to see You when they look at me. Please help me to reshape my life and behavior to reflect You in my lifestyle. Amen. 

Reflection: 

Do your family and friends consider you to be a righteous person? 
What actions or behaviors does your life have that are righteous? 
What actions or behaviors does your life have that are not righteous? 

What will you change this week? 

Not Just Knowing

James 2:18-19

What is the relationship between the knowledge of the mind and the faith of the heart? This is another question I don't think we ask enough in the modern day American Church. Belief in Jesus must be more than the mental knowledge of the Bible. This is what James addresses is his second rhetorical question. The person making this statement isn't real, though it could have been an objection that he was expecting, so he chose to address it here. The fact that someone would claim to have faith that has no evidence in their lifestyle is possible. I would say as much time I have spent serving the Lord's in His Church, it is a very real thing. The first part of this argument relates the illustration of the belief because of the behavior. But, this is a double edged sword, because someone who does not have faith in Jesus can also do a "good" thing for someone. So, just because someone performs a helpful or merciful act for someone does not by itself mean they did it because of their relationship with Jesus! Atheists can also be faithful wives and husbands. Muslims can care for the sick and wounded. Wiccan's can serve in soup kitchens and help the homeless. Don't make the mistake of thinking that only Christians can do good works. That is just plain wrong. However, only Christians can do those same actions in order to display and share the love of Christ. An Atheist would not willingly choose to share Jesus, nor would the Muslim or the Wiccan. In the second part of our reading today, we see James addressing directly the belief in "one god". This was important because at the time, people believed in any number of God. The Greco-Roman pantheon was filled with gods and goddesses, as was many of the other cultures around the area. Judaism, from which Christianity was born believed in one and only one true God. But, as James points out, just saying that one believes that there is only one God is not enough. Even demons do that! The point again is that the beliefs of the Christian community are designed to penetrate and permeate their behaviors! We are supposed to live a lifestyle that demonstrates what we believe aside from our words. 

Prayer: 
Heavenly Father, I know I have failed You many times. Please help me to rid my lifestyle of things that are not in line with your desires for my life. I want to be a walking, talking, living, breathing, billboard of Your love. Lead me Lord, I am ready to follow. Amen. 

Reflection: 

Are there things you "know" about God or Christianity but you don't live out? 

Why is that? 
What are you ready to change?   

Earthly Good

James 2:15-17

What good is your faith? Have you ever thought about what that means? Anyone who has heard the Gospel preached understands the idea that Jesus is the Savior Messiah who paid the price for our sin that we could not pay for ourselves. But, what difference does that make today or tomorrow? This question is not one of eternal value, but earthly value. What good is your faith today or tomorrow for you, your family, your neighbor, or your friend? This is what James is getting at. To make the point clear, he offers a rhetorical question to his readers. Suppose someone is in need of clothes and food... does telling them to "go get some" make a real difference? The obvious answer to the question is no, not it doesn't. So, then, according to James the words, "go, get some" don't do any real good. The person who is saying them might genuinely believe they need food and clothes. They might even really want them to have some. But, the simple fact of saying something doesn't really do any good for the person who is in actual need at that moment. To this somewhat obvious truth, James then adds, "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action is dead." This is usually the place where people begin to get upset and think that James is trying to teach a "works-based" faith. But, the reality is that he is not. He is merely illustrating that if our faith is no more than beliefs that don't translate to behaviors, than it's not doing any earthly good for anyone else. Remember that serving others is part of the mission of the Church. If our faith is just an intellectual thing, than we are missing a huge part of the mission Jesus left for us to do. 

Prayer: 

Holy Spirit, please touch my heart and give me a desire to serve others. Use me as a living breathing testimony of who You are and what You have done in my life. Amen. 

Reflection: 
What actions have you seen others do that illustrated their faith in Christ? 

In what ways have you seen the love of Christ demonstrated to others? 
What actions will you do this week to show Jesus to someone else? 

Beliefs & Behaviors

James 2:14

How does what we believe affect the way we behave? This is the question that we will be looking at this week. Thankfully, this is not a new problem for followers of Christ. James illustrates this powerfully for us as he wrote to encourage and instruct the early Christians. In our verse today, we see his famous (maybe even infamous) question on the relationship between faith and deeds, or as I prefer to say it, between our beliefs and our behavior. I want to make sure we notice something important about this verse. James actually asks two questions. The first is what "good" is a belief that does not affect a behavior. The second question is whether the belief that does not affect behavior can save a person. The first question is asking something slightly different from the second. To make the difference a little more clear, we can view James's first question as asking about the "earthly good" and the second question focusing on the "eternal salvation" of faith. This is really important to get clear, because so many over the years have attempted to argue that James is teaching something other than salvation by faith, which is a clear Biblical principle. He's not. James is asking two different questions about faith. The first, is if we say we believe but don't behave according to those beliefs, what good is that to us or anyone else on this earth. The second question is whether an "action-less faith" can still be a saving faith. The earthly question is the focus of rest of his teaching on the matter. Interestingly, James does not attempt to answer the second question. I think the reason for this is obvious, James is not qualified (nor are any of us really) to tell God what kind of faith is and is not worthy of His grace. That's His job. So, for the rest of the week, let's leave this question alone and focus where James does. How does what you believe about Jesus affect the way you behave? 

Prayer: 
Jesus, I believe that You my Lord and my Savior. I believe that You died, rose, and have paid the price for my sin. Please help me to behave like I truly believe this. Amen. 

Reflection: 
If your life were a silent movie, would it be a Christian film? 
What do your behaviors say about your beliefs?