Justified By Faith Alone... Or Not?

Justification by "faith alone" is one of the great truths of Christianity. It's a reminder that we are saved through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone by grace alone. I believe this, preach this, and contend for this on a regular basis. But last Sunday we bumped right into James 2:24: "You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone." It stopped us in our tracks.

What's going on? Here we find the only place in the entire Bible where the words "faith" and "alone" are joined together in the same verse... and it appears to be saying the exact opposite of what we want it to say? How is this possible? Is salvation by "faith alone" the wrong message? What about Ephesians 2:8-9 or Romans 3:28?

The long answer was my sermon last weekend. The short answer is this: The problem is not with the message of the Scriptures, the real problem is with our (often) inadequate or non-biblical definition of the word "faith". Faith is never merely believing a set of facts about God, or Jesus, or the Bible. James says that even demons believe that stuff (and supposedly most Americans do too). Demons aren't atheists. They most certainly believe in God. But that's not that same as biblical faith. James is saying that biblical faith is obvious - you can see that it is real by obedience, by fruit (good works) in a believer's life. That's saving faith. The other kind is mere dead orthodoxy. Can you tell the difference between these two definitions of faith? I hope so.

The book of James: This ain't no pie eating contest!

One of my friends says that reading James is like getting into a boxing match. Another pastor calls it a dangerous book. One scholar says that James' candor and clarity are like a two-edged sword - penetrating, almost too penetrating.

For the rest of 2011 (and into 2012) we are wrestling with the teaching of James. A warning: he pulls no punches. And he covers so much ground for such a short book (only 108 verses). James body slams useless faith and challenges his readers to be "doers of the Word". He fearlessly tackles trials, worldliness, favoritism, anger, suffering, and temptations... just to mention a few.

I'm praying that we emerge out of James with only minor bruising, but with major growth as followers of Jesus. But get ready, because as Rocky Balboa says, "This ain't no pie eating contest..."

Am I on the wrong road...?

"I'm just wondering, is it possible that you think you are on the narrow road but you are actually on the broad road? Could it be that you have set cruise control, turned up the Christian radio, and are traveling down the road of destruction with a Jesus fish on your bumper?" -Kyle Idleman

Jesus says "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)

Am I a follower of Jesus... or just a fan of Jesus?

"The biggest threat to the church today is fans who call themselves Christians but aren't actually interested in following Christ. They want to be close enough to Jesus to get all the benefits, but not so close that it requires anything from them." -Kyle Idleman, Not A Fan

This new book I'm reading from Kyle Idleman pulls no punches! Many today think they are OK with God because they attend a church, or say they believe in Jesus, or have a fish on their car, when in fact they have fooled themselves. This book is helpful in evaluating whether or not we are simply fans of Jesus (something He is never interested in having), or if we are truly committed followers (something He absolutely requires). The difference between the two has serious consequences - both now and later! I'll be posting some quotes from it over the next few weeks.

While we have "hurricane" on our minds...

"How happy are we if the hurricanes that blow across life's raging sea have the effect of making Jesus more precious to us! It is better to weather the storm with Christ than to sail smooth waters without Him" - J.R. Madcuff

(thanks Margaret Land)

Are my friendships wise?

Good friends... bad friends. We all have them. But who are your closest friends? Who do you go to when you are in need of counsel or help?

"The problem is not conversation or acquaintance or even the occasional hang-out. The problem arises when bad friends replace our inner circle of godly, wise friends. The real problem happens when they replace Scripture and Jesus-loving friends... when they become our inner circle, our wise counsel, or our support during trial, we will be overcome by their foolishness and become fools ourselves." -James Pruch

A really good question that stings...

The following quote is from John Piper.

“Does your mouth usually heal people with words of grace and love and kindness, or does it wound people with insensitive, harsh, critical, unhelpful words?”

Yeah... I know. It stings doesn't it? I've read it several times (and even quoted it in my sermon last week) and it still stings - especially the word "usually". May God help us all to use our mouths to heal and not wound people!

Help For Christians Who Make Bad Decisions!

When is the last time you said, "Why in the world did I do that?" As a pastor I am privileged to help people work through some very difficult situations, but by far the most serious are ones that were created by making really bad decisions. Or even sinful decisions.

There is no doubt that we Christians need to learn how to make wise decisions about parenting, finances, and sexual purity (just to name a few). Pleasing God does require making wise decisions. Thankfully we are not left to ourselves to figure life out. The Scriptures - and especially Proverbs - are loaded with much help for those in need of wisdom (like me)!

Join us this summer as we dig into Proverbs in search of wisdom together.

All Or Nothing For Jesus

“Jesus' call to commitment is clear: He wants all or nothing. The thought of a person calling him or herself a 'Christian' without being a devoted follower of Christ is absurd."
-Francis Chan

Hosanna!

It's that time again! Palm Sunday. Christians all around the world will celebrate Jesus' glorious and triumphal entry into Jerusalem. We call it the "deep breath before the plunge" into holy week. Jesus was betrayed, abandoned, falsely arrested, tortured and brutally murdered before the week was up. And we know why - to save us.

At Servant's Heart Fellowship we always go big on this day - palm branches for everyone to wave as we sing Hosanna! Join us as we celebrate our king. He is worthy of all this attention (and so much more).

"We Drift Toward Compromise..."

"People do not drift toward Holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated." -D.A. Carson

This quote by D.A. Carson stopped me in my tracks. Go ahead and read it again. Have you been drifting toward compromise? Have you convinced yourself that you have been "liberated" when in reality you are sliding toward godlessness and disobedience? One word sums up this quote: Wow.

This Is The Word Of The Lord...

Our response each Sunday: Thanks be to God!

“Christians should be grateful to God for the gift of his written Word, and conscientious in basing their faith and life entirely and exclusively upon it. Otherwise, we cannot ever honor or please him as he calls us to do.” JI Packer

Have I Really Repented From My Sin?

Some people encounter Jesus and say, "Sweet! Jesus, do You want to join the party of my life with this sin, that addiction, this destructive relationship, and we'll all co-exist together?"

But repentance means saying, "Sweet Jesus, You are the best thing that has ever happened to me! I want to turn from all the sin and selfishness that rules me. I want to let it go and walk with You. Only You. You are my life now. Help me to walk away from the enslaving, worthless things in life."

Do you see the difference between these two examples? Which do you think more accurately portrays your own life?

-Francis Chan, Forgotten God

Christ Is Everything!

What do JC Ryle, Max Lucado, and John Piper all have in common? They all "get it" when it comes to the centrality of Jesus Christ. Eternal life in heaven is not our treasure. Forgiveness of sins is not our treasure. Denominations or church affiliations are not our treasures. Jesus Christ is our supreme reward and treasure. See for yourself...

"We are all traveling fast towards a place where names and forms and Church government will be nothing, and Christ will be everything." - JC Ryle

"The reward of Christianity is Christ" - Max Lucado

"We become what we crave and what Christians crave above all else is the glory of Christ." - John Piper