James 2

I don't know how you can help from having a burning and a yearning in your heart when you read James. You can feel his passion and the sureness of the truth he speaks to us come right through the pages. It is like life to the bones for me, having read it through times of trial, times of temptation, times of blessing and times of wavering. Here we have the sure testimony of one who walked with Jesus and now speaks like Him. That's what we really want, deep down inside, as well - to walk like Jesus, to think like Jesus and to speak like Jesus.

But we didn't start out that way (and neither did James). We started out enemies of God, wavering by whatever ideas or experiences we were exposed to. Now, those of us who have chosen to follow, have encountered a truth that doesn't change, a love that is eternal, and a faith that is worth living for. James gives us those nitty-gritty guideposts for the life of a disciple of Jesus, just like Proverbs does, but often more direct, to the point and piercing to our heart.

In Hebrews 4:12, where we read about how the Word of God is alive and powerful, piercing and judging our thoughts and intentions, you can well think of the words of James 2 as slashing their way through our hearts. James gets right down to the way we treat people - does it reflect Jesus? Does it reflect the way He's treated us? Does it reflect the way that He stooped down to show mercy and to welcome us into His very family. Don't you long to have the heart of Jesus towards other people? Galatians 5 tells us to walk with Him. Walk with Him. Walk with Him. Walk by the Spirit and you will avoid walking in the dead life He saves us from. James has the aroma of Christ from walking with Christ. So can we.

When James turns to discussing faith and works (in vs. 14 and on), he's not talking about theory. He's talking about life and death. He's talking about what the "fruit" of our faith should look like (not the "root" of our faith) and the undeniable fact that faith always shows up in reality (read Hebrews 11 again!). Let me explain. If I buy a fruit tree from the nursery, in th1e springtime, I can be assured of what kind of tree it is. If I bought a pear tree and it bears peaches, I can assume a mistake was made in the labeling, for surely it is defined by the fruit it bears. The tree doesn't have to become something to bear the fruit. The fact that it already is that something is what enables it to bear fruit. Its fruit is like our works. We can't just become fruit-bearing on our own - our very nature has to be changed/redeemed in order us to have the starting point from which to bear fruit. We have to be changed first (!); and we're changed by faith in the living God and in His Son Jesus.

This last weekend, I heard a talk where Bryan Loritts expounded on Matt 25, where Jesus executes the judgment of all mankind. Bryan used this root/fruit distinction to clarify that passage. In Matt 25:31-46, those who served Him in life (by serving "the least of these") are deemed worthy of the kingdom; those who did not, are not. It is not about how men and women are saved - that is by grace through faith, not of works - lest any man should boast." Eph 2:8,9. The point of that passage parallels this one. In James 2, we see the stark contrast between a life which proclaims Jesus and one which displays Jesus. It is not about how we are saved. We've been learning in Galatians, that we are set free to serve God, not the other way around. The gospel is grace first, then we have the motivation, the capacity, the power and the freedom to do the works He has prepared for us (Eph 2:10). So in James, it is not the words of faith that make a difference, but actual faith which always shows up in some kind of expression of Jesus - be it service, be it sacrifice, be it worship.

Here's what this says to me - I can't have the works of Jesus, or speak like Jesus, or even have the aroma of Jesus (2 Cor 2:15), without the saving grace of Jesus changing me and inhabiting me first. If I just read James as a list of things I should do or aspire to, I am missing the point. Jesus is the only one who can start me on that journey, lead me down the way and keep me from falling in a heap along the way. Only He provides the power to life a worthwhile life and only as we walk with Him. The Creator of the Universe, Jesus wants to walk with me. How much more amazing a fact could there ever be than that. Christ in us, the hope of glory.

 TOM ALBERS | Elder Chairman

Tom committed his life to Christ as a junior in high school in 1975. After moving to Austin in 1995, Tom and Cindy attended Hill Country Bible Church in Cedar Park before becoming part of the HCBC Pflugerville and Hutto Bible church plants. Tom serves as a Small Group Leader and in Youth ministry and in other ministry oversight roles. Tom and Cindy were married in 1986 and are parents to Will, Emily, Clare, Hannah and Nathan and grandparents to Owen.