Part 6: True Faith Works

1. Can Faith without Works Save? (2:14-17)

James 2:14 NASB95

What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?

“What use is it?” - “use” = “benefit, advantage, help”

“Can that faith save him?” = this is an issue of salvation, so this is serious business

We must, therefore, get the question correct. What is James asking?

We want to avoid the confusion of what Paul teaches in Romans/Galatians and what James is saying here.

Paul says that we are saved by faith apart from works. James is going to say that faith without works cannot save. Is this in conflict?

Paul is talking about works of law saving a person, i.e., maintaining God’s moral law. And he says this cannot be done. We are justified (saved) by grace through faith apart from works of the law.

Paul: “We are justified (saved) by faith apart from works.”

James: “Faith is justified (evidenced) by its works.”

They are taking about two different types of justification.

True faith is shown by its deeds. If you have a genuine faith in Christ, then you will show it by your actions. If you have no actions or works, then you need to ask yourself if you really have faith.

James goes on to answer the question whether one can be saved apart from works by way of illustration. He asks:

Can Mere Talk save a Brother/Sister from being in Need? (v.14-16)

James 2:15–16 NASB95

If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?

The answer should be obvious. If one of our brothers or sisters in Christ here at LCC were to share a need, and all we do is say we’ll pray for him, and do nothing to help provide for his need, what use is that?

Does our mere talk or praying save that brother or sister from being in need? Does it help him in any way?

The answer is definitely obvious. No.

And if mere talk cannot save a brother or sister from being in need, how much more can mere talk of having faith save any of us sin and death?

James answer is quite emphatic. It cannot.

No. (v.17)

James 2:17 NASB95

Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.

Here is James’ main point (and even main point of his entire letter): if you do not have works, you do not have actual faith.

We should also note that a better rendering here is: “Even so faith, if it has no works, it is dead in itself.” Idea: one’s faith is not just externally unobservable or inoperative--the faith in and of itself is dead. It is not that the person described here has actual faith that just so happens not to be working yet. No. James is saying that the person has no faith at all. It is dead. Dead means dead; no life.

Application

If you are still in the same position as a Christian as you were when you first became a Christian: beware!

If you still have the exact same sinful habits and have not improved one iota toward holiness and to be more like Christ, beware!

Do you still have those exact same outbursts of anger? Do you still have that exact same sinful habit and addiction of reading porn or watching it? Do you still have the exact same sinful habit of cussing out your spouse? Do you still have that exact same sinful habit of being estranged from your spouse emotionally, physically, or otherwise? Has there been no improvement whatsoever in any area of your life toward a stronger relationship with our Great God and Savior?

We need to have a serious look at our faith. If our lives do not reflect any growth or good works, we might just have a dead faith.

Again, a quote from AW Tozer is apropos: “Too many [Christians] are today what they were when they first became a Christian, and I cannot tell you how sad that makes me feel.” [Pursuit of Christian Maturity, 19]

James actually anticipates an objection to the idea that if you do not have works then your faith is dead. He basically, says “nuh uh!”

2. Objection: Uh Huh! (2:18-23, 25)

James 2:18 NASB95

But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works. . . .”

The gist of the objection is this--

Objector: “Well, you do have faith, and I do have works. You have one and I have the other. There’s no problem here. Who am I to judge whether you have faith or not?”

James: “Uh...no. Your lack of doing anything shows that you really do not have faith.”

Objector: “Uh huh!” . . . “uh, no.” . . . “Uh huh!” ETC. . .

And so that this does not keep going round and round, James provides three reasons why faith without works is no faith at all.

Show Me! (v.18b)

James 2:18 NASB95

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.”

Prove to me that you have faith without works. Can you? Show me your faith. Put it out right here on the table. Let me see it. One cannot. The only way one can prove he has faith is by his works.

“I will show you my faith by my works.” James can prove he has faith by what he does.

Illustration

Charles Blondin became the first man to walk on a tightrope downstream from the Niagara Falls across the gorge in 1859. . . .

On the day of the stunt, thousands of people gathered to watch the daredevil perform the risky act. **Blondin had to walk on a 1,100-foot long cable** with a balancing pole and cross the gorge at a height of about 160 feet. While the cable had a steep climb at both ends, it sagged at the centre. There was no safety equipment in case he plunged into the river so that made the stunt quite hazardous. But Blondin, with his many years of daredevilry, was no stranger to danger. He was so sure of the success of his stunt that he even offered to carry a volunteer on his back while crossing the gorge. But he had no takers. . . .

The crossing started late afternoon with Blondin dressed in pink tights and a yellow tunic. He made the dangerous stunt look easy while walking on the three-inch thick cable. In fact, he made the stunt quite entertaining by actually lying down to rest for some time. He also stood on one leg on the cable high above the flowing waters. **Blondin comfortably completed the stunt in approximately 17 minutes to loud cheers from the crowd**. And he also went back across the rope in a much shorter time.

[taken from niagrafallshotels.com at https://www.niagarafallshotels.com/blog/who-was-first-person-tightrope-walk-across-niagara-falls/]

After seeing the stunt pulled off, I’m sure many people had faith that he could now do it at anytime with no difficulty. But not many would ever take him up on his offer to ride on his back or sit in a wheelbarrel to cross. Those who had faith Blondin could do it but never volunteered to cross with him, did they really have faith in Blondin? Not the kind of faith (i.e., true faith) that was necessary to fully trust and commit to Blondin to save them from the Falls of Niagra. Only those who went with him actually, truly had faith in Blondin.

Faith must be proven by works.

James then give a second reason why faith without works is dead:

Faith without Works is Demonic (v.19)

James 2:19 NASB95

You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.

What is the different between the person who believes in the one true God and the demons who believe in the one true God? Nothing, according to James. To merely proclaim belief is no better than the demons, because they too believe that only one true God exists.

If we have a true faith, however, there is a difference: true faith results in obedience and works. Demons do not have works and obedience, which indicates they do not have saving faith.

James then give a third and final reason why faith without works is dead:

True Faith is Justified by Its Works (v.20-23, 25)

James 2:20 NASB95

But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?

James twists the knife a bit into the objector. He calls him a “foolish fellow.” Actually, the word is “empty, fruitless, destitute, empty handed.” I.e., the one who says that faith without works is still a genuine faith is destitute. He stands empty handed because he has no works to show that he indeed has faith.

In case you are still not willing to recognize that one cannot have faith without works:

Look to Father Abraham

James 2:21–23 NASB95

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.

“Abraham was not saved by faith plus works, but by a faith that works.”

Warren W. Wiersbe

If Abraham is not a good enough example, then:

Look to Rahab, The Gentile Prostitute

James 2:25 NASB95

In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?

3. Faith without Works is no Faith (2:24, 26)

Saying You have Faith does not Prove You have Faith

James 2:24 NASB95

You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.

If we did not understand the context, this would sound horrible and in contradiction to what Paul teaches us in the Spirit in Romans and elsewhere.

Romans 3:28 “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”

Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Paul even uses Abraham to prove his point:

Romans 4:1–3 “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? 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.’”

But remember: Paul is talking about faith vs. works to be justified (saved). James is talking about one’s faith being justified (evidence for it).

The Reformation slogan (and Paul): “We are saved by faith alone” is true. But James reminds us that “Faith alone without works flowing out into our lives is not really faith.” Faith just naturally works.

James is telling us that a true saving faith is evidenced, or proven, by works.

Just saying you have faith does not prove you have faith. It’s dead faith:

Dead Faith

James 2:26 NASB95

For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

A comparison here: The body is dead when the spirit leaves the body. In a similar way, if a person has no works, his faith is dead. He does not really have faith.

Illustration to close:

My dog Bear. We used to joke that he had doggie anxiety disorder. . . .

Story about the thunderstorm. I got up the next morning to get him out of the crate, and he was laying down not moving at all. I knew right away something was wrong.

The point: by nature Bear was anxious and excitable; he was by nature full of energy. His nature played out in his every day life. That’s how I knew something was wrong when he was no longer that way.

Question: by nature, we ought to be full of good works and working for Christ’s ministry. Jesus has changed our nature. If we truly have faith and have truly been changed, then people should be able to see it by how we live our lives. If we have no works, yet we say we have faith, there is something wrong. We are as dead as my dog Bear was.