James 2:18-26
We are in a portion of James that is perhaps the most controversial part of the letter: the relationship between faith and works. This section (and the following) prompted Martin Luther in the sixteenth century to call James “an epistle of straw.” Of course, he was wrong to do so. James is correcting the notion that there is such a thing as an unmanifested faith; in other words, mere profession with the mouth devoid of righteous behavior. James has one word to describe such a profession: faith without works is __dead__. There is a warning here for each of us, for mixed in with genuine believers are those who merely profess faith. God will eventually separate the wheat from the chaff. (Check out the parable in Matthew 13:24-43.)
Due to the complexity of this issue, I am devoting two Sundays to it: 7/23 and 8/6.
Listen to the sermon:
(Apologies – No sermon recording – Technical difficulties)