James 2 - wk4

"Show My Faith By My Works"

James 2:20-26

Dr. Gary Singleton

 

Have you ever had something that turned out to be useless?  A flashlight is a great thing to have when the power goes out.  But if it doesn’t have any batteries, it’s useless!  Your car is probably one of the most useful things that you own.  You count on it to get you everywhere you need to go.  But if you can’t find your keys, it’s useless!
 
This Sunday we will wrap up our sermon series from James 2, and James tells us that it is possible to have authentic faith … a faith that saves us from hell and gets us into heaven … and that same faith can be completely useless.  How is that possible?
 
In James 2:20, James makes this statement:  “… faith apart from works is useless.”  What “works” is he talking about?  He’s talking about sanctification – the ongoing work of being made more like Jesus.  It’s not enough just to believe in Jesus.  We have to follow Him.
 
I hope you will join me Sunday as we wrap up our time in James.  Faith without works is useless, but faith with works transforms you and the world around you.