Faith Without Works is Dead

James 2:14-26 (NASB)

14 What use is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 In the same way, faith also, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.

18 But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” 19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But are you willing to acknowledge, you foolish person, that faith without works is useless? 21 Was our father Abraham not justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was Rahab the prostitute not justified by works also when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

Last week we looked at part of the first chapter of James, and here we read part of the second chapter. This chapter continues James’ theme that our actions must line up with our confession of faith. He said in James 1:22, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves.” Now in chapter 2, he is expanding on what he wrote and giving us examples to back up his statements. This passage also contains the controversial statements that some people think contradict some of the Apostle Paul’s statements. Since my starting point in understanding any passage from the Bible is working from the belief that scripture does not contradict itself, as I said last week, I don’t think there is any contradiction. I think wherever there is confusion, it is due to improper understanding of what James and Paul are stating. Let’s work through this in the order James writes this.

He starts off by asking some questions. He asks, what use is it if someone says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a fellow believer is without clothing or needs food, and all that we say to that person is “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled with food,” but we don’t give them any clothing or food, what use are our words? It’s a rhetorical question, and he doesn’t outright answer it, but for clarity’s sake, I will answer it. It is no use. We can tell someone to be warm and full, over and over again, but they will never be warm and full of food if they never obtain clothing or food. Our words do not make them warm or full. Only the action of giving them clothing and food can accomplish that. Our words without actions are worth nothing. Empty words are no use.

He says in verse 17, “In the same way, faith also, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” In the same way, we can say that we have faith, we can hear the word of the Lord, but if we don’t do what the word says, if our actions don’t line up with our confession, then our faith is dead. Now, this is the part where some people have said that James contradicts Paul. Rather, Paul would contradict James if there is any contradiction, for James wrote this book before Paul. As my grandfather correctly notes in his Bible, James was the “First book in N.T., written possibly A.D. 45.”

What some people think contradicts is what Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8-10, which says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

I read some person’s thoughts on this who said that James merely was writing before he knew any better and before Paul wrote down the correct theology. I think we can all agree there is a lot wrong with that line of thinking. James is not incorrect about what he is saying. He is not saying that our works save us, he is saying that faith that is not accompanied by good works is not true faith.

Let me explain this further. Do our good works save us? No. A person could do good works and not be saved. If that person who does good works does not have faith in Jesus, they will not be saved, no matter how many good works he or she does. At the same time, can a person be saved yet do no good works? Technically, yes. Looking at the example of the thief on the cross, he died before he could do any works that proved his faith. In those sorts of situations, a person has no ability to prove his or her faith. But in general, no, if a person does no good works and lives contrary to God’s word, they will not be saved. For as James says in verse 19, the demons know that the one true God is God. They have faith in God, in that they believe in God. They know He exists. Yet, obviously, demons are not saved. The same with people. Someone could say that they know God is real and yet still not be saved, for if their lives are not under the Lordship of Jesus, then they are not following Jesus no matter what they say they believe. Their faith is not real. James says, “faith without works is dead.”

When Paul states we are justified by faith, he’s talking about faith that is alive. He’s not talking about dead faith. He’s using the word faith with the true definition. He’s not taking about faith that merely believes like the demons believe. When Paul says faith, he means all the connotations that are connected with true faith. It’s a loaded word.

Back to James, and verse 26, where he explains further: “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” James is comparing our spirits within our bodies to good works and our faith. Spirit is another word for our soul. When a person dies, their body doesn’t disappear, but their spirit leaves their body. As James rightly noted, a body without a spirit within it is not alive. The person has died. So it is with faith. If there are no good works to accompany the faith, our faith is as dead as a body without a spirit. This comparison is profound to me because it perfectly illustrates how works must accompany faith for faith to be alive. Yet, it clarifies how our works are not what saves us. Think this through with me. In the same way that our good works do not save us, but they are necessary for salvation, our spirit does not create our bodies. Our spirit inhabits our body, giving our body life. Without our spirit, our body would be dead. But without a body, we are also not alive. Our works give our faith its life. Our faith gives meaning to our good works.

I think this is what James is explaining in verses 21- 23 when he says:

Was our father Abraham not justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac 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 credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God.

Proof that Abraham believed, or had faith, in God is that he offered up his son Isaac. We shouldn’t separate Abraham’s faith from his actions. If he had not offered up his son on the altar, he wouldn’t have had faith. Now, at first reading, what Paul says in Romans 4:2-4 seems to separate faith from works. Paul says, “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about; but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’ Now to the one who works, the wages are not credited as a favor, but as what is due.” It seems at first like Paul is saying faith and works are not the same. But, is that what Paul is saying? Or what exactly is he saying? He’s talking about the right to boast about works. He’s saying Abraham has no right to boast about his works, not because those works aren’t necessary to his faith, but because they are so very necessary he should not bother to boast about them. These good works are not to be boasted about because they are only what is due to God. He says, “the wages are not credited as a favor, but as what is due.” Abraham’s actions simply prove his faith. Remember what Jesus said about this? He said in Luke 17:7-10, “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

Abraham’s faith wasn’t credited as a favor, or as righteousness as some translations say, because he was only doing his duty. His actions, though Paul doesn’t point this out, simply prove his faith, just like James says our actions must.

Look at what Jesus said about this in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.” Is Jesus saying that having faith alone is not enough? No, He is saying that unless we do God’s will, we don’t have faith.

We are saved by faith, but that faith must be real faith. It can’t be dead faith. What’s the difference? First of all, what is faith? Faith is not a passive adherence to a set of doctrinal statements. Like James says, “demons also believe,” but that doesn’t mean they are saved. Demons believe, for they know that God exists, but they do not have faith in Him. Think about Jesus and the disciples on the boat during the storm. Jesus was frustrated that the disciples did not have faith to trust Him. Their faith was weak. If we could have asked them before the storm came up if they had faith in Jesus, I think all of them would have strongly stated that they had great faith in Him. But when the storm came up, it proved that their faith was weak. Why? Because their actions during the storm exposed their lack of faith. Their panicking proved that they didn’t actually have faith in Jesus’ ability to keep them safe. They needed real faith. Faith that is alive and strong.

James gives another example of someone who had true faith. He mentions Rahab. Joshua 2:1-24 tells us the story of Rahab. Two Israelite spies went to the city of Jericho to scope out the land for Joshua. The king of Jericho found out about it. The spies had gone to a woman named Rahab’s house and she was ordered to turn them over to the king. Verses 4- 14 say (NASB):

“But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them, and she said, ‘Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. It came about, when it was time to shut the gate at dark, that the men went out; I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.’ But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them in the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof. So the men pursued them on the road to the Jordan, to the crossing places; and as soon as those who were pursuing them had gone out, they shut the gate. Now before the spies lay down, she came up to them on the roof, and said to the men, ‘I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have despaired because of you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. When we heard these reports, our hearts melted and no courage remained in anyone any longer because of you; for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth below. Now then, please swear to me by the Lord, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father’s household, and give me a pledge of truth, and spare my father and my mother, and my brothers and my sisters, and all who belong to them, and save our lives from death.’ So the men said to her, ‘Our life for yours if you do not tell this business of ours; and it shall come about when the Lord gives us the land that we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.’”

Rahab helped them escape by lowering a rope through a window, and when the Israelites came back to the city to overtake it, she tied that scarlet cord in the window as a prearranged signal to the Israelites to not kill the people in that house. She and her household were saved because of her good works. She had such strong faith in the God of the Israelites that she risked her life to let the spies go free. Her actions saved her, but it was her faith that propelled her to action.

Again, we can claim to have faith, but our actions will prove if we really do have faith. In Hebrews 11, which many scholars believe Paul to be the author of, it lists people from the Old Testament who had great faith. Verses 7-9 (ESV) say, “By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.” It also tells about Abraham again and his offering of Isaac, Moses and how he was hidden as a baby and later how he kept the Passover and left Egypt, the Israelites and how they crossed the Red Sea, and about Rahab. In all these examples from Hebrews of people who had faith, what is the common denominator? They all showed their faith by their actions. I don’t know how anyone could read Hebrews 11 and think our works do not matter. Rather, this chapter proves to us that faith is not just a cerebral understanding.

Hebrews 11:1 starts off by saying, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” It's not saying faith is the same things as hoping something will work out. No, it's saying faith is being certain that the thing you are hoping for will happen. So certain that you act upon it. It’s the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction that it is true. I think sometimes faith gets confused with hope. Faith starts off as hope, but hope is not the same as faith. The disciples on the boat hoped that Jesus could save them, they were not assured that He would. This is important to note, because Hebrews is describing faith that is active. It is not describing a faith that exists separate from good works.

The problem is, a lot of messaging coming out of the Church is the opposite of what Hebrews is actually saying, and what James is saying clearly here in chapter 2. This false theology goes like this: works do not matter, only faith matters. Sin does not matter, only grace matters. Truth does not matter, only feelings matter. The problem with these three ideas is that we’ve redefined terms to fit our poor theology and these three ideas together equal why so many Christians do not have works that match their confessed faith. Let me take these three false ideas one at a time.

False idea #1: Works do not matter, only faith matters. This one is easy. If faith is actual faith, and not just a belief, then faith, by definition, will be evidenced through matching actions. If our actions don’t line up with the word of God, then we are deceiving ourselves, thinking we are Christians when we are not. As James says in James 1:22, we need to “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves.”

False idea #2: Sin does not matter, only grace matters. Sin matters, for we are told repeatedly in scripture to put off sin. As James 1:21 says, “rid yourselves of all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness.” Grace covers our sin by offering us forgiveness, but we only receive forgiveness through repentance. Repentance is a turning away from our sin. Repentance equals change. We can’t be covered by grace if we do not repent of our sin. If we think sin doesn’t matter, we won’t repent.

False idea #3: Truth does not matter, only feelings matter. Truth is not subjective. Truth is fixed. It is not dependent on our feelings. We can feel whatever we want about God and the Bible, but if what we feel the Bible is saying doesn’t line up with what the Bible actually says, we are deceiving ourselves. We may feel like we have faith, but again, if our actions do not line up with God’s word, then we have deceived ourselves, for we do not, in fact, have faith. Our feelings can’t be trusted. We must look to God’s word for direction. As Jeremiah 17:9 (ESV) says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

If we want to be a Christian but we have subscribed to any of those three false ideas, we will most likely find ourselves far off track from what the Bible teaches. Like always, we must base our theology on the word of God, not base it on theologians’ ideas of what the Bible says. If we can’t reconcile our theology with scripture, then we need to change our theology, not discount scripture and say, “well, scripture contradicts itself here, but that’s okay.” I say that because people actually do that.

In homeschool we are reading the book, 7 Men Who Rule the World from the Grave by Dave Breese. It tells how in the late 1800s, a man named Julius Wellhausen craftily put forth a dangerous idea that swept Europe and has infiltrated Christianity. Wellhausen came up with a theory that says multiple writers, not Moses, wrote the Pentateuch, which is the first five books of the Bible. That might not seem like a big deal, but it was monumental. After he said that, people began to question whether the Bible is the inspired word of God. This false idea has led to where we are today, where people don’t trust what the Bible says. I want to say for the record; the Bible is the very word of God. It can be trusted, and we must build our faith from that position. Otherwise, if part of the Bible is true and other parts are just illustrations, then how can any of it be trusted? God’s word is unchanging and Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). All that scripture says, if we read it as a whole, can be properly understood. There are no contradictions. Both Paul and James, and certainly Jesus Himself, make it clear that if we have faith, we will have actions that line up with God’s word. Faith is not faith that has no works.

Let us press on and do the good works that testify to our faith. As Paul stated in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

Pray: Lord Jesus, we thank You for Your love for us. Thank You for loving us so much that You died on the cross for us. Please help us to follow You. Please give us faith that is alive. Please fill us with Your Holy Spirit so we can be equipped to do all the good works You have prepared for us to do. We need Your help to grow our faith. Please open our eyes to see the needs around us so we can respond and act as You lead us. In Your name we pray, amen.