Title: Factualization of Faith
2012. 4. 15 Sunday morning worship service
Bible: James 2:19-22
Title: Realization of Faith
James 2:19-22 ‘19. Do you believe that there is only one God? You are doing well. Even demons believe and tremble. 20. Do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is futile?
21. Was not our father Abraham justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22. You see that faith worked together with his works, and faith was made complete by works' - Amen.
This book is an exhortation to the Jews because James, a Jew, was already converted to the Jews who were already immersed in formalism, but they are also hypocrites as Christians. It is because they believe they do not show the works of faith. How do we make the faith that the Bible speaks of? I would like to share a message with the topic of <Realization of Faith>.
1. Knowing is an idea
There's a difference between acknowledging someone that way and respecting and following him. James 2:19 “Do you believe that there is only one God? You are good. Even demons believe and tremble.”
Demons do not honor God, but they know that there is only one God, just like demons.
1) Logic speaking as a philosophy - a theoretical God - does not become a religion.
2) Mysticism - Falling into the mystery appropriate to a person's religiosity - Religiousization
3) Religious and cultural traditions - What has become a religious culture because of the tradition of that religion (Judaism's elder inheritance, Korean ancestor worship, folk beliefs...)
Inside the church, there are many members who misunderstand that they believe in God with ideas other than the Bible, mainly because they are caught up in mysticism and recent psychological philosophies.
2. Contents that will appear as a fact of faith
If you believe in God as your Creator, then it is natural for you to personally experience a new creative self-actualization when you meet Him.
James 2:20 “Alas, foolish man, do you want to know that faith without works is futile?” The word vanity means empty emptiness, and vainness means that there is no income because there is no farming. James 2:26 “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead.”
Matthew 7:20 “Therefore you will know them by their fruits”
1) Spiritual joy through salvation (eternal life) from which sins are cleared
The foundation of salvation in Christianity is eternal life salvation. The joy of the soul freed from sin and curse is expressed outward. This is the fruit.
John 4: A Samaritan woman found Christ and preached with great joy.
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
Romans 8:2 “…for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death”
In verse 21, we take the example of the obedience of faith that Abraham offered his son. Abraham's heart when he offered up his son, Hebrews 11:19, "He thought that God was able to raise Isaac from the dead, so he received him back from the dead, figuratively."
A very special understanding that Christians will live even if they die if they obey the Lord throughout their lives is faith, and that is what they do.
2) Trying to receive spiritual guidance
To become a Christian is to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit before being a religious cultural person following a special culture of any religious group, so we earnestly seek the spiritual guidance of God. There are those in the church who want to do God's work with worldly power or personality. It is not the fruit of faith.
Romans 14:17 “The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
3) A new and shining cultural life
Jesus called the saints the salt and light of the world (Matthew 5:13-14).
A new cultural style does not mean that we live a life that the world considers strange, but rather that we can set an example for the world, demonstrating a social consciousness that is very reasonable, just, and straight forward.
In the world, success is the only way to live unconditionally, but the Bible tells us that freedom, knowing how to face both poverty and abundance, is the realization of faith (Philippians 4:12-13).
And you will build a creative and progressive life. Believers in Jesus are also culturally advanced. It is God's will to move forward.
It is not right to say that you have good faith and continue to cause problems in society or continue to live in a state of cultural deprivation. We need to express our faith by empowering life itself, not just morally possible. We pray that we will become proud enough to know who believes in Jesus and who is spiritually proud of our lives.