Join us for a compelling discourse where Pastor Jack Hibbs addresses the stark reality of how our proclaimed beliefs should reflect in our actions, bringing into perspective the contrast between true believers and mere professors of faith. Through James’ writings, discover the transformative journey that leads believers from mere words to impactful action, highlighting that faith without works is ultimately unprofitable. This episode invites listeners to examine their hearts and aligns them with the principles of living out their faith authentically.
You might say this morning, Jack, I’ve been a pretty moral person all my life, so I didn’t experience a change. Hey, hey, hey, wait a minute. You may not do the bad things anymore, but since you’ve accepted Christ, now aren’t you doing so many good things for Him because He’s doing it through you and you love to make yourself available to Him? That’s the real believer. That’s the heaven-bound Christian.
SPEAKER 03 :
This is Real Life. Welcome to Real Life Radio with Pastor Jack Hibbs. I’m David Jay, thanking you for joining us today as we listen, learn, and are challenged by God’s Word, the Bible.
SPEAKER 01 :
What does it take to be a great leader? Whether you’re managing a business, running a household, or navigating relationships, leadership is about so much more than titles and tasks. In The Way of the Shepherd by Dr. Kevin Lehman, you’ll discover timeless principles of biblical leadership that apply to every area of life. Through compelling storytelling, Dr. Lehman shares seven powerful secrets that will help you lead like the Good Shepherd does. including understanding the people you lead, assessing their strengths, building trust, ensuring safety, providing direction, implementing correction, leading with compassion. Personally recommended by Pastor Jack Gibbs, The Way of the Shepherd is our thank you gift for your donation of any size to real life. Visit jackgibbs.com or call 877-777-2346 to request your copy. Order now.
SPEAKER 03 :
On today’s edition of Real Life Radio, Pastor Jack continues in his series called The Book of James with a message titled, Salvation by Faith or Works? Part 1. Now, before it became one of the books of the New Testament, James was a letter sent to the Jews who chose to follow Jesus Christ. And as new believers, James tells them that true faith in God produces some great works. You see, there is great controversy that surrounds this section of James, but James is not attacking salvation by faith alone. He says that faith without a change of lifestyle does nothing to promote Christianity. So today, Pastor Jack teaches us that on a personal level, what is our statement of faith and does it have any profit to it? And has there really been any lasting change in our life? Now, with his message called, Salvation by Faith or Works, Part 1, here’s pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hughes.
SPEAKER 04 :
James is talking to a church. Remember, he’s writing to the believers. He’s speaking right now. You know, forget who I am right now. Just erase it. If you want to just, you know, turn around and look the other way, if that works, do it. Pretend it’s James speaking this morning. James walks up. I wish it was James. He’d be a cute old man. He’d come up here this morning with a long white beard. James, precious God that he is. He’s the brother of Jude who wrote the book just before the book of Revelation. That’s Jude. This is James. James is the half-brother of Jesus himself. James is the ruler of the church in Jerusalem. He’s a real neat guy, but he’s also very direct. We see him in the book of Acts. He doesn’t pull any punches, and he tells it exactly how it is. James walks up, and you might say, what a cute old man. I mean, you look when John Wolford comes, right? What a cute guy, although he’s not little, the guy’s huge. What a cute man. I just said, look, wouldn’t you love to just sit and listen to John Wolverine all your life? I can. Oh, look at James. He’s so cute. And you know, there’s an authority that he has. He can sit here and say with his finger out, he would point to you and he’d say, if you’re not walking with Jesus Christ, then you’re probably lost. And you’d go, I received that from James. Wow. I wish James was speaking it, but I can say this, that we are all members of the New Testament church, and those are greater than James speaking it, and it’s not me, it’s the Holy Spirit himself using the word of God. And it’s coming to our hearts this morning. But will you receive it? I don’t know. I just love Roby Duke. When he comes here and sings, that guy can do anything. He can say anything. I just love him. And I love eating with him. It’s a real fun experience to eat with him. He’s just down home. And every time I look at Robey Duke, I think of Country Bear Jamboree. I don’t know why, but I think… It’s like Gale Irwin. Gale Irwin will be coming here soon to teach. And no matter what, he’ll show up, and you know what he’s going to be wearing, don’t you? Suspenders. and he’ll shake his face at you. Remember the funny things that he just teaches so great? He could say anything. He could read a menu at a restaurant and I’ll be blessed. Take it from James this morning. James is talking to only those in the sanctuary who say they’re Christians. If that’s you, then you better listen. If you’re not a Christian this morning, this message may or may not apply to you. But for those of us who would say, yes, I am a Christian, If somebody asked us on the street, we’d say, yes, we’re Christians. James says, then I’m talking to you. And he’s saying, what we speak with our mouths better match up to what we say. He says in verse 14, what does it profit? That’s the point. What profit is there? My brethren, Christians, if someone says, the word says in Greek means to lay down words, just lay them out, lay them down, just lay down words. It doesn’t mean you believe them or you don’t believe them. You just say it. Why did I say that? Somebody says, are you a Christian? Yeah, I’m a Christian. Well, I mean, you’re not a Muslim. You’re not a Hindu. So you must be a Christian. Oh, I’m a Christian. You just lay down the words. I go to church. You just lay out the words. That’s the word that James used here for says. You just lay out words. Now I got to tell you, from verses 14 to 26, James is extremely, extremely sarcastic in the words and the constructions that he uses. So listen up, everyone. This is not me yelling at you. This is not me jumping up and down and throwing fireballs. James is saying, in fact, there are those within the brethren that just lay down words. They just say it. You see the word if? If someone says, this is amazing, the word if in the Greek suggests or states, actually, that it is a neutral, it’s a statement that says it’s possibly true and it’s possibly not true. That’s what that word if means. It may be true, it may be false. So whoever this person is, James says, are they a believer or not? They may be in the family of God, they may not be. But James is gonna prove their colors by the end. Listen, he says, If someone says, they speak it, they agree with you, or they confess to the fact, I am a Christian, and he has faith, he says he has faith, but does not have works. There is no tangible evidence, no physical proof. If they’ve spiritually come to Christ invisibly, how do you qualify someone’s faith? By what they do. By how they live. It’s not just here at church. In fact, it’s outside of church. How do they live? James is saying, if someone’s laying down words, well, remember, church, be careful. It may be true. It may be false. The fact is… If they don’t have true saving faith, it profits them nothing. James is being nice. The answer actually is if they don’t have saving faith, which those who lay down words don’t have, they are in fact headed for hell. And see, we’re not allowed to say things like that anymore in churches. It freaks people out. You can’t say hell. You can’t say that there’s a heaven and a hell, and you can’t say that there’s a decision that you have to make. It’s not popular to say it ruins the attendance. Attendance affects tithing. Tithing affects how you pay bills. So you can’t mention hell and that people are actually going there. Nobody goes to hell. God sends no one to hell. Nobody. Every person who inherits hell, even at this hour, is simply doing so based upon their own decision. Neglect. Rejection of Christ. So James here is saying, whoever this person is, they have no works to back up their statement of faith. And all of a sudden this comes home very clearly because what he is saying is, does your proclamation have any profit to it? Meaning this, the person sitting next to you, are they benefited by your Christianity? Are they benefited by your Christianity? Jack, make that more clear to me. If the person sitting next to you is being blessed by virtue of the fact that you’re a Christian. It might be because you’re involved in a ministry. It might be because you pray earnestly for this church. Even for people you don’t even know, you’re praying for the body, for their marriages, for their homes, for their children, for their finances. Somehow, someway, God will not allow you to be a true believer and for your works to go unnoticed. Jesus said that we as believers are able to judge between professors of faith and true Christians by the fruit that’s in their lives. Do you have a Bible in your hand right now? Are you listening? Do you have a Bible in your hand right now, but you’re just gonna go home to your pornography? Do you have a Bible in your hand right now, but you’re just gonna go home to your battery? and your beating and your sarcasm and your rudeness? Do you have a Bible in your hand right now and you’ll live like hell for six days out of the week but come back on Sunday to get some spiritual injection? James says you’re lost. I’m not talking about the Christian who’s struggling. We all struggle. I’m talking about the person who says, yeah, I’m going to heaven, I’m saved. And you live your life for yourself and you’re self-absorbed, what profit is there to both you and to those around you? James says, none at all. You simply say you’re a Christian and when your life is observed, it in fact proves otherwise. This is heart-searching. It suggests that if we’ve come to Christ, there should be a change in our lives. It suggests the fact that if we said, Jesus, come into my life and save me from my sins and put your spirit at work in my life, that there’s a difference, that you can look and you can see, you know, I accepted Christ in December and there’s been a difference in my life. And people have been asking, what’s the difference in my life? I had, and I don’t want to take too much time on this, but it is so extremely precious. One of the translators that we have in Russia, in 1993, We were on the streets and I remember giving a message and Larissa was translating alongside me and there was this girl out in the crowd and I remember right after closing the message on the street I grabbed Larissa and we went up and shared the Lord with this young girl and she prayed the prayer and she gave her heart to Christ and she kept coming to church and she kept coming to church and she’s now in worship in the church in St. Petersburg. She’s a translator and she just got a job. And she got a job and she works for a video company. And the video company, they hired her at the most minuscule position that you could be at. And the boss said, you know what? Something’s different about you. She goes, well, what is it? He goes, I don’t know. And so two weeks went by and he says, I know what it is. She goes, what? He goes, I know why you’re different. And she says, why? I think she’s about 23. She said, why? And he said, you know what? There’s a pureness about you. There’s a purity about you. It’s all right. It’s just pure. It’s just your difference. He gave her a promotion. Other people began because of her promotion to see her new life again. They said, you’re different. She got another promotion. On top of that, she got yet a third promotion because she’s different. She’s just like Jesus in that video store. She can look back and say, you know what? I remember where my life changed in that street corner. I remember the message. We were talking together and we shared with people how we had a chance to lead her to Christ and what happened after that. Do you have a situation in your life where you can say, I know when I came to Christ? I’m not talking about the day. You may not know the day. You may not know the week. You may not know the year exactly. But you know that as you listen to the word of God, your life was changed. You might say this morning, Jack, I’ve been a pretty moral person all my life. So I didn’t experience a change. Hey, hey, hey, wait a minute. You may not do the bad things anymore, but since you accepted Christ, now aren’t you doing so many good things for him because he’s doing it through you and you love to make yourself available to him? That’s the real believer. That’s the heaven-bound Christian. Is there fruit in your life? Is there fruit in my life?
SPEAKER 03 :
You’re listening to Real Life with Pastor Jack Hibbs. You know, to hear more episodes and maybe catch up in the series, just go to jackhibbs.com. That’s jackhibbs.com. And for now, let’s get back to our teaching. Once again, here’s Pastor Jack.
SPEAKER 04 :
James, with a very sarcastic tone, comes here in verse 14, and he says, can faith save him? Actually, it is can the faith save him, or this type of faith that professes, that says I’m a Christian and lives otherwise. Listen, can faith save him? James asks this sarcastic question with the answer built in. You already know the answer, don’t you? Can faith save him? James says, nope. It’s not saved at all. It’s not saved. Can fate save him? Not this kind of faith. See, there’s a false faith. Let’s just sneak ahead for a second. There’s a demonic faith. What? Yeah, look at verse 19. You believe in one God, you do well. Even the demons believe and tremble. What’s Paul’s, or what’s James’ point? Satan’s not saved. Demons aren’t saved. They tremble at the thought of God. Do you tremble at the thought of God? Demons do. We’ll come back to that in a moment. Do you have true saving faith? Yeah, I’d like to know what that is. I’d like to know what that saving faith is and what it does. You see, Paul tells us By the works of our righteousness shall no flesh, that’s all of us, be saved. By nothing that we do good, are we saved by that? Paul does say, by faith we are saved. By faith we trust in Christ. Salvation produces the works, but the works don’t save us. Listen, boy, hang on, okay? Hang on to your seat. I’m going somewhere with this. You’re going to write me a letter. Just make sure you sign it at the bottom. You’re saved by faith alone. James is saying, yeah. And those who are truly saved, the Holy Spirit through them works. And they produce fruit. And people know it. There’s no hiding it. You can’t be a secret undercover Christian. Are you ready for this? Hang on. You can be the greatest humanitarian in the world and not go to heaven. You can be the best of the best and not make it. You can be Mother Teresa and be the greatest, greatest humanitarian. And what did Jesus say? Think, what did Jesus say? Unless a man is born again, he shall not inherit the kingdom of God. You can be a Mother Teresa in this world, and if you’re not born again, you’ll miss heaven. If you have a problem with that, you need to read your Bible. Thank the Lord, hallelujah, thank Jesus. But I’ve read some things that Mother Teresa has, and this is for your conscience. I’ve read some things about what Mother Teresa said about Jesus Christ, and I have full confidence that she’s in heaven today. You wanna know why? You wanna know why my head wants to bob up and down? You see, we look at Mother Teresa and we say, man, that’s the standard. I need to be more like her. You know what she said? She said, I’m a worm. I need to be more like Christ. She said, Jesus died on the cross and rose again from my sins personally. I was dead without him. He gave me life. She said she was trusting in Christ alone for her salvation. And that all the things she’s done was simply what Jesus would do. I believe Mother Teresa’s in heaven today because Jesus died on the cross and she trusted him. You see, all of us want to say, yeah, yeah, she’s in heaven because we want to equate salvation with works. James and Paul would agree and say, no, you’re not saved by the works you perform because you’re saved by faith in Christ. Works flow out of your life, which proves externally, outwardly, physically to you and I that we are saved. James is saying to us, quite frankly, I don’t want to hear it out of your mouth. I want to watch you this week. And James says, I’ll tell you at the end of the week if you’re saved or not. Can you imagine that? Doesn’t that sound crazy? That’s exactly what Jesus said. You’ll know them by the fruit of their life. Can those around us tell us by the end of the week, you’re saved? Imagine James is saying this, the whole world has just become deaf. Nobody can hear a word you say. They can only watch you. They can only watch me. People, that’s the truth. Those of us who named the name of Christ, James says, I’ll tell you at the end of the week, if they’re really believers, Jesus says, you’ll know them by their fruits. That’s not judgment, by the way. Did you not? I mean, you’re not judged, not, you know, you can’t be judged, shouldn’t judge people. The word is condemn. The word is, you can’t condemn somebody. Jesus comes around and says, you need to check everyone’s fruit. You’re going to get a little squeeze. Are you for real? Or is it rotten? Be careful. I used to be fruity. I used to be productive. It used to be. Be careful. Jesus said there are those in the church. They’re called tares. They’re called false brethren. they grow up in the body and they hang out in the church and you can’t tell one from the other. You can’t tell the saved from the unsaved. And some of the trials weed them out. But Jesus said, really, there are some who look just like believers that they will not be able to be removed from the body until the judgment comes. And they’re called tares. And he said that in the very end of the harvest, then I’ll separate them from the true believers because there’s such uncertainty fakes, they’re such imposters that the church can’t tell them apart. They might even be in the pulpit. Be careful. Isn’t this amazing what James, this is not a tape you want to send home to mom and dad, right? But you know, someone’s got to say this stuff. How do you know you’re saved? On what grounds are you saved? On what basis are you going to heaven? If you say, well, I’m pretty good, you’re lost. You’re not saved. If you say something more along the lines, I’m a scumball and Jesus died for me, then you’re getting close. You’ve agreed that you’re a scumball. And it is true that Jesus died for you. But the truth is, I can’t save myself. I’ve come to Jesus Christ, I believe in him, and my belief in him has led me to faith in him. And this is the type of faith. It’s an act of faith. I’m saved by what he’s done, but the proof to my brothers and sisters around me is the fruit that flows out of my life, is what James is saying. And right now I’m convicted, and you’re convicted, because the Holy Spirit is challenging us to test our hearts this morning. Second point, verses 15 through 16, is how we live in practice says all about who we are. He says in verse 15 and 16, if a brother or a sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, depart in peace and be warmed and be filled. What is it prophets? Answer, nothing. Nothing. Now, let’s tear this apart. First of all, he’s talking to brothers and sisters within the church. He’s talking to us. What’s this? We are brothers and sisters if we’re Christians this morning. If you and I see a brother and sister in need and we don’t meet their need, James says, your faith’s dead. You may call yourself a Christian. James says, you’re not. By the way you live, you’re not.
SPEAKER 03 :
pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hibbs, here on Real Life Radio with his message called Salvation by Faith or Works, Part One. Thanks for being with us today. You know, this message is part of Pastor Jack’s series called The Book of James. It’s a series on being doers of the Word and not just hearers only. And we’ll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio.
SPEAKER 02 :
You know, in a hectic world, it’s hard to find a moment’s peace. A beautiful sunrise on a quiet beach gives temporary solace, but daily inspiration that will guide and uplift our spirits is what we need the most. It’s why people of all ages are turning to devotions with Jack Hibbs. There’s a new devotion each week and previous devotions you can go to to start each day with purpose and hope. Jack Hibbs devotions are available on our website at jackhibbs.com. That’s jackhibbs.com, where faith meets real life.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, as Christians, we have this desire to live out our faith, to become more intentional in ministry, so that others we share with can have the life-changing experience of salvation through Jesus Christ. That’s exactly why the Real Life Network was created. Real Life Network offers faith-based content that will strengthen us and the beliefs we value. As big tech, big government, and big business have increased their efforts to silence the teachings of Jesus, the Real Life Network is available on your favorite device. Anytime, anywhere, it really has something for everyone. The whole family can choose from a wide range of categories like culture, current events, faith and politics, as well as programming for kids. So don’t miss out on the relevant life-changing Christian and conservative programming that will inspire you and strengthen your faith. Find the Real Life Network at reallifenetwork.com and sign up for free. That’s reallifenetwork.com. Did you know that along with the radio program, Pastor Jack also has a TV show with more of the Pastor Jack Hibbs content that you like. It’s called Real Life TV. If you enjoy Pastor Jack on the radio, you’re going to love him on TV. So check out your local listings or visit jackhibbs.com and catch the latest episodes. That’s jackhibbs.com. This program is made possible by the generous contributions of you, our listeners. Visit us at jackhibbs.com. That’s jackhibbs.com. Until next time, Pastor Jack Hibbs and all of us here at Real Life Radio wish for you solid and steady growth in Christ and in His Word. We’ll see you next time here on Real Life Radio.
