Introduction
Illustration: Ever tried a diet that didn't work? If so, sympathize with William the Conqueror a man who lived almost 1,000 years ago. Apparently, old William apparently got so fat he had trouble staying on his horse!
His solution? The French king decided enough was enough, so he confined himself to his room and consumed nothing but alcohol.
Though the days that followed were undoubtedly interesting, the diet didn't work. He eventually died in 1087 when he fell off his horse at the Siege of Mantes. He was so obese, clergy had trouble fitting him into his stone sarcophagus, and the stench of his body filled the chapel with a foul smell.
At least his horse must've felt some relief.
The alcohol diet? It won't ever work, but it'd probably be plenty popular.
We're more accustomed to hearing about, and trying out, the Atkins diet, or the South Beach version. Or maybe it's the Sonoma Diet you prefer?
Certainly they'll be more modern than yesteryear's Scarsdale Diet, or the Cabbage Soup Diet, the Astronaut's Diet, the F-Plan, and the Zone.
Even Oprah threw away the Optifast diet that once lightened her of 67 pounds, and came out as an advocate of good eating and portion control.
Talk about a diet that didn't work . . . When he was having trouble squeezing into his white jump suits, Elvis took on the "Sleeping Beauty Diet." The plan? He would stay heavily sedated for days, hoping to wake up as a thinner king. And if it hadn't been for all those peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches he kept deep-frying in butter, the Sleeping Beauty Diet might have worked for Elvis!
Other weight-loss plans that haven't worked: The "Vision Dieter Glasses" were supposed to make food look less appealing. The mini-fork system was designed to help folks take smaller bites. One group applied yoga practices to remove the need for eating altogether!
The most embarrassing moment of American weight loss history? Perhaps it was 1903, when President William Howard Taft, at 355 pounds, the heaviest President in our history, got stuck in the White House bathtub. He vowed to reduce after that, and the America's love-hate relationship with dieting has been going strong ever since.
Sooner or later, if you're really going to have a diet that works, you'll have to give up the belt-driven fat massagers, the deep-fried banana sandwiches, and just do a little education. The only way to lose weight, if that's the need, is to burn off more calories than you consume, to eat smart, exercise on a regular basis, and to stay with the plan. There simply is no other way, no matter which celebrity happens to be pitching her new product on an Infomercial later today.
(Source: "Belly Laughs at Early Fad Diets: Tasty Morsels From Weight-Loss History." Buck Wolf. ABC News, Jan. 10, 2005.
A diet is one thing. Having a faith with Almighty God is another thing altogether. While a healthy physical life is obviously important, securing eternal life in heaven, and the abundant life Jesus offered us now, is obviously far more important. We can't afford to have laughable faith fads on our bookshelves that last no longer than some of our dieting efforts.
But thankfully, there's help. There's a real plan for spiritual health, for a faith that works, and you can find it in the Bible. There's no quick fix, no fad that will instantly take you to a level of mature Christianity, but there is a plan that will work, as long as we put it into action.
I. A faith that works is . . . a faith that works
What a famous line, from James 2:18 ' "someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
James isn't the only writer in the New Testament who championed a faith that works hard. For all his teaching on grace, and the foundational theology of salvation by faith alone, Paul was also committed to this idea. In perhaps Paul's most famous passage on salvation by grace alone (and not by "works"), he immediately describes a faith that will, indeed, be hard at work.
Ephesians 2:8-10: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith ' and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God ' not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Just as clearly as Paul said we weren't saved by works, he immediately adds that we are created in Christ to do good works, work that God had long ago planned for us to be about.
Salvation is by faith, through grace. But discovering what it is to follow Jesus isn't some case of spiritual magic, or something that happens to Christians even if they never put forth the effort to live in a Christ-modeling manner.
Consider the way Jesus made "disciples." He invited people to follow him as students, but only those who actually responded actually experienced discipleship. Peter and Andrew knew that experience, but the rich young ruler and others who walked away did not. Nicodemus slowly came to follow, but most of the other religious experts did not.
And have you noticed a trend in the miracle stories? In many, perhaps most, of the miracle stories, Jesus asked key faith questions before the miracle. Or as in the case of the woman who touched the fringes of his prayer shawl, there was an action step that came first, a step of faith that led toward the desired result. The people who were healed not only had faith, they had faith that took them to where Jesus was, and obeyed what he said to do.
The commitment of working at something you believe in isn't difficult to comprehend at all. If you want the job, you'll have to prepare the resume, fill out the application, and shake someone's hand. It might make you nervous to make the first move, but without those action steps, there will be no job.
If you think someone special in your life might make a good spouse, there will be no discovery of that reality without some definitive action steps taken along the way. Maybe it's a conversation at the office, a phone call, an e-mail, a card, or these days, filling out the information on e-harmony.com. No matter what your choice of action, without some "work" behind your feelings, there will never be a discovery of what the potential relationship holds . . . unless that action actually happens.
James was apparently dissatisfied with people who talked the talk but never got around to walking the walk. They had the feelings, but no work!
JAS 2:20-22 You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 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.
Illustration: Years ago, we lived in one state, and my parents lived in another. Visits were few and far between, so we did what we could to keep our parents in touch with their grandchildren. One day, our girls sat down in front of a tape recorder, and sent an audio letter to their grandmother. The older one read some from a book. The younger one interrupted, and the older one scolded. The younger one finally got a turn, and she made up her own story, and then sang a song. On and on it went, two children trying to out-do one another, creating a cassette tape that would be valuable to precious few people in the world.
Months later, I picked up some details from the receiving end of that project. My mother had listened to that cassette tape so many times, the tape had stretched, and had broken. Despite the fact that she knew nothing about repairing gadgets of any kind, and despite the crippling arthritis that had twisted her fingers, she took some Scotch tape, cut it carefully to fit, wrapped it around the once-mangled ends of the broken pieces, and carefully rewound the tape. She did it all just to hear the voices of those grandchildren just one more time . . .
You know, my mother had told me many times before how much she loved those girls, but with that one, difficult little repair job, she assured me beyond any doubt that she really loved those grandchildren!
II. A faith that works will be tested
James didn't waste any time getting around to this point. Right off the bat, with his "Dear Church," greeting barely behind him, he starts teaching. And Lesson No. 1 involves the testing of our faith.
James 1:2-4: Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Illustration: In May 1995, Randy Reid, a 34-year-old construction worker, was welding on top of a nearly completed water tower outside Chicago. According to writer Melissa Ramsdell, Reid unhooked his safety gear to reach for some pipes when a metal cage slipped and bumped the scaffolding he stood on. The scaffolding tipped, and Reid lost his balance. He fell 110 feet, landing face down on a pile of dirt, just missing rocks and construction debris. A fellow worker called 911.
When paramedics arrived, they found Reid conscious, moving, and complaining of a sore back. Apparently the fall didn't cost Reid his sense of humor. As paramedics carried him on a backboard to the ambulance, Reid had one request: "Don't drop me." (Doctors later said Reid came away from the accident with just a bruised lung.) (Source: Greg Asimakoupoulos, Naperville, Illinois. Leadership, Vol. 16, no. 4.)
Many times, new Christians arrive in church ready to experience the best days of their life, just bliss and blessings, while waiting their turn to go to heaven. How quickly their perception changes! Sometimes, it seems more trouble comes their way than at any time in their lives.
James takes away any pretension that it would be anything except that way. From the earliest days of the church, persecution and trials have been part of God's educational package given to those who've followed. A faith that is tested has the opportunity to grow stronger, to a place where it "works." So, James says, when you see the trouble coming, rejoice! You're about to tap in to a faith that works!
III. A faith that works will be patient
James 5:7-9: Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
Illustration: In the old West, in the wild West, a devout Quaker cowboy had been needled and harassed until he could stand it no longer. Speaking up to his tormentors, he announced: "Sir, I do not believe in violence and I would not harm thee for anything in the world. But my compassion for all men compels me to warn thee that thee art standing in the place where I am about to shoot."
Illustration: Chuck Yeager, the pilot who first broke the time barrier, revealed some interesting tidbits from aviation history in his autobiography. One of the most unusual happened at Edwards Air Force Base in the late 50s. A test pilot diving in a Mach-2 fighter actually outraced the shells from his cannons and shot himself down! Without patience, we're likely to do the same thing! (Source: Yeager, Chuck Yeager and Leo Janas, Bantam Books, 1985, page 176.)
It took Saul three years of intensive study and reflection to rethink his theology (Galatians 1:15-18). It took the disciples ' men actually traveling with Jesus! ' equally as long before they reached maturity. We may live in a world of instant gratification, but there is nothing fast about finding a faith that works. It's slow going. It can be very difficult, and very trying. But in the same way precious metals are slowly refined, purified, re-shaped, formed into expensive jewelry, and finally polished to a perfect shine, we, too, can be refined. While that process is happening, however, we must exercise great patience.
IV. A faith that works will be worth the effort
Return with me to the opening passage of James. Take a good look at the reward of one who will be patient, of one who will commit to a faith walk despite the testing, of one who will take specific, practical action steps of discovering a faith that works.
James 1:2-4: Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
The promise comes at the end. You may be mature, complete, not lacking anything.
It's the moment the MVP of the Super Bowl holds up the trophy. That smile? That's the feeling of one who is mature, complete, and not lacking anything. Have you seen Miss America walking down the runway, tears streaming down her face? She's finished the course, and found the feeling of being mature, complete, and not lacking anything.
So maybe you never find the spotlight of the Super Bowl television cameras, or the popping flashbulbs of a beauty-pageant runway. That's not the goal, anyway. Having a faith that works is far more valuable than a temporary moment of worldly success. Having a faith that works will see you through the worst times of life, and give greater depth and satisfaction to the best times of life. The Greek word for "maturity," which means "perfect, complete, not lacking in anything," is "teleaos." James uses that word five times in his short letter, indicating that the instructions here are something of a manual on how to grow into maturity as a believer.
It may be difficult to get there ' just as it may be difficult to achieve any worthwhile goal in life ' but the end result is worth every part of the struggle.
Illustration: Faith can never be exercised by proxy. You must actively develop it yourself. Spiritual growth begins when we move beyond the futile attempts to grow passively and start actively engaging our faith. Howard Hendricks puts it this way: "There is no such thing as a correspondence course for swimming."
Or as James would phrase it, a faith that works . . . will get to work. Be patient through the trials, and stay the course. In the end, the results will be more valuable than any other possession on earth.
Conclusion
Illustration: A story is told of a town where all the residents are ducks. Every Sunday the ducks waddle out of their houses and waddle down Main Street to their church. They waddle into the sanctuary and squat in their proper pews. The duck choir waddles in and takes its place, and then the duck minister comes forward and opens the duck Bible. He reads to them: "Ducks! God has given you wings! With wings you can fly! With wings you can mount up and soar like eagles. No walls can confine you! No fences can hold you! You have wings. God has given you wings, and you can fly like birds!"
All the ducks shout, "Amen!"
And then they all waddle home. (Source: Tony Campolo, Let Me Tell You a Story, Word, 2000)
There's no more time for waddling. Put your faith to work, and find a faith . . . that works.