Week 7 Showing Our Faith
14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?
17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
18 But someone may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works."
James 2:14-18 (NASB)
"What They Lack In Congregation, They Make Up For In Faith" by Peter Kurdulija is licensed under Creative Commons 4.0
Background
Quote- Thomas Merton (January 31, 1915 – December 10, 1968) was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, social activist, and scholar of comparative religion. On May 26, 1949, he was ordained to the Catholic priesthood and given the name "Father Louis". He was a member of the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, near Bardstown, Kentucky, living there from 1941 to his death.
Merton wrote more than 50 books in a period of 27 years. Among Merton's most enduring works is his bestselling autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain (1948). His account of his spiritual journey inspired scores of World War II veterans, students, and teenagers to explore offerings of monasteries across the US. It is on National Review's list of the 100 best non-fiction books of the century.
Passage- The book of James is a General Epistle (Apostolic Letter). James the half-brother of Jesus wrote it approximately 48-49 A.D. It was likely the first New Testament book (letter) to be written. The key personalities of this book are James and Persecuted Christians. James wrote this book to Jewish believers to encourage them to endure and live bold Christian lives. James is a book about practical Christian living that reflects a genuine faith that transforms lives. In many ways, it is similar to the OT book of Proverbs.
Lesson
Opening Statement
Faith without works is dead, but so too works without faith are dead to the kingdom of Heaven as well. One cannot be without the other. As followers of Christ this becomes a circle we either need to jump start or break. In either case, change is coming both in spirit and in flesh.
Ask: What gets people to Heaven?
Point: First Reading (John 14:1-6 (NASB)
Ask: What does Jesus mean that He is the way, the truth, and the life? How do we “…comes to the Father…” through Him?
Point: We get to God, to Heaven by having faith that Jesus is who scripture tells us He is, did what scripture tells us He did, and said what scripture tells us He said.
Ask: What are “works”?
Point: Works are the things we do as a result of our faith. Works are the things that we are driven to do because Christ has completed a new thing within us.
Second Reading (2 Corinthians 5:12-21 (NASB)
Ask: The point from that large reading needs to be broken down and kept in context of verse seventeen with Christians as followers of Jesus being remade as a new creature. What does that mean to be a new creature?
Point: The answer lies in the passage. Re-read verses 12-16 with focus on verse 16.
Ask: “Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh” what does this mean?
Point: The outside of the cup, the body or appearance of a person isn’t what we should look at. The character, the intentions, the heart of a person are more important to Jesus.
Ask: What should we do with this idea of being a new creation and caring more about the hearts of other people over their outward appearance?
Point: The answer is inside the Second Reading. Re-read verses 17-21 with a focus on verse 20.
Ask: When we have faith that the sacrifice of Jesus recreates us as an ambassador to look at people in a new way, how does that change the things that might be called our “works?”
Point: The answer is unique to each of us and lies within the uniqueness of our personal experiences. Those experiences change how we talk with, approach, and relate to other people.
Ask: How should being recreated as a new thing change us as individuals?
Point: Third Reading (Matthew 23:24-26 (NASB)
Ask: What does it mean to clean the inside of the cup and how does that clean the outside as well?
Point: If we change our heart, naturally our actions, words, and thoughts follow.
Closing Statement
What does showing our faith mean? It means first changing our heart so the motivation behind showing the faith comes from the right source. What is the right source? Jesus. How do we get more Jesus in our heart as the right source? That is for each of us to discover on his or her own. However, what it means for all of us is that we need to be willing to change. Willing to change anything and everything in our lives God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit decide we need to change. This then alters the outside of the cup to become more reflective of what is inside the cup. Anything else means we are reflecting things Satan cares about rather than what God cares about. This is why we need to look not at the flesh but at the spirit. This is why we need to let Jesus make us into a new creation.
Questions for the Week
How do you show your faith so the world can see their way out of the darkness?
How can you show your faith more?
Scripture
First Reading
1 "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.
2 "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
3 "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
4 "And you know the way where I am going."
5 Thomas *said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?"
6 Jesus *said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
John 14:1-6 (NASB)
Second Reading
12 We are not again commending ourselves to you but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart.
13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you.
14 For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died;
15 and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.
16 Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.
17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,
19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
2 Corinthians 5:12-21 (NASB)
Third Reading
24 "You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
25 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.
26 "You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.
Matthew 23:24-26 (NASB)