JAMES SERIES (6)

James 2:14–26 CSB

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can such faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one. Good! Even the demons believe—and they shudder. 20 Senseless person! Are you willing to learn that faith without works is useless? 21 Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by works in offering Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active together with his works, and by works, faith was made complete, 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works in receiving the messengers and sending them out by a different route? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

A man named Samuel lived in a small town. He spoke often about his deep faith in God, always saying he trusted Him completely. But when his neighbor, Mrs. Collins, lost her job and was struggling to feed her children, Samuel simply told her, “I’ll pray for you,” and went on his way.

Meanwhile, another neighbor, Daniel, heard of Mrs. Collins’ troubles. He not only prayed for her but also brought over groceries, helped her find work, and cared for her children when she had interviews.

Samuel had faith in words alone, but Daniel put his faith into action. One day, Samuel realized that while he had believed, he had done nothing to show the love of Christ. He saw that faith without works was lifeless—just as James 2:14 warns.

Faith is meant to move us to action, just as Christ’s love moved Him to serve others

Indulging the sin of discrimination is but one example of living in contradiction to the faith you profess. James wants his readers to know that it’s possible for a believer to have a useless faith—one that’s devoid of good works. He asks, What good is it to claim to have faith but no works? Can such faith save? Some people think that James is contradicting Paul, who said, “A person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law”

Rom 3:28 For we conclude that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law[1]

Romans 3:28 CSB

28 For we conclude that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.

But James and Paul aren’t speaking about the same thing. Paul is talking about how a sinner becomes a saint. James is talking about how a saint brings heaven to earth. You cannot merit salvation; it is received by grace through faith in Christ alone

 Eph 2:8–9 8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—9 not from works, so that no one can boast.

Ephesians 2:8–9 CSB

8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— 9 not from works, so that no one can boast.

 Our sanctification, however, requires that our faith express itself in works.

In Greek, the word for “save” can have different meanings based on the context. It can refer to being delivered or rescued from challenges or dangers in life. Here James is discussing a faith that can “save” or “deliver” from the power of sin’s consequences in history (cf. 1:21). In order to grow in your faith and live with power, you have to connect your faith to works.        

We must remember the context and the times of who James is speaking to. That’s why I like preaching verse by verse through a book because were not forgetting the context and the day and time and the who what where why and when of the scripture.

    James wrote to Christians from a Jewish background that discovered the glory of salvation by faith. They knew the exhilaration of freedom from works-righteousness. But they then went to the other extreme of thinking that works didn’t matter at all.

James offers a scenario. A brother comes to you without clothes and lacks daily food(2:15). So, what should you do? You may offer profound theological insight and assure him that God will supply his needs. Then you might pray with him and wish him well: Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed. But what good have you done if you don’t give … what the body needs?  James isn’t knocking the spiritual; he’s simply insisting that it’s not enough. If a brother is hungry, he doesn’t need a sermon. He needs a ham sandwich! Put your faith in action by helping those in need.

Faith, if it does not have works, is dead. It’s possible to have a useless faith that’s not accomplishing anything in life. If you say you trust God, it should affect your feet. Once you become a Christian by faith alone, your faith must get married to works. Then, what you believe about eternity will become real in your history.   

James provides the argument of a hypothetical skeptic. This person disagrees with James and says the validity of his faith is not connected to his works: you have faith, and I have works(2:18). This objector seeks to validate his premise by arguing that demons believe and tremble at their knowledge of God’s reality yet have no supporting works to support their belief. According to James, such a person is senseless and missing the point entirely because saving faith without works is useless—that is, it has no spiritual value in history. It will only leave you feeling defeated.

If you want to understand the strength of your faith, look at what you do. In the Hall of Faith of Hebrews 11, the author repeatedly describes what various Old Testament figures accomplished “by faith.” Belief was demonstrated by what they did .

Rahab the harlot: Significantly, James used two examples of a living faith – Abraham (the father of the Jews) and Rahab (a Gentile). James perhaps is subtly rebuking the partiality that may have developed on the part of Jewish Christians against the Gentile believers starting to come into the church.

Was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works: Rahab demonstrated her trust in the God of Israel by hiding the spies and seeking salvation from their God. Her faith was shown to be living faith because it did something. Her belief in the God of Israel would not have saved her if she had not done something with that faith.

 The lesson from Abraham is clear: if we believe in God, we will do what He tells us to do. The lesson from Rahab is also clear: if we believe in God, we will help His people, even when it costs us something.

 “He purposely put together two persons so different in their character, in order more clearly to prove, that no one, whatever may have been his or her condition, nation, or class in society, has ever been counted righteous without good works. The faith of a believer can deteriorate, and we can become orthodox corpses unless our faith is put to work. Many of us have spiritual life, yet we’re spiritually sick. We attend church to hear what the Great Physician has to say and leave feeling good about his prescription. We remain spiritually unhealthy, though, because we don’t swallow the medicine. Once we hear God’s Word, we must act on it to be transformed by it.