07 Apr James 05: Living true faith

James 2:14-26

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? ¹⁷ So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. ¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. ¹⁹ You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! ²⁰ Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?

²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; ²³ and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. ²⁴ You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵ And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? ²⁶ For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

Let’s start with a game of true or false. I’ll say something about me, and you’ll respond by saying true or false. Can we do that? Okay, let the game begin. I wear a white top. I like fashion. I hate KFC. I’m a pastor. I’m 25 years old. I don’t like to read. I enjoy Korean drama. Okay, let’s make it harder. My favourite colour is white. My clothes are mostly Uniqlo. Lestari is my number one fried rice. My favourite preacher is Timothy Keller. Some of you began to get some facts wrong. Let’s make it one step harder. I have $50 cash in my wallet. True or false? Here is my point. Do you know why it is so easy to guess the earlier questions? Because you can see them. You can see I’m wearing a white top. You can see I’m a pastor. You can see I don’t look like I’m 25 years old. Maybe 28. It is obvious because you can see them. But the less you can see, the less obvious it becomes. That’s why you are not sure whether I have $50 cash in my wallet or not. I may say that I have $50 cash in my wallet, but you don’t know for sure because you can’t see it. But can you know for sure? Yes. How? By proof. You can know for sure when I open my wallet and take out $50. The claim that I have $50 cash is made evident by me showing you that I have $50.

Tonight, we are in the fifth sermon of our series in the book of James. Our passage for today is the most famous and the most controversial in the book of James. But it is also the most important. James is talking about how we can know if our faith is true. It is easy for us to say that we have faith. But how do we know it is true? Because what we say is not always an accurate reflection of what we think and believe. Do you know what is? Our action. We do not always live what we say we believe, but we always believe what we live out. Listen to the way James puts it. James 2:24 – You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. Now, this is a very provocative statement. Especially for us who went through the book of Galatians last year. Our gospel sense is immediately on alert. Look at what Paul says in Galatians 2:16 – yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. Do you see? James and Paul seem to disagree. So, we say, “Obviously, James must be wrong. The gospel is we are saved and justified by faith in Christ alone. James is teaching the false gospel, and we must reject it.” Here is the problem with that. The book of James is in the Bible. When James wrote his letter, he was inspired by the Holy Spirit just like Paul was when he wrote Galatians. And if James and Paul were both inspired by the Holy Spirit, but they taught contradictive teaching, that’s the end of Christianity. It means we can’t trust the Bible. This is going to be my shortest sermon ever and we are quitting church after tonight. Let’s pray and go home.

In case you are getting ready to leave, we are not going to quit church tonight. There is no possibility James is contradicting Paul. So, how do we make sense of their statements? I’m going to give you three points and I need you to wear your theological hat for this. This is very important. And these points are not the points of my sermon; these are the three points of my introduction. Number one, James and Paul are addressing different concerns. Paul is fighting against legalism, the idea that we must work to earn our salvation. Paul is fighting against the teaching of salvation by works. So, in his letter to the Galatians, Paul is addressing the question, how can we be made right with God? On the other hand, James is fighting against easy-believism, the idea that faith is simply an intellectual agreement that needs no evidence. James looks at the church and he sees many people who are not living out what they say they believe. If Paul is addressing how we can be made right with God, James is addressing, what does true faith look like? So, James and Paul are fighting against different enemies, and both enemies are present in the church today.

Number two, James and Paul believe in the same gospel. Let’s put the gospel in a mathematical formula. Faith = Justification + Works. It means that when we put our faith in Jesus, the result is that we receive justification. Justification means we are made right with God. And we also produce good works in our lives. Therefore, works matter. But we need to put work in the right place. Good works are the result of faith. And this is Paul’s concern. Paul is saying, “Don’t you dare put works on the wrong side of the equation. That’s a false gospel and you will be cursed by God.” James is different. James is saying, “Don’t you dare leave works out of the equation.” Because there are people who claim to follow Jesus, but their lives show no evidence of being followers of Jesus. If you say you have faith in Jesus and you live however you want, that’s not true faith.

Number three, James and Paul use the word ‘justify’ in different ways. We do this all the time. For example, the word ‘bad’. Back in the day, the word bad meant bad. It meant something not good and unpleasant. But today it’s different. A few years ago, a friend of mine came to the service and listened to me preaching. And after the service, he said to me, “Bro, your talk was bad.” I was shocked and I genuinely asked him, “What was so bad about my sermon?” I thought my sermon was literally bad. I did not know that our culture has decided to use the word bad to describe something really good. It’s confusing. And this is what James is doing. The difference is that he didn’t twist the meaning of the word ‘justified’ but he used the second meaning of it. The first meaning of the word justified is to be made right. So, if we have a debt, and we pay off the debt, we make ourselves right with the creditor. We are justified before our creditors. The second meaning of the word justified is to vindicate, to show or to demonstrate as righteous. It means to prove that something is. We hear this phrase used a lot when politicians make a bold claim. Someone will say to them, “Can you justify your claim?” It means, “Can you demonstrate to us that it is true? Prove it. Give us the evidence that it is true.” When Paul says we are justified by faith, he means we can only be made right with God by our faith in Jesus’ perfect work. When James says we are justified by works, he means it is our works that prove we are right with God.

And this is where James is getting at. Get this. The profession of faith is not equal to the possession of faith. The possession of faith always leads to works of faith. If faith does not produce works, it is not true faith. It is easy to profess that we have faith. I can profess to you that I have $50 cash in my wallet, but it doesn’t mean I possess it. The same goes for faith. Faith is invisible to human eyes. Anyone can profess that they have faith, but it does not guarantee that they possess faith. Here is the sad reality. There are many Christians who profess faith, but they do not possess faith. And James is saying, “You have faith? Good. Show me the evidence!” James is not saying we are saved by our works, but we prove that we are saved by our works. Or in the famous saying of Martin Luther, we are saved by faith alone, but not by faith that remains alone. As we have seen, James is very pastoral and practical, and he does not want to leave us ambiguous as to whether we have true faith or not. He will define what true faith is by giving us four illustrations, two negative and two positive.

These four illustrations are the four points of my sermon today: dead faith; demon faith; dynamic faith; daring faith.

Dead faith

James 2:14-17 – ¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? ¹⁷ So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Imagine you don’t have any money to buy food. And then you come to church, and you tell me how hungry you are. You haven’t eaten for days. And I say, “O my… that’s not good. I feel sorry for you. You know what, we are going to have KFC tonight after the service. It’s going to cost about $9 per person. I’m sorry you can’t join us because you don’t have money. But let me pray for you. If God can feed the birds in the air, he can feed you as well. Let’s trust God’s provision and let’s pray that God will feed you miraculously.” So, I pray for you and then I say, “I have faith that you won’t be hungry next week. I’ll see you then. Bye.” And James is saying to me, “What good is that faith? That faith is useless. It is a dead faith!” Let’s be clear. James is not contrasting between an immature faith and a mature faith. The contrast is between true faith with works and dead faith without works. James is making the argument, what good is faith that has no work? What good is it to say, “I believe in Jesus” but not care for the hurting? What good is it to come to church every Sunday but not obey God’s commandments? Can that faith save?

Wives, let’s say it’s your wedding anniversary. And your husband doesn’t do anything, and you are upset. And your husband says, “Why are you so upset? I don’t get it. I remember it’s our wedding anniversary. I have it saved on my calendar. I even wrote a note saying to buy you flowers and take you out to dinner to celebrate it. Yes, I did not do it, but I know what you want. Why is that not enough for you?” We know why. Having the right knowledge alone is not enough. Having the right intention alone is not enough. If we are in the presence of poor and needy people and we don’t do anything to help when we can, we do not possess faith. The way we care for those in need is one of the signs of whether we possess true faith or not. And I know us. So tonight, after church, we will try to find homeless people and buy them food to make us feel good about ourselves. But that is not what James is saying. That’s legalism. That’s us trying to save ourselves with our work. We care for the needy not because we have to but because we know what Christ has done for us. We know that we were poor, homeless, and bankrupt, but God chose us and made us heirs of the kingdom.

So, if we do not find our hearts are moved with compassion to care for the needy, the solution is not to go out there and just do it. The solution is the gospel. Remember that we are sinners saved by grace. And if we say we are sinners saved by grace, but we are indifferent to people who are in need, we don’t really believe we are sinners saved by grace. If we have the means to help meet needs and we don’t, our faith is dead. Listen to what Tim Keller said. “Mercy to the full range of human needs is such an essential mark of a Christian that it can be used as a test of true faith. Mercy is not an optional addition to being a Christian. Rather, a life poured out in deeds of mercy is the sign of genuine faith. If there is no mercy toward the needy, then there is no faith. Acts of mercy are evidence of salvation.” Acts of mercy are not the means of salvation, but they are necessary evidence of salvation. It does not mean we are required to do everything for those in need, but we must do something to help those in need. James’ next illustration makes the point even more forcefully.

Demon faith

James 2:18-20 – ¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. ¹⁹ You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! ²⁰ Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?

Here James imagines an objector, who says, “You have faith and I have works.” In other words, the objector is saying, “James, there are different types of Christians out there. We don’t all have the same strong point. Some are the thinker types, who love reading Piper and Keller to get their doctrine right. Then there are us, the practical types. We’re not into thinking but doing. You’ve got your faith, and we’ve got our work. You say tomato; we say tomahto.” But James says we can’t separate faith and work as two different gifts of God. Faith and work are different but inseparable. There is no such thing as Christians who do not have faith and work. Our faith is made visible by our work. Let’s say that I tell you that I’m a good cook. I keep claiming in my sermons that I make a really good kimbap. After hearing it a few times, you say, “Prove it. Show me that you make a good kimbap. Let me taste it.” But I never made it for you. What good is my claim? A claim not backed by evidence is useless. Faith without work is useless. It is no better than the faith of demons.

Do you know that demons have faith? Think about it. Demons graduated from the best Bible College in the universe called Heaven Seminary. Their professor was not man but God himself. They learned their theology from God. We might spend 60 or 70 years learning about God, but demons had eternity to learn about God. They know more about sound doctrine and good theology than the greatest saint ever lived. I love theology and I think I am a good debater. But if I ever get into a theological argument with demons, they can destroy me in a matter of minutes. But at the end of the day, they are still demons. I am not saying that good theology and sound doctrine do not matter. Good theology and sound doctrine are absolutely important. We cannot love God without the right theology and doctrine. But here is what I am saying. Faith with intellectual agreement alone is not true faith. We can have all the right theology and doctrine, but our faith is useless.

To which some might say, “See what we need in church is not theology. What we need is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We need to feel God’s presence among us.” Some of you tend to measure Christianity by what you feel. But is your feeling the true measure of your faith? No. Why? Here is why. Demons feel God more than all of us. You might feel a certain way about God but demons shudder before God. It means that all the hair in their body stands when they think of God. This is not an ordinary fear; this is an intense fear. They are extremely afraid of who God is and what he can do. Yet at the end of the day, they are still demons. This tells us that faith with intellectual agreement and feeling is still not true faith. That’s demons’ faith. Demons believe in all the right doctrines of God. Demons shudder before God. They are affected by what they know but their faith is useless. Listen. You can know and believe God is great, to be afraid of God and his judgement, even to alter your behaviour so you become a very religious person, and yet your faith is useless. James is warning us that it is possible to know lots of things about God, feel a certain way about God, and not be saved. Faith is not something you profess; it is something you possess. Having the right knowledge and feeling for God does not mean you possess faith. You can know a lot about God without knowing God personally. Do not mistake what you know and what you feel about God with a genuine relationship with God. Hell is full of people with good theology and feelings for God. So, how do we know if we possess faith? Let’s move on to the next two illustrations.

Dynamic faith

James 2:21-24 – ²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; ²³ and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. ²⁴ You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

James is using the life of Abraham to illustrate true faith. If you are not familiar with the story of Abraham, let me tell you his life story briefly. One day God appeared to Abraham and told him to leave everything behind and follow God. From Abraham, God would create a people for himself, a nation that will be known for their God. Amazingly, Abraham obeyed God. He left everything to follow God. However, Abraham was childless. His wife, Sarah, was barren. So, how can God create a nation out of Abraham if he was childless? Many years went by, and Abraham was still childless. But then one night God appeared to him. Genesis 15:5-6 – And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness. Don’t miss it. Abraham was still childless, but Abraham believed God’s promise to make his descendants as many as the stars, and he was counted as righteous. That’s it. The word counted is an accounting word. It means if you are extremely poor and you marry a billionaire, you immediately become extremely rich. You suddenly have lots of money in your bank account. You didn’t work for it. You didn’t do a thing. But it’s in your account. Because the money is in your account, the money is counted as yours. And that is exactly how Abraham was counted as righteous. Note: When Abraham believed God’s promise, he did not become righteous; he was counted righteous. He did not work for it, but it was transferred into his account, and God treated him as righteous. We call this positional righteousness. Let’s continue with Abraham’s story.

After 25 years of waiting for God’s promise, Abraham finally had his hope and dream in his hand. Abraham had a son. Sarah gave birth to Isaac. If it was a Disney story, it would end right there. And they lived happily ever after. Yet the story continued. Many years later, God came to Abraham and told him, “Abraham, I want you to sacrifice Isaac, your one and only beloved son.” And this is what’s remarkable. Abraham obeyed God. Let’s not dehumanize Abraham. He was not a robot. He was a man with feelings and emotions like us. This commandment was as devastating to Abraham as it is to us today. After 25 years of waiting and finally having his dream in his hand, he was told to sacrifice Isaac. To sacrifice Isaac was to sacrifice everything because all of God’s promises for Abraham were dependent on Isaac. If I was Abraham, I would probably say, “God, are you joking? If you are, this is not funny. There is no way I can sacrifice Isaac. He is my hope and dream. And aren’t you the one who gave me Isaac? This does not make any sense.” But Abraham trusted God. He brought Isaac up the mountain, tied him up at the altar, and as he was about to stab his son with a dagger, suddenly a voice from heaven said, “Stop! Now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”

Here is my question. Did God not know that Abraham feared him? Of course, he did. God knows everything. God knew Abraham’s faith was real from the start. But by obeying God’s command to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham proved his faith which made him righteous many years prior. Abraham’s obedience to God’s word proved that his faith in God was real. We call this practical righteousness. Positional righteousness always leads to practical righteousness. And this is James’ point. Abraham received his justification by faith alone. He did not become righteous by sacrificing Isaac. He was declared righteous long before God commanded him to sacrifice Isaac. But his faith was justified, his faith was made evident, or proven to be true when he offered up Isaac at the altar. Kevin DeYoung puts it nicely. “Abraham’s works, namely the work of sacrificing Isaac, was not the cause of justification, not the manner of justification, but it was the proof of justification so that his faith was completed.” Abraham was not only professing that he trusted God. He completed his faith by surrendering his hope and dream at the altar. His works completed his faith, showing it was genuine.

So here is what James is saying. It does not matter what you profess with your mouth, if you do not do what you say you believe, your faith is fake. You might argue, “But Yos, I know the gospel. I believe it. I can explain what the gospel is from A to Z.” That’s great. But the question is not whether you know but whether your life shows what you say you know. Good theology is important but good theology does not save anyone. You might know the gospel really well, but the question is, do you truly trust in the gospel?

Let me put it in the simplest way I know. Imagine I’m having a conversation with someone about this chair.

“Do you believe that this chair can hold you?”
“Absolutely. I’m sure this chair can hold me.”
“Okay then please have a seat.”
“Well, I’m not sure if I want to sit down.”
“Why not? Do you not trust that the chair can hold you?”
“I know the chair can hold me. I’m only 92 kgs. It says that this chair can hold up to 130 kg. In fact, I read an article that proves that a black chair can hold more weight than a blue chair. They did all the research and stuff. It’s fascinating.”
“Wow. I didn’t know that. Then you should have no problem sitting on the chair. Please have a seat.”
“Let me feel the chair first. Oh wow. This chair is so firm. It is made of steel. I can feel its strength when I touch it. Impressive. Where did you buy the chair? It must be expensive.”
“It’s only $20 at Officeworks. Since you can feel its strength, then please have a seat.”
“You know, it’s not that I don’t believe that this chair can hold me. It’s just that you never know what might happen. I’m not sure if I should sit.”

Do you see? This is James’ argument. It doesn’t matter how much you know about the chair and what you feel about the chair. What matters is whether you sit on the chair or not. If you have faith in the chair, you sit on the chair. How do you know if you have true faith or not? Not by profession of faith but by possession of faith. The real evidence of faith is not in the knowledge of God or feelings toward God but in obedience to God. Faith creates works and works complete faith. Let’s move on to the last illustration.

Daring faith

James 2:25-26 – ²⁵ And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? ²⁶ For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

If the first example of true faith is taken from a man of God, a man chosen by God to accomplish great things, the second example is the opposite. Her name was Rahab, and her story is amazing. Why is her story amazing? Because she was not an Israelite, and she owned a brothel. Literally. That’s how she made a living. Rahab prostituted herself for money and she kept a few girls in her house to please her customers. She’s not your typical candidate for heroes of faith, and yet she made it. Her name is both on the genealogies of Jesus and Hebrews 11 Hall of Faith. That’s what grace does to you. Her story went like this. Israel was about to enter the Promised Land, and the first stop was Jericho, and Rahab owned a brothel in Jericho. I don’t know a lot about prostitution, but I know no little girl ever dreams of becoming a prostitute when they grow up. “Baby girl, what do you want to be when you grow up?” “I want to be a prostitute Mommy.” I never hear that. What I hear is every little girl dreams of becoming a princess, not a prostitute. So, for whatever reason, life was not working out for Rahab. She found herself in men’s constant abuse until she finally gave up and decided to make a living out of being abused.

But then she heard of Israel and the God of Israel. She heard of all the things God did to Egypt and how God split the Dead Sea into two for the Israelites to cross. She heard how all the nations that opposed Israel were destroyed. She heard how extremely powerful the God of Israel is. And this is what’s amazing. She not only heard of the God of Israel, but she also believed in the God of Israel. So, when the two Israelite spies came to spy on Jericho, Rahab helped them. Rather than turning them to authority, she hid them in her brothel. Do you know what we call that? Treason. She helped a nation that was about to invade and destroy her country. If she’s found out, she would be killed immediately. But Rahab believed in the God of Israel. She knew that he was the God of heaven and earth. So, when a moment came for her to choose between her life and the God of heaven and earth, she chose God. Rahab’s faith was daring. And remember, she was not an amazing godly character. She was a prostitute who put her faith in God. And her faith was made evident by her choosing to treasure God and his purpose over her own life. If Abraham put his hope and dream on the line, Rahab put her life on the line. She acted on her faith and put her life at risk. And this is James’ point. We cannot see faith. It is invisible to human eyes. But we can show our faith through our work. If we have faith in the sovereign God, we will have the courage to obey his words. Faith in God will lead us to take risks for God. True faith will always produce obedience to God even when it is extremely risky. True faith is never invisible. True faith is a daring faith.

So, here is a point of reflection: Do you possess true faith? And this is my genuine concern for some of you. I’m afraid that some of you profess faith but do not possess faith. You can easily become Christians who know how to post the right quote on Instagram, yet your life does not give evidence of your faith. You can talk so much about God, yet your life never reflects the reality of God. And that’s not okay. And if that’s you, I love you, but I need to tell you that your faith is dead. It is useless and it will not save you. You might have all the right knowledge of God. You might have feelings for God. But what good are they? Even demons believe and they shudder. So tonight, let’s reflect on what we just heard from James. Do you see a love for Christ reflected in your life? Are you willing to put your hope and dream on the line for the sake of trusting and obeying God? Are you willing to put your life on the line for Christ? And I’m not talking about perfection. In fact, if you look at the life of Abraham, you will see that he constantly failed. But he never stopped pursuing God. So, I’m not asking you to look at your life and find perfect obedience. You will not find it. But a person who possesses faith will show the works of faith. Can you see traces of obedience to God in you? When was the last time you walked in trust and obedience to him? When was the last time you sacrificed yourself for the sake of others? Can you see the evidence of faith in your life? How does your faith make a difference in your own life? How is someone else’s life different because of your faith? True faith always produces fruits. Faith in your heart is evident in the fruits of your life.

Let me end with this. If we are not careful, we think the main takeaway of this sermon is for us to prove our faith by our works. So, we make a list of ten things we must do to show that our faith is true. But that is not true faith. Listen carefully. True faith is not about doing things for God. True faith is about friendship with God. Abraham obeyed God not because he tried to earn something from God but because he was a friend of God. True faith wants to please God just because of who God is. If you have teenage kids, you know this. When your kids are going out with their friends, you say, “Where are you going?” “Out.” “Where to?” “I don’t know.” “What do you mean you don’t know? What time will you be home?” “I don’t know.” “Don’t you have a purpose in life? What are you going to do?” “I don’t know. We are just going to chill and decide later.” Do you see? When you have a dear friend, it doesn’t really matter what you do and where you are going. You just want to be with your friend. A friend is someone you love for who that person is. You live for the friendship. If what you really want is something else other than your friend, that’s not friendship. You are just using your friend.

But how can we be a friend of God? How can we want God just for God? There is only one way. We have to see the loveliness of Christ. When we see the loveliness of Christ, we want to do everything with him. We want to do everything for him. Not to get something from him but because our hearts rejoice in our friendship with him. But how do we see the loveliness of Christ? We have to see how much it costs him to make us his friends. When God told Abraham to sacrifice his son, Abraham obeyed, and God stopped him from piercing his dagger into his son. And God said, “Abraham, now I know how much you love me because you did not withhold your son, your only son, whom you love, from me.” That’s true faith. But what Abraham did is only a shadow of what God did. Many centuries later, God the Father went up on the mountain and he sacrificed his only beloved son. On Mount Calvary, when God the Father lifted his dagger, there was no voice from heaven to stop him. God the Father pierced his dagger through his son, Jesus Christ. Why? Because that’s the only way to make sinners become friends of God. That’s the only way to make rebels right with God. Jesus had to be pierced for the penalty of sins so that by faith we can become friends of God. So, we look at God sacrificing Jesus and say, “Now I know how much you love me. For you did not withhold your son, your only son, whom you love, from me.” Do you feel affection burn in your heart when you hear that? That’s faith. And James is telling us, “If you truly believe that, if you are truly captivated by God’s love for you, if you are a friend of God, your life will produce good works. Faith without works is dead.” Let’s pray.

Discussion questions:

1. What struck you the most from the sermon?
2. Are you more of “a knowledge Christian” or “a feeling Christian”? Why are both not enough to be true faith?
3. What is the difference between positional righteousness and practical righteousness?
4. “True faith will always produce obedience to God even when it is extremely risky.” Is there area in your life where you need to obey God?
5. How does the gospel produce true faith?