Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
On this coming Lord’s Day we will take a second look at what is the most debated section of the Epistle of James. Of course, I am referring to James 2:21-26 where the Lord’s brother declares that we are “justified by works and not by faith alone” (v. 24). As we have seen, James is not offering up a different gospel, a gospel of works-salvation, or works-righteousness. Rather, he is addressing a very specific and troubling issue that was at play in the lives of his first-century readers. In his eyes, some among the professing believers in the churches were exhibiting a “dead” faith (2:17). While claiming to belong to Christ, their lives were no different than before they allegedly believed the gospel message. There was no evidence that they had encountered the justifying and sanctifying grace of God. And this being the case, their claim to be Christians, their profession of “faith,” was bogus. It was not “justified.” In 2:26, James, somewhat indelicately, compared such people to a corpse!
His point, then, is that saving faith always makes itself known in our lives! And to prove and demonstrate this vital truth James gives us two amazing illustrations. He offers “Abraham” and “Rahab” as appropriate examples of the way saving faith works itself out in life. One was a patriarch, the other a prostitute! From one perspective they could not be further apart. But from another, they are just alike!
On Sunday we will explore this rich passage from God’s Word. And we will consider these two illustrations that demonstrate for us the true power of the gospel! To get a head start, you might want to refresh your memory of their respective stories. For Abraham, read Genesis 22:1-19. For Rahab, check out Joshua 2:1-24.
Connecting With the Catechism
Here are the questions from the Westminster Shorter Catechism for this week:
Q 7. What are the decrees of God?
A. The decrees of God are, his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.
Eph. 1:4, 11; Rom. 9:22-23.
Q 8. How doth God execute his decrees?
A. God executeth his decrees in the works of creation and providence.
Q 9. What is the work of creation?
A. The work of creation is, God’s making all things of nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all very good.
Gen. 1; Heb. 11:3.
I love you all, and my heart is filled with praise to our Lord for each of you!
See you Sunday,
Mike