In James 2:21-24 we find the apostle, writing under the power of the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:21/ 2 Tim. 3:14-16), stating: “Was not Abraham our (spiritual) father” justified by WORKS when he offered up Isaac on the alter (of sacrifice)?  See how FAITH, along with his WORKS, made his FAITH perfect?  And the Scripture was fulfilled which states, ‘Abraham BELIEVED God and it was counted for him as RIGHTEOUSNESS and he was called the FRIEND OF GOD.’  Notice then how A MAN IS (REMAINS) JUSTIFIED BY WORKS AND NOT BY FAITH ALONE.  So then, …. FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD (DEAD FAITH).'”  Dead faith accomplishes nothing, that is, nothing positive0.  Dead faith accomplishes much, but not what God commands to be accomplished.  This series focuses on the lure of dead faith and the disastrous, though unrealized effects it is having on those who have it.

Jesus was right, Satan has deceived the whole world (Rev. 12:9) into believing that business as usual is God’s will for their lives.  The Serpent’s deception has touched the lives of billions of salvation seekers throughout history, beginning in the Garden of Eden.  We will now study the effects of workless faith on that which calls itself “the church” today.  In this study we will use the very same Words the church claims as the foundation of her theology.  We will examine several negative effects of the church’s “Come as you are, stay as you are.  Jesus loves you just the way you are.  You only need to believe that fact” mindset.

The first, and most devastating effect is that it causes church people to forget God.  One has to wonder how often religious man thinks about God during his waking hours.  A repentant King David, the “man after God’s own heart” kept the Lord “always before his eyes,” meaning that his focus was continually on his heavenly Father.  God tells us that we are to speak about His Law “when we rise up and when we lie down, when we go out and when we come in.”  In Deuteronomy 8:11-14 the Lord warns us not to prioritize material things and the feelings they give us: “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments and His statutes which I command you this day.  Beware that, after you have eaten to the full, and have built beautiful houses and dwelt in them, and when your herds and flocks, your silver and gold and everything you own has been multiplied, that you FORGET THE LORD YOUR GOD ….”  The church has replaced God in the lives of professing Christendom.  When asked about one’s spirituality, the name of one’s denomination defines one’s spiritual condition.  The Lord and His Word are not mentioned.  Church doctrine trump God’s Word every time.

We all prefer comfort over discomfort.  Change always involves leaving our comfort zone which we have “always known” has been the “right” zone, otherwise we would have not been in it.  Professing church people will not deliberately follow a pattern of behavior that they know is “wrong.”  This is what makes it so difficult for church people to leave their _____________ (fill in the denomination) comfort zone and embrace the pure Word of God, believe it and obey it.  The life-changing transition is gut-wrenching in that it is saying to one’s family, friends and churchmates: “I WAS WRONG AND YOU ARE WRONG.”  People do not appreciate being told that they are wrong–about anything–especially about spiritual matters, which is understandable in that they have been told all of their church lives that they are right.  Telling a church person that he is wrong is like throwing cold water on a hot surface–steam arises.  And there is no steam like spiritual steam.  Like a liar who is called a liar, one who has believed and lived a lie reacts negatively when told God’s Truth (Word–Jn. 17:17).  “Uncomfortable” does not quite describe the reaction.  So what is the solution to this problem?  Simple–one need only ignore God’s Words, intellectually explain them away, remove Him from one’s mind, forget about Him and return to church where one is assured that one’s comfort zone is exactly the “right” place to be.  Speaking of explaining God’s Words away, I once had a preacher write a newspaper article in response to my comment about God’s Sabbath.  This “minister of righteousness” listed and intellectually explained 14 times  how God lied.

Changing and becoming more like God is discomforting in that it reveals just how far we have been from Him for so long.  It is so much easier to believe that we are exactly like He wants us to be, therefore nullifying any need for a change in our lives.  The message one receives in his religious “safe (comfortable) space” is: “All you need to do is believe that Jesus died for you.  You do not need to do anything that would make you uncomfortable.”  For example, you need not “walk as He (Jesus) walked” (1 Jn. 2:6), or “purify yourself as He (Jesus) is pure” (1 Jn. 3:3), or “… overcome (Satan) as I (Jesus) have overcome (him) so that you can sit with me on My throne in the Kingdom of God” (Rev. 3:21).  These, false prophets proclaim, bear no relation to the reality of the Christian life.  According to church doctrine, the true Christian walk can be summarized by the following ditty I came up with: “Sin and grin my friend, for in the end you still win.  Pie in the sky, sin till you die, for in the sweet by and by, you’ll still get to fly.”

Business as usual is so much easier and so much more comfortable than changing everything about one’s life.  A turn from church to sainthood requires that “Old things must die, behold, ALL THINGS MUST BE MADE NEW.”  This is exactly what God requires of those who would be saved.  It is so much easier to forget God, His Words, His Law, His commands, His rules of engagement.  It is so much easier to remember Him only occasionally, like at meal time, or when things get tough.  It is so much easier to believe what our hirelings tell us than to have some Scripture-quoter show us exactly what God tells us in the Holy Bible.  This is the attitude the minutely few ministers of God face when they tell church people His Truth.  There is a precedent for this attitude that is embraced by those who call themselves God’s people.  Isaiah faced the same problem.  He was told by those to whom God sent him, which he described as: “a rebellious people, lying children, children who will not hear the Law of God, which say to the prophets, ‘See not (our sins) … prophesy not unto us right things, speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits.  Get out of our way, stop holding up the Holy One of Israel before us (by telling us of His will)” (30:9,10).  Why did the people not want to hear God’s Truth?  Because THE WAYS OF THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL made them uncomfortable.  Their solution to their discomfort problem: “TAKE HIM OUT OF OUR SIGHT.”  That would make it easier to forget about Him.  That is, until they needed Him.  Nothing has changed.  L.J.