Someone who out-performs the majority of Christians with extraordinary works and extends compassion towards others outwardly, could do so with great consistency without ever having claimed to believe in Jesus Christ. They could demonstrate what appears to be fruitful behavior through their works and actions without having faith that brings justification.
On the other hand, a believer in Jesus Christ may have faith without demonstrating it outwardly in ways that we or certain religious people think that it should be expressed. But that doesn't mean they are not saved and justified. The effort to produce and then boast in works is not proof of faith. Faith is the evidence of that which is not seen. Perhaps this is why Paul said we look at what is not seen ... because justification and righteousness is granted to those who-do-not-work but believe in Him who justifies the ungodly.
Understanding that James did not have a full revelation of grace apart from the law of Moses at the time he penned his letter to believers from the 12 tribes of Israel will clear up much confusion for Bible readers. After offering his perspective on Abraham in the attempt to make his case for law, he said this: "You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only." Is that the good news everyone was waiting to hear?
On the other hand, Paul also used Abraham as his example when he wrote this in Romans 4: "For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness."
Look carefully (and honestly) at the significant difference in what was said ... and this is just one example out of many. Buying into the human ideology that declares everything written by men in the New Testament was dictated from the mouth of God will force people into coming up with all kinds of interpretations based on conjecture. Feeling the need to make it appear as though the apostles said the same thing leads to inconsistency about the gospel message. The NT pages explain to us where James was coming from in the early years after the cross when it came to the law and works ... and Jews and Gentiles. Therein lies the story of the bigger picture of the gospel which has brought the gift of God's righteousness, apart from works.
When it comes to righteousness as a gift from God, the "faith without works" crowd struggles to explain their inconsistent approach. Some will appear to speak words about God's grace while later their lips leak legalism because the mindsets they have been clinging to are based upon false assumptions that have been hammered into them by the church Doctrine Department. If one who believes in Christ doesn't have works, does this mean their faith is phony and not genuine? The Apostle Paul didn't seem to think so.
In addition, they can never tell you specifically what precise works are required and how much. But James could ... because he was speaking about a specific blueprint—the works of the Mosaic law. It was the very thing Paul declared had been wiped out and deemed to be obsolete under a new and better covenant. Bearing the fruit of the Spirit is a good thing, but don't be deceived into thinking you are the one producing it. So which is it? It is important to come to the knowledge of the truth as to whether salvation is truly by grace through faith in what God has done through Christ ... or if it is only for the person who has faith and then has works to show for it.
Paul wrote to the Galatians with the motivation to help turn them back to grace and the ministry of the Spirit that he had introduced to them. They had come freely to Christ by faith alone and received the Spirit apart from works ... but they would later be solicited by believing Jews who warned them they also needed certain applications from the law of Moses—starting with circumcision.
It got us thinking about a question that may be difficult to answer: What if they had never been approached by the Judaizers who were baiting them into adding law/works to faith? Would they have continued on the path of grace by faith alone as Paul had ministered to them? Or would they have drifted towards feeling the need to establish or maintain their own righteousness without any outside persuasion? In other words, as humans, are elements of legalism and fleshed-based works unavoidable in this world?
As God's creation, we are faced with many choices. Ask yourself, do you believe confidently in what God did through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, to bring you life and a righteous perfection ... or do you feel it was deficient and uncertain enough for you to work at adding something to it? It may even be something related to church ceremonial practices. Will we listen to the witness from within or the wide array of audible voices from outside?
Christians today may often have the idea that Jesus was always speaking directly to us. If we start getting honest with ourselves and take a close look at some of the words He was speaking—especially to the disciples—we'll begin to see a religious and blinding veil lifted, and consider who He was speaking to, when He said it, and why He said what He said.
The mixing of law and grace has been a common issue for a long time ... and much of it will have to do with misunderstanding the mission of Jesus while quoting Him out of context. For example, we think Jesus was teaching "us" with instructions during the "sermon on the mount." But He told His audience (the disciples) not to be like the Gentiles (or those born outside of the Jewish circle). Once we begin to understand that the mission of Jesus was aimed at delivering the Jews from the Mosaic law ... we'll also begin to realize this was necessary so Gentiles could also come to life by grace through faith.
When church folks advocate and attempt to indoctrinate that we are required to keep and obey everything Jesus said, there is a very apparent and glaring problem with this mindset. You may have noticed ... they aren't doing it themselves. Hypocrisy is exposed but usually ignored, as the very thing they are touting is really just a selective version of pick and choose as they deceive themselves into thinking they are "doers" who end up landing in a pile of filthy rags known as self-righteousness.
We don't ignore or dismiss the words of Jesus. But much of what He said to Jewish people who were still under an unprofitable law of works before the cross needs to be considered in the proper context rather than trying to "Christianize" it into something that leaves believers today misinformed and off track. Jesus did not come with a new set of rules that would be harder and more challenging than the commands from the Mosaic law that nobody had ever successfully kept.
We pulled an email from the archives that we received from a listener who was explaining that their pastor believes the "sermon on the mount" was a teaching from Jesus that was meant as a list of new instructions—a Christian thing for future believers to follow and obey.
They arrived at that conclusion because of something Jesus said to His disciples after the resurrection: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."
As believers in Christ living inside of a new and better covenant ... is it the goal for us today to work at following everything Jesus shared with His disciples or charged them to do? It seems like a simple answer, after all, we're talking about the red letters, right? But let's consider the bigger context of what that would mean if we were to work at applying every syllable found in each Bible verse containing the words of Jesus.
