5 Sermon Illustrations on Living Faith

Many of us recall from our flannel-graph Sunday school classes the story of the short, little man who climbed into a sycamore tree to get a glimpse at Jesus. As I revisited this story recently, I noticed that Jesus calls Zacchaeus a “son of Abraham,” and I was struck by how discordant this title would have seemed to all who heard it. Abraham, the great patriarch of Israel was called by God to leave his homeland and follow God into a land that God would show him. Scripture tells us that “Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). How then could Jesus count a scheming, conniving, tax-collecting swindler as a “son of Abraham”? What was the great demonstration of faith by this much-hated man that would prompt Jesus’s commendation?

But as we examine the details of the story, we begin to get glimpses into the faith of Zacchaeus. Understanding his place in society as a chief tax collector gives us our first instance of faith. As a chief tax collector Zacchaeus would have had many “junior” tax collectors working for him. In a town like Jericho, which was quite prosperous and large, Zacchaeus would have been very rich. Yet, even though he was a prosperous businessman, Zacchaeus was a hated man. Chief tax collectors contracted with the Romans to collect taxes in a particular town or region. It’s as if he purchased a franchise from the Roman government at a substantial price, and then subcontracted the actual collection of the taxes to a group of men who worked under him. His profit was the difference between the fee paid to the Roman government and the amount of taxes he collected. The system was prone to abuse, and rewarded tax collectors for excessive collections.(1) Thus, the Jews saw tax collectors as mercenaries and thieves, and for one of their own to be in business with the Romans meant utter ostracism from the Jewish community.(2) So we can understand why all who heard Jesus invite himself over to Zacchaeus’s house reacted with grumbling. Zacchaeus was not a popular guy in his society.

But hearing the news of Jesus’s arrival in his town, this much-maligned man pushed his way through the crowds, hoisting up his garments in a most undignified manner just to get a glimpse. Zacchaeus had obviously heard the stories about Jesus -- his healings, his radical love and acceptance, and his remarkable, authoritative teachings. Now his curious faith compelled him to see for himself if all that he had heard was really true. His faith and desire to meet Jesus compelled him to disregard what would have been acceptable for his social status and station in life.

We also glimpse Zacchaeus’s faith in action in his response to Jesus inviting himself over for dinner. Jesus extends gracious acceptance to one despised. In response, Zacchaeus overflows with generous gratitude. “Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor” (Luke 19:8). Jesus has asked for nothing but hospitality from Zacchaeus, and in response, Zacchaeus, the very rich man, willingly surrenders half of his wealth. This is not an attempt of Zacchaeus to earn Jesus’s favor by works, but rather a faith-motivated response to Jesus’s love and acceptance. The tax collector’s willingness to let go of half of his wealth demonstrates a faith that trusts in God’s gracious provision. God’s graciousness towards him prompts his faith-fueled donation.

But his faithful response goes even beyond gratitude as he seeks to restore justice to those whom he has defrauded. It wasn’t enough for Zacchaeus to give away half of his wealth in response to Jesus; he insists on repaying those he has defrauded. Now, the Old Testament requirement for restitution is for the amount defrauded plus one-fifth.(3) But Zacchaeus doesn’t simply meet the letter of the law; he offers to repay four times as much as he has defrauded others! Four-fold restitution will impoverish Zacchaeus, as he’s already committed to give away half of his wealth. Yet in response to Jesus’s gracious acceptance, Zacchaeus parts with his wealth as a sign of his salvation. Jesus declares, “Today, salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham” (Luke 19:9).

Like Abraham, Zacchaeus responds with belief that prompts action. Voluntarily impoverishing himself, Zacchaeus shows that he, too, will live by faith -- faith that demonstrates its true character in action. Thus, Zacchaeus’s faith also benefits the community around him. At some point after Jesus invites himself to the tax collector’s home, Zacchaeus rises -- un-coerced, un-admonished and un-prompted -- and commits himself to doing justice. His faith prompts repentance, and his repentance demonstrates itself in righting the wrong he has committed against his community. For Zacchaeus, justice rolls down like waters from the hospitality of Jesus, and it flows into his own faithful demonstration of hospitality towards others: he shares his wealth and restores what was ill-gotten.

Has your faith motivated you to action lately? Has it filled you with gratitude so that you abundantly give of your time, your talents, and your resources? Has it shown up through visible and tangible demonstrations of love and justice? Or, is faith a random, disjointed collection of ideas that make no claim on the way you live your life? Will it be said of you and me: “Today salvation has come to this house, for he, too, is a son of Abraham?”

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1. Research from the website www.lectionary.org/luke

2. The Tosefta TOHAROTH notes, “When [tax] collectors enter into a house, the house [is considered] unclean.”

3. See Leviticus 6:5 and Numbers 5:7.

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Copyright © 2007 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #4414]

Called an “epistle of straw” by Protestant reformer, Martin Luther, the book of James often causes controversy and concern among Christians devoted to the Reformation principle, “salvation by grace alone.” The controversy arises in passages like this: “What use is it, brothers and sisters, if a person says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him?” (James 2:14). Concern comes when James looks back to father Abraham to illustrate his argument for justifying works: “Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,’ and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone” (James 2:21-24). Is the epistle of James really arguing for salvation by works?

Commentators on James also assert that works are a necessary part of salvation. But, they also argue that good works are not done apart from faith, but done in faith; not done instead of faith, but done because of faith. Put simply, the epistle exhorts those who claim saving faith to have a faith that works.(1)

What does working faith look like for James?

“To visit orphans and widows in their distress,” (1:27)

“to keep oneself unstained by the world,” (1:27)

“to fulfill the royal law, according to Scripture, ‘you shall

love your neighbor as yourself,’” (2:8)

“to give what is necessary for a brother or sister without

clothing and daily food,” (2:15-16)

“to be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger,” (1:19)

“to consider it all joy when you encounter various trials,” (1:2)

and “to not hold our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ with an

attitude of personal favoritism” (2:1).

There are many other evidences of working faith throughout the rest of the letter: faith tames the tongue (3:1-12), requires humility (4:10), and endures until the end (5:7).

From what we see in his letter, is James’s view of faith so far off that it deserved Luther’s condemnation?

Many have argued that James’s view of faith is markedly different than Paul’s view of faith.(2) But a brief sampling of Paul’s writings presents many similarities. In the letter to the Romans, Paul exhorts the faithful not to be “conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of the mind” (Romans 12:2). That sounds like keeping oneself unstained by the world, doesn’t it? In the same chapter, Paul argues that in light of all God has done for us in Jesus Christ we should “be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; contribute to the needs of the saints practicing hospitality and to be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly; bless those who persecute us, bless and curse not; rejoice in hope, persevere in tribulation, devoted to prayer” (Romans 12:9-21, selected verses). Far from presenting a divergent view of faith, Paul and James seem to argue the same thing. They both argue that the content of faith is not simply holding good ideas, or merely intellectual assent to various propositional truths, or belonging to a certain theological camp -- the content of faith is also found in what faith does with good ideas, how it acts on assumed truths and with its power to transform lives to resemble more and more the image and beauty of Christ.

Seen in this light, the epistle of James offers us a necessary corrective to the thought that saving faith requires nothing of us. Nothing could be further from the truth! Indeed, one cannot help but read James’s letter and see that right action is integrally linked to the claim that one has faith in Christ.

In his own ministry, Jesus demonstrated nothing less than this. His pronouncement that the kingdom of God was at hand was accompanied by evidences of the in-breaking of God’s kingdom: healings, deliverance, inclusion of those excluded from temple worship, and teaching with authority. Indeed, Jesus argued that the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled in him: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:17-21). If we claim to have faith in Christ, we must go and do likewise. Far from being an “epistle of straw” James reminds us that true faith works in the world and inspires the demonstration of tangible expressions of faith in the daily living of our lives. “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself...for just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead” (James 2:17, 26).

Margaret Manning is associate writer at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

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1. George M. Stulac, James: The IVP Commentary Series (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 107.

2. Ibid., 11.

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Copyright © 2007 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #21525]