Faith That Works

Yesterday was another busy day for us.  Early morning, we played badminton with Ram and Bro. Jun, also with Justin and Matthew at Agnes building.  We had to move a lot of stuff from our church office in Port Coquitlam to Agnes building, we finished probably close to 12 noon.   I slept for a few hours in the afternoon and then I woke up around 6pm to write this message and when I woke up,  I can barely move my arms and my whole body was aching.  I was thinking --- I shouldn’t have carried too many heavy things, I’m getting too old for this, I can just show up there and boost their morale instead but leave the physical jobs to the younger men…but when I sat down in front of my computer and realize my topic… Faith That Works, I just thanked God for the protection and for the strength that I was able to help and in my own little way, was able to demonstrate a little bit about the principle of Faith That Works.

As Christians, we know that our mission is the Great Commission.  We share the Gospel and we make disciples.  However, based on centuries of experience by Jesus’ followers – when we share the Gospel, before the person even starts opening the Bible that we gave, we know that the first Bible they will actually read is our life.    Our lives become the open Bible for these people, especially the unbelievers.  They will read us.  They will analyze us. Study our every move.  They will try to make sense of what we are saying by how we live our lives. Do we practice what we preach?  Do we walk the talk?  Do good works come out what our so-called faith?

Jesus said the world will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.  LOVE is an action word.   It’s the greatest commandment, loving God.  But we cannot say we love God and we have faith in Him but if we don’t do anything to show that love and faith for God --- it is nothing, it’s dead and it’s useless.

For most of us who were attending the Catholic church before, the five solas were basically among the main doctrinal differences of Christian or protestant churches.  One of the major contention between Catholics and Protestants is how is a person saved?  Is it by FAITH ALONE or Sola FIDE or is it Faith + Works?

First of all,  it says that the only time the phrase “faith alone” is mentioned in the Bible is even saying to the contrary or negative is in James 2:24.   Well, the Bible does not need to contain the precise phrase “faith alone” in order to clearly teach salvation by faith alone.  It’s the same thing we don’t find the word Trinity in the Bible but we believe in Trinity or we don’t find the word Rapture in the Bible but we believe in the Rapture.  We don’t find the word “faith alone” in the Bible supporting salvation by faith alone but there are numerous other verses that prove and support this specific doctrine.   Second, the context of James 2:24 is not arguing against the doctrine of salvation by faith alone.   It actually supports it.  

There is also an ongoing debate among Bible scholars between Paul vs. James regarding the issue of salvation.

They seem to have  a different view on being justified.


It is a fundamental Christian belief that we are justified by faith.    

It is the completed work of God.  He does this by crediting--by reckoning the righteousness of Jesus to the sinner. This is done by faith. That is, when the sinner puts his faith in the sacrifice of Jesus and trusts in Him and not himself for righteousness, then God justifies him. "And Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness," (Rom. 4:3)

But, if the Bible teaches that we are justified by faith, does it also teach we are justified by works as James "seems" to imply? Is there a contradiction? The answer is a big NO! There are two Latin words that describe these kinds of faith.  These are:
                                   Ascentia and Fiducia


This is the kind of faith that a Christian has in Christ. A Christian, therefore, has fiducia, that is, he has real faith and trust in Christ and not simply an acknowledgment that He lived on earth at one time.  Another way to put this is that there are many people in the world who believed that Jesus lived: ascentia. But they do not believe that He is their Savior, the one to whom they should look and trust for the forgiveness of their sins. Ascentia does not lead to works. Fiducia does.   Ascentia is not of the heart. Fiducia is.

This sentiment is emphasized in 1 John 2:4 which says, "If you say you have come to know Him, yet you do not keep His commandments, then the truth is not in you and you are a liar."

Good works is a natural result of real faith.  There is no disagreement between James and Paul.  James simply expounded what Paul was saying about faith.  James simply made some logical illustration of the same faith that Paul was talking about using the same example of Abraham.

Prayer

Wherever you are, whatever you situation you may be -- you need the love of Jesus in your life. Please say this prayer sincerely from your heart:  

Father God, I confess all my sins to you today.  Please forgive me.  Today, I open my heart to your Son Jesus Christ.  I accept Him in my life as my Savior and as my Lord.  May the Holy Spirit come to my life and make me the kind of person you want me to be.  In Jesus Name, I pray. 

 Amen.

The above article is an excerpt from a sermon delivered at WCCC Richmond during its service on  

Sunday, September 20, 2015.

I apologize if there are grammatical and spelling errors. I also apologize if I have missed acknowledging or making proper references to my sources, if any.  as it is purely unintentional.

If you are looking for a church in British Columbia, Canada please visit our website at:

 www.wordchristiancommunity.com

. 

Sola Fide

by Pastor Ramil N.Carmen

This is part 4 of our series on the book of James.

Most of the known religion in the world would probably try to answer these questions. However, for us Christians, sometimes there are follow up questions:

This is one of the fundamental questions of our Christian faith, the point of argument and the bone of contention in many venues of discussions.

The word sola is the Latin word for “only” and this is where we get the word “solo” and it was used in relation to five key teachings that defined the biblical principles of the Protestants.  One of the key figures in the protestant reformation in the 1500s was Martin Luther.  He was a former Catholic priest who courageously pointed out some of the biblical errors of the church and because of what Martin Luther teaches, he was considered a heretic and he was kicked out of the Catholic clergy and some of his followers protested that order condemning him, hence the term PROTESTANT was coined

Sola scriptura emphasizes the Bible alone as the source of authority for Christians.  

Sola fide emphasizes salvation as a free gift and it's faith alone that saves.

Sola gratia emphasizes grace as the reason for our salvation.  

Solo Christo emphasizes the role of Jesus in salvation and His role as our “high priest” who intercedes on our behalf before the Father.  John 14:6 says   “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

Soli Deo gloria emphasizes the glory of God as the goal of our lives.  

"Why is salvation by works a popular viewpoint? Why do so many people believe that we can be saved by works?"

Salvation by works is an answer that seems right in the eyes of man.  Salvation by works appeals to our pride and our desire to be in control of our lives.   Our inherent sense of right and wrong demands that if we are to be saved, our “good works” must outweigh our “bad works.”  

Taken in the context of the entire passage (James 2:14–26),   James is not saying our works make us righteous before God.  He is making it clear that real saving faith is demonstrated by good works. The person who claims to be a Christian but lives in disobedience to Christ with a life that is not producing good works is a false or “dead” faith and is not saved. James is making a contrast between two different kinds of faith:



The 1 Million Cheque Illustration:

Supposing I have a cheque for $1million here payable for you.  You asked me Pastor Ramil - why would you give me $1million?  Is it because I cleaned your car the other day or I brought you your favorite food today?  Is it because I help you carry and dispose your old TV?  NO.  I just want give you a $1million cheque because I have lots of money and I am just too generous.  Then you asked me.  So what do I need to do?  Well, just receive it.  Maybe sign the cheque at the back and deposit it to your account.  And so you did.  You signed the cheque and deposited it to your account.

Question:  By signing the cheque and depositing it to your account, DOES THAT MAKE YOU EARN THAT $1MILLION CHEQUE?  Of course not!  That’s what we do when we take a step of faith and receive Christ.  That’s what we do when we pray the sinner’s prayer.  Yes, Christ offers eternal life.  But we don’t earn it but just praying the sinner’s prayer?  That’s eternal life.  Paid for by the blood of Christ.  You think God is cheap?  He sacrificed His only begotten Son and then when we take a step of faith and pray and then we can conclude that, oh, I did some work?  I took a step of faith and prayed the sinners’ prayer. Shame on us if we think that way! Using the same illustration, supposing weeks have passed, you still wear the same dirty clothes.  You still don’t have food on your table.  There was no change in your lifestyle at all. There was no transformation.   Maybe you haven’t deposited the cheque at all.  Maybe your signature on the cheque is fake.  Maybe you threw the cheque in the recycle bin.  The only evidence that you have received and deposited that cheque is when I start to see the change in your life.

Real faith alone saves us – but if we claim that we have found real faith, if we claim that we have found Christ… there must be personal transformation.  

Good works does not save us.  It is is a natural result and proof that we are saved. 

Prayer

Wherever you are, whatever you situation you may be -- you need the love of Jesus in your life. Please say this prayer sincerely from your heart:  

Father God, I confess all my sins to you today.  Please forgive me.  Today, I open my heart to your Son Jesus Christ.  I accept Him in my life as my Savior and as my Lord.  May the Holy Spirit come to my life and make me the kind of person you want me to be.  In Jesus Name, I pray. 

 Amen.

The above article is an excerpt from a sermon delivered at WCCC Richmond during its service on  

Sunday, September 20, 2015.

I apologize if there are grammatical and spelling errors. I also apologize if I have missed acknowledging or making proper references to my sources, if any.  as it is purely unintentional.

If you are looking for a church in British Columbia, Canada please visit our website at:

 www.wordchristiancommunity.com 

Pride and Prejudice - Book of James series Part 3

Today we are going to talk about favouritism and obviously, this particular challenge affects a lot of relationships even during our time today.  It’s very relevant.  I hope you are not bored with our discussion of the Book of James.  I just can’t let go of this book because of the richness in its content and like what I said in the past – I like this book because of its practical applications.

Who among you have read the book or watched the play or watched the movie Pride and Prejudice by author Jane Austen?   This was one of the favorite movies of my family, especially my daughter.    It was published in the 1800s in England.  The story centers on the love story of  Elizabeth Bennet, who belongs to a middle class family and Mr. Darcy – a young, eligible bachelor and very worthy estate owner.  During those times, social class plays a major role in selecting a lifetime partner.  I remember there was a character in this story, his name is Mr. Collins, a clergy man, like a pastor who oftentimes loses his mind and panicked a lot whenever the rich lady Catherine de Bourgh is around – a very wealthy woman and her nephew is Mr. Darcy.

It is a common trait in most people -- we take pride by being associated with powerful, popular, or good looking and even wealthy individuals.  Even in school, the persons with the most friends are the intelligent, good looking students.  We take pride by being friends with people who are popular. 

How many of you have experienced being discriminated? How many of you experienced “favouritism?”  Sometimes its very common in families – one sibling is the favourite.  Have you experience that or have observed? Like your parents have favourites among your siblings, or your teacher has favourites among her students or your pastor has favourites among the congregation?  Do you feel bad when somebody plays favorites?  It’s easy to shout unfair if we are the one’s being prejudiced.  But…how do you feel if you are the favourite?  

The Bible tells us that God formed man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life.  We were all made of dirt -- maybe white dirt, red dirt, yellow dirt, brown dirt, and black dirt, so we all came from the same place and same material --- dirt!

In the opening verse of Chapter 2, James already made a very important point.  He said:

My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favour some people over others?

First of all, it’s very clear that James was to addressing the believers, right?  So it only affirms what we learned  as to the target audience of this book.  He said in this verse, “brothers and sister.”  James is not addressing an outside issue but an internal concern.   Then, he said how can you have FAITH or how can you claim you have FAITH if you FAVOUR some people over others?  

The keywords here are Faith and Favour or Favouritism.  Then he gives an illustration – Supposing someone comes into your meeting, the Greek word used in here is “synagogue” or in our time today – church or home group fellowship.    He said supposing someone dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelries, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes.  If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgements are guided by evil motives?   

James is seeing an inconsistency between their faith and their actions.  They were playing favourites, they were showing partiality, they were showing favouritism.

They were flattering the rich people in hopes of getting something from them. They thought that "by flattering the rich the can get some favours.”

You will like this quote that I read from a book entitled Today and Tomorrow by Tim Green:

When favoritism is shown, whether we admit it or not, we make ourselves into a "judge" of other people.  This is the reason why favoritism is ungodly and it does not go along with our faith.  

I’ll give you two important points here about the rich and the poor and I praise God for the wisdom that He gives to each one of us whenever we study His word.   

First point, James is not telling his original audience here that they should not favor the rich because they are rich, per se. If you look at these verses, James said “isn’t the rich who oppress you and drag you to court?  Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ whose noble name you bear?”  James is giving these warnings against the rich not because they are rich per se, not because of who they are but because of what they did!  They oppress the poor, they drag them to court, they slander the Name of Jesus!  Did you get that?

Second point,  James said “you dishonor the poor!”  Are they not the ones who will inherit the Kingdom Jesus promised to those love Him and hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith?  James is asking the church to have compassion and give fair treatment to the poor NOT because they are poor, per se… but because they are poor in spirit.  What do we mean by “poor in spirit?”  He said “are they not the ones who will inherit the Kingdom of God?”

James here is quoting his big brother, Jesus Christ!  Remember the Beatitudes -- Matthew 5:3,5 says ““Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”  So we are not just talking here of poor, per se.. but those who are poor in Spirit.   Jesus did not say “blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” NO, Jesus said “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  

 In relation to favouritism, James is saying, even if we commit that sin, we violate the whole law of God.  It does not mean that if we commit one sin, we are guilty of committing other sins.    That’s not what he meant.  What James meant is that the law of God is an entity, it’s a unity, even one sin, even the sin of favouritism, results in the whole law being broken.  The law of God isn't like an examination paper where only six out of ten questions must be answered and if you scored 8, you got a “A.”  No!  It is like a pane of glass, just one crack and the whole pane is broken.

Favouritism is unlawful because it breaks the second commandment,  i.e. Love your neighbour as yourself.  And to be a violator of God’s law, one just needs to break one.  James said “For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws. For the same God who said, “You must not commit adultery,” also said, “You must not murder.” So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law.”

A criminal does not have to commit all the crimes to be available for him to be called a criminal.  A lawbreaker does not have to violate all the laws of the country to be a lawbreaker.  Just by breaking one law makes a person a lawbreaker.  Get the picture?

These concluding thoughts go back to the crux of the book of James.  He said “whatever you SAY or whatever you DO!”  That’s action.  Isn’t James the same person who said faith without action is dead? 

He said you will be judged by the law that sets your free.  The Bible says in Matthew 12:36 “But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgement for every empty word they have spoken. “

Wait a second… I thought James is talking to believers?  Why is he talking about judgement?  Aren’t we all spared from judgement because we have Christ in our hearts?  Aren’t we all freed from the effects of the law of sin and death?  Why do we need to face judgement?  We’re born –again Christians! 

Well… let me tell you this, being born-again does not give us the freedom to play favourites.  Being born again does not give us the right to break God’s commands.  Being born again does not exempt us from the judgement of Christ.  

However, James is speaking of a different kind of judgement.  This is not judgement about a person’s salvation. This is not a kind of judgement that will determine whether we shall go to heaven or hell.  We were talking about this last Friday in the Bible Study.  When a person dies, there is actually judgement. Hebrews  9:27 says “And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgement”  and this was confirmed by Christ when He told the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.

James is talking about the Judgement Seat of Christ.  The Bema Judgement.  

At the judgement seat of Christ, believers are rewarded based on how they have served Christ, on how well we obeyed the Great Commission, how victorious we were over sin, on how well we controlled our tongues. The Bible speaks of believers receiving crowns for different things based on their words and works - these various crowns are described in the Bible and I think the best description was given by James himself,  in Chapter 1:12  “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

So if anyone thinks he can escape the judgement of Christ because he is a born again Christian, he is mistaken. 

Favouritism is an offshoot of pride and the result is prejudice.  Favoritism is a sin and it permeates not even Christian families and even Churches.    

In our family, I usually tell my daughter that she is the best and my favourite daughter in the world.  I also tell Ram he is my favourite son and the best baby boy in the world.  Sometimes in our family, we treat our kids differently.  Not because we play favourites – but because each of our child is unique and they have different personalities so we just have to deal with them differently and apply different approaches.

But we have to be careful not to play favourites inside our homes so much so inside the church.  Sometimes, we probably are not aware of it – that we are playing favourites among our children or we are discriminating people in the church and that sometimes, knowingly or unknowingly, we just wanted to be associated with people who may eventually give us favours.

Romans 2:11 says “For God does not show favouritism” and even if God the Father, during the baptism of Jesus said that “Jesus is His son, with whom He is well pleased” God did not spare Jesus from judgement.  Last Friday we were talking about the 144,000 Jews who were sealed with God’s special protection during the Tribulation period.  We also learned about how Satan tormented Job but God did not allow Satan to kill him.  But when it comes to Christ, Jesus did not ask for any favour at all.   He knows that the penalty for our sins is DEATH and that’s what He had to do. According to the Bible, Jesus could have called twelve legions of angels to save Himself but He did not do it.  He believes and practices fair judgement and plays no favourites.

For us… we should learn from our Master and Teacher, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  I will leave you with this verse from 2 Corinthians 5:9-10

Prayer

Wherever you are, whatever you situation you may be -- you need the love of Jesus in your life. Please say this prayer sincerely from your heart:  

Father God, I confess all my sins to you today.  Please forgive me.  Today, I open my heart to your Son Jesus Christ.  I accept Him in my life as my Savior and as my Lord.  May the Holy Spirit come to my life and make me the kind of person you want me to be.  In Jesus Name, I pray. 

 Amen.

The above article is an excerpt from a sermon delivered at WCCC Richmond during its service on  

Sunday, August 30, 2015.

I apologize if there are grammatical and spelling errors. I also apologize if I have missed acknowledging or making proper references to my sources, if any.  as it is purely unintentional.

If you are looking for a church in British Columbia, Canada please visit our website at:

 www.wordchristiancommunity.com