Leading The Way

Guest (Male): Before we begin this episode of Leading the Way, here are some testimonies that our team recently received, and we thought that you would be encouraged to hear how God is working through Dr. Michael Youssef and Leading the Way. James writes, "Dr. Michael Youssef's messages are inspiring and Bible-based. They have helped me gain my sobriety and have given me strength as I recover from a back injury. God bless Dr. Youssef for his work around the world."

Hassan from Morocco writes, "I searched for truth but found no peace in Islam. Through Dr. Michael Youssef's programs, I discovered Christ. I now belong to the family of Christ, made new and full of gratitude and peace." Ellie from Lebanon writes, "Dr. Youssef's sermons bring clarity and depth to the word of God. They've strengthened my faith and guided my spiritual growth." Experience stories of lives changed and the worldwide gospel impact of Leading the Way when you visit ltw.org.

You know, medical providers at all levels are required to learn and retain unbelievable amounts of clinical information. But learning to regurgitate data, that’s not enough. Practitioners have to practice it in the care of all of their patients. Well, it works the same way with faith. Having faith doesn’t mean anything until you have to call on that faith and lean into that faith in life’s situations because, as the Bible says, faith without action or works is dead. Today on Leading the Way, Dr. Youssef takes you to James chapter 2 for an up-close look at faith. He reveals the truth of how faith and works have to be synced to fully experience a spirit-filled life. So join me now in listening as Dr. Michael Youssef begins this episode.

Dr. Michael Youssef: Back in the 1940s and 50s, there was a gangster in Hollywood by the name of Mickey Cohen. Mickey Cohen had a partner in crime, his name was Jim Vaus. In 1949, Jim Vaus attended a Billy Graham crusade in Hollywood. In fact, that is the one crusade that propelled Billy Graham into the national scene. And he came forward to receive Christ. At that moment, he gave up the life of crime. He actually went out and sold his house, sold his car, sold all his possessions in order to make restitutions for his crimes. A few years later, he actually formed a great organization, a great discipleship ministry called Youth Development Inc.

Jim Vaus told Mickey Cohen of what had happened to him and how God transformed his life as he committed his life to Jesus Christ, how he had thoroughly been converted to Christ. Well, Mickey Cohen became very interested and he attended a private meeting with Billy Graham with a few others. Later, Mickey Cohen goes to one of those crusades, and at the time of the invitation, he comes forward and says that he received Christ into his life. A few days later, it appeared that Mickey Cohen was still hanging out with the other gangsters and back into the life of underground activities.

When Jim and a couple of members of the Billy Graham team went over to see him, they began to explain to him, "Mickey, you made a commitment to Christ. How come you go back to the life of being a gangster?" Here's what Mickey said in response, and I'll read it. "You never told me that I have to give up my career and my friends to follow Jesus. There are Christian movie stars, there are Christian athletes, there are Christian businessmen. What's the matter of being a Christian gangster? If I have to give up all that, if that's Christianity, count me out."

I'm telling you this story obviously for a reason because it contrasts these two men who were partners in crime. They were not any worse than each other; they were as bad as each other, Jim Vaus and Mickey Cohen. Both made a profession of faith under the same evangelist. One understood that a profession of faith means a transformed life, means a changed life, and that he gave everything to follow Christ. The other thought that he could be saved without transformation in his life.

This story illustrates the epicenter of the entire epistle of James. This is the heart and soul of the entire epistle. This passage from chapter 2, verses 14 to 26, is the core, the heart of everything that James is saying in his epistles. We have begun a series from the epistle of James entitled The 12 Evidences of Faith. If you have saving faith, James says, here are some evidence that you can exhibit in your life to prove that you have been saved. And we have been looking through these evidences. We saw four; we're going to see the fifth one today.

By far, this is the most controversial passage in the scripture, in the New Testament at least. It caused a lot of misunderstanding, and some people actually concluded that James is teaching something contrary to what Paul taught. They thought that James and Paul are at odds with each other, that Paul taught that salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone, but James is saying that salvation is by works, that you can earn your salvation. It could not be further from the truth, and that is what I want to make sure that not a soul here misunderstands this truth.

The truth is that those who are adamant about finding contradictions in the scripture, they're going to find it even if they have to make it up. So look with me at verses 14 to 19 of James's epistle, chapter 2. What is James saying here? He is making sure that everybody understands what faith is and what it is not. He wants to be sure. Remember, this is the half-brother of Jesus who opposed Jesus, mocked Jesus until the resurrection and his life was transformed, and he was glad to die for Jesus, and he did.

He is saying that faith is not a matter of agreeing with certain doctrine. He is saying faith is not merely giving an intellectual assent to a list of dos and don'ts. No, no, that's not what he's saying. James is saying that genuine saving faith will produce fruit. Genuine saving faith is going to show evidence for itself. Genuine saving faith will be lived out. And so when Mickey Cohen says, "I believe in Jesus," James would say to Mickey Cohen, "Great, so is the devil."

Now here are the key words in verse 18. If someone says, "I have faith." It's not that they have faith; it's a claim to have faith. If someone contends that he has saving faith, let him prove it. Let him show evidence of it. Now beloved, listen to me. This is the most humongous problem today that many are teaching that all you need to do to become a Christian is you just add Jesus's name to the list of your friends. You just put him in your contact list right next to 9-1-1, just in case you need him for a case of emergency. Just add Jesus.

Now beloved, please listen to me. This is why I call this the epicenter. That's why I call this the cornerstone because what James is saying is that easy believism, belief without evidence, is producing disastrous consequences for the nation today. We have Christianity without the cross. We have Pentecost without any cost. We have cheap grace that is not worth half a hallelujah. I want to make a true statement, and I know it may step on some of your toes. If Jesus is not the Lord of your life, chances are that he's not the savior of your soul. I didn't say he isn't; I'm saying chances are.

Jim Vaus proved that his faith is real by acting upon his faith. Mickey Cohen proved that his faith was fake, so he went back to the life of sin. Ephesians chapter 2, verse 10, the apostle Paul makes it very clear: once you are saved by faith alone, then you should walk in the good works that God has already prepared for you and for me. Beloved, the Bible is very consistent. Paul and James are teaching exactly the same things. How? We are not saved by or through good works, but once we're saved by faith, we do good works. Good works will never save us, but good works will be the evidence that we are saved. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

But that's not where it stops. I want to give you four reasons from the scripture, not from me, just from this text here from these verses. I want to give you four reasons why counterfeit faith cannot save you, cannot save anyone. Let's look at these four very quickly. Verse 14, what good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not show evidence of it? Can that faith save him? And the answer is no. If that saving faith does not produce real life change, if that does not transform the life, it does not deserve to be called faith; it should be called something else.

It is merely a faith like that of Mickey Cohen that has no reality to it. It's not a real faith. Jesus explained that faith in his discussion with Nicodemus and he said to him, "You must be born again." What does it mean to be born again? It means simply there has to be a radical transformation. There has to be a supernatural lifestyle. As we've been seeing in these evidences of faith that James shows us, there has to be joy in the midst of trials, there has to be overcoming of temptation, there has to be obedience to the word of God, there has to be overcoming anger and bitterness.

And then there has to be a constant willing to do self-examination. That's not to be living in fear or in tension to say, "Am I saved? Am I not saved?" No, no, no. Self-examination is a very natural thing. Second reason counterfeit faith is worthless is because it does not serve others. Self-centeredness or self-absorption or just doing it for publicity and all that stuff, that would not save. Those who are oblivious to the desperate needs around them, those who see the need but they close their eyes to it, those who could not care less about people's eternity, those who could not care less if a person goes to heaven or hell, these are people who have worthless faith.

The third reason counterfeit faith is worthless is because it never exhibits fruit. If you're unable to exercise grace and mercy and forgiveness, and I'm not saying that we stumble from time to time, that is not and I explained that before, but I say it again just to be sure. I am talking about day in and day out. If we're unable to exercise any mercy and any forgiveness and grace, if we are unable to trust God through the tough times, if we are not faithful stewards of what God entrusted in our hands, then chances are that faith is a counterfeit.

Then the fourth reason probably is the most shocking of all. It really shocks a lot of people. The fourth reason is that's the same faith that Satan has and the demons, all the demons, all of them. You claim to believe? Big whoop, Satan does too. I know this is a rough translation of James, but you know what I mean. If you think faith is merely agreeing with certain doctrine, so is Satan. He believes. All the demons believe.

Did you know that there are no atheist demons? Did you know that there are no agnostic demons? Truly. Satan knows better than most human beings that Jesus is God's only son, that Jesus was crucified and died, that Jesus rose again from the dead on the third day. But he actually does something else that most Christians do not do, that is when he hears the name of Jesus, he shudders. Do you want to make Satan shudder? Shout the name of Jesus. Jesus! Jesus! That makes him shudder. The Bible said he trembles.

Christians today treat Jesus like a bellhop. He trembles and shudders at the sound of Jesus. Why do you think people do not want to in public to pray in the name of Jesus? Satan does not want to hear that name. Keep it inside the church; don't bring it outside. Let me ask you a question. Does it shake you to the core to know that demons have faith? Does it amaze you that demons believe 100 percent, seriously? Think about this with me. Does it surprise you to know that demons have no doubt whatsoever that Jesus will come back to judge the world?

In fact, that's what terrifies them the most because the first thing Jesus is going to do when he comes back is going to throw Satan and his demons in the lake of fire. See, demons believe. But every time demons were confronted by Jesus, they testified to Jesus. You find it both in the gospel of Mark and in Luke. Read them when you go home. One says, "I believe in Jesus." Big deal, Satan does too. Verse 19, but did that belief change your life? That's the question.

And beloved, listen to me, this is a big warning to all of us who have saving faith. It really is. It's a warning to me. It's a big warning to all of us that we must willingly, continuously examine ourselves. And this is the evidence. This is the fifth evidence of faith: constantly examining your life. That does not mean I'm living in terror, living in fear, saying am I in or I'm out? No, no, no. Great joy to lay myself at the operation table and let the Great Physician operate on me.

I was thinking about this. If I have to go to the hospital and be operated on and the surgeon is a friend of mine, I know that he loves me. I know that he has my best interest at heart. I know that he's a bright surgeon. Am I going to be worried? No. Give me that injection, make me go to sleep because I'm comfortable. I'm at peace. And if I got to trust a human being, how much more should I trust the Great Surgeon with self-examination not just daily but several times a day? Lay myself bare in his presence because that means, beloved, listen to me, it means that I am constantly conscious of the danger of complacency.

I fear complacency in my life and in the church's life more than anything else and that the only way you overcome that spirit is by constantly willing to be examined by the Chief Surgeon. It should be second nature to us, not something we fear. Why? Because counterfeit faith is dead faith. It has no more excitement than a dead romance, it has no more power than a dead engine, it has no more life than a dead body.

Oh, but the genuine, authentic faith, the genuine, authentic faith is active, is dynamic, is living. It involves the will, involves the emotions, involves the spirit, involves the soul, involves all of me. It invades every space in me. And when that happens, prayer meetings are going to be joy, not a drudgery. When that happens, serving of my Lord and serving others will be great opportunity, not a burden. And when that happens, giving and praising and worshiping is a delight, not a duty.

How can you tell the difference? Verses 20 to 26, he gives us example of two people who could not be more polar opposites, two on opposite extremes as those two people that he gives us here in this passage: Abraham and Rahab. He could not have chosen any two contrasting people. They were opposites culturally, they were opposites religiously, they were opposites economically, they were opposites morally. One is an honored patriarch of the Jewish nation, and the other is a despised Gentile prostitute. But they both had one thing in common: dynamic faith that was expressed in risky, courageous action.

They both expressed evidence of their trusting in the living God. Their claim of faith was marked by evidence of faith. Verse 21, and here's where a lot of people get stumbled here. Was Abraham saved by his willingness to offer Isaac as a sacrifice? No, he doesn't say that at all. In fact, he confirms what Paul said in Romans chapter 4, "Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness."

If I say to you, "Oh, I trust God," and I'm not tithing, I'm not giving offering on top, and I'm living my life and stashing away every money I get so that I can feel safe. Why? Why am I stealing from God and keeping it? Because I really don't trust God. I don't trust that he's going to provide me next year. That's really the bottom line. That's the reason why people are not faithful in their giving. They never trusted God. They never trusted God to be the God who said that when you give it's given back to you with shovels, to be true.

If I am saying that I trust God and I am not faithful in my stewardship, I am really saying, not in words but in action, I just don't trust God to provide for me in the future. I really don't trust God to keep all of his promises that he made. And James wanted us to know that this kind of faith that Abraham had is not the counterfeit faith because he was giving him everything.

Now the tragedy of many churchgoing people today in the West, to them apply the word of Paul to Titus in Titus chapter 1, verse 16. Listen carefully. They claim to know God. Oh, they're not outside there, anti-God. They're not atheists, they're not agnostics. They claim to know God. That's what he said. But by their very action, they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for doing anything good.

Rahab, on the other hand, was a resident of a doomed city of Jericho. Listen to me. She was not there with the Jews when they crossed the Red Sea. She was not there in the wilderness when manna came from heaven and 40 years of provision supernaturally. She was not there. You know all that happened? She heard. She heard about God. She heard about the God of power and might. She heard about the God of the Hebrews. She heard about the God who parted the Red Sea. She heard about the God who fed his people in the wilderness and she said, "I've got to trust this God." And she risked her life.

Because she believed, if that's the God that they're telling me about, he's God to be worthy of my trust. I put my life on the line for that God. And she hid the spies who were sent by Joshua before they invaded the Promised Land. And she said, "I'm going to put my life on the line for this Jehovah." I wonder how many of us who know God, who've experienced God, who've seen the hand of God would say, "I'll put my life on the line for him. Nothing will I withhold from him."

Guest (Male): You're listening to Dr. Michael Youssef and an episode from his practical series, The 12 Evidences of Faith. This is Leading the Way. If you'd like to have a conversation about faith in your life, or lack of faith, take just a moment, visit ltw.org/jesus. When you get there, you can fill out a short contact form and connect with one of the Leading the Way compassionate pastors or counselors. Again, that's ltw.org/jesus.

Dr. Michael Youssef: My beloved friends in Christ, our world is lost, confused, and in desperate need of Jesus. Through Leading the Way's June gift challenge, you can share the only thing that matters eternally. I have never seen a more urgent time for the preaching of the gospel, the proclamation of the gospel in our nation. Together, we can have an impact in these last days. God bless.

Guest (Male): Your challenge to invest in eternity today and be a part of bringing in the harvest. Call 866-626-4356 and ltw.org. Or you can write to us, send a gift to the ministry, send us your prayer request, or just tell us how this ministry has impacted your walk with Christ. We're at Leading the Way, Post Office Box 20100, Atlanta, Georgia, 30325. This program is brought to you by Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef.