Faith that Works Produces
- Stability
- Charity
- Humility
- Patience
“My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” James 5:19-20
Patience with people observes conditions.
“My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth…” (19a)
“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” Hebrews 2:1
“Cease to hear instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.” Proverbs 19:27
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.” Galatians 1:6-7
“But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:3”
“But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned…But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, ‘If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?'” Galatians 2:11; 14
“Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.” Hebrews 3:12
People do not drift toward Holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.” ― D.A. Carson
Patience with people requires .
“…and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering…” (20a)
“…And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD. And the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him…” 2 Samuel 11:27-12:1
“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.” Galatians 6:1
“’If your brother sins against you, ngo and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” Matthew 18:15
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:36
“But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and as a tax collector.” Matthew 18:16-17
Patience with people leads to a result.
“…whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” (v20)
there is never a time more worrisome than when we know ourselves to be deliberately wandering from the truth and erring from the way and we are seeking to theologize our circumstances by assuring ourselves of our security in Christ.” – Alistair Begg
“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.” 1 John 2:19
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20
Faith that Works: