[0:00] believing enough to believe he'll do what he told me he'd do. Now if he doesn't do what he told me he'd do, then I'm in trouble. Because I've got my faith totally in Jesus.
[0:16] Last night, I preached at Wallen Gap on the well won't run dry. But I found there in the book of Genesis where Philistines likes to stop it up.
[0:30] Did you ever get yours stopped up? It's the water still there. Amen. Jesus said it'll never run dry.
[0:41] Amen. And then of course Bobby's not here this morning because I don't think his well's dry. I think his pump's broke. There's all kind of things that could happen, but the water's there.
[0:55] Amen. And I want to preach today if I can. I need to make this clear to Baptists about the place that our works have in the kingdom.
[1:14] Now it's obvious anybody that's a Christian knows that you ought to do something. Amen. Amen. You ought to work.
[1:25] But if we work in order to be saved, we're actually putting the cart before the horse. So I've said a tree ought to bear fruit.
[1:37] But if a tree doesn't have life, it can't bear fruit. Amen. Life's got to come first. Amen. And then, what are you doing, Randy? Are you throwing spit wads?
[1:48] I was just checking.
[2:03] I thought, you know, it's bad enough to hit your mother with spit wads, let alone hit her in church. Just because your daddy isn't here don't mean your uncle won't climb your ground, Dad.
[2:15] Amen. Amen. Amen. I love you, buddy. You've done a good job there last night. Appreciate you. Where was I?
[2:27] Oh, I was going to read from the book of James, wasn't I? Y'all knew I was going to read from James when I mentioned words. James chapter 2. If you have your Bibles, good to see our visitors here today.
[2:39] We're glad you came to see us. Amen. Hope you'll want to come back and see us again. James chapter 2. I'll start reading. We're going to read from the camp meeting at verse 14.
[2:54] We were down at the camp meeting. And I'm not trying, honest, I'm not trying to put preachers down. I love them. And I know where they're coming from. But I wanted to go over and just put my hands over my people's ears and say, don't listen.
[3:12] Don't listen to what that guy's saying. He means well. Yeah. But he's just looking for something to preach. Amen. No, no, no, no.
[3:24] I do not believe that most of the church is lost. Amen. I don't believe that. Amen. If I did, man. Well, I do believe that most of the church is carnal.
[3:35] Yeah. But there's a world of difference between being carnal and being lost. And I think we can maybe, maybe we can see this today here in the book of James.
[3:49] I want to preach on the subject of how to attain a faith that works. Not faith and works, but a faith that does work. That's what we need. James chapter 2, verse 14.
[4:01] What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith and have not works? Can faith save him?
[4:13] If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled, notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body, what doth it profit?
[4:30] Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works.
[4:43] Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God? Thou doest well.
[4:55] The devils also believe and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Here is the example I want to zero in on.
[5:08] Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
[5:26] And the scripture was fulfilled with saith Abraham, believe God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness, and he was called the friend of God.
[5:37] You see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works when she had received the messengers and had sent them out another way?
[5:54] For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. I want to preach on that subject of faith that works. And I will admit to you that in modern America, our Christian profession is, I said, 3,000 miles long and two inches deep.
[6:16] We're so shallow. We have not studied the Bible. We've listened to the TV preachers. We've listened to the feel-good people and the prosperity group to the point that we don't know what God even says.
[6:36] We haven't even looked to see what God said. What relationship does works have to faith? As for James is answered, faith without works is dead and cannot save you.
[6:49] That's what James said. James 2.17, James 2.24. But before I pray even, I want to go to the book of Romans, chapter 3, and I want to read something there too before we even start.
[7:06] Romans chapter 3. And I want to look, I believe, at verse 28. Does that sound right? Romans 3.28. This is the Apostle Paul.
[7:18] And I want you to keep in mind what James just said. Then I want you to listen to what Paul has said. Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
[7:35] Look at Romans 11.6. Romans 11, verse 6.
[7:47] And if by grace, then it's no more of works.
[7:59] Otherwise, grace is no more of works. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace.
[8:10] Otherwise, work is no more works. Now, what we've got to do is figure out who's right and who's wrong.
[8:24] And let me help you. They're both right. Amen. And I hope when I leave here that you'll understand why they're both right.
[8:35] Let's pray and then we'll get into this. Heavenly Father, Lord, tonight, or today, we thank you for the privilege to pray. And we thank you, our Father, for our soul's salvation, Lord, that's bought and paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ.
[8:54] I pray, dear God, that you'd help us to understand, Lord, that we must have life before we have fruit. We must have life before we have growth.
[9:05] We must have life before we even have leaves on the tree. I pray, Heavenly Father, that you'd help us to understand what you've told us.
[9:15] And, God, that we would look to you for answers to our prayers. In Jesus' name, amen. Now, I'll just start off basically by asking, are there two saviors?
[9:30] Is Jesus the Savior and then he needs your help? Is that the way it is? Are there, you know, you saw these signs that says, God is my co-pilot.
[9:47] Is he? He's not my co-pilot. Amen. He's driving the bus. You hear me? He's a pilot in the plane.
[9:57] And I am just along for the ride. John 14, 6 says this. I am the way, the truth, the life.
[10:09] No man cometh unto the Father but by me. So then there are not two saviors. It's not Jesus and me got our own thing going.
[10:21] It's Jesus and he's got his thing going and I need to be on his side. Was Paul wrong or was James wrong or was both right, both wrong?
[10:34] I submit neither. The problem is in our understanding of what the scripture says. The Bible says study to show yourself approved unto God.
[10:45] The Bible said the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. He can't discern them because they're spiritually discerned. Actually, what we've got here is two different questions.
[10:59] When we understand that we're not talking about the same event, one of them, Paul, is talking about how a man is justified before God.
[11:10] And Romans chapter 4 and verse 2. Let me go ahead and read that while we're at it. Romans chapter 4 and verse 2. If Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before God.
[11:30] You see, there'll be nobody brag about their work before God. Because nobody is saved by their works as far as God is concerned. For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves.
[11:45] It's a gift of God. But then the very next verse says, we are his workmanship. Here's where the work is going to come in. God is going to produce work in our life because we are saved by grace.
[12:00] Does that make sense? James, look back in chapter 2, and let me read verse 18 to you again. James chapter 2 is tackling an entirely different subject.
[12:13] In verse 18 he said, Yea, a man say, thou hast faith, and I have works. Show me. Show me. You see that?
[12:24] Don't show God. Show me. So what James is talking about is justification before men. Justification before God is by grace through faith.
[12:40] Justification before men is by what you do. I mean, if you say you're a Christian, don't ever go to church. Amen. I've told you this before.
[12:52] If you don't have enough religion to get you to church, you probably haven't got enough religion to get you to heaven. Amen. But whenever I'm, that's what I look at it as.
[13:03] God doesn't look at it the same way I do. Over and over, the apostle Paul speaks of a hell-deserving sinner realizing his transgression against God and coming with empty hands and saying, Lord, I have no reason for you to save me other than you promised that you would save me.
[13:24] And I'm going to believe that Jesus, my Savior, died on the cross and suffered for my sin. It's always my grace. It's never my works. The divine order is this way.
[13:37] First, it's the source of salvation is the love of God. It's not the worthiness of man. We are not saved because we deserve to be saved. We are saved because God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.
[13:53] The source of salvation is the love of God. The vehicle of salvation is the grace of God. The grounds of salvation is the blood of Jesus Christ. The means of salvation is by faith.
[14:06] And the evidence of salvation is work. Do you understand? We can't get any of those things out of line. If we do, we'll be wrong. Faith brings salvation.
[14:17] Works declares salvation. Amen. It's kind of like a flannel graph. Yes. It's a visual aid. You know, the Sunday school teachers put these little characters up on flannel graph.
[14:28] You know what I'm talking about. And it's just a visual aid to help you with your testimony. Right. Your testimony is what you say, but your testimony before men is what you do.
[14:39] Amen. And now, I don't want to jump on anybody, be mean to anybody, cruel to anybody, but we got a lot of folks in churches today that say one thing and do another. Amen. We got a lot of folks in church come to church, stand up and brag what a Christian they are, and all at the same time they're trying to beat their buddy out of selling a used car.
[14:58] Amen. Am I telling it right? You know, they're just here, and I'm not talking about anybody here, but they're just here to sell Avon or whatever it is they're here to sell. I love you, Amy.
[15:10] I'm not looking at you. Is it Avon or Mary Kay or what? Hey. Amen. The church is not for that purpose. Amen. But what I'm saying is if you're here for that purpose, don't be here.
[15:24] Amen. Get right with God. Faith brings works. Faith is invisible. Yes. Nobody can see that you have faith. The only thing they can see is the express image of your faith.
[15:37] And the express image of your faith is what you do. That's right. I hope that you can understand where I'm coming from. There are two sides to a coin, a heads and a tails. And the heads is no more valuable than the tails.
[15:51] And the tails is no more valuable than the heads. There are three testimonies I want to give here in the book of James. And then we'll be finished and go to Shoney's or wherever it is that you all go on Sunday afternoon.
[16:04] Number one is the testimony of the devils. Number two is the testimony of Abraham. And then number three I want to give you the testimony of Rahab the harlot.
[16:16] They're all found here in this scripture. And let's start with the devils. They say they've got faith. They say they believe. Amen.
[16:27] You say you believe the devils believe. And the devils tremble at the realization that one day they're going to have to stand before God and give an account for their deviltry.
[16:42] I mean we've got people that aren't even aware that they're going to have to stand before God. They'll say well I believe in God. Well if you believe in God you ought to act like you believe in God.
[16:54] Amen. If you believe in God you ought to be in church. You ought to believe am I telling it right? And you see somebody the example it says here you see somebody that needs help in this life and you turn your back on them and you don't supply them with their need and then you say you believe in God you got the same kind of faith devils have.
[17:15] The apostle Paul knew the terror of the Lord and that persuaded him to do what he was supposed to do. 2 Corinthians 5 11 Paul knew his testimony with God and trusted that his work or his service would reveal his testimony to men.
[17:33] You see if you know you're saved what you want to do is get other people to know you're saved. Amen. And be a testimony to them so that they can get saved. Paul knew he was saved and he knew he was saved to serve.
[17:49] Do you? Do you? Hello? Hello? Do you know that you're saved and if God didn't have any more use for you than just to save you then he'd just rapture you out of here when you got saved.
[18:02] But God wants to use you and God wants to use me to witness to other people about salvation. He saved us to serve and if we're not serving God we're not fulfilling our purpose that God left us here to do.
[18:20] And Paul put it this way and I agree with him woe be unto me if I preach not the gospel. That's why he left me here. I am convinced you may not be but I am convinced that my purpose on this earth my purpose of being here this morning I am not put here to be a coal miner I am not put here to be a truck driver I'm put here to be a preacher and woe be unto me if I don't preach the gospel.
[18:50] I'm convinced of that. Paul was convinced of that. We got too many preachers that use car sales but we got too many preachers that preaching is second place in their life.
[19:02] Brother if God calls you to preach that's the number one thing that you need to be doing. Are y'all doing alright back there? I believe that about me.
[19:14] I believe people have tried to destroy me and couldn't destroy me because God wasn't finished. I believe God can open doors and God can shut doors and people have nothing to do with it.
[19:26] What we need to do is get in the will of God. Faith needs to grow and growth requires cultivation. Yuck. I remember when I was a boy growing up and dad making me go out there and hoe that corn I said if I ever get old enough I've hoed my last stock of corn.
[19:47] Amen. You call me lazy you call me what you want but whenever you see that GPC in the cloud that didn't mean go plow corn that meant go preach Christ to me.
[20:03] And I think maybe I was traumatized because dad would stand over me with that hoe and I better hoe the right corn. You ain't got no idea Randy.
[20:14] Amen. You ain't got no idea. All you got is a little bit of Bobby. You ought to have seen Bobby's old man. I mean I'd get out there in that field and we'd be a hole in that corn down there where the block company is.
[20:27] There was no block company then. That was all corn from one end of that thing clear up to our house. And I'd sit in there and it looked to me like it was ten miles down the end of that row. And here I am a hole in that corn up through there.
[20:39] And I'm just a kid. I don't know anything. And I look at that blade of grass and that blade of grass and I look at that little old stalk that's sticking up there and I look at my dad and he looks at me and I look at that little stalk and I think that's weed.
[21:02] And dad looks and I look and I take that hole and I top that sucker out. Rather than saying hallelujah praise the Lord my dad said you idiot.
[21:14] You just cut down a stalker and there's a wound there he come with that child abuse hole. Amen. Yeah he hit you and he had his hands on.
[21:26] I throwed up my hole. Amen. Whacked me across the hand. Layed my fingers wide open. You talk about discipline. And I said man I need to go stop the bleeding.
[21:37] He said you need to hoe corn. I made myself a promise. I never get old enough. I ain't hoeing no more corn. Amen. I felt called to preach right there at that time.
[21:48] Are you listening to me? What I'm saying is it needs cultivated. I'll get back on my subject. It needs cultivated. The Lord said why didn't you put that money I gave you to usury and then it would have grew.
[22:05] I think money owned doesn't do anything. It doesn't multiply. It's money that's put to work that multiplies. Is that right? Abraham did not hide his faith under a bushel.
[22:19] He not only had faith but he had works that proved his faith. Now the apparent contradiction I'm going to get to it. I know you thought I forgot it but I haven't. The apparent contradiction between Paul and James.
[22:32] They both use the same example. They both use the example of Abraham. Abraham. But here's where people don't read their Bible. They don't use the same time frame.
[22:45] When Paul is talking he's talking about how Abraham got justified by grace through faith. When James is talking he's using a time frame that is 30 or 40 years later when he offers up Isaac on the altar.
[23:05] What I'm saying is Paul is talking about how he got saved. James is talking about what salvation done for him after 30 or 40 years.
[23:16] And would you admit with me you may not bear fruit right away but certainly after 30 or 40 years there ought to be a little old knotted up apple on your tree if you're a child of God.
[23:29] If we get the part before the horse we go trying to produce apples before we even get alive. And the harder we try amen the harder we try the further behind we get.
[23:45] The deeper gets the hole the wider gets the chasm the harder we try to please God with our works the further we get away from God because God will not accept our works until we get works sanctified and the only way our works can be sanctified is through the blood of Jesus Christ I hope you understand.
[24:10] Galatians curses anybody that would preach any other gospel other than salvation by grace through faith. You have the Protestant Reformation the Protestant Reformation was brought about because somebody opened their Bible and read the just shall live by faith.
[24:28] And here the old Roman church had everybody living by their ceremonies paying their bills having to buy their way in and out of purgatory buying their way to heaven. And this one guy Martin Luther opened up that book and said therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God.
[24:46] We don't have peace with God by buying it. We don't have peace with God by working on it. We have peace with God by faith in Jesus Christ. A clue is found in an unlikely place of what I'm trying to say this morning found in the Old Testament 1 Samuel chapter 16 verse 7 when Samuel came out there to anoint the new king of Israel Samuel said this man looketh on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart.
[25:21] So man can only judge by what he sees. What he sees is the work you do. If we look at them just by looking at them we see there is Saul there with all the armor but won't do nothing.
[25:38] Amen? And we see David who has no protection it doesn't look like don't want his armor all he's got is his little swing but we see that David is willing to face the giant.
[25:52] The reason he's willing to face the giant is not so that he can earn salvation but because he's already in the Lord's army and he doesn't want anybody to find the Lord.
[26:04] God sees the heart of the repentant sinner. God saw you before you ever came out of the sea. It doesn't matter. My daughter would say when she's five years old.
[26:16] And you know what she'll do? She'll sit there whenever those preachers get up there and the church is full of preachers trying to get the saved people saved. I mean that's fine.
[26:27] I'm sure there are some unsaved people but my daughter tells me she says dad it's still good. I may have just been five years old I may not knew what to say but I knew I was lost and I knew that Jesus would save me and whenever I put my faith I'm telling you whenever you put your faith in Christ the work is done right then.
[26:56] Amen. It's good to get up out of your seat but I believe many people are saved before they ever make it to the altar before they ever open their mouth to pray before they ever baptize or before they ever testify when in their heart they see that I'm a lost sinner on my way to hell but Jesus is my rescuer Jesus is my lifeboat and we put that faith in him by grace true faith you say moment faith arises in the heart God marks the transmission at saved and then I think you know what men say we can have Bobby here he testify what men say men say he won't last a week amen men say he won't last a month it won't be no time he'll be right back out in the world well I don't know how long has it been Clinton 50 years at least 40 they thought he wouldn't last he's still here how long has it been
[27:59] Phil 42 years they said well he's just a boy he'll know what he's talking about how long has it been Molly 32 years since she was a little girl and it's still good are you listening men say men say I gotta see something well listen if you ain't seen it in 40 30 50 years brother your eyes are blind it's there if you don't do something or don't take something or don't get something it's kind of like a guy winking at a girl in the dark he knows but don't nobody else amen real faith works have you ever been suspected of being Christian if somebody ever said
[28:59] I perceive that thou have been with Christ amen the bible says let your light so shine before men that they will see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven I believe our church rosary and I should but I believe God has a better record let me tell you about two men in the church one convicted by his conscience one convicted because his home broke apart and his wife left him and he liked to get that all straight and out and the other one convicted that he is a sinner before God they both come to the altar!
[29:45] And what they do one is there for every service one is there saying preacher you need me I'll do it well you need done I'll do it I'll help you I'm going to be a blessed son but that's the baby then the preacher got knocked on his door 15 times a month forget Sunday night and Wednesday night was God surprised no God knew all along when Abraham offered up Isaac men were made aware that he was serious with God they called Abraham from then on they called him the friend of God because of what he!
[30:27] what have you done for God we've got a we've got a world full of self promoting preachers and self promoting people get these dudes on television using that green toothpaste or whatever it is they smile like getting a little star sprinkled off of their teeth and say your best life we don't preach on judgment we don't preach on judgment we just want people to be happy and the way for you to be happy is to sit down right now and write you a check and care for Andy Wilson send it to me and God will make you happy that's an idea I have thought of that believe me what you birth is an Easter not an Isaac what you birth you're trying to buy and you can't buy and it's not for sale
[31:33] I don't do mean things preacher what are you talking about I don't do things that other people well a lot of people don't do mean things a lot of moral people that do just as good as what do you do verse 15 you see your brother in need you watch this I wrote this down you can't see it but I hope you can grasp it do you pray for people or do you pray on people I ask in 38 we have a testimony of Jesus that said he went about doing good I would like to just leave that testimony I don't really care about building some huge empire down here having some great big church everybody might know my name
[32:40] I just like whenever I'm laying in that casket somebody say he went about doing good he tried to help people didn't try to hurt people didn't try to didn't need anybody care to him he just went about trying to do the best to do the Lord let me give you y'all run out of time oh mercy I have about 40 minutes before the preaching and five minutes nobody might have to pick it up a notch person number!
[33:11] somewhere in there I gave you that outline and I followed it but I don't know what you did I don't really like following that line y'all know that don't but number three is Rahab the harlot she had no character she was a harlot everybody everybody in town knew who she was before before the Israelites got to town he heard that their God was able to give victory over there in the wilderness and she heard that my town is doomed and I'm going to be a traitor to my town and I'm going to serve the town that God is bringing in talk about her work her work would be called treason talk about Abraham's work his work would be called murder whenever it was linked with faith it wasn't treason she became a citizen of the kingdom of
[34:17] God let me ask you this are you willing to be a traitor to the world and turn your back on the world and tell you I want to be a part of that king but that or that guy was a country boy now are you looking for that city that's a foundation who's building most of his God amen a tree must have life before we can produce fruit but life comes by gravity have you ever came that way and said Lord I'm just a sinner on my way to hell Lord I need your blood to save me to promise you him that cometh to me I'll in the life help that's bad you