James 2:12-13- So speak and so act...

Our text this morning is found in James 2:12-13 but I would also like to read 14-26 as well as we prepare ourselves to discuss the portion of James which is most controversial. This is the text that caused Martin Luther to say that the Letter of James is an epistle of straw. Our text says,

So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

One of the main objectives that I have had as I have studied James is to try to understand the flow of thought and to understand what James was trying to communicate. In doing this I have found that James has been very logical and methodical as he wrote this letter. I have discovered that James is very adept in the things that he is attempting to communicate. From the beginning of this letter James has spoken of important things and then he continues to build upon these things as he leads his readers to a fuller understanding of biblical principles and exhorts them to apply these things to their lives.

Last week our text was James 2:8-13 and now we are beginning to move towards James 2:14-26. However, this week is a transition in between these two texts. In James 2:12-13 we read, “So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

Verse 12 begins with these words, ‘So speak and so act…’. With these words James says that what a Christian says and does should always glorify Christ and display the glories of the gospel to all those who are around us. In other words, our speech and our behavior ought to be consistent with what the Word of God and the Work of the Holy Spirit is producing in us.

The word of God and the Spirit make it possible for a believer to live a life worthy of the Gospel because a believer have been made a new creation. (1:18) When a Christian is regenerated they are justified and adopted into the family of God and their natures are changed.

At that time they are also given a new heart upon which the law of God is written. Unlike under the Old Covenant this is done internally and not externally. Because of this,a believer is now compelled to obey God’s word, the scriptures, the Law of liberty, the perfect Law, etc. (1:22-25, 28-13)

These things were promised by God throughout the Old Covenant. We see this in places like Ezekiel 36:25-27where the LORD says, “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols. I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34, Ezekiel 11:18-20)

When James tells these believers that they are to ‘speak and act’ according to the Law of liberty it is important to understand that James is speaking to those who have been saved through faith in Jesus Christ and now they need to walk in sanctification. (2:1) Therefore, James is seeking to disciple these believers.

James is speaking to these Christians like the author of Hebrews spoke to his Jewish audience in Hebrews 6. When we studied that chapter we read a strong warning against hearing the Word of God and then not responding with faithful obedience. The author of Hebrews wrote this warning, “For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.” After the author of Hebrews gave this warning he says in verse 9, “Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation.”

Similarly, James knows that the presence of sin in these congregations can mean two things. First, they can mean that there are unconverted people in the church. Secondly, it can also mean that Christians are struggling with sin because of the way that they are thinking and they need to be taught the Christian Faith and how it applies to every area of their lives.

It is true that in a congregation you will have both of these types of people: tares among the wheat, sinners among the saints, darkness among those walking in the light. Because of this, these tares and sinners can effect the whole congregation if people do not remain watchful.

There are implications for both believers and non-believers in this letter that James is writing. However, it is the latter group of people, the Christians, that James has been addressing primarily in this letter. For example, consider what James said back in James 2:4-5a. As we read these words you will see that James knows that these are Christians who need to be discipled. James says, “...have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts. Listen, my beloved brothers…”.

Being discerning, making distinctions in the church, can be helpful when it is regarding sheep and wolves, light and darkness, sin and righteousness. However, in these verses see that James is writing about the fact that this church is making distinctions among believers. James is writing to those whom he calls ‘brothers’ and he says that they have ‘become judges with evil thoughts’. This is a terrible sin that is happening in the church. Notice three things things in those verses.

First, James says that they have ‘become judges with evil thoughts’. Doesn’t it stand to reason that if James says that they become something that they were not always this way. Christians ought to always be becoming more like Christ. However, these believers are trying to take His position as the one and only Judge. (James 4:11-12)

They did not always engage in this sin even though the opportunity is always residing around us. However, at some point they stopped walking in a manner worthy of the gospel and they became judges with evil thoughts. They were running a good race but something hindered them from obeying the truth and obeying the Royal law. (2:8; Galatians 5:7)

Second, notice that James says that they had done this because of evil thoughts that they had begun to entertain. Over time they acted upon those thoughts and sinful desires in a way that is contrary to the law of liberty. (2:12-13; Romans 8:6) Notice that James does not accuse them of having evil unregenerate hearts. This would mean that they were not saved. No, James says that the problem is with their thoughts. (1:13-15) These are believers who have been justified but there is something wrong, unbiblical, and worldly with the way they are thinking. This is one of the major themes in this letter.

Third, notice that after James points out the problem with their thoughts says, “Listen, my beloved brothers...”. The way that a Christian is to address these sins that they have in their lives is to listen to the Word of God and respond appropriately with faith and repentance. Listening, Receiving, Repenting, Believing, and living for God, is not easy to do. It is impossible apart from the work of the Word and the Spirit and this is why we see few people doing it.

But those who will meekly receive the Word of God and then cast aside every sin and weight that so easily entangles them (Hebrews 12:1), will receive grace and be able to grow in sanctification and Christ-likeness as they walk in the light of God’s presence of God’s Word (1 John 1)

Like us, these Christians found themselves listening and acting upon their own sinful desires, then they acted sinfully, and now they need to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry with God’s Word. As they do this they will experience the righteous life, in every area of life, that God desires and enables His people to experience. (1:19-21; Romans 6:13-18)

James knows that he is writing to believers and that they are having a discipleship problem, a thinking problem, a wisdom problem. Therefore, throughout this letter James will remind them of the Good News, the Gospel, regarding faith in Jesus Christ (2:1). James will give these Christians the prescription for sin and instruct them on how to address their sin and move on in holiness, righteousness, and sanctification. These believers need to be praying for wisdom (1:3-5), reading the word of God, and then applying it to their lives (19-25). If they will take the prescription there is no area of life that will not be transformed. (Galatians 2:20; Romans 12:1-2)

James does not think that the people he is writing to need to be justified but he does see the need for them to be taught the importance of the biblical truths regarding justification and the transformation that faith in Jesus produces in the life of a believer which results in progressive sanctification.

Because the recipients of this letter have been made new creations in Christ (1:18; Eph. 2:13-22) there should be evidence of this dramatic change outwardly in every area of their lives. The same grace that justifies a sinner is the same grace that sanctifies them. Titus 2:11-14 says, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works.”

Because Paul believed that the same grace that justifies sinners is the same grace that sanctifies God’s saints Paul wrote to the Galatians and said, “But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ (Jew and Gentile by faith alone), we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! For if I rebuild what I tore down (the Law), I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God (in newness of life). I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.” (Galatians 2:17-21)

When James writes, ‘So speak and so act…’, he is doing two things that will be helpful to understand as we progress toward James 2:14-26. First, the words, ‘So speak and so act’, should sound familiar to us because James has already spoken of the importance of these things. He has already talked to us about not being just hearers of the Word of God but that we are to be doers also. James spoke of these things back in James 1:22-25 when he wrote, “But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”

James says that those who hear the Word of God and then do not apply the Word of God to their lives are deceiving themselves. This can happen in an individual context or in the corporate context of the church. Every Sunday the Word of God is preached from pulpits across the land but if those who hear the Word of God do not receive with meekness the Word of God and apply it they will become even more entangled in deception. The darkness grows darker. The confusion becomes more profound. And the lies we believe become more believable. (Romans 1:18-32; Isaiah 5:20-21)

However, let’s suppose that after you read James 1:22-25 you find yourself desiring to be a doer of the Word. In that moment you resolve to go to the Word, the perfect law, the law of liberty, and put it into practice. So you read the Word and you find that the Word of God gives you promises; but how do you access them? The Word gives you commands; but how do you obey them? The word gives you instructions; but how do you follow them? The word of God gives you warnings; but how do you respond to them?

So you would ask yourself a question as you come to these commands, promises, and warnings that are in the Word, “How do I do this?” You see, in James 1:22-25 James has been cultivating our desire to obey the Word and now as we come to James 2:14 we should be asking, “How do I do this?”

{If you look at James 1:22-25 and James 2:8-13 you will find the greatest number of references to the Word of God: the Word, the implanted Word, the perfect Law, the Law of liberty, the royal Law, the Scriptures, Law, the whole Law. He is confronting us with God’s Word so that our hearts will cry out: How do I do this?}

The answer to the question, ‘How do I do this?’, was not emphasized in James 1:22-25 like it will be in the text we are entering into in James 2:14-26. It is in James 2:14-26 that James begins to emphasize the importance of A SAVING AND ABIDING FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST, THE KING OF GLORY, WHICH CAN ALONE PRODUCE OBEDIENCE TO THE WORD OF GOD. (2:1; Galatians 2:20)

According to James 1:25 a person who is a hearer and a doer of the Word of God will be blessed. The emphasis of blessing here can have two meanings that are both realities for a Christian. A blessed man has an inheritance in heaven but he also is blessed right now in his doing. Like Abraham and Rahab a faith that is like theirs, and all those we studied in Hebrews 11, provides real righteousness that justifies and transforms a person's heart, mind, and soul. Therefore a person with real faith will not only profess faith with their mouth but they will also display their faith in how they act.

Secondly, the words, “So speak and so act...” in James 2:12-13, help to prepare the reader for the discussion that James is about to write about in James 2:14-26.

James 2:14-26 begins with two questions, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” Now James gets to the heart of the matter that he did not address head on in James 1:22-25. The answer to the question, “How do I do this?”, is answered: it is by FAITH. (14X)

True saving faith is more than the words one says with the mouth. Romans 10:5-13 says, “For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Look carefully at those last 5 words of James 2:14, “Can that faith save him?” Isn’t James confirming here that there is a faith that saves. There is a particular kind of faith that justifies. There is a particular kind of faith that makes one right with God and provides peace.

And yet we know that there is also a faith that is casually professed by people that will not save them. We read of this type of faith in John 2:23-24 when we read, “Now when Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs that He was doing. But Jesus on His part did not entrust Himself to them, because He knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”

On this occassion Jesus, who is God, knew what was in the hearts of these people and that it was not true persevering saving faith. Because of this, we find in John 6:66 that these ‘disciples’ turned away from Christ and no longer followed Him. (Luke 8:9-15)

Jesus knows if there is true saving faith or not, but we cannot see the heart. (Acts 15:8) We can only know if there is faith in a person when that faith expresses itself according to the grace and life of the Spirit that is manifested in that person's life. (Acts 15:8-11) A person who has saving faith will be justified by that faith and will desire to fulfill the Royal Law.

It is clear that James believes that there is a particular kind of faith that saves a sinner from their sins. James believes that there is a particular kind of faith that delivers a transgressor from the condemnation of their offenses before a holy God. James believes and taught that here is a particular kind of faith that redeems a person from the bondage of Satan and sin. When this happens He frees them to obey and serve the LORD in the ‘Law of liberty’.

Paul speaks of a believer's ability to now live according to the Law of liberty in Romans 6 when he writes, “Are we to sin because we are not under law (the condemnation of the law) but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one who you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves to sin, you were free in regards to righteousness...But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our LORD.” (Romans 6:15-23)

Just as there is a faithlessness that leads to lawlessness, James knows that there is a type of faith that produces righteousness and good works. (2:1) James knows that if a person professes to have this sort of saving faith in Jesus Christ but it does not evidence itself in good fruit, godly evidences, and righteous works of faith that express the life of Christ in them that it is not a saving faith (Romans 8:9-11) A faith that repents of sin and turns to Jesus Christ will transform that individual definitively and progressively throughout one’s life. (1:18; Galatians 2:20)

As we come to communion today we have an opportunity to ask ourselves, “Do I have a real saving, justifying, adopting, sanctifying, persevering faith in Christ alone?” We can ask ourselves, “Am I speaking and living in a manner that is worthy of the Gospel in my thoughts, speech, and actions?”

As we come to communion we can confess sins and consider the mercy that Christ showed to his disciples on that night when He washed their feet and celebrated the LORD’s Supper with them. (John 13:1-20) If Christ has served us and shown us such mercy, by dying for us while we were still sinners, we can receive the grace of God to serve our spouse, our family, our neighbors and glorify the LORD in all we say and do.