James 2:12  So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
13  For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
14  What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
15  If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16  And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
17  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

The challenge in verse 12 is to speak and do the same thing. You notice that God calls His law “the law of liberty”. Earlier He called it the “perfect law of liberty”. The devil lied to Eve and deceived her. He told her that God was unjust. Adam accepted that lie and he plunged humanity into sin. The devil is still lying to people and saying that following God is bondage. God already addressed the matter of adultery and killing. Adultery is bondage brought about by feeding the lust of the flesh. It does not fix anything. It just adds guilt to the person’s life. Killing someone does not remove the problem. It just adds more guilt to a wrong attitude.
The problem we have is that pride gets in the way and we do not accept good counsel very readily. The Bible tells us there is a need for godly counsel in our lives. We need to take God’s Word as our authority and that means we cannot read God’s Word with our opinions as the authority. God’s Word must change our opinions to be what God declares.
We are being told that a woman should have the right to control her body. That is true. She has the right to choose whether she will subject herself to the God-designed manner in which conception takes place. If she wants to submit to that process, then she must also accept the consequences of that choice. Murdering that unborn child because she did not want to go through the pregnancy or the birthing process, or being a mother, is not a legitimate option. It takes a wicked woman who would murder a child while it is still developing in her womb. It takes a wicked system that would encourage that murder.
In our text, we are reminded of the fact that we, those who are saved, will be judged by the law of liberty. We need to live in the light of that fact. We cannot escape that judgment. We can prepare for that judgment and be blessed in walking humbly with the Lord. That judgment is not whether we will enter heaven. That judgment is for what reward or lack of reward we will receive in heaven.
In verse 13 we are reminded of the importance of mercy. Mercy is not tolerance of sin. Mercy is not compromise of truth. Mercy is living within the bounds of that perfect law of liberty and helping the saved person who has sinned, get back on track with that perfect law.
God never tolerates sin. He demonstrated His view of sin in sending His only begotten Son to suffer and die on the cross of Calvary. His shed blood was necessary in order for Him to be the Saviour. A person must be cleansed through the blood of Jesus Christ in order to be saved. A saved person must confess his sin to God and be cleansed of that sin through the blood of Jesus Christ. The forgiveness of sin is very costly to God. We should be very thankful for that sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. True thankfulness does not try to corrupt that sacrifice.
God knows we sin. He is willing to hear the confession of a saint that has sinned. He is willing to forgive the saint that has sinned. Confession and forgiveness demonstrate the desire to be free from the sin committed. Confession without forsaking the sin is no confession at all. Admission of sin is not enough. Judas admitted that he had sinned. He did not go to the right place for forgiveness. He chose to deal with his sin on his own. He was a lost man and he killed himself. That did not help him. He entered into hell, the place of torment immediately upon death. He will stand at the great white throne judgment and be condemned and cast into the lake of fire.
The saved person will desire to be free from the guilt of sin. The lost person will try to bury the guilt but he will need to commit other sins in order to try to bury the previous sin. That obviously is not the answer and does not meet the need of the soul.
The saved person has the privilege of coming to the true God and acknowledging their sin and asking God to forgive them. God is willing to forgive when true confession is made.
The saved person that does not want to show mercy will be judged without mercy. James is writing to saints. Saints cannot lose their salvation. They can hinder fellowship with God now and loss of rewards after death.
James stated that mercy will rejoice against judgment. The saved person can have the testimony of the apostle Paul. He had confidence that he would receive a crown of righteousness when he would die. He had that confidence because he walked humbly with God. He did not make up his own standard of righteousness. He submitted to God’s will and he also taught Timothy the importance of that. He had not earned that crown of righteousness. He was receiving that crown of righteousness because of God’s mercy. He was saved by God’s mercy and he learned to walk in humility with God.
In verse 14 we see the practical side of the above verses. Mercy must be demonstrated. To claim to have faith, but not demonstrate that faith is not exercising true faith. The test of true faith will be a walk that gives evidence of that true faith.
In verses 15-16 we are again reminded that this message was given to saints. If a brother or sister is in trouble, lacking the basic needs in life, they need tangible help. Words alone will not meet their need. God promises to supply the needs of His children. He does that through other saints. He works in the heart of His children and moves those that have to help those who need. If God has blessed you with the resources to help another brother, then you need to help him. Keep in mind we are talking about saints here. True saints cannot be lazy. They do not sit around and expect their welfare check or some other handouts. The saved person wants to look after himself, but sometimes he just needs a little help. To simply wish that person well and not help him in a tangible way is not expressing true faith. If the person needs food and clothing and you say, “I’ll pray for you”, that will not do. There needs to be evidence of true faith.
In verse 17 we are reminded that faith without works is dead. It is of no value. True faith will prove itself by good works. This is not works salvation:

Ephesians 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

True faith will be evident in the fact that good works will accompany true salvation. The saved person is not trying to earn God’s favour. He already has been given that in salvation. As a saved person he is expected to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit. Good stewardship involves being willing to be directed by God to minister to the needs of another saint with a need that you can meet. There is a blessing in being a willing vessel for the Lord.
Pastor Bartel