Lazy Faith (James 2:14-26)
James leaves us in no doubt about the theme of this paragraph, announced three separate times in the course of the argument:
• faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead (v. 17)
• faith without deeds is useless (v. 20)
• faith without deeds is dead (v. 26)
James is not arguing that works must be added to faith. His point, rather, is that genuine biblical faith will inevitably be characterized by works.
Trying to add works to a bogus faith is an exercise in futility, for only by “accepting the implanted word” (1:21) and experiencing the inner transformation that it brings can one produce works pleasing to God. James, in a sense, proposes for us in these verses a “test” by which we determine the genuineness of faith: deeds of obedience to the will of God.
failure to provide for an obvious need not only harms those who are in need, but also raises question about the spiritual state of the one who fails to act to relieve the need
As Mitton puts it, “It is a good thing to possess an accurate theology, but it is unsatisfactory unless that good theology also possesses us
C. S. Lewis is said to have warned new Christians about going into the ministry for fear that constant contact with “holy things” would render them commonplace. Those of us in ministry must beware the danger that our theology—accurate and well stated as it might be—degenerate likewise into a verbal exercise.
James would be claiming that Abraham was “shown to be right” by his actions: his prior acceptance by God (Gen. 15:6), the “righteousness” that he had already attained by faith, was demonstrated in his deeds of obedience.
James is intent on demonstrating that Abraham’s faith went much further than mere intellectual assent
James’s point is not so much that Abraham’s faith produced his works as that his faith and works cooperated together
James now observes that faith and actions (or deeds or works) cannot be separated. Faith which is only in the mind is not yet complete. It becomes complete when it results in a decision of the will and is carried out in action.