seeking once again the help of
God. I'd like to draw your attention to the chapter that we read together,
James chapter 2, and the text you'll find in verse 19. Thou
believest that there is one God. Thou doest well. The devils also
believe and tremble. The letter written by James to
the churches, to the brethren, seeks to set out true and living
faith between that which is a genuine faith and that which is a counterfeit
faith. He begins by saying that true
faith is that which is tested, true faith is that which produces
holiness, true faith is that which produces a movement a true
faith which is that which is self-sacrificial, it is loving
God, it is loving your neighbour as yourself. It is more than
just a general belief, a general wishy-washy belief in God, belief
in Christ, belief in the Bible. True faith is something which
is a gift of God given by grace that produces faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ which is enabling one to see their own sin and
their need of Christ which then responds in love and in action. And so James by the influence
of the spirit seeks to set before the believers what is this genuine
faith, what is a genuine belief in God, belief in Christ, belief
in the world in comparison to what is a counterfeit faith. And so he says that true faith produces an attitude
similar to that of the Lord Jesus Christ. It does not judge by
appearance and so he seeks to lay down that example of the
church meeting together for worship There's somebody walking in who
is wearing the clothing of a rich person and on the outward appearance
they look like they're a good Christian, they look like they're
wealthy, well-to-do middle class or high class person. And then
a poor person comes in and on the outward appearance of that
person they're of a lower class. They don't have much money. They
don't hold good social status. And we make a judgment based
upon what we see about that person without getting to know them,
getting to understand why their appearance is how it is. And to cast judgment based upon
what we see. Samuel is told when looking for
King David, look not upon the outward appearance, for God looks
upon the heart. Now our outward appearance does
matter, but the outward appearance reflects what is going on in
the heart. But if somebody is extremely
poor and someone is extremely rich, their outward appearances
are going to differ in some way. The rich person is obviously
going to be able to buy a better standard of clothes. A poor person
may not be able to buy that standard of clothing yet they are striving
to do what they can with the best of what they have got. But
we as we look on we make a judgment. It's something that we do every
day. If you really think about the things that you think about
And as you meet people, you're thinking in your mind, oh, they've
got a bit of dirt here on their shirt or their trousers are a
bit ripped. You begin to pick out things
in people's characters and people's appearances. But that should
not move us to make a judgment as to whether that person is
a Christian or a non-Christian. or to treat them better or worse
based upon what we think they are. And so James says. That we're
not to treat people with partiality. We're not to say to this rich
person, we're not to be extra nice to them because we hope
they're going to put a load of money into the collection or
they're going to do something beneficial to the church. And
we say to this poor person, you sit down here and show no interest
in them just because of what they're wearing. Our motive for
dealing with people should be the love that we have for Christ
Jesus, that Christ Jesus is no respecter of persons. And although
he is able to look into the heart of people and know what is exactly
going on within the heart, you and I, we are unable to see beyond
the outward appearance. And he says, do not use that
judgmental attitude, but use the same attitude as the Lord
Jesus Christ, the King of glory, that we are not to be respecters
of persons and to put away or lay aside our prejudices and
our judgmental attitudes and get
to know people. so that we can fully understand
what is going on in their lives and to understand the reason
why they are how they are. You may find the most poor person with bad clothing, with worn out clothing And you might
find that person to be extremely godly, extremely Christ-like
in their attitude. And you might find a rich person
who comes into the place of worship dressed in all the right clothes,
and you might find them to be a completely ruthless, unbusiness
person, un-Christ-like in all areas of their life. Yet they
look right. But their heart has not been
transformed by the power of God. They don't believe. They don't
have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's just a general belief
that doesn't affect the heart. So James warns us against these
judgmental attitudes. And he balances or counteracts
it or plates it side by side with true faith and a false faith. He says, you believe that there
is one God. He says, you do well. Believing in God is the duty
of man. It is to believe God and to obey
him. It is a right belief to believe
in God. All of God's creation should
believe in God. It's the truth. Maybe you believe
the Bible. You read the Bible. You don't
reject its teachings. You're happy to read it. You're
happy to believe it. Maybe you believe Jesus, believe
in the Lord Jesus. You remember his birth and you
believe that, yes, he came into the world. You believe that he
lived a perfect life. You read it in the Gospels and
you see you have no denial that he existed, that he lived. You have a belief in that. You believe that he rose again
or he was crucified and died upon the cross and rose again.
You believe that he ascended and you may even say that I know
that Jesus is the right hand of God. Even today you might
say and confess that he lives. You do well. You should believe
all of those things because they're totally true. He says you believe well that
there is one God but he says the devils also believe and they
tremble. You see there's a difference
in degrees of belief. You may believe or feel to be
thirsty and you may know that there is water there You may
know it, you may believe it, you may believe that if you turn
the taps water is going to come out. You have that faith to believe
that that is going to happen and that is going to quench your
thirst. But if that is as far as your
belief goes, if that is as far as your faith goes then you will
remain thirsty. You will remain unsatisfied. You must come to the water and
you must drink. That faith that you have, that
belief that you have must produce an action that draws you to the
water that you may drink. The devils believe as they tremble,
not a saving belief. It's a fear that they have because
of what they know and who they know the Lord Jesus Christ is
and the authority that he has over them. And so there are different
types of belief. There are those that the scripture
speaks of that believe a lie. They believe that there is no
God. They're quite happy to believe that lie that Satan has sown
in the hearts of millions in this country and many of the
Western countries that there is no God. And they believe that. And they go to bed at night resting
in the fact that they believe that there is no God. And the
Bible tells us in the Psalms that the fool has said in his
heart there is no God. You can go into the jungles of
this world and you can find those primitive people who live animalistic lifestyles, very
basic hunter-gatherers and yet if you were to speak to them
they believe in a God. It may not be the one true God,
but they look at creation and they realize that creation must
be created. And so they make gods of their
own minds, the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains. They
worship the things that God has created, but they do not deny
the existence of a God. They understand that there is
a higher power beyond them, a greater power that must have created
them and therefore they worship that, they are worshiping without
knowledge, without light, but it's a belief. But the fool has said in his
heart there is no God. The modern age has degenerated
to such a hardness of heart they reject the existence of God and
God the scripture says that God gives them over to a reprobate
mind. A mind that rejects the existence
of God and God says that is foolishness but they believe it. There's also a nominal belief in God. It's a belief that doesn't
really have an effect upon a person. It's sort of a wishy-washy belief. They believe that God is there.
They believe in Jesus. They believe in the word. They may come to church. It's just a nominal belief. It doesn't really infiltrate
their lives. It doesn't really change their
lifestyles. It doesn't really move them to
godliness. It doesn't bring them under the
fear and reverence and respect of God. It's just a haze that
goes over their lives. That's extremely dangerous. have
a nominal belief to half know a truth or to know that this
tap produces water but then not to come to that water when you
are thirsty. To die of thirst when the tap
is there before you is extremely could say foolish or extremely
dangerous. To know all the facts But that's as far as it goes. You think of in the book of Acts
when Paul was before Agrippa, Acts 26. He says to Paul, Paul says to
King Agrippa, Believest thou the prophets? I know that thou
believest. Agrippa said unto him Paul almost
thou persuadest me to be a Christian and Paul said I would to God
not only thou but also all that hear me this day were both almost
and altogether such as I am except for these chains. Paul seeking
to present to him the Lord Jesus Christ coming back from or referring
to the prophets. He says, I know you believe the
prophets. The prophets who we know spoke
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, I know you believe them.
But if you believe the prophets, why not are you then believing
the Lord Jesus Christ? And he says, you almost persuaded
me. I'm almost there. I'm just a
nominal believer, a half-hearted, a through-the-haze Christian. And Paul says, I would to God.
you are like me, fully persuaded, fully exercising faith and trust
in the Lord Jesus Christ and living out the will of God in his life. He says, the only thing I wish
to be different was these chains. And so there's a nominal belief,
almost Christian, knowing the facts, maybe believing the facts,
but those things don't drive that person to a saving knowledge. They are at the back of the mind.
They're not at the forefront of the thoughts. They're standing
at the tap. but not drinking of the water,
dying of thirst next to the tap, dying of hunger while a plate
of food is laid out before them. An almost Christian, a nominal
belief in God and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. And then,
as James says, there's the belief of the devils. Sure, The devils believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ and we know they do. We know that the devils
believe in Christ because the fallen angels were created by
him at the beginning of time. And all the angels were created
to worship and serve the Lord Jesus. then they fell against
him. They now live under that judgment
and that fear that Christ is going to throw them into that
eternal torment. And so they definitely believe. They believe because they have
seen the Lord Jesus Christ. They have witnessed the Lord
Jesus Christ. They know his power. If you remember
when Jesus was walking on the earth some of those miracles and things that he did
were done to those demons. In Luke chapter 4 verse 33 and in the synagogue
there was a man which had a spirit of an unclean devil. and cried
out with a loud voice, saying, Let us alone. What have we to
do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us?
I know thee, who thou art, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying,
Hold thy peace and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown
him in the midst, he came out of him and hurt him not. And
they were all amazed and spake among themselves, saying, What
a word is this! For with authority and power
commandeth the unclean spirits and they come out of him. Of
course the devils are going to tremble at the name of the Lord
Jesus. They're going to tremble at the
presence of the Lord Jesus Christ because the Lord Jesus Christ
has full authority over them upon the cross as he defeated
sin and death and the grave and And over Satan he gained the
victory. All things are placed underneath
the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so the demons tremble at
the presence of Christ. They believe because they have
seen him. They know him. Even the believers,
we are able to gain the victory over Satan, over his demons.
We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against those
spiritual powers in high places, those dark powers. And so they
tremble at the presence of Christ, the presence of his people. They
believe in the Lord Jesus. because they are under his authority.
It's not a saving belief. You see the angels when they
were thrown out of heaven they were thrown out for all eternity.
There is no way by which angels are able to be saved. There is
no way by which the Lord Jesus Christ died for any of those
angels. It is the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ that cleanses people from their sin. It is people, the
human race, that is favoured to experience the salvation of
God. The demons fell, they fell for
all eternity and they will be placed into that eternal judgment
with all those who have rejected the Lord Jesus. They will fall
under that wrath of God for all eternity. Then there is a saving belief. A saving belief. A belief that is a gift of God. that causes
a person to feel their thirst, to believe that that tap produces
water, then to come to that tap and to drink and to be satisfied. The scripture tells us that there
is a fountain open for sin and for uncleanness. the belief that
that fountain exists is not enough. It is the coming to that fountain
and drinking of that fountain or believing and trusting in
that fountain in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a saving belief,
an effective belief that produces an action It is life-giving,
eternal life. Jesus says that I am come that
they might have life, that they might have it more abundantly. And so it is faith that brings
people to that fountain. And so a belief that is acted
upon is faith. It goes beyond just a belief. is acted upon. The scripture
says that faith, in Hebrews 11, faith pleases God. Without faith it is impossible
to please God. Hebrews 11 and verse 6. But without faith it is impossible
to please him. For he that cometh to God must
believe that he is. and he is a rewarder of them
that diligently seek him. And so faith is the active part
of belief. You may know that God exists
but that doesn't bring you to him. But faith brings you to
God. It says he who comes to God must
believe that he is. And he is a rewarder of those
that diligently seek him. Faith pleases God because he
sees his hand in that faith and it's him who has put that faith
there to bring somebody to himself. And so we can't really say that
we believe in God and Christ and not act upon it. That doesn't
have any effect in our lives. I remember when I was young,
the men at work used to say, oh, you go to church. You think
by going to church, you're going to go to heaven. And I knew. I said, no, if I died now, I
would go to hell. But it didn't concern me, didn't
have any effect upon my life. I wasn't bothered that if I died,
I was going to hell and to fall under the judgment of God. until something took place, until I was made alive. Not only
to believe those things but to trust in those things, to believe
that God's word is totally true. And then you go beyond what the demons
feel. They believe and tremble. which
is more than many Christians, more than many nominal Christians,
there's no trembling before God. But God brings you to the trembling
and then he brings you to the deliverance. You see the reality
of your sin and you see the reality of the Lord Jesus Christ, the
reality of the word and you're brought to a saving knowledge,
a saving belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. You go beyond saying
Like Jesus says, Lord, Lord. He says, why do you call me Lord,
Lord, and you don't do the things that I say? You go beyond that
to obedience, faith acting, faith moving. Faith is like life, the
evidence of life. So James says, doesn't he, that
faith, for as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith
without works is dead. And so the evidence of faith
is works. The evidence of faith is obedience. The evidence of faith is life,
it is movement. All the while, Someone is in
the intensive care unit and they're showing signs of life. They'll
be kept alive. But as soon as the evidences
of life are gone, it's deemed no hope for that person. Those
machines, they are switched off. And so the evidences of faith
in a person is movement, it is life, it is works, it is godliness,
it is obedience. In James chapter 1 verse 22 it says, Be ye doers of the word. and not hearers only, deceiving
your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the
word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural
face in the glass. For he beholdeth himself, and
goeth his way in straight way, forgetting what manner of man
he was. Whosoever looketh into the perfect
law of liberty, continuing therein, he being not a forgetful hearer
but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed indeed. And so he says there that there
is the evidence in the doing. It is not the means by which
we are saved. The works are not what save.
But the works are the product of that salvation. The works
are the product of that grace in the heart of that person. They are the product of the Spirit
of God indwelling and giving spiritual life to that person
that they are able to live in a way that is pleasing and acceptable,
living unto righteousness rather than to uncleanness. So as the devils believe and
tremble at the presence of Christ, that is their work, that is the
works that they have. The believer believes and trusts
in the Lord Jesus, they believe and act. But that faith that they have
must be put to the test. James says that the trial of
our faith is much more precious than gold that perishes. It's
Peter that says that, gold that perishes. But James says in chapter
1 verse 2 it says, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall
into various temptations, knowing this, that the trying of your
faith worketh patience, let patience have her perfect work that you
may be perfect in entire wanting nothing. And so the faith that
has been given by God to that believer that exercises works,
that seeks to shine as a light in a dark place, that seeks to
be a faithful witness to the Lord Jesus Christ, that seeks
to shine forth as an ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ, that
faith must be tested and proved to prove its genuineness. As James says we're very prejudiced
we're able to pass judgment on what we see. People are able to deceive They were able to act as Christians.
They were able to say the right things. And so we can be deceived
in the church by counterfeit believers. Even the apostles
were deceived by various people that were baptized and were brought
into the church what were later seen to be heretics or castaways. And so the Lord puts people through
the trials. He tests the faith of his believers
for a reason. That they may grow. That they
may learn patience. That they may be drawn closer
to the Lord. but that that faith is proved
to be genuine. If someone passes through a difficult
time and they don't truly love the Lord Jesus
Christ then that person will leave. When the going gets tough,
they get going. But if someone has a true faith
that is anchored in the Word, anchored to Christ, they will grip harder. Faith is like a chain that links
you to the Lord Jesus. Chains undergo vigorous strength
testing. And so our faith undergoes vigorous strength testing to prove its
genuineness. Whether it will crack or under
load. Whether it will snap. Whether
it will distance, stretch. The Lord does it for a purpose.
for our good, our soul's good, but also for the benefit of those
who are round about. That we may witness fellow brothers
and sisters passing through trial, that we may witness the genuineness
of their faith. God tested Abraham. The scripture
uses that word, he did test him. God tested Job. to check the reality of their
faith that it's a faith that lasts through the storm. Faith that doesn't buckle and
go off. True faith. anchors itself in the Word of
God feeds itself from the Word of God is strengthened by the
Word of God and continues looking to the Lord Jesus Christ and
under strain it's brought here it's brought
to its knees it's brought to drink at the fountain it doesn't
know but it experiences the blessings of God that makes rich in times
of trouble. The other week there was a helicopter
accident on the Hudson River. A wealthy man and his family
were killed on a helicopter. As you know
the main body sits underneath the rotor blades. The rotor blades
spin creating lift. And what holds the blades to
the body of the helicopter is one pin, one nut, which I read
in the Vietnam War came to be known as the Jesus nut. Now this
nut, should it fail, then everyone on that helicopter would be going
to see Jesus. And so they call it the Jesus
nut. It is one plate that holds the whole lot together and should
that fail, it is catastrophic failure. Some helicopters can weigh as
much as one Russian one can weigh 50 tons and can carry a load
of 20 tons underneath it all being held together by that one
nut. Other parts of that helicopter
could fail and it still survive. Yet if that Jesus nut fails then
the whole thing comes crashing down And so that Jesus nut has
to be rigorously inspected. It has to be built from the strongest
metal that can be machined. Every flight it is meant to be
checked for cracks, for worthiness. Because they know that if that
fails, everything fails. And so faith is just like that
Jesus nut. Faith links us to Christ. But unlike that Jesus nut, our
faith may fail. but Christ will remain faithful
to his people, holding them. And there are times when we may
feel like we have no faith. But as we read in the scripture,
he that comes to God must believe that he is. And when you feel
like you've got no faith, why then do you come again to the
throne of grace? That is faith. Faith brings you
to the throne of grace. Faith brings you to the word
of God to find comfort and help in our times of need. Faith lays
hold of the promises of God's word and enables the soul to
be edified and encouraged and strengthened by the word. So there is a true belief in
Christ that is effective, that brings someone beyond a nominal
belief, that brings them to the fountain that they may drink
and quench their thirst, that brings them to the manna that
came down from heaven and enables them to stretch forth and eat
and to be satisfied by that living manna which enables someone to
lay hold of Christ to believe in him and to trust in him for
time and for eternity. You believe that there is one
God, good there is. The devils also believe that
there's one God and they tremble at the name of Jesus, they tremble
at his presence because one day they will fall under his judgment
but we must go beyond that to our true belief in Christ. A saving belief that produces
an effect in our lives. a life of godliness and holiness,
a life of prayer, a life of meditation on the word, and a life that
shines as a light in a dark place, a life that is edifying to fellow
brothers and sisters in Christ, a life that strives in persecution
and trial and in difficulty, a life that hangs upon the Lord
Jesus Christ by faith, gripping him as he holds us for time and
for eternity. And yes, if our grip seems to
slip, we know that underneath are the everlasting arms. Yes, the Jesus nut failed in
those helicopters. But the Lord Jesus, he will never
fail. He will bring his people through.
He that has begun a good work in you will complete it, will
perform it until that great day. And so as the body without the
spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead. May we be believers
that have those true works that are a product of a transformation
of the heart and a love for the Lord Jesus Christ. May he add
his blessing. Amen. May the Lord help us in singing
our final hymn number 51 from Hymns for Worship. Number 51
to the tune set 218. Number 51 Jesus the very thought
of thee with sweetness fills my breast but sweeter far thy
face to see and in thy presence rest. 51 from Hymns for Worship. fills my breast, but sweeter
for thy face to see, and in thy presence rest. No voice can sing, nor harp can
play, ? A sweeter sound than thy blessed
name ? ? O say can you see by the dawn's early light ? ? What
so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming ? sing. I'll walk to those who
find my way, open doors I can show. The love of Jesus, what
is one's life. Jesus, our only joy, be thou,
as thou, O Christ, wilt be. Jesus, be thou, O Lord our God and yet loving
Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for Thy beloved Son, we thank
Thee for that salvation. We thank thee for the security
of that salvation and we pray that we may be enabled to live
a life of faith, a true living faith, faith that is exercised
unto godliness. And we ask, Lord, that thou strengthen
those that are under that trial of faith, that testing of their
faith. Lord, we pray that they may remain secure in the arms
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do dismiss us, we pray, with
thy blessing and do return us here later on this afternoon
in peace and safety. And now with the grace of the
Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the fellowship
and communion of the Holy Spirit, do be with us each now and forevermore. Amen.