Connect with Skip - Skip Heitzig

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Connect with Skiff Heitzig. We're so glad you've
tuned in today. We believe there's no substitute for God's word,
and that's why Connect with Skiff exists to bring verse
by verse Bible teaching into your life each week to
help you stay rooted in God's truth. Be sure to
sign up for Skip's weekly devotional emails, and when you do,
you'll get a free chapter download from one of Skiff's

(00:23):
most popular books, The Biography of God. This free chapter
is a powerful look at God's character and it's our
gift to you when you sign up today at connectiskip
dot com. That's connect with Skiff dot com. Now here's
today's message from pastor Skip.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
This is important because though we should and do show
the general community that we believe in Jesus and love
them and care for them and work for them and
do acts of service and kindness, principally, we should show
that first and foremost other believers. That's what the Bible

(01:02):
teaches Galatians Chapter six, verse ten. As we have opportunity,
let us do good to all, especially to those who
are of the household of faith. So we have a
special responsibility to care for each other. Jesus said, inasmuch
as you did it to the least of these, my brethren,

(01:23):
you have done it to me. So let's just use
a hypothetical. After church, you go to lunch of Dions.
Anybody here like Dions. Listen, people move away from Albuquerque
and they miss Dions, like that's like top of their list.
I don't know why, but anyway, God, you go to

(01:43):
Dion's and you order pepperoni pizza with with green chili
on it. Right, maybe pepperoni pizza with some Italian sausage
and green chili on it. And by the way, if
you remember nothing else of my message, at least now

(02:07):
you know how to order your pizza. So you go
there and you get your pizza. You pick it up.
It's hot, it smells good, it's under your arm carrying
it out, and you see somebody there kind of slumped
into the corner, and you go, I think I recognize
that person. You walk up to the person kind of tattered,
looks very gaunt, and you say, don't you go to Calvary?
They go, yeah, I'm there every week. I thought I

(02:28):
recognized you. God bless you. You look hungry. I am well,
let me pray for you. And by the way, the
green chili pizza is awesome. And then you walk out, Well,
that would be extraordinarily cruel, would it not, because you
did nothing to help that person in his condition. Be callous?
So faith, our faith should lead to fruitfulness. Our belief

(02:56):
should be work out in behavior. Our sight should show sympathy.
First John Chapter three is a parallel verse to what
we are reading here. This is First John three, verses
seventeen and eighteen. But whoever has this world's goods and
sees his brother in need and shuts up his heart

(03:17):
from him, how does the love of God abide in him?
My little children? Let us not love in word or
in tongue, but indeed and in truth. Last week we
touched on the Good Samaritan. We use that as an
example in the message. Let me go back to that.
The parable of the Good Samaritan has a priest and

(03:41):
a Levite in it. Right, who walk by the guy
who's laying in the street. The priest and the lee
bite were both religious. The priest and the Levite both
would have vigorously defended their faith in God. I'm a
god follower of God. Believer. Both of them saw a

(04:03):
man dying in the road. Neither of them cared to
move a finger. It was all sight without sympathy. So
two characteristics, and all these are very related to each other.
Just a little slight nuance, change words without works, site
without sympathy, third profession without proof Verse seventeen. Thus also

(04:32):
or therefore also faith by itself, if it does not
have works, is dead. But someone will say, you have
faith and I have works, show me your faith without
your works. I will show you my faith by my works.

(04:55):
Now Here, James introduces an imaginary debate two people. First
guy is a genuine believer. Second guy is a fake believer,
thinking that his intellectual faith is all he needs. First
guy challenges the second guy to prove his faith. Hey,

(05:16):
you have a pretty awesome profession. Can you prove it?
Prove what you say by something you do, or to
put it in another way, make the invisible visible, make
the invisible faith, make it visible works. Faith is invisible.
You can't see faith, but you can see the effective faith,

(05:39):
the result of faith, sort of like calories. Right ever
seen a calorie? What does a calari look like? Now
you've see the effect of calories. Right, we see them
on ourselves pretty much every day, so we see what
calories can do. So make that which is invisible faith

(06:03):
your statement of faith, make it visible works. One of
my favorite, probably is my favorite healing story of Jesus
in the Gospels, is when he's in a house and
packful of people. It's in capernaium, and nobody can get
around him. But there's four guys who want their friend
who's paralyzed to meet Jesus because they believe Jesus is

(06:27):
going to heal them. So this guy's a paralytic, So
what do they do. They climb on top of the
roof and they take the tiles off and they lower
him down right in the middle of this crowd. And
I've always wondered whose house that is, because you know
they're looking up going some you're paying for this right.
Maybe it was Peter's house. Some think it was Missus.

(06:48):
Peter would have said, really, this is what happens when
you follow this guy. This happens. There's a lot of
commotion going on. Jesus is teaching, and as he's teaching,
daylight pours through the sea, and this guy gets lowered
down into Jesus' midst and do you remember when that happened.
What the Bible says Jesus said, or what the Bible

(07:10):
says about what Jesus did. It says this, when Jesus
saw their faith. When Jesus saw their faith, he said
to the paralytic man, be of good cheer. Your sins
are forgiven. But Jesus saw their faith. What did he see?

(07:30):
He saw the evidence of their faith. He saw the
fact that they're willing to crawl on the roof, tear
open the tiles, and put their friend down in front
of him. That's the question, can people see your faith?
Is there proof? Now? I want to go back to
the question in verse fourteen. I know we kind of
went through it, but I want to circle back to
that question at the end of verse fourteen, can faith

(07:54):
save him? Let's just kind of deal with this controversy
that I I mentioned with Martin Luther and supposedly he's
contradicting Paul the Apostle. James here is not saying that
you are saved by faith plus works. If you were

(08:18):
saying you're saved by faith plus works, that would dishonor
the finished work of Jesus on the cross. If you
say we're saved by faith plus works, now you're saying
we have two saviors. First is Christ and the second
is ourselves. So he is not saying that. But some
like Martin, I think we can call him Marty by

(08:41):
now we know him so well. Saw that James, or
thought that James was contradicting Paul's clear teaching on justification.
Salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, nothing else not
saved by works. I mean, after all, Roman four, verse five.
But to him who does not work but believes on

(09:05):
him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.
It's pretty clear. Or Romans chapter ten, verse nine. If
you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe
in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved. Can't get any clearer than that.

(09:28):
Or Ephesians chapter two. We looked at it the other
night on Wednesday. For by grace you have been saved
through faith, that not of yourselves. It is a gift
of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Then
there's Galatians chapter two, verse sixteen. Knowing that a man

(09:49):
is not justified by the works of the law. For
by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
So if you're to compare what Paul said and what
James here says, it sounds like they're contradicting each other.
Paul's going faith, faith, faith, James is saying works, works, works,

(10:11):
and so Martin Luther's going, what is a man to do? Right?
They contradict each other, No, they don't. Paul and James
do not contradict each other. Rather they compliment each other.
They're not enemies fighting face to face, their friends fighting

(10:32):
back to back. They're in the same army, but they're
fighting two different enemies. The enemy that Paul is speaking
against were Jewish legalists who believed that you have to
keep the Law of Moses in order to be saved.
James is fighting easy believism that says, all you have

(10:55):
to do is have this little intellectual knowledge. I believe
in God. I've always believed in God. I went to
church all my life, baptize, confirm, tattoo, the whole thing.
But that's all they got. And so Paul is speaking
about pre salvation doing works in order to be saved.

(11:16):
James is talking post salvation. Now that you're saved, can
you validate it? So Paul is describing the root of
salvation faith. James is speaking about the fruit of salvation works.
If you have a root in the soil, it will

(11:36):
produce fruit.

Speaker 1 (11:37):
This is connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we return to
Skip's teaching, have you ever wondered what it really means
to grow up spiritually? In Adulting, a study through the
book of James pastor Skip Heizig walks you through twenty
one powerful teachings that show you how to live a mature,
Christ centered life, one shaped by conviction, consistency, and character.

(12:00):
This practical and encouraging series is yours when you give
fifty dollars or more to support connect with Skip Heidzig
and share teaching like this one today with more people
around the globe. Request Adulting as a CD package or
digital download at connectwiskip dot com, slash offer or call
eight hundred and nine two to two, eighteen eighty eight.

(12:21):
Let's return now to today's message something else.

Speaker 2 (12:26):
The word justified here is used. James uses the term
justified or justification a little bit differently than Paul does.
James and Paul use the same word, but they mean
something slightly different. Let me explain. Paul and Romans Engalatians
speaks about being justified before God. James is speaking about

(12:52):
being justified before us, before people, before mankind. Living your
faith out so that people can see it. Maybe this
will help. It helped me. So let's say there's a
rowboat on the lake and one or is marked faith,
the other or is marked works. Let's say you put

(13:14):
just the right or in and keep the left one up,
so works is doing all the work. What's going to
happen to the boat? It's going to go in circles.
But you lift up the works or and you put
the faith or in and you paddle. What's going to happen?
Now it's going to go in circles in the opposite direction,

(13:36):
but still in circles. Put both oars in the lake
and paddle together, and what will happen. You'll move forward
and validate the claim that that is a transportation vehicle.
You're going somewhere. Faith and works working together. If it's
true faith, it will work. It's a faith that works.

(13:58):
Jesus said it this way. Every tree is known by
its own fruit, by what it produces. That's what Jame's
talking about the production of The Saved Life. So many
years ago. I told the story at the other services.
Many years ago I had I had an artichoke plant.

(14:19):
I think it said it was. This is when I
was living in Huntington Beach and I I love art chokes.
And this is before I met green Chili. I didn't
know really what that was, but I loved art of chokes,
so I loved him so much I wanted to grow
my own. I went to the store, got artichoke plant
planted in my yard, backyard, little backyard that I had fertiliza,

(14:44):
watered it and watched and waited for years. That's why
I say I think it's an art of joke plant
because I never saw a single art choke. All that
I had was a tag that said artichoke plant. And

(15:07):
you know some people are like that, there's no fruit
on them at all, but they have a tag. I'm
a Christian. It's just an empty claim. It's something they
have placed on themselves. But according to James, it is dead.
Dynamic belief will produce dynamic behavior. So three characteristics of
fake faith. You've got these going for you. You're faking it,

(15:31):
words without work, site without sympathy, and profession without proof. Fourth,
and finally, commotion without conversion, commotion without conversion. Verse nineteen.
You believe there is one God? You do well? This
is James going, Oh you believe in God. Hoorah, bravo.

(15:57):
Next statement kind of shows the chide. Even the demons
believe and tremble. But do you want to know, old
foolish man. He's inviting them to learn something. Do you
want to know, old foolish man, that faith without works
is dead. So he says, oh, you believe on God.

(16:17):
You're monotheistic, my Jewish brethren. You believe in Deuteronomy six'
Four Hero, israel The, lord Our, God The lord is. One.
Good you have a, good Solid orthodox. Creed but Now
james wants to shock his complacent, readers and so he
uses demons to illustrate fake. Faith oh you believe In,

(16:40):
god so do the. Demons now that sort of comes
as a shock to a lot of people that demons have.
Faith demons have, faith and that just sort of begs the,
question what exactly do demons? Believe what is their theological?

(17:00):
Statement let me tell you what demons. Believe, first demons
Believe god. Exists there's not a single demon that is
an atheist or an. Agnostic now they produce atheists and
agnosticus what they want to, do but none of them

(17:21):
themselves are atheist nor. Agnostics they Believe god. Exists second
thing that demons, believe they believe in One. God they are.
Monotheistic they know that all the other gods and religious
systems are. Fake, heck they made them. Up third thing they.

(17:43):
Believe they believe in the deity Of Jesus. Christ they
recognize him In march chapter. Three the unclean spirits whenever
they saw, him fell down before him and cried, out,
saying you are the son Of. God so they Believe god.
Exists they believe in One. God they're. Monotheistic they believe

(18:06):
in the deity Of. Christ the fourth thing they believe
they believe in the place of eternal. Punishment they believe in.
Hell In luke chapter, eight we are Told jesus asked
him saying what is your? Name and, he the demon possessed,
man Said. Legion because many demons had entered, him and

(18:27):
they begged, him Begged jesus that he would not command
them to go into The abuso The, abyss the place of.
Punishment and then, finally demons believe That jesus will be
the final and ultimate Judge matthew chapter. Eight suddenly they cried, out,

(18:48):
saying what have we to do with, You, jesus You
son Of? God have you come here to torment us
before the? Time they know what's. Coming so think of
what demons. Believe they Believe god, Exists they Believe god
is One, god not. Many they believe in the deity Of.
Christ they believe in eternal, hell and they believe That

(19:10):
jesus will make the final. Judgment. Call sounds pretty, solid pretty. Orthodox,
heck we might want to invite some of those demons to.
Church we might think they're so. Orthodox but here's the.
Point you can believe all the right things up here
and be eternally. Lost remember the conversation With nicodemus And.

(19:34):
Jesus nicodemus had a faith after Seeing christ perform some,
miracles and it says many believed in his name when
they saw the, miracles which he, did But jesus would
not commit himself to them because he knew what was in.
Man and then it Says nicodemus comes To jesus and says,
this we know, collectively we some of us. Believe we

(19:58):
know you're a, teacher come From. God for no one
can do that signs and miracles you do Unless god
is with. Him And jesus fired back and, said unless
you are born, again you will never see The kingdom Of.
God you might have a Claim, nicodemus That i'm The,
messiah THAT i have been sent From, god THAT i

(20:21):
can do miraculous. Power all those things are sort of.
Right you still have to have a life. Change you
have to be born. Again you, know you can believe
That jesus is the son Of, god it's another thing
to believe in him on a personal authentic. Level so

(20:43):
demons have a pretty solid statement of. Faith something, else
and this is really the text. Itself demons are also moved.
Emotionally you believe there is One. God you do. Well
even the demons, believe so they have. Faith and and
what else do they? Do they tremble literally that means they,

(21:05):
shudder they. Bristle they are moved. Emotionally so they're both
orthodox in their theology and they are touched. Emotionally but question,
ready are demons? Saved none of them are. Saved there
has never been a life change with them their. Lives

(21:29):
it's not genuine. Faith not genuine. Faith they're moved. Emotionally
and sometimes we get. Fooled we see somebody crying and we, say,
well there's the proof of genuine. Faith they're shedding. Tears
maybe there's a lot of reasons people can. CRY i
have discovered a lot of. Reasons just because a person

(21:50):
is expressive and emotive and outwardly sorrowful in and of
itself is not sufficient. Evidence you can be enlightened in your,
mind you can be stirred in your, heart and you
can be lost. Forever and the change is when you
go from believing That god, exists believing That jesus is

(22:13):
something the son Of, god and believing In god and
believing in That jesus on a personal. Level back To
John bunyan and the Book Pilgrim's, progress WHICH i highly.
RECOMMEND i quoted to you something that was at the
beginning of the. Book this is now the very end
of the. Book christian has made his journey through life

(22:35):
from The city Of, destruction through all the, peril all the,
dangers and he is now at the gate of the
celestial city. Itself he is about to enter into heaven
with many, others but he's with a final character whose
name Is, ignorance which you. Love all the names of

(22:56):
these Guys. Ignorance And ignorance has also traveled his whole
experience through the troubles and toils and hardships of, life
made that perilous, journey and now is at the very
gate of, heaven just outside the, gate and at the
very end he has cast through a door on the

(23:19):
side of a, hill and he. Vanishes And John bunyan
closes his book by, saying THEN i realized that there
was a way to hell even from the gates of.
Heaven you, know you can sort of fake it for a,
long long long time and be really close and almost.

(23:46):
Saved almost doesn't. Count so love and marriage go together
like a horse and. Carriage BUT i think we should
change the lyrics to suit our. Purpose faith in, action
faith in action go. TOGETHER i don't, know like attire and.

(24:10):
Traction it's hard to find a rhyme to. That. THIS
i tell, you, brother you can't have one without the.
Other if your faith, Listen if your faith hasn't changed,
you your faith hasn't saved. You you're saved by faith,

(24:33):
alone but a faith it saves is never.

Speaker 1 (24:38):
Alone we're so glad you joined us today For connect
With Skip. Heitzig before we, go don't miss this opportunity
to request Pastor skip. Series adulting a study through The
book Of. James this twenty one message series dives deep
into what it means to live a spiritually mature life
full of, faith, character and Christ like. Purpose adulting is

(25:02):
Our thanks for your generous gift of fifty dollars or.
More to help Share god's word with more, people call
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download of a chapter Of Skipp's The biography Of. God

(25:22):
thanks for spending time with us today and we'll see
you next. Time On connect With Skift, heidsick.

Speaker 2 (25:28):
Make It, Connects make A connects of The Cross fansong Makes.

Speaker 3 (25:47):
Next connect With Skift heidzik is a presentation of connection
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