Sunday 09/09/12 RWJ/Pottersville UMC
Sermon: “Faith without works is dead”
(Growing in faith series, Part 2 of 6)
Scripture Lesson: James 2:1-10 (11-13), 14-17
Gospel Lesson: Mark 7:24-37
Good morning brothers and sisters! I greet you in the name our risen Lord and savior Jesus Christ! I hope and pray that you have all had a blessed week and I am happy to be worshipping with you here this morning!
This morning I am continuing on in my six part series called the “Growing in faith series.” In the first part of this six part series I talked about “Walking your faith vs. Talking your faith.” In this message, I spoke about how the Christian Church as a collective whole can better live out its mission for Jesus Christ. That if we as a church and a community of believers truly walk our faith, then we could make sure all those who are disadvantaged and struggling would be looked after. If more people who believe, but are not in the church, would come and take up the cross of Jesus Christ with us daily, we could really change this community and the world for Jesus Christ!
This morning though, I want to talk about serving people, as I did last week, but specifically I want to talk more about what we do as individuals. I want to address the incorrect idea that we can work our way to heaven. That whoever does the most good deeds for the Lord is the winner in heaven. That Jesus has a “Good Deeds” ticker, and we are somewhere are that numbers board. Given this then, how do we get to heaven? What purpose if any do we do good works? As the scripture from the Book of James said this morning, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works?” In this scripture, I think James is saying faith is good, but why stop at just faith? I mean after all, if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior we have salvation don’t we? According to Paul’s Epistle or letter to the Romans in chapter 5:1, “Therefore, since we have been made righteous through his faithfulness combined with our faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” We know then that faith is enough. By faith we accept the grace of almighty God, and we are justified before the Father on the Day of Judgment.
Here is what I don’t understand though? How can some believers, know God, accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior, and do nothing with that? I mean most believers know what Jesus has done for us, know what Jesus did for countless people while he was alive on this earth, and yet some of us are content to just keep our faith locked up in a small box in our house. On the other end of the stick, some people feel inclined to do good works for the Lord day and night, feeling they are never good enough before almighty God. For me, I do the good works I do, not because I am seeking good favor from people, not for a pat on the back from people, but I do what I do because I feel compelled by almighty God to serve. How can we be saved by Jesus Christ, and not have an inner drive to serve and love one another? In accepting the life saving message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, are we not filled? Are we not loved beyond all comprehension?
I serve not because I seek favor from people, not because I am trying to over write old wrongs or old sins, but I serve because Jesus Christ has called me by name. He has said, “Paul my son, will you serve my people?” “Will you as scripture says, “feed my sheep?” I hear Jesus whispering to me in moments of doubt, “live my Gospel.” “Feed my sheep.” Do I believe that if the Lord took me home right now that I would be justified before Him, because of my faith in Him? Even, if I had no good works? I do. I can imagine the Lord looking at me in heaven lovingly in such a moment though, saying “Paul you had faith in me, so you may enter. Hey Paul, just one thing though before you enter though?” Then I turn back and say, “Yes Lord?” Then He says, “Paul why did you not do any of the kind and loving things that I taught you to do? Paul did you not love me enough to serve my people? Was my sacrifice not enough for you?” James in his epistle or letter, said “But be doers of the word and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.” Good works do not get us to heaven brothers and sisters, but if they are done for the Lord and the Lord alone, the Lord will bless us for this service. I can imagine the Lord saying in this instance when I enter heaven. “Paul you weren’t perfect. You were a sinner. You could have done more, but you did so much to serve me. Well done my good and faithful servant! Enter into glory my son!”
Let me tell you something about me. I love it, I love, when I see someone’s faith grow. I love it when I see tears of joy roll down someone’s checks because they know Him! Many of us in this church might feel like all we do is serve the church, and that we do, is do, and do some more. You know at the Moravia/Locke United Methodist Church that my wife and I attended for seven years before I came here, I served in a multitude of ways. I ran youth groups, taught Sunday school, lay lead, preached, ran car washes, was part of the United Methodist Men’s Club, and I did many other things. I didn’t receive any pay for any of this work, other than baked goods from the women in the church! This was actually a pretty good payment though! I thought at the time that always did what I did for the Lord and the Lord alone! Sometimes though, now looking back, I realize that I did some of what I did, out of obligation. Or out of a desire to get an earthly pat on back. There were times when I told Melissa, “honey I’m tired out.” I have been “doing and doing for the church, and I am tired out.” I felt like the work I was doing was all for not. In fact, I said to my wife at times, “why am I doing all of this for the church?” She in her great wisdom and higher intelligence then mine said, “I don’t Paul why are you?” I mean it’s a competition is it? Whoever serves the most wins right?
No this is not true, and instead we should serve because almighty God has called us serve Him. In the Gospel of Mark reading this morning, Jesus cast out an unclean spirit in a girl, and made a deaf man hear and speak clearly. Jesus healed, feed, loved, rose people from the dead, and restored hope where hope was lost.
We can’t be Jesus 100%, but we can seek to be like Him. We can love each other, preach the Gospel, and serve the needs of our neighbors. For the Gospel says plainly when Jesus spoke the greatest commandment. In the Gospel of Mathew 22:37-39, Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” Many of you here today might say though, well pastor what of sin? What of judgment? Make no mistake scripture says that our sin, and our wrongs will be held to account on the Day of Judgment but we know we are as the Book of Romans says, “Justified by faith.” While we must constantly seek to not sin and repent to the Lord daily, we are justified by faith. So you can see then how it is easy to over serve, and I’m sure you can also see how it’s possible to under serve. You might say then, “What is the best method Pastor for doing good works?” Here is my answer to you. Number one always start with daily prayer, and take a moment of you own personal silence everyday to listen for the Lord. In fact, tonight throw your shoes under your bed tonight. This way when you get up tomorrow morning, you will have to start your day on your knees. As I heard a preacher say once, “When you are on your knees your taller than trees.” Second read the scriptures every day, and third be with the people of God. In the process of all that, do what the Lord has led you to do! Don’t go crazy with service if you have not been called to! If you do you will just burn yourself out, and then you will not be any good to anybody. Even Jesus in the Gospels took time to rest. Sometimes the Gospels would say things like “Jesus went off on his own and rested.” “Or Jesus took some of the apostles and rested.”
You see the point of this sermon is that we cannot work our way to heaven. Heaven according to scripture is open if you but believe. We do however think that baptism and communion is essential. By being baptized you are part of the church, and by taking communion you are spiritually fed. In my mind these two are not negotiable. They are required for moving towards the fullness of our faith. This is why I think many folks who are not church folks, often still get their children baptized, because they see the necessity of it. I know an older pastor who used to joke around by saying, “If you have a new family with young children that you don’t want in your church, and you want to get rid of them, baptize their kids.” I said to that pastor, “Well what does that mean?” He of course was joking, but he said, “Sometimes in my churches a young family would start to attend for awhile, and after baptizing their sons or daughters, they would stop coming.” People didn’t want to take their faith to the fullness of what Jesus Christ wanted.
You see, just because many don’t come to church, I still think many out there believe. Yet many have accepted this baseline faith in Jesus Christ. They say, “I believe.” Yet they might not be involved in any of the charities and good works of the church. Jesus’ brother James would probably say to them, “you faith is dead if you don’t live it.” You see we serve the Lord not for “Heavenly brownie points,” but because he has called us to serve. To me this in an entirely different way of looking at good works, and one that is not seen as “working our way to heaven.” We serve not to get to heaven, not because we fear condemnation, not to cover all our old sins, but because the love of Jesus Christ has swelled up in us and has compelled us to love and serve others! We should preach the Gospel not out of fear, but because scripture says, “there is no condemnation for those who believe in Christ Jesus.”
I want to serve Him daily. Not because I hope to get a bigger mansion in heaven, because I am born again, I am a new creation in the Lord! He has changed my heart, my mind, and my soul! I am compelled to serve Him! Jesus gave everything to me and continues to. If I did not serve Him with works, I would feel like an imposter.
I put on these glasses, these silly glasses, to prove a point. You can see through this pair of funny glasses. You can see the reality. Jesus can also see the reality. Jesus wants us to grow in our faith. Jesus wants us to grow closer to Him, and one of the ways we do so is by serving Him. You see works don’t get us into heaven, but they can grow our faith. They can make us more Christ like. I remember when Billy Graham’s wife died, and he said something like, “There is no doubt in my mind that my wife has a mansion in heaven. I just hope she has saved one bedroom for me.” I have debated this with other Christians. Are there different rewards in heaven? Will Mother Theresa for example, have a bigger mansion in heaven than me? Maybe she will. I get to go to heaven though. You see our good works don’t get us to heaven, as we can all get to heaven. Does God reward us in heaven though differently for our service?” I think so, but I agree with Billy Graham, that a room in my wife’s mansion would be good enough! So let us this week try to do just one more nice thing for someone else. Imagine if we all did more acts of random kindness for each other. Imagine if the love of Jesus spread, imagine what it would do to the hearts, minds, and souls of these communities. We are His hands and His feet. Let us do good works, but do them because we are called to do them, not because we are obligated or told we have to do them. Let us do them for Jesus and Jesus alone. You see this picture. We serve because of Him and because of Him alone.
I want to close today with a short funny story. An old Scotsman operated a little rowboat for transporting passengers. One day a passenger noticed that the old man had carved on one of his rowboat oars the word “faith” and on the other rowboat oar the word “works.” Curiosity led him to ask the meaning of this. The old man, being a well balanced Christian and glad of the opportunity for testimony, said, “I will show you.” So, he dropped the oar named “faith” in the water and pulled the other oar called “works” out of the water. They went around in circles. Then he dropped the oar in the water named “works” and began to pull the oar called “faith” out of the water, and the little boat went around in circles again---this time the other direction, but still in a circle. After this demonstration the old man picked up Faith and Works, and putting both oars together in the water, sped swiftly over the water, explaining to his inquiring passengers, “you see, that is the way it is in the Christian life. Dead works without faith are useless, and faith without works is dead also, getting you nowhere. But faith and works pulling together make for safety, progress, and blessing.
This week brothers and sisters let us do one more nice thing for someone else, but not just to do it. Let us do one more thing for someone this week, and may we do the thing we do this because God has called us to so. Because brothers and sisters “Faith without works is dead.” Praise be to the Lord. Amen.
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