Show And Tell – Christian Style

We all remember show and tell. It might’ve been one of your favorite days of elementary school. Telling everyone about your beloved item was easy, but handing it off for classmates to touch and feel might’ve been more difficult.

We see something like this in the Book of James, Chapter 2. People are talking about their faith, but James wants to know whether that faith has ever caused them to place anything in the hands of Jesus.

Now, there’s a difference between agreeing with Jesus and trusting Jesus. Agreement states that we believe something is true, trust states that because it is true, we will place our lives on it. Agreement matters, but agreement is only the beginning of faith. Saying something costs almost nothing, while trusting someone may cost everything.

Real Faith Opens Its Hands to Real Needs
In the Book of James, Chapter 2, James trains us to recognize that dead faith doesn’t always look dead. It sounds dangerous because it is.

• It can know the words and sing the songs.
• It can believe the right things.
• It can even sound compassionate.

Dead faith knows how to talk, but what it can’t do is entrust itself to Jesus enough to move.

James 2
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?

A brother or sister lacks the essentials, and the response sounds good, even spiritual. James asks, “What good is a faith that can speak compassion, but never becomes compassion?”

James is not confronting someone who can’t meet every need. He is confronting someone who can meet this need and chooses words instead.

It allows the love of Christ to interrupt our time, loosen our grip, and mess with our schedules to meet a need we could’ve walked past.

Works are not the root of salvation, they are the fruit of salvation.

Real Faith Gives Jesus the Final Word
James 2
18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

He goes straight from, “Your faith might be dead,” to, “Congratulations, you have the same theology as a demon.”

What he’s trying to destroy is the false confidence that just because you know the right things doesn’t mean you possess real faith.

The objections then follow:

• Your thing is serving, mine is believing.
• You have deeds, I have faith.

James tells them that faith and deeds are not two different spiritual gifts. He becomes even more direct, saying, “You believe there is one God? Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder.”

James is not mocking theology because correct theology matters, but correct theology by itself is not saving trust.

The demons know Jesus is the Son of God. They recognize His authority, know judgment is coming, and respond to His power with fear. Their information is accurate, their allegiance is not.

Trusting in Jesus surrenders the right to tell Him no. Many of us want Jesus as Savior because we need saving. But what about Jesus as Lord? We confuse that with “Consultant.” A consultant advises, a Lord leads.

Real faith gives Jesus the final word – if He loved us enough to die for us, then He is worthy to lead us.

Real Faith Places the Outcome in God’s Hands
James 2
20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our father 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 considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

James calls two character witnesses to the stand: Abraham and Rahab.

• Abraham is the father of Israel. Rahab is a Gentile woman from Jericho.
• Abraham has walked with God for years. Rahab is just beginning.
• Abraham is respected. Rahab has a reputation.

They are so different, yet both are people who don’t know what God will do next but know who God is.

God asks Abraham to place Isaac on the altar. Hebrews tells us he believes God could even raise Isaac from the dead. He does not act because he understands the plan. He acts because he trusts God’s character.

In the Book of Joshua, Rahab is a prostitute in Jericho. She does not know exactly what will happen when Israel reaches Jericho. But she knows enough about God to change her allegiance.

Abraham gives God the final word and places his future in God’s hands. Rahab gives God the final word and places her safety in God’s hands.

It acts on God’s character when His plan is unclear. It says, “I don’t know what you’re doing, but I do know who you are, and that’s enough for me to take a step.”

Maybe it’s something you could use to meet a need, an area where you keep telling Jesus no, or an outcome you’re afraid to release. Everyone has a version of this because we’re all holding onto something. Something we hold tightly because it’s valuable to us.

But you don’t need to decide if you’re going to be a better Christian with what you’re holding, you need to decide whether Jesus can be trusted with what you’re holding.