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Now, today’s text is from the book of James.
Martin Luther,
one of the leaders
of the Protestant Reformation,
didn’t have much use for the book of James.
He called it “an epistle of straw,”
and by that he meant
that he didn’t think it carried much weight.
Luther felt much the same about Esther,
Hebrews, Jude, and the book of Revelation.
Now, what was his problem?
His problem with the book of James
centered around today’s text:
“Faith without works is dead.”
And it was really based on
a misunderstanding of what James was saying.
Luther thought that James was saying
that we can earn our salvation by our works.
Now, he was insisting
that salvation is through faith alone.
But he was so upset
that he went so far as to claim
that the book of James wasn’t written
by a Christian at all (let alone James)
and that it was written by a Jew
who didn’t know very much about Christianity
—all because Luther missed the point
of what James was saying.
James was saying: ‘Faith is important.
‘We all need faith, but you can’t see faith.
How do you know if a man has faith?’
And his answer?
‘By his works.
A man’s works are proof that he has faith.’
And it’s faith in the sacrifice of Christ
that saves us.
Well, there’s a lesson here:
When we don’t understand
a point of Scripture,
whether in the Bible
or in one of our publications,
it’s best to assume that we are the ones
who have the problem, not the writer.
And with that in mind, we’ll ask Jehovah
to help us to understand
what has been written.
Today, like Martin Luther,
many Evangelicals stress faith over works.
When you meet them
in the door-to-door work, they say,
“You people think
that you can earn your salvation
by going from door to door.”
Well, you know that’s not true.
We understand
that it’s the shed blood of Jesus
that cleanses us from all sin.
But we share in the ministry
because we love Jehovah God.
We love people.
We want as many as possible
to know the truth about Jehovah God
because Jehovah is being lied about.
And that’s what a witness does:
He swears to tell the truth.
I love the point that Jake Rumph made
in his talk at the annual meeting.
Do you remember?
He said that Jesus couldn’t stand
to see the people he healed
suffer one moment longer than necessary,
and so he healed them on the Sabbath.
He didn’t say, ‘Come back tomorrow,’
or ‘Try to find me somewhere
along the Dead Sea.’
No, no.
He healed them right then and there,
even though he knew that the Pharisees
were going to cause problems.
And make no mistake about it,
what Jesus did
(healing on the Sabbath) was very risky.
According to the Mosaic Law,
Sabbath breakers were to be put to death.
So you can see why the Pharisees
tried so hard to make a case against Jesus.
Well, what was the application
that Brother Rumph made?
Today we don’t take the view
that if we don’t preach to people,
well, we’ll let Jehovah
sort it out at the great tribulation.
People are suffering now.
People need relief now.
People need to know Jehovah God now.
They need to enjoy
a better quality of life now
and have real hope for the future.
Well, what about Jesus?
Is he the least bit interested in our works?
Or does he agree with the Evangelicals
that all you need is to believe?
Let’s let him answer the question.
Let’s turn to a couple of verses
in a book that Martin Luther
didn’t like very much,
the book of Revelation.
Let’s turn to Revelation chapter 2,
and let Jesus tell us
what he thinks about works.
Revelation chapter 2
and we’re going to read
verses 2 and 5 to start with.
This is to the congregation in Ephesus.
He says: “I know your deeds,
and your labor [that’s works]
and endurance,” in verse 2.
And verse 5 says:
“Therefore remember
from where you have fallen,
“and repent and do the deeds
you did at first.”
Now let’s turn over to verse 19,
and this is to the congregation in Thyatira.
And the question here is,
Does Jesus even notice
how much we do in his service?
Verse 19, he says:
“I know your deeds,
“and your love and faith
and ministry and endurance,
“[and then notice this]
and that your deeds of late
are more than those you did at first.”
What’s the point?
Jesus notices what we do:
when we work a little bit longer
on Saturday morning,
when we pause to give a contact card
or a tract to a shopkeeper,
when we make a return visit after work
because that’s the most convenient time
for the householder, although not for us.
Jesus notices
those little sacrifices that we make,
and he appreciates them.
What Jehovah’s people
are accomplishing today is just amazing.
Of course, Satan is always negative.
He’s “the accuser of our brothers.”
And he’s probably saying:
“Well, now that publishers
don’t have to submit
“a detailed report of their activity,
“they’re going to do the bare minimum.
“They’ll do just enough
to be able to check the box off
at the end of the month.”
Our zealous brothers and sisters
are proving what a liar Satan is.
Although we don’t have
a congregation goal,
many are setting
reasonable goals for themselves
according to their circumstances.
Now, the emphasis is
on the word “reasonable.”
What’s reasonable
for a perfectly healthy 19-year-old
may not be reasonable
for a sickly 90-year-old,
although those 90-year-olds
can do a lot of work in Jehovah’s service.
Some find it helpful to plan out their month.
At the beginning,
they have a look at the weekends.
What activities are planned?
‘Oh, my sister’s wedding,
I’ll have to travel for that.’
Great!
But what about the three other weekends?
God’s people are showing
their love for Jehovah in another way:
by stepping out of their comfort zone.
Now, for some, interestingly,
stepping out of their comfort zone
means sharing in the door-to-door work.
Especially since COVID, many have
a hard time engaging in conversation.
They were so used to
conversing by text or email.
So they prefer
cart witnessing and letter writing.
Both are good.
But they realize
that we don’t meet everyone at the carts,
and we can’t write to everyone.
We have to be impartial.
So they pray to Jehovah for courage
and get out in the door-to-door work.
They can be sure that Jesus sees that,
and he appreciates
their courage and willing spirit.
Our hardworking Bethel commuters
are an excellent example
of showing love for Jehovah
and for their brothers.
Now, if they’re pioneers,
they could easily have their time in
by the third week of the month.
But they don’t take the fourth week off.
They realize
that we need them that fourth week,
so they make the extra effort.
It’s much appreciated, and it’s much needed.
Jesus tied faith to works.
On the night before he died,
he told his disciples:
“Whoever exercises faith in me
“[or according to the King James Version,
whoever “believeth on me”]
will also do the works that I do.”
And what work did Jesus do?
Notably, the preaching work.

David H. Splane: Faith Without Works Is Dead (Jas. 2:17)