If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left (Heb 10:26)

Wow! That looks scary! Let’s take a quick survey. Please put your hand up if you have lived a sinless life since accepting Jesus as your Savior. Hmmm. I don’t see any hands. I have been saved for decades and – if I’m honest with you – I cannot say my performance has been flawless throughout that period. I’m pretty sure I sinned this one time back in 1987…

Ha! It’s easy for me to make jokes. I’ve been set free. I no longer mine at the pits of religion with condemnation. I’m drawing from the wells of salvation with joy!

The wrong way to interpret Hebrews 10:26

All jokes aside, Hebrews 10:26 is an oft-abused scripture. If you wanted to use this verse to scare people, there are a couple of angles you could take:

1. You could use this verse to present a “balanced” view of God, like this: “He is a God of grace and He is a God of judgment. He’s not some senile Santa in the sky. He’s a God of vengeance and a consuming fire. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

2. You could also use this verse to preach works: “You will be judged according to the light of your revelation and those who have received the knowledge of the truth will be held to the highest standard. It’s time for judgment to begin in the house of God. If you fall away it is impossible to be brought back to repentance!”

What is the problem with these messages? Well if you listen to the first one you’re going to come away thinking that God is schizophrenic, at war with His own nature. He loves you, but He doesn’t. It’s unconditional love – with conditions. And if you listen to the second you will either end up a religious fraud or a nervous wreck. You may even wish that you had never heard the gospel because ignorance is bliss.

The tricky part with these false messages is that they are composed of true statements. Our God is a consuming fire. But the interpretation is all wrong. They are anti-cross and anti-Christ. Any message that tells you that God is double-minded or that the good news is bad news ought to be rejected. You know that, right? Good. So how do we read Hebrews 10:26?

Trampling the Son of God under foot

A key to unpackaging this scripture is to recall the audience. Hebrews was written for – surprise, surprise – Hebrews. It was for those who have grown up with the “elementary teachings” of the Old Covenant. In other words, the author writes for an informed audience. They know all about the law, sacrifices, and high priests. But what they may not appreciate is that the law was only a shadow of the good things to come. The law points to the true high priest Jesus and His eternally perfect sacrifice.

Hebrews was written to reveal Christ and His work so that we may “enter through the new and living way,” “go on to maturity,” and “draw near to God.” That last bit is the key. How do I know the two sermonettes above are carnal nonsense? Because neither will inspire you to draw near to God. Indeed, they will have the opposite effect.

Hebrews 10:26 describes those who have received the knowledge of the truth (i.e., they have heard the gospel) but they have rejected it. The writer compares those who reject grace with those who reject law:

Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? (Heb 10:28-29)

This passage is not talking about Christians but those who, like Judas, have heard the truth and spurned it. Judas spent time in the company of the Lord. He not only heard the truth, he saw Grace and Truth in the flesh. But Judas rejected Jesus as Lord. He never saw Jesus as anything other than a rabbi. Calling Jesus “Rabbi” is a bit like calling the President “Mister,” only infinitely more so. It’s not just insulting, it’s unbelief.

Jesus came to give His life for Judas but Judas wasn’t interested. He preferred his own sinful life of greed and betrayal. I am sure Judas had many opportunities to repent (i.e., change his mind) and put his faith in Jesus, but he never did. He rejected the grace of God that could empower him to say no to sin.

Jesus died for Judas. What more could He do? There is nothing! There is no more sacrifice for sins other than the one Jesus provided. To reject Jesus as Lord is to trample the Son of God underfoot and treat the blood of the covenant as unholy.

How do you insult the Spirit of grace?

If I was to give you a free car out of the generosity of my heart, but you insisted on paying for it, I would be insulted. Similarly, we insult the Spirit of grace by trying to pay, with works and sacrifices, what God has freely given us. We may call it “proving our salvation” or “appropriating what God has given” but it is unbelief. It is like saying, “I don’t believe Jesus has done it all. I need to finish what He started.”

The wrong way to read Hebrews is to think that God is judging us on our performance. Over and over again Hebrews tells us that it is Jesus and His performance that matters. It is His sacrifice that made us holy, indeed, perfect forever (Heb 10:10-14). How can we interpret Hebrews 10:26 as a warning against sin when Hebrews 9:26 says that Christ appeared once for all “to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself”? Is His a finished work or isn’t it? If it is, then sin is no longer the problem. Where there is remission of sins, “there is no longer any sacrifice for sin” (Heb 10:18). The good news is that the Son of God is the once and final solution for sin. Because of Jesus, both God the Father and God the Holy Spirit choose to remember our sins no more (see Heb 8:12, 10:17).

The warning of Hebrews

In a forthcoming post I will look at Hebrews 6:4-6, which is another passage that bothers some. But the punch-line is the same. The main warning of Hebrews is not in regard to sin but unbelief:

So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief. (Heb 3:19)

The Hebrews of Moses’ day never entered God’s rest because they hardened their hearts to His voice. In the New Testament era, many Jews were doing exactly the same thing. They received the knowledge of truth, they heard the gospel of grace, but they rejected it. They may not have said so in so many words, but by their actions they revealed their distrust.

For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. (Heb 4:2)

The author of Hebrews writes to stir up faith. Without it we cannot please God. With it we can come boldly to the throne of grace.

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. (Heb 10:39)

Some people hear the good news of God’s grace and shrink back. They cannot believe it. “It’s too good to be true,” they say. “I’d better cover myself by doing works.” Do you see the danger? You cannot cover yourself. This is idol-worship. You are elevating yourself to co-savior with Christ. You are insulting the Spirit of grace by trying to pay for what God has already given you. This is why sermons that put the emphasis on you and your performance are dangerous. Don’t buy into any message that purports to give you a list of keys or steps that will help you achieve/accomplish/appropriate what you already have. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and the sweat of men to take away sins and it is faithless to strive for what you already have (every good thing!).

According to Hebrews there are only two kinds of people; those who don’t enter because of their unbelief and those who believe and are saved. Sin is not the variable; faith is. Where does faith come from? Jesus! He is the Author and Perfecter of our faith (Heb 12:2). Fix your eyes on Him.
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Related posts:
- Acts 21:17-26
- What happens to unfruitful branches?
- Do NIV readers have a sinful nature?

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. (Rm 7:15)

We’ve all been there. But before you pat yourself on the back and say, that’s how I used to be, before I met Christ, let me ask you this: Is Paul describing his old life as a sinner or is he describing struggles he’s faced as a believer? This question divides opinion but my view is that he is describing anyone who is walking after the flesh. In other words, his message is relevant for everyone.

Walking after the flesh

Walking after the flesh is what you do when you attempt to get your needs met independently of God. It’s leaning on your own understanding, relying on your own strength, and drawing from your own resources. Sinners do this routinely but Christians can act this way as well. In either case, the results are disastrous (Rms 8:13). Live solely on the basis of your own will-power and understanding and you will sow death into your relationships, your ministry, your finances, even your health:

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. (Pro 14:12)

“But Paul, doesn’t Romans 8:9 say, ‘you are not in the flesh but in the spirit’?” It does. But there’s a difference between being in the flesh and walking after the flesh. When Paul says, “we were in the flesh” (Rm 7:5), he is referring to our state before we were born again. We were in the flesh but now we are in the spirit.

But you are not in the flesh but in the spirit, (Rms 8:9a, NKJV).

We are not in the spirit because of the way we walk – flesh cannot give birth to spirit (Jn 6:6). But even though you are in the spirit you can still walk after the flesh. Even though you are in Christ, you can still act as though you were in Adam. Capiche?

So how do we know when we’re walking after the flesh? The New Testament is full of examples contrasting walking after the flesh (bad!) with walking after the spirit (good!). But sometimes what we need is a quick test to tell us whether we’re doing one or the other. Romans 7 provides just such a test.

The flesh test

“Am I walking after the flesh, yes or no?” In Romans 7, Paul shows that your answer to that question may be found by asking this pair of questions:

1.    Am I doing what I hate to do?
2.    Is this making me wretched and miserable?

If your answer to both of these questions is “yes,” then you’re walking after the flesh. The problem may not be what you’re doing so much as how you’re doing it. If you’re acting on the basis of your own might – your own resolve, understanding, and strength – then you’re walking after the flesh and God will have nothing to do with it. In Paul’s case he was trying to reform his sinful behavior by keeping the law. Yet no matter how hard he tried, he ended up doing the very thing that he hated. Doing what you don’t want to do is, for the Christian, a classic symptom of walking after the flesh:

For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. (Gal 5:17, NKJV)

Okay, so what about the sinner? Does Paul’s flesh test apply to him as well? I believe it does because anyone who tries to get their needs met apart from God will, from time to time, feel wretched and miserable. Why? Because God made us that way. He created us with a whole bunch of needs so that we would look to Him to fulfill those needs. We weren’t designed to live independently of Him. When we do we can experience intense frustration and heartache. On the surface we may think we’re hurting because someone let us down or things didn’t turn out as expected. But the reality is we’re feeling like that because we were looking to someone or something other than God to get our needs met. We don’t live on the basis of our feelings, but if you’re feeling wretched then your flesh may be trying to tell you something. Your flesh test may be giving you a positive result. That’s good, for it’s doing exactly what it was designed to do!

Wretchedness and frustration are symptoms of walking after the flesh. You will not experience these feelings when you are walking after the spirit. I’m not saying everything’s going to come up roses. I am saying if you are able to stay focused on Jesus, then even in the face of hardship you will experience peace such as the world does not know:

For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (Rms 8:6, NKJV)

I got a positive test result – now what?

Okay, so you’ve taken the flesh test and discovered that, “Yes, even though I’m in the spirit I’m walking after the flesh. I’m trying to make something happen, it’s not happening, and I’m miserable. Now what?”  Well the answer to that question is not a What but a Who, as we will see in the coming posts. But let me leave you with a quick suggestion by telling you what I am learning to do when I get a positive flesh test result: I go and lie down.

Lying down is not something I like to do. My flesh was built to be driven hard and I think sleeping is a waste of time. However, I often push myself too hard and this can lead to suffering and wretchedness. But by the grace of God I am learning. And one of the things I am discovering about myself is that I am less susceptible to the distractions of the flesh, and more in tune with the spirit, when I am horizontal.

Just this week, for example, I was banging my head against the wall and feeling frustrated about a project that was not turning out the way it was supposed to. Work harder, screamed my brain. I did, but to no avail. “I hate this,” said I. “It’s making me miserable.” Then revelation came. “Aha! I’m walking after the flesh. I’m trying to make something happen.” I immediately stopped. I pushed back from the desk and went and lay down on the rug in my office. (Believe me, this is hard for me!) Then I prayed a deep theological prayer that went like this: “Lord, I give up. I give up trying to make this happen. I give up leaning on my ability. This is not even my problem anymore – it’s Yours! Do whatever seems good to You.”

You have to understand that there was nothing wrong with what I was doing. But when you’re walking after the flesh even doing good can be bad for you. So I quit trying to make it happen and as soon as I did freedom came. My mind was instantly filled with life and peace and inspiration and creativity and solutions I had never dreamed of.

No cordless Christians

“Oh, so you were just recharging your batteries then.” Absolutely not! We don’t run on batteries and there are no cordless Christians! Christ is our life (Col 3:4). I was being transformed by the renewing of my mind. I was saying no to the flesh and yes to the spirit (Rm 8:5). I was setting my mind on things above and fixing my eyes back on Jesus. On this occasion He gave me a solution to my problem; on another occasion He might’ve suggested I drop the project and go play with the kids. Or He might’ve suggested something completely different. In any case I would’ve found life and peace by trusting Him.

If you’ve been feeling frustrated with the way things are turning out, then recognize the death-dealing work of the flesh. The best thing you can do is “put off” whatever it is that you’re doing and fix your eyes back on Jesus. You got distracted there for a bit but thank God for that wonderful flesh test of Romans 7 that has brought you back to your senses and back to Christ who is your life.
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Related posts:
- How to walk after the flesh in 20 easy lessons
- Are you religious? Take the test!
- John 15:6 – Abiding in the vine

What does it mean to abide in the vine? You need to have a good answer to that question because Jesus warned that there are consequences for not abiding in the vine. He also said that those who do abide in the vine will bear much fruit:

“As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit.” (Jn 15:4)

Many people interpret the words of Jesus as carrots and sticks. They think, if I fail to abide I will be cast out and burned, but if I do abide I will bear much fruit, so I’d better start bearing fruit. Read it like this and Jesus’ words will become a law for you: produce or perish! And that’s going to be a problem because the fruit Jesus is looking for you can’t produce. Apart from Him the only thing you can produce is Frankenfruit!

In this short series on the commands of Jesus, we have seen that Jesus expects us to do impossible things, namely, He expects us to do the same works He did and greater works still. Happily, He has promised that we will do these impossible things because He is in us and we are branches to His vine. Unfruitful branches are not chopped off, but are lifted up out of the dirt. This lifting up and the bearing of fruit in us is something that He does. So far, so good.

But what does it mean to abide or remain in Him? That sounds as if Jesus is putting conditions on us. It sounds like He is saying, you have to do something otherwise you’ll be tossed and burned. But what is the something we must do? I guarantee you that any list of somethings that man comes up with will include keep short accounts with God or confess your sins. This is a classic example of watering down scripture to accommodate human shortcomings. You want something to do? Try this:

“Whoever abides in Him does not sin.” (1 Jn 3:6, NKJV)

What does God expect of those who abide in Him? Zero sin! Yet many people believe, “whoever abides in Him may sin occasionally – after all, we’re only human – but as long as we quickly confess our sin God will be faithful and just and forgive us our sin.” Well God is faithful and just but you can’t use His goodness to wriggle out of 1 John 3:6. You can’t lower His standards to accommodate your less-than-perfect performance.

A line in the sand

I occasionally get emails from people who are opposed to the gospel of grace. They say we must do everything in the Bible or at least everything that Jesus says. Well Jesus said, “be perfect” (Mt 5:8) – how’s that working out for you? I might just as easily respond with the words of John:

“No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.” (1 Jn 3:6, NIV)

I love this! This verse deals life to those who trust Jesus and utter condemnation to those who don’t. It draws a big fat line in the sand and shouts, “Choose your Savior!” To those who are trusting in their own good behavior this verse declares, “Your best is not good enough. God expects sinless perfection.” Either you must be perfect or you must put your faith in a perfect, representative. Guess who! Jesus is our perfect High Priest (Heb 7:28)! We stand on His sinless performance, not our own.

A promise, not a condition

Jesus told the disciples, you are in me (our imperfections are hidden in His perfection) and I am in you (we carry His sinless DNA). Jesus didn’t sin and He won’t ever sin. If you let Him live His life through you, then without any conscious effort on your part you’re going to start talking and acting just like sinless Jesus. This is a glorious promise for all who believe:

“Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.” (1 Jn 3:9)

So what does it mean to abide in the vine? Here’s the answer we’ve all been waiting for…

“Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” (1 Jn 4:15)

Have you confessed that Jesus is the Son of God? Then God abides in you and you in Him. You may wonder, But how did this happen? All I did was confess. Well you could not have believed and confessed Jesus as Lord unless the Holy Spirit had led you to do so (1 Cor 12:3). The work and the glory are all His. Rest in that!

The trouble is, you can’t rest because somewhere inside there is a little voice that’s asking, Can I abide today and not abide tomorrow? Can I be in the vine one moment and cut off the next? Why would Jesus tell his disciples to abide if there wasn’t any danger of not abiding?

The problem, as usual, is found between our ears. Most of us have grown up with a slave mentality that says our value is determined by what we do. This was certainly true of the disciples who had been born and bred under the law. They were conditioned to think in terms of their performance. This works mindset is also evident in some of our English translations:

“Remain in me, and I will remain in you.” (Jn 15:4, NIV)

Again, that sounds like a condition. It sounds like Jesus is saying, if your abiding performance is up to scratch, then I will reward you by abiding as well. But it is not a condition to make us sweat; it is a promise to make us rest. In John 15 Jesus goes to great lengths to counter the law-mentality of the disciples. He does this by hitting them with promise after promise:

“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.” (Jn 15:9)

How does the Father love Jesus? Ask yourself this question: How many miracles or works had Jesus done when the Father declared from heaven, “this is my beloved Son?” None! The Father loves Jesus unconditionally, without any reference to His performance or fruit. That means that Jesus loves us unconditionally! He wants us to rest in His unconditional love.

You’re free? Be free!

Just to recap – if you think abiding is something we must do, then understand that the evidence of abiding is zero sin. This is humanly impossible. The only logical response to the command “abide!” is to trust in Jesus and His performance and quit trying to impress Him with yours. The word “abide” connotes “rest” and “surrender,” not “struggle” and “try harder.”

Trust God, the abiding issue is all settled from His side. “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him.” But it may not be settled from your side. You may still be struggling with that old servant mentality. Instead of rest there is insecurity. Instead of joy there is anxiety. Am I in? Can I be cut off? If this is you, let Jesus speak to your insecurity:

“I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (Jn 8:34-36)

The reality is, you are free indeed because Jesus has set you free. The reality is, you are abiding in the vine because you have confessed Him as Lord. But you may not be experiencing that reality. You may feel like you’re not free or you’re not abiding. Although you are a son with a permanent place in the family, you may still think and act like the slave that you used to be. There’s only one solution: renew your mind! Stop living by feelings and start walking by faith. You are abiding in fact, so start abiding in practice.

When Jesus said, “anyone who does not abide in Me is cast out as a branch, withers, and is thrown into the fire,” He was not referring to fruitless Christians. (They are lifted up.) He was describing those who refuse to believe to that He is the Son of God. He was describing those who are looking for life outside of the true vine. If you have confessed Jesus as your Lord, then walk in that the truth: You are free, God Himself abides in you, and as a son or daughter you have a permanent place in His family. Thank you Jesus!
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Related posts:
- John 14:15 – The commands of Jesus
- What happens to unfruitful branches
- James 2:24

“You see then that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” (Jas 2:24)

In Part 1 of this study we saw how a preacher of works could misuse this verse to drive people back under law. In Part 2 we learned that James and Paul (in Romans 4) were probably both writing in response to something that Jesus had said about the “works of Abraham.” What were these works? Abraham believed and was fully persuaded that God would deliver on His promises, even when reality said otherwise.

A few points to clarify before we press on:

• James quotes Genesis 15:6 when he says that “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him with righteousness” (2:23). What works are listed in connection with Genesis 15:6? Only one: Abraham believed God.
• James, like Paul in Romans 4:3, says that Abraham was counted righteous when he believed and before he was circumcised and before he had tried to sacrifice Isaac.

Now we are ready to study the four most “difficult” verses in James 2:

21. “Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?
22. “You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.
23. “And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God’s friend.
24. “You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.”

The key verse in this sequence is verse 23. Remove this verse and you have a text to support a grace-killing theology of works. (And if you preach works, you’d better put human sacrifice on your to-do list – see verse 21.) But verse 23 cannot be removed! Verse 23 says that Abraham was counted righteous when he believed and before he offered Isaac on the altar. Verse 23 is where James says, “I’m with Paul on this matter of righteousness.”

So why does James confuse us by mentioning the thing Abraham did later at the altar? Why not just say, “Abraham was credited righteous when he believed?” The reason has to do with his audience. Which was who?

“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.” (Jas 1:1)

James was writing to Jews. Why is this significant? Because being Jews, they already knew that Abraham was credited righteous when he believed – they were Jewish! They knew the Torah inside and out. So why did they need to be reminded? It’s my conviction that James was writing to address an epidemic of unbelief.

The dynamic duo: Paul and James?!

The traditional view is that Paul wrote about faith and James wrote about works. It’s up to us to balance their teachings and to find a middle ground. Only you can’t put faith in both grace and works. What man calls balance, God calls mixture. There is no middle ground – you’re either resting in faith or you’re engaged in dead works. Anything not done in faith is sin (Rms 14:23). No, the issue is not faith versus works, but faith versus unbelief.

In the beginning of his letter James talks about the testing and proving of your faith. He’s asking, how’s your faith? or are you expressing your God-given faith? God gives us faith for a reason – that we might reveal Him and His will on our planet. When believers step out in faith, heaven comes down. When they don’t, nothing changes. Faith that takes no risks is dead.

What are we supposed to do with our faith? Well, for starters, James says we can ask for things:

1:6 “Let him ask in faith…”

4:2 “You do not have because you do not ask.”

The number one reason why prayers aren’t answered is because prayers aren’t asked. God loves us and wants to reveal Himself to us, but He waits to be asked. When should we ask?

5:13 “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.”

You would think that is obvious, but it’s not. Many suffer in silence. Many just sit there and take it thinking that it is God’s will for them to suffer. James is saying, have a little faith in God! Here’s my paraphrase of James 2:14:

“What does it profit, my brothers, if someone says he is fully persuaded regarding God’s promises but then does nothing about them, never steps out, never takes a risk? Can such ‘faith’ make any difference in his life? Can it sozo (save, heal or deliver) him?”

James makes it clear in this verse that he is talking about more than who’s saved and who’s not. Throughout his letter he lists things we can ask God for, including healing, deliverance, wisdom, indeed, every good and perfect gift which comes from the Father. Why ask?  So that we might be His firstfruits, His trophies of grace, His living testimonies of transforming power (Jas 1:18).

Whose glasses are you wearing?

A performance-oriented believer will come away from James with a list of things to do for God. But one who is standing firm on grace will come away inspired to pursue God and to prove His will through prayer:

5:16-17 “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain…” (NIV)

I live in one of the rainiest cities on earth. It seems every Sunday during winter it’s pouring with rain when it’s time to go to church. Yet we never get wet. Why not? Because my 5 year old daughter knows how to rise up in her God-given authority and rebuke the rain. She doesn’t ask God to take the rain away; she just commands the rain to stop and it does. She is fully persuaded that Christ in her has authority over the rain and that it’s not His will for us to get soaked right before church.

Two preachers, one message

I’ve said that Paul and James were on the same page regarding grace. How do I know? Because James says things like “we’re righteous” and “Elijah was a man just like us.” To the Jews, this would’ve been scandalous! How could James compare us to Elijah? Maybe if we dedicated our lives to serving God, maybe one day, if we were really good, we could become like Elijah. But no, James says the great prophet Elijah is like us. We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. If you thought the prayers of Elijah were powerful, how powerful do you think our prayers will be seeing we are clothed with Christ’s righteousness? Be encouraged – your prayers avail much!

So why aren’t we seeing more miracles? Because we’re not praying for things! We’re not asking! Our faith is locked up inside, reduced to a mere set of beliefs about what God can do, not what He wants to do right now. We dither over questions like “does God allow sickness?” or “is it God’s timing to heal this person?” It’s funny, but Jesus never seemed to be uncertain about these things.

By the way, is James saying that the more we pray, the more likely our prayers will be heard? Does God reward our praying effort? He does not. Jesus told us not to pray like those who think they will be heard “because of their many words” (Mt 6:7). No, James is saying we should pray as a people who are fully persuaded regarding God’s will. When you are fully persuaded your prayers will be bold and effective.

Unbelieving believers

I know you will find this hard to believe, but I have heard of Christians who claim to have faith, but they don’t heal the sick. “Now listen,” as James would say, if you are fully persuaded that God heals the sick, then act on that persuasion and start healing the sick!

5:14: “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray…”

What so special about the elders? Well hopefully they will be fully persuaded that God wants to heal you! Elders lead by example. I led a church in Hong Kong for 10 years. When sick people walked in I would offer to pray for them like this: “I’m not praying because I’m supposed to pray. I’m praying because I fully expect you’re going to get healed right now.” The person I was praying for might not have been fully persuaded that God heals, but I was, and people got healed – not all of them, but certainly more than would’ve been healed if no one had prayed. That reminds me of something Bill Johnson often says:

“I learned a long time ago that more people are healed when you pray for more people!”

Some people are not entirely sure that God still heals the sick. They’re in two minds about this healing business. They are not fully persuaded. When they pray people don’t get healed and their doubt becomes self-fulfilling. James writes about this:

“Let him ask in faith, with no doubting for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (Jas 1:6-8)

What limits our faith? Unbelief, or to use James’ words, doubt and uncertainty. To the degree that you are uncertain about God’s will, to that degree you are handicapped by unbelief. The devil wants you uncertain, but God wants you to be sure about His good will (Rms 12:2). If you’re not sure, then James says, “Pray, ask God for wisdom – and ask confidently! – receive what God gives you, then act on it.”

Finally, James 2:24…

The essence of James 2:24 is this: a believer isn’t one who merely believes God in his heart, he reveals God through his actions. The difference between you and your unsaved neighbor is not just a set of beliefs, it is the life of Christ in you and revealed through you. You not only think differently, you act differently and what you do flows from what you believe. If you don’t believe God heals the sick, you won’t pray for the sick and they won’t get healed. You are no different from your unbelieving neighbor in this regard. But if you do believe that Jesus provided for our healing 2000 years ago (1 Pet 2:24), then you will pray for the sick and you will heal them.

To the church James is saying, don’t just believe God, reveal Him! Speak to your mountain, heal the sick, drive out demons, raise the dead! If you are fully persuaded, that God can heal the sick, but you don’t pray for the sick – something is wrong. Your faith is not being expressed. It’s lifeless, powerless and incomplete. It’s like a fig tree that never bears fruit. If you are fully persuaded that God will do what He promised, then act on it and receive your miracle. Why wait? Abraham didn’t linger. He got up early the next morning and marched off fully persuaded that God would raise the dead.

We haven’t been called to do works for God, but to do the works of God. The work of God is to believe in Jesus (Jn 6:29). He who believes Jesus saves will be saved and will save others. He who believes Jesus heals will be healed and will heal others. If you are fully persuaded that Jesus is our wisdom from God – that He is our righteousness, our holiness, our redemption, and our victory – it will be evident in how you live.

Faith resides in the heart, but the fruit of faith can be seen. Abraham was credited righteous when he believed in Genesis 15, but his faith was seen when he offered Isaac on the altar in Genesis 22. His faith was made complete or consummated by what he did. Again, this is not a challenge to get busy for Jesus, but to abide in Him. You can bear no fruit by yourself. Only God can do the work of God. Our role is to rest in Him, trust Him, and reveal Him. When we do that His kingdom comes, the blind see, the lame leap, and the dead rise. Sometimes it even stops raining.

So far in this study we have been looking at the faith of righteous Abraham. In Part 4 we will look at the faith of unrighteous Rahab.

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In Part 1 of this study we looked at how James appears to contradict much of what Paul teaches about faith. If you hold James 2 alongside Romans 4 you will see that both chapters use the same Old Testament examples to support apparently different conclusions. Both James and Paul refer to Abraham and they both quote Genesis 15:6. See for yourself:

Paul: “If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. What does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’” (Rms 4:2-3,9)

James: “Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God’s friend.” (Jas 2:21-23)

It is clear that both Paul and James are impressed by Abraham’s faith. But they seem to draw very different lessons from his example:

Paul: “Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace…” (Rms 4:16)

James: “You see then that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” (Jas 2:24)

Don’t you find it curious that both James and Paul chose Abraham as their role model and that both of them referred to Genesis 15:6? One could be forgiven for thinking that James was writing in response to something that Paul had said or that Paul was writing in response to something that James had said. But I think they were both writing in response to something that Jesus had said:

“If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham.” (Jn 8:39)

Whenever we are confused by an apparent inconsistency in the Bible, we will come to the right conclusion by filtering the “problem” text through life and work of Jesus. So if we want to reconcile Romans 4 with James 2, it will help if we read what Jesus said in John 8.

Who’s your Daddy?

In John 8, Jesus goes to the temple and confronts the Jews on the question of Fathership. Jesus came to reveal His Father, but the Jews refused to believe that Jesus was who He said He was.

“Then they asked him, ‘Where is your father?’ ‘You do not know me or my Father,’ Jesus replied. ‘If you knew me, you would know my Father also.’” (Jn 8:19)

When the Pharisees scorned Jesus for testifying on His own behalf, He replied:

“I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me… my other witness is the Father… I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.” (Jn 8:16,18,28)

Still the Jews refused to listen. So Jesus warned them that they would die for their sin of unbelief (v.24). At this point some of the Jews changed their minds and put their faith in Jesus (v.30), but the others started making plans to kill Him (v.37). Knowing their murderous thoughts, Jesus said they were just like their father the devil, “a murderer from the beginning” (v.55). Clearly they were slaves to sin who needed to be set free. The Jews replied that they were Abraham’s children and they had never been slaves of anyone. To this Jesus responded,

“If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things.” (Jn 8:39-40)

The Jews thought they were special because they were Abraham’s descendents. But Jesus said if they really were children of Abraham, then they would act like Abraham. So what did Abraham do that the Jews refused to do? The short answer is that Abraham believed God. The Jews, in contrast, rejected the Living Word of God even as He stood right there in front of them. Truth had come to set them free but they refused to listen. Their actions testified that they did not belong to God but to their father the devil, “a liar and the father of lies” (Jn 8:44).

When was Abraham born again?

Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. Here’s a question that will help us with James 2:24: when was Abraham credited with righteousness? Was it after he tried to sacrifice Isaac in Genesis 22? Was it after he was circumcised in Genesis 17? No, it was back in Genesis 15.

“We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!” (Rms 4:9-10)

The word of the Lord came to Abraham in Genesis 15, in verses 1, 4 and 5. Abraham “believed the Lord” in verse 6 and was immediately credited with righteousness. On this point James and Paul are in complete agreement. (Actually they are in complete agreement on all points, as I will show you.) So what works had Abraham done when righteousness was credited to him in Genesis 15? Only one – he believed God. What work did Jesus say Abraham had done that the Jews had not done? He believed God.

What exactly did Abraham believe? He believed that God was his shield and his exceedingly great reward. Although Abraham received many promises from God, Genesis 15:1 might be considered The Promise as it foreshadowed the two-fold work that God’s Son would accomplish on the cross – protection (from judgment) and provision (new life in Christ). The shield speaks of God’s mercy (complete forgiveness!) while the reward speaks of the riches of His grace (God Himself – He is the gift!). In other words, Abraham believed in, and eagerly looked forward to Jesus! We know this because Jesus told the Jews:

“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” (Jn 8:56)

What are the works of Abraham?

Jesus said the Jews were nothing like their father Abraham because they did not do what Abraham did, and what they did Abraham did not do. The Jews rejected Jesus, but Abraham embraced Jesus with joy and gladness, albeit from a distance (Heb 11:13). The works of Abraham are thus identical to the works that God requires of all men:

“Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent.’” (Jn 6:29)

James said that Abraham was considered righteous for what he did. What did he do? Jesus has already given us the short answer (he believed); Paul gives us a longer answer:

“Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.  Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why ‘it was credited to him as righteousness.’” (Rms 4:18-22 NIV)

What are the “works of Abraham”? They are believing and being fully persuaded that God will deliver on His promises even when reality says otherwise. When was Abraham fully persuaded? It was in Genesis 15, when God credited him with righteousness. When did we see evidence that Abraham was fully persuaded? In Genesis 22, when he tried to sacrifice Isaac. That’s why James writes “You see his faith and actions were working together.” But God saw Abraham’s faith seven chapters earlier.

What if Abraham had failed the test?

Would Abraham still have been counted righteous if he had not bound Isaac on the altar? Many have asked this, but it’s the wrong question. The right question is, does God ask us to do things that He knows we can’t or won’t do? Does God set us up for failures of faith?

Understand that we are not talking about the ordinary works of the flesh. Sometimes we do find ourselves in situations that are more than we can bear. We try with all our might and struggle with all our energy, yet we fail badly. This happens so that might learn to trust in God who raises the dead and not rely on our own strength or understanding (2 Cor 1:9). But if we are resting in Christ, if we are fully persuaded that God will do what He promised, then you cannot fail. It’s impossible.

People have written entire books about what Abraham must’ve been thinking the morning after God asked him to sacrifice Isaac. The motivation behind these books is the thought that, gulp, what if God asked me to sacrifice my son? Well don’t panic, He won’t. God sacrificed His Son so you don’t have to sacrifice yours. Because of Jesus we get all the blessings of Abraham without going through what Abraham went through. Yes, you will face trials and tests, suffering and hardship. But if you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus there’s no test you can’t pass, no battle you can’t win! Why not? Because Christ is our victory (1 Cor 15:57), and Jesus never loses, never fails!

If God says “we’re going to the other side of the lake” (Mk 4:35), and you are fully persuaded God will do what He says, then no matter what bad stuff happens along the way, you can rest assured that you are indeed going to the other side of the lake. God said so! Likewise Abraham was fully persuaded that his offspring would come through Isaac. “If Isaac dies without children,” he reasoned, “then God must raise the dead” (Heb 11:19). It absolutely, positively has to happen. People speculate whether Abraham dragged his feet in obeying the Lord, but the Bible says he got up “early the next morning” and went (Gen 22:3). Why would you wait when there’s a miracle on the way? Hesitation can be fatal to faith. Sometimes it’s just better to obey quickly, while faith is strong.

Faith never initiates; faith responds

To summarize Part 1 and Part 2 of this study, we now see that there are two very different ways to work in the Bible. We can work under law or under grace. We put ourselves under law when we look for things we should be doing for Jesus. We remain under grace when we rest in Him and then do what comes naturally. Under law, we initiate. Under grace, we respond in faith to what God is saying or doing. We see Him or hear Him and then we join Him (Jn 5:19). Under law, we work alone. Under grace, we co-labor with Him (2 Cor 6:1). This is how Jesus and Abraham and all the heroes of faith operated. What is the work that God wants from us? He wants us to trust Him, to be fully persuaded that He will do what He said, even when our present reality says otherwise.

And with that firm foundation, we are finally ready to unpackage James 2:24. Stay tuned for Part 3…

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