Keep Faith Alive

Many of us go year after year having a Christianity that does not work. Dr. Tony Evans says having faith is an important start, but God wants to know what we intend to do with it. If you are wanting heaven to visit you this year, it cannot be by faith alone. It must be faith accompanied by the right corresponding action. Celebrating 40 years of faithfulness, this is The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, author, speaker, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, and president of the Urban Alternative.

It takes food, water, and air to keep our bodies alive. But today Dr. Evans talks about what it takes to keep our faith from dying. Let's join him now for this special message for the new year. The Apostle James makes a powerful statement in James chapter 2, verse 14, where James says, What use is it, my brethren?

If a man says he has faith but does not have works, can that faith save him? Now, to understand what James is saying and where this is going, we have to set the stage clearly. The first thing I want you to observe is his audience. He says, I am speaking to my brethren.

What use is it, my brethren? So whatever he's about to say, he's saying it to only Christians. So now that we've clarified who the audience is, we need to clarify a word spoken to that audience. He says, can that faith save him?

But wait a minute. If you're already my brethren, you're already saved. To understand the word save, which means to be delivered, you have to note the context in which it is said in order to understand the meaning that it is seeking to convey. When talking to non-Christians and you use the word saved, you're talking about being converted, becoming a Christian, being born again, being forgiven for your sins. That's the non-Christian use. But there is a Christian use of the word saved. He says in chapter 1, verse 21, receive the word implanted, which is able to save your soul. You see, when you got converted, it wasn't your soul that was saved. It was your spirit that was saved.

I know we talk about save your soul, but actually your spirit was immediately quickened and new life was imparted into your spirit. But even though you are now a Christian, your soul still needs to be delivered. When you're not a Christian, you need to be saved in order to get to heaven.

Once you are a Christian, you need to be saved in order to get heaven to you. So his discussion about being saved, now that he's talking to people who are already believers, is not related to their eternal destiny or else they wouldn't be his brethren. It's related to experiencing God in history. That's why he uses the phrase, now to the third point of that verse, what use is it?

The word use means benefit. What benefit is it to you, my fellow Christian, my brethren, if you have faith and do not have works, can that faith by itself deliver you? There are a lot of unsaved saints. They are Christians, but undelivered. They are Christians, but living in defeat. They are Christians, but rarely are experiencing the supernatural in the natural. They're on their way to heaven, but they won't know what God looks like till they get there.

Because the historical movement of God is not operating in their lives. The Bible is clear that a person must be converted by faith apart from works. By grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves. It is a gift of God, not according to works, so that no one should boast, Ephesians 2, 8 and 9. Not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy he has saved us. So a person gets to heaven by faith apart from works.

But a person gets heaven to them by faith plus works. What use is it, of what benefit is it, my fellow Christians, my brethren, to have faith without a partner called works? What good is it to have diet without exercise?

What good is it to have exercise without diet? You may see progress for a while, but it won't last, because the two things that need to be combined have been kept separate. And so your faith will be of no benefit to you, even though you're my brethren and are saved. Many of us go year after year having a Christianity that does not work. So what James wants to do is to give you a faith that is beneficial, that is useful, that you can do something with. And he says, for that faith is not enough.

It must have a partner called works. And if you keep your faith without your works, you won't see anything happen. In terms of God's involvement in your life or in your year. That's why believers can go year after year and never see anything change, even though they got faith. If you are wanting heaven to visit you this year, it cannot be by faith alone. It must be by faith accompanied by the right corresponding action. Faith is not enough. Saying amen is not enough. Coming to church is not enough. Hearing the Bible study is not enough. Agreeing is not enough.

Waving your hand in the air like you just don't care is not enough. He says if you want it to be a usable faith, a beneficial faith, let's say you want to check the weather out, let's say you turn on your favorite channel to the meteorologist. The meteorologist says, well, tomorrow there's a hundred percent of rain, chance of rain tomorrow. In fact, it's going to be toward rain. It's going to be thunderstorms. And you listen there and you say amen to everything the meteorologist is saying. Oh, rain, it's going to rain. You don't only believe him, you tell everybody else it's going to rain tomorrow. It's going to rain tomorrow. You are reciting the meteorologist's message. But then you walk out of the house without an umbrella.

Well, I got bad news for you. You getting wet. The fact that you heard the meteorologist, the fact that you agreed with the meteorologist, will not stop you from getting wet because the accompanying action of an umbrella or raincoat or whatever it is, did not correspond with the message you agreed with. So what use is it that you listen to the meteorologist? What use is it that you listen to God without the corresponding action?

And you're wondering why am I getting wet as a believer? Because the corresponding response was not there. You go to the doctor, you're sick, something is wrong. Because you believe the doctor, you trust the doctor, you trust his technology, you trust his test, you believe in him or her and you go to the doctor and the doctor does all the tests and says, yes, this is what's wrong, this is why it's wrong, here's the prescription, and you give thanks. You say, doc, thank you, thank you for analyzing the problem, thank you for telling me about the problem, thank you for revealing to me the problem, thank you for the prescription designed to solve the problem. And you had enough faith to call the doctor, you had enough faith to go to the doctor, you had enough faith to receive the prescription, you had enough faith to go to the pharmacist, you had enough faith to receive the medicine that you do not take. What use is it that you believe the doctor? What use is it that you had a conversation with the doctor? What use is it that you went to the pharmacy, you did all the faith stuff, and it is of no benefit?

Because the corresponding action was not connected to it. So it becomes useless visit to the doctor and useless visit to the pharmacy and useless receiving of the medication. Orthodoxy alone cannot deliver you. Bible studies alone cannot deliver you. Sermons alone cannot deliver you. They can speak to you, they can encourage you, like be warm, be filled, they can motivate you, they can do all of that, but they cannot deliver, bring God into your reality on earth.

Can't do it. Faith without works is deceased, is dead, it just lies dormant. He says, let me illustrate my point with one man and one woman. He starts with the man in verse 21. Was not Abraham our father justified by works?

Wow, I'll explain that in a moment. When he offered up Isaac his son on the altar, you see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of works, faith was perfected. And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness, and he was called the friend of God. He says, was not Abraham justified by works?

Wait a minute. The Bible says a man is justified by faith apart from works. But he says, was not Abraham justified by works? A man is justified by faith apart from works when it has to do with going to heaven. But when it comes to you seeing God visit you on earth, a man is justified by works based on faith.

It's a different scenario because it's two different groups of people. If you want to see God in this year operate in you, to you, through you, for you, with you, so that you become useful and beneficial and you see his reality operating, he says you can't just be justified by faith, you must be justified by works. Declared righteous by works. Dr. Evans will have some biblical examples of faith in action for us when he returns to continue this message in just a moment. Stay with us. As we turn the page on 2021, we're hopeful for the new year, even though there's still uncertainty about what's ahead. With so many reasons to be hopeless in our media-crazed society, you can help bring messages of hope and life with your year-end gift today. In our thanks, we'll send you a special resource called The Best of Tony Evans 2021. It's his 20 most popular sermons from this year on CD and MP3. Visit tonyevans.org for details on how to get yours. That's tonyevans.org. You know, one lasting hallmark of the ministry here at The Alternative is our commitment to offer resources that help listeners like you grow strong in faith, wisdom, and dedication to God's kingdom. To that end, we'd like to send you all 20 full-length messages from The Best of Tony Evans 2021 as a way of saying thanks when you make a contribution to help support Tony's work.

And for just a few more days, we'll also include a special year-end bonus. It's your choice of one of three popular resources. You can get the details on those resources and make your selection at tonyevans.org. Again, that's tonyevans.org, or call 1-800-800-3222. I'll have that information for you again after part two of today's message.

Here's Dr. Evans. Abraham was already a believer in God long before Genesis 22. In Genesis 15, it says Abraham believed God and it was accounted under him for righteousness. God told Abraham to offer up Isaac and make him a sacrifice. So he's walking with his son, he's walking with his son, he puts his son on the altar in something that makes absolutely no logical sense. He lifts up the knife to obey God. And then the Bible says, as the knife is about to come down, the angel of the Lord, that's Jesus Christ in the Old Testament, grabs his wrist and God makes an astounding statement.

He says, now I know you fear me. You mean now you know, you didn't know till now, when you are the omniscient, all-knowing God. God knows everything actual.

God knows everything potential. God knows everything that was, is, and will ever be. But there's something God doesn't know. God has not experienced everything He has knowledge about. For example, if you were to ask God, what does it feel like to commit a sin? He couldn't answer that, because He's never had to feel it, because He's never committed a sin. Now, Jesus bore our sins, but that wasn't His sin. So if you were to ask God, what does it feel like to commit a sin?

That is an experience He cannot articulate, because that is an experience He's never had, although He knows what sin is. The Bible says that God became a man so that He could sympathize with our infirmities. He wanted to feel what you feel. He knows what you feel, but He wanted to go through it, so that He could be your great high priest, the Bible says. So the Father sent the Son so He could feel you. So when God tells Abraham, now I know, let me put it in everyday language. He says, now Abraham, I feel you. I feel you because I saw you choose me over the most important thing in your life.

I saw you make me first in your decisions. God just doesn't want to see you, He wants to feel you. So He can say, now I know you're for real because I feel you.

He wants the experience of your commitment, not just the knowledge about your commitment. And it was in that context that He discovers the name Jehovah Jireh. The Lord will provide, the Lord will come out of nowhere and bring a ram caught in the thicket that was the quietest ram in history ever caught in the thicket. This year, God wants to feel you. He doesn't just want to hear amen. He doesn't just want to hear praise the Lord. He doesn't just want to see you read your Bible, study your Bible, He wants to feel you.

And He feels you when the decision is made to do work, what He has requested or required. And now He says, now I know, now you will see a part of me you've never seen before. By His work, His faith was perfected because He had experienced more of God. He closes with His summary statement in verse 20. For just as the body without the Spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead. If you try to have faith and works to get to heaven, you cannot be forgiven so that no man will boast. God doesn't want you in heaven talking about what you did to get there. It's faith apart from works. But if you want heaven to visit you this year, then He's got to not only read your lips, He's got to see your feet.

He's got to see you act on what He says even if it's not preferable. Faith without works atrophies. You tie your arm to your body and don't use it for a couple of months, the muscles gonna atrophy and it will be unusable.

It'll be unusable. Why? Because it was not exercised. Faith must be exercised in order to build stronger muscles. If you got a corpse here, that means there's no life. Now, nobody's questioning whether the body is real. We're just saying the body is real, but it can't work. It's a useless body because the life principle that makes it operate the spirit is no longer in it. So it exists, but it can't do anything.

You may be a Christian that God can do nothing with or nothing for because He sees your church attendance, He sees your prayer, He sees you opening your Bible, but when it comes to implementing what He says, He doesn't see anything. So it's like a body without the spirit. You become a credo corpse, believing the right stuff, saying the right stuff, experiencing nothing.

It is possible for our church or any church to become a graveyard of Christians. Corpses who love Jesus, who Jesus can do nothing for because they want diet without exercise, exercise without diet, faith without works. If I were to say to you, your car is dead because there is no gas. Your car may be real, you're just not going anywhere because the life-giving substance is absent. There's no fuel. The fuel for faith is our work of obedience to what God has requested and required, and then God is free to remove the impoverishment of our lives, to enter into our circumstances, to bring about the transformation we are looking for.

You freed Him up because He can now feel you. You can track through the Bible, and whenever God wanted to do something special, whenever God wanted to do something out of the norm, whenever God wanted to do something that was crazy, He told the people they had to do something first. People may have said, well, I'm waiting on God, but God would say, well, I'm waiting on you. They had to do something first.

Moses, standing at the Red Sea, along with the Israelites, Pharaohs come in one way, the Red Sea is in front of them, and the people are whining and complaining, you brought us here to die. There's no way out of this. Maybe you're entering this year and there's no way out of it. Oh, I'm caught. I'm stuck. Moses is praying to God, God, what are we going to do? What are we going to do?

God says to Moses, Moses, why are you standing here talking to me looking crazy? Hold out your rod. Hold out your rod. You're standing here, everybody's whining and grumbling and complaining.

You don't know what to do. Will you hold out the rod? He holds out the rod, all of a sudden the waters roll back. And the supernatural entered the natural.

Joshua's at the Jordan River. How are we going to cross the water? Look at how turbulent the waters are. God says, no, you tell the priests, put their foot on the shore. Tell the priests, put their foot in the water. I'm not going to do anything until I see their feet in the water. They put their foot in the water, all of a sudden the waters roll back. And not only did they walk across the Jordan, the Bible says they walked across on dry land. So he not only rolled back the water, he dried out the bank so they could get horses and donkeys and carts across.

But only when they acted. Peter, cast your net on the other side of the boat. Peter, please say, God, now look. You preach, I fish.

Okay? You preach, I fish. Look, we've been fishing all night and they do not bite. So we know what we're doing. We've been doing this. We are part of the Zebedee Fishing Corporation. We know what we are doing here.

So what you're asking for doesn't make sense. But to humor you, just to humor you, we'll throw our nets over there. And when they did what he said do, the Bible says they caught so many fish the boat was about to sink. God doesn't care how long you've been doing your job. Dr. Tony Evans, with a look at how to make sure our faith is alive and active in the New Year. He'll come back in just a moment with a final thought to wrap up today's teaching. If you'd like to get a full-length copy of this message to either review on your own or pass along to a friend, including content we didn't have time to present on the air, just go to tonyevans.org to request a CD or MP3 copy of Keep Faith Alive. And if you visit us right away, there's still time to take advantage of that special year-end package I mentioned earlier, The Best of Tony Evans 2021. Don't forget we put 20 of Tony's most requested messages of the year in a giant collection that also includes an additional resource of your choosing. Pick between the instructive children's book, Made by God, or the powerful Kingdom Men Rising devotional, or Tony's latest book, Kingdom Race Theology. This special resource bundle is yours as our thank you gift when you make a contribution to help support Tony's work here on this station and around the world. This special offer will only be available for a couple of more days, so get all the details right away at tonyevans.org. You can also call our 24-hour resource center at 1-800-800-3222, where a friendly team member can assist with your request.

That's 1-800-800-3222. Most of us had to learn things in school. We thought we'd never use in real life. Well, on Monday, Dr. Evans will tell us about a kind of study that's not only useful, but life-changing as well. Right now, though, he's back with his final thought. So the question this year is not really about your faith.

It's about your work. What are you not doing that God has asked you to do that is keeping God from showing you Him in a whole other level? You want to experience God? You don't need more faith. You need to take that mustard seed faith you have and put it to work so God can grow it. The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans is brought to you by The Urban Alternative and is celebrating 40 years of faithfulness thanks to the generous contributions of listeners like you.