FAITH MADE PERFECT
#036 FAITH MADE PERFECT
Scripture James 2:19-26 NIV Orig. 10-14-62
Rewr. 10-8-87
Passage: 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. 20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[a]? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”[b] and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
Purpose: Beginning the new church year with an emphasis on faith and church organization in conjunction with the Lord’s Supper
Keywords: Church Activity Faith Ordinance Lord’s Supper
Introduction
Tomorrow is a special milestone in our great Baptist Heritage. It represents a very special anniversary for Louisiana Baptists.
On October 12th, in 1812, the first Baptist work was begun in our state. That was the date, in Washington Parish, on the Bogue Chitto River, that the Half Moon Bluff Church was organized.
For 175 years, the gospel has been proudly proclaimed by Baptists of Louisiana. Those earliest believers, because of their location in extreme southeastern Louisiana, were for some years affiliated with Mississippi Baptists, but they were, nonetheless, the forebears of Louisiana work.
It was the same year, by the way, that Adoniram Judson left to go to Burma as a missionary. If you recall the story, you recall that he changed to his life-long Baptist faith on the ship that took him to a land that knew nothing of Christianity. He went, then, without support. His former denomination withdrew support. And it was before we Baptists were known for our missionary vision. These struggling churches, not unlike Half Moon Bluff, in the early Nineteenth Century, supported what missionaries that there were, on butter and egg money, by the women of the Ladies Aid Society, the forerunner of our Women’s Missionary Union.
It has been people of vision, working together organizationally, who have reared up this great Baptist heritage. It seems that some of us are satisfied to let some parts of it die. In the name of our Lord, and in His covenant with us in his own blood, I challenge you to be a strong arm of influence in our town and Parish, for our Lord, and for His church.
I. Faith Demands an Effort Put Forth. V22 “…by works was faith made perfect.” Make no mistake, they were not saved by works. Abraham faithed God. God imputed (deposited to his account). Those with children away at school have to impute solvency so that these young people will appear secure. That depositing of worth expects a response of concern. In other words, the works don’t save, but they prove the faith.
Our faith calls us to organize our concern. We organize a Bible teaching program called Sunday School for the teaching of the Word of God. A Church Training emphasis was organized years ago to personalize youth involvement and growth. Today it provides opportunity for growth in Christ, in Bible study, in ability, for all. Missions organization is just that, a means to share with all the prospect of service to the needs of humankind.
The 2nd Sunday in October represents World Hunger Day. Are you aware that 730 million people remain hungry every day? The wafer and juice we consume is more than many will have all day. In Ethiopia, 5-10 million may starve this year. In America, there may be as many as 3 million homeless. People working full-time at minimum wage are $1800 below the poverty line for a family of three.
Thus, faith is an instrument in our lives for good. Faith is belief. But it is belief to train, to work, to serve. And we begin where we are. Too many Christians assume that they are excused from such service. No person in this room is little qualified to serve Christ, none too old, or too feeble.
Rahab (v25) served, simply by becoming a relocation agent for God’s people passing through.
II. Faith Made Perfect is a Process Through Which We Grow in Our Understanding of God’s Will and Way. V26 “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” As a believer, I have a responsibility: To stay as close to the Lord as I can through Bible study, service activities, and mission involvement (Camp Harris), and to walk by faith—to live by faith—to work by faith.
As a believer, I have a responsibility to share. We share readily with those we love. When will our hearts be open to love those less fortunates for whom Christ died? We have been successful in the Georgia Barnette State Mission Offering. We will soon endeavor to opportunize the Lottie Moon Foreign Missions Offering. What can we do for hungry people?
Conclusion
Let me remind you as we turn our attention to the Lord’s Supper, that stewardship is a faith venture also. In the great text of II Samuel 24:24 about David and Araunah the Jebusite, Araunah was prepared to give whatever it might take in the King’s name. David’s reply is a classic. “Nay, but I will surely buy it of thee at a price; neither will I offer . . . offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing.”
What better time, than now, can we offer to our Lord, that which comes of dedication and even sacrifice?