Week 30: What to Do For the Inoculated
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
James 2:14
One key emphasis of Northpoint’s mission is to share the gospel. Not only do we hope to influence the next generation, but we also hope they will put their trust in God. How can we do that effectively? It becomes extremely tricky when we consider how so many of our students have built up a tolerance to the often-repeated gospel.
When we lived in Texas fire ants were a constant problem. Those little devils are unstoppable. Texas A&M University did a study on how to combat their presence. Not native Texans, these ants were imported to the US first through the Alabama coastal shipping lanes. They made their way to Texas, and it was near impossible to stop them. You cannot drown them (they all band together and form a net), and you cannot spray them (they overtake you). The only real solution is to have a bug that breeds in the ant (yes, I know that sounds odd) causing the ant to explode from within. If this reproductive reaper bug is not available to you, then your only choice is to hire your local pest control. Inevitably, the pest control told us they could spray and it would solve the problem initially, but the ants would eventually build up a tolerance.
Do our students build up a tolerance to the gospel? I often hear my own children tell me that their lost school friends have “heard it over and over” implying that some kind of gospel tolerance has formed. The fear is that the power of the gospel has somehow lost potency. That is simply not true. Perhaps we are too simplistic or too sentimental when we share the gospel? What clarification can we find from Scripture to help us rightly share the good news? Believe it or not, James uses the demons to illustrate true saving faith. What is it, and how does it work? Below are some key points to examine so that we don’t misunderstand.
First, salvation is more than simply believing truths. Mental belief is indeed an aspect of our salvation. You have to hear the word, and you have to understand it (Romans 10:14), but you cannot stop there. What you believe you have to receive. Jesus said this over and over (see John 1:11-13). Those who received him, who believed in him…were saved. I think many times when we appeal to our lost students they think all they have to do is mentally consent that Jesus is real and Jesus is Lord. Since they’ve heard that over and over, they feel pridefully inoculated. This first truth is important to grasp because James tells us that the devil believes in God (James 2:19). The devil is one of the greatest theologians of all time. He witnessed all the story of redemption firsthand. He has been in the presence of God (Job 1:1-2). Do we think the Devil is a believer because he believes? I doubt we’d say that, so we have to then admit that while belief is the start, it’s not the end. There has to be a receiving Christ as Lord and Savior. Until you do that, it does not matter how much you know.
Second, salvation is not simply an emotional display. Many of our students may falsely think that some sort of emotional display is necessary for salvation. I have seen many people gloriously saved, and that brings a great deal of reaction. I have also seen people simply pray. James tells us that these believing demons shudder (James 2:19). That word implies that they have a genuine fear of the truths they experientially know. Because these demons have a reaction to the facts, would we say they are believers? I doubt it. The point is that emotional reaction is not always a good indicator.
Thirdly, true saving faith does display evidence. The whole point of this chapter in James is to show that faith without fruit (evidence/works) is ridiculous (James 2:14). You know trees by their fruit, and you know believers by their fruit (see Matthew 7:15-20). If you are looking for a test to see if someone is saved, you don’t look at their prayer. You don’t look at their sincerity. You don’t look at their church attendance. Jesus tells us there is one litmus test and James agrees. Look for the fruit (or the works). If our students say they have faith but there is no evidence of works (or fruitfulness) then it is dead, false faith (James 2:17).
Maybe this will serve you as you pray for ways to share the gospel. So many of our students do not personally know the Lord. We are placed here with the incredible freedom and mission to share the good news of the gospel. If we say what Scripture says, then the Holy Spirit will work and no one will be able to build up a tolerance.
Discussion Questions:
Three statements about salvation were mentioned. Which among our students is most common?
What would you add to the list of misunderstood gospel truths?
How can we (the school) continually point people to Jesus in a culture of gospel inoculation?
