title of faith
Contents
Faith offered (James 2:19-24)
James 2 compares faith without works like a dead person, and concludes that confessing faith with the mouth is not faith. In the 12 verses 14-26 around the text of chapter 2, the word works appears 12 times. And Abraham’s offering of Isaac to God (Genesis 22:10) and the act of faith in which Rahab, a Canaanite prostitute, betrayed the nation, but hid the spies sent by Joshua as God’s servants, and later saved her family (Joshua 2:11). ) emphasizes faith in action by giving examples.
There is a misconception that people like Luther make fun of the book of James, which emphasizes action, but the truth is, the emphasis on action is not for salvation, but the result of faith. Paul emphasized faith on the source of justification, and James is concerned with the results of that justification. Therefore, it does not mean that it conflicts with what Paul said about justification by faith.
Before the introduction of Christianity, the Korean church was already immersed in Buddhism and Confucianism, so it had a religiosity of ups and downs. I wanted and taught that way.
That's why I'm good at praying for something while walking around. So I have many testimonies of the experiences I've received. But, is this true faith?
Riding the wave of urbanization in the 1970s, material values began to take precedence over morals after the 1980s. In the 1990s, individualism expanded and became the era of individuality, breaking tradition and the status of leaders and becoming the era of so-called postmodernism, which is fundamental in many ways. is losing
What is the essence of Christianity? This topic is very important. Even if it seems like you believe in the great Jesus, there are cases where it has nothing to do with salvation, and you may not know the path of true blessing and may have a hard time as a human being. In today's text, we want to learn what works of faith are acceptable to God and justify. Through the text, I would like to share the word with the theme of 'faith in action' more specifically.
1. Belief that only believes and knows is null and void
19“Do you believe that there is only one God? You are good. Even demons believe and tremble.” We have heard many times that we can be saved if we just confess that we believe in Jesus. I'm used to it because it has a real Bible basis.
Romans 10:9-10 “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 With the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses and is saved. come”
However, the important thing is that you can speak with your lips with your religious psychology and your intellect. Therefore, salvation cannot be confirmed by focusing on only one Bible.
The prophets mentioned in Matthew 7:21 and below were well-known leaders who cast out demons and exercised many powers in the name of the Lord, but they could not receive salvation. This is because they deceived themselves and others with religious practices that deviated from God's law.
When the Jews came to believe in Jesus, they could not completely transform into Christians right away. They judge the world and people in the old legalistic way of thinking, and even if they become Christians, they quarrel over the issues of sabbath, food purification, and Gentile circumcision. did
And the biggest problem for them is that they say they believe, but their actions don't follow. In particular, the Jewish lawyers were believers with mouths that were right but did not act.
Luke 11:46 "Woe to you, lawyer, and you, lawyer, put on men a burden that is difficult to carry, and you do not lift a finger on this burden." Luke 11:46 says, "Woe to you, lawyer, and you do not lift a finger on this burden."
Matthew 23:25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, who clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of covetousness and debauchery.”
Matthew 23:3 “Therefore, whatever they say, do and keep it, but do not imitate what they do, for they speak only and do not do.”
As the leader of Jerusalem, the apostle James pointed out in a very critical tone, especially against the faith without works of the Jews, how can they be justified without works of faith?
Even today, there are many leaders in the Korean church who only talk. There are many people who teach that they should give the best to God, but do not give themselves to God. There are many funny people who encourage other people's children to go to seminary and do not send their own children.
The older a believer is, the more he is immersed in pretense without knowing it, the more he knows, the more he knows, the more proud he is, and the person who is good at criticizing the church is already a hypocrite, and he must repent.
2. Faith that accompanies concrete actions is important
To love your neighbor with only words is torturing your neighbor. It is a sin. It is said that there are over 300 million people in absolute poverty in the global village, and there are families in Korean society who are hungry for food with beggar children. It is a sin for church members to eat freely and throw away food waste while saying they are blessed. Even if it is far from helping North Koreans, how much do you want to help your neighbors right now?
If the Christian faith can be summed up in one word, it is love. The object of love is God first and then man. How do you express this love? It must be concretely the faith of me.
The Christian faith is a way of seeking and wishing for the beginning of faith in the same way as other religions, looking for the reason in my circumstances and thinking about the requirements. interpreted as faith.
Acts 20:35 “I set an example for you in all things, that you should labor in this way to help the weak and to remember that the Lord Jesus Himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Faith must show concrete actions. Therefore, there must be testimony and there must be traces of faith that was lonely. Just going to church is not faith. And what kind of experience is it? How you live is very important to your neighbors. Christianity is a participatory religion. It is not a philosophical religion that thrives alone and cultivates the way alone.
1) You must have faith in your actions to God
The example of Abraham is given in the text. Abraham was moved by God's deed of obedience by offering his precious son Isaac as a sacrifice according to God's command in faith, texts 2:21-23 "It is that Abraham our father was justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar. 22 And you see that faith worked together with his works, and faith was made perfect by his works. 23 Then the sutra was fulfilled that it was said that Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness, and he was called the friend of God. Did you get it?” he said.
A person who believes well in God is a person who knows how to give something to God rather than a faith that receives a blessing from what God has given him. What is the reason that we are called by God, that is, we are saved? The Bible speaks much differently than we think. Ephesians 1:14 “This is the guarantee of our inheritance, that we may redeem what we have obtained, to the praise of his glory.”
The psalm of David says the same thing. Psalm 23:3 "He revives my soul and leads me in the path of righteousness for his name's sake."
It means that our lives were created and saved for the sake of his name. That is why unbelievers criticize those who donate, dedicate time, and martyrdom to the church as a loss-making religious person. Remember? What are we giving the Lord? No, did you give me anything?
2) It must be the faith of giving to our neighbors
James 2:15-17 “If a brother or sister is naked and has no daily bread, 16 if any of you say to him, “Go in peace, keep warm, and fill yourself up, and do not give him food for his body, what profit is it?” 17 So faith without works is dead in itself.”
Matthew 5:16 “In this way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good deeds and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” refers to the overall good life of the saints. I'm talking about treating you like Jesus. The Lord said so.
Matthew 25:40 "The king answered and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."
Likewise, Rahab, a Canaanite prostitute from Jericho, recognized the spies sent by Joshua as men of God and protected them. He betrayed the people of the world and served God's people, but he is recorded in the genealogy of the ancestors who gave birth to Jesus.
Matthew 1:5 “Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth, and Obed fathered Jesse.”
3. Faith Is Loyalty
The word faith is translated as "pivsti", which translates as trust and loyalty. This is not commonly understood as believing in God is the same as being loyal to God.
Text 21 When we say, “Was not our father Abraham justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?” The word offering means to put it on the altar (Anaphero, ajnafevrw), and it also means to lift oneself up. do.
To believe is not simply to trust and benefit from God, but to give thanks to God and give your life according to God's will is the essential meaning of biblical faith. The Bible says that whatever we do as Christians, we ourselves Romans 14:8 “If we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.”
Faithful faith is the faith that gives me. A life of giving to God, loving people, and sacrificing life is biblical loyalty. But what about us today? How often do you pray for the kingdom of God and your neighbors while praying for yourself and even fasting for the world? Rather than lighting a hundred lanterns to illuminate the light, you can turn on one lamp to make it brighter. The light of the believer that God said is not in the quantity, but in the quality.
Today, we live in an age of all-knowledge, and we speak and say we believe in God, so we cry out for Amen and Amen during sermons, but there is no action. Rather, it should be a giving faith, and this is a faith that shows an act of loyalty. It must be a faith that is devoted to the Lord, a faith that gives oneself to the neighbor according to the word of the Lord, and a faith that is given through actions.
I pray that you and I will be recognized by God for the faith we give to the Lord by sacrificing our possessions and spirit, who faithfully dedicate ourselves to God and people in faith by following the actions of Abraham and Rahab.
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