Faith that Moves

Full Passage: James 2:14–26 (NLT)

INTRO: The Illusion of Belief

When I was 8 years old, I learned how to fake sleep. Every car ride home from anywhere, I’d pretend to be asleep—head leaning against the window, arms limp—just hoping my parents would carry me in. And it worked. But I wasn’t asleep. I was alert. I just looked the part.

James is talking to a group of people who look like Christians… who might even sound like Christians… but their faith is like a kid faking sleep: no movement, no life, no evidence.

He’s not attacking the idea of belief. He’s confronting the kind of belief that does nothing, helps no one, changes nothing. It might sit in a pew every week, or post a Scripture on Instagram, or even pray before meals—but if it never becomes flesh in our actions, James calls it dead.

It’s like spiritual cosplay: the appearance is convincing, but the power is missing. The truth is, many of us have learned how to play church. We know when to raise our hands, when to say "amen," when to smile. But God is not impressed by choreography—He wants transformation.

And James cuts right to the heart of the matter: Is your faith just belief… or does it move? Does it breathe? Does it work?

PART 1: Dead Faith only Talks, (vv.14–17)

14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? 15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well"—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? 17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

James pulls no punches. He’s not arguing against faith—he’s arguing against faith that never moves. Faith that stays in the mind and never reaches the hands. Faith that hides behind words but avoids the mess of people.

It’s like telling someone who’s freezing on your doorstep, “Stay warm and eat well!” while you’re inside with blankets and soup. You say something kind, but your life says something cruel. It sounds spiritual, but it’s empty. Performative religion.

Craig Groeschel: “Your beliefs don’t make you a better person—your life does.”

James isn't promoting works-based salvation. He’s demanding fruit-bearing faith. A faith that touches broken bodies, serves the widow, includes the outcast, forgives the enemy, and embraces the sinner. A faith that resembles Jesus.

Faith that moves says, "I will show up. I will serve. I will sacrifice." It clothes the cold. It feeds the hungry. It forgives the offender. It doesn't just theorize about grace—it embodies it.

Application: If someone followed you with a camera all week, would they see a faith that breathes, moves, and loves? Or just a faith that posts Bible verses? Would they see mercy in action? Generosity that costs something? Repentance that changes habits?

Explain Works … good husband … father … etc.

PART 2: Belief Alone Is Not Enough (vv.18–20)

18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” 19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. 20 How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?

Ouch. James is saying that belief alone isn't impressive. Even hell has sound theology.

Judah Smith: “Faith that doesn’t follow Jesus is just fandom.”

Demons have better theology than most churches. They believe in God. They believe Jesus is Lord. They even fear Him. But their hearts are unchanged. Their loyalties remain elsewhere. Orthodoxy is not the same as obedience.

You can believe a parachute will save you… but if you won’t jump with it, that belief means nothing.

Paul Tripp: “Faith in Christ is never passive. Grace always leads to action.”

Faith is not agreement with facts. It’s allegiance to a King.

Application: Don’t just ask, “Do I believe in God?” Ask, “Have I surrendered to Jesus as Lord?” Does your faith interrupt your plans? Shape your spending? Reorder your priorities?

STORY: The Stalled Out Car

A friend once called from the roadside. Gas in the tank. Engine fine. But the car wouldn’t move. Turns out the transmission was shot. The gears weren’t engaging.

James is describing believers who look like they’ve got faith—but they’re stuck. Faith isn’t reaching the feet.

Some of us are like that. We know what God has said. We believe the right things. But when it's time to act—we stall. And stalled faith is still. Ineffective. Powerless.

Application: Where is your faith stuck? What would it take to shift into gear? Where have you settled for intentions instead of obedience?

PART 3: Real Faith Moves Even When It Costs (vv.21–24)

21 Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. 23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. 24 So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.

Tim Keller: “We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that remains alone.”

Abraham didn’t just trust God in theory. He trusted Him in tension. Genesis 22 tells the story: God tested Abraham by asking him to take his son, Isaac—the child of promise—and offer him as a burnt offering on Mount Moriah. Abraham didn’t hesitate. Early the next morning, he saddled his donkey, took two servants and his son, and set out for the mountain God had shown him. He even carried the fire and the knife, while Isaac carried the wood. When Isaac asked, "Father, where is the lamb for the offering?" Abraham replied, "God will provide" (Genesis 22:8). Then, in a breathtaking moment of obedience, Abraham bound Isaac and laid him on the altar. As he reached for the knife, the angel of the Lord called out, stopping him just in time. A ram caught in a thicket became the substitute sacrifice. Abraham’s actions were the visible echo of his invisible belief. He believed that God could raise the dead (Hebrews 11:19), and that faith showed up—not just in words—but in walking up the mountain, building the altar, and trusting God when it made no sense.

John Mark Comer: “Love without obedience isn’t love. Faith without action isn’t trust.”

Faith is not a private belief system. It’s a public, sacrificial, obedient life. It puts God's word above our preferences, and His calling above our comfort.

Application: What “Isaac” is God asking you to place on the altar? Your comfort? Your reputation? Your money? Your schedule? Your dream? Living faith doesn’t just nod in church—it climbs mountains and lays things down.

PART 4: Real Faith Moves When Others Won’t (v.25)

25 Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road.

This is shocking. A Gentile woman. A prostitute. But she trusted Yahweh more than the safety of Jericho. Her story is told in Joshua 2. When the Israelite spies entered Jericho to scout the land, Rahab welcomed them into her home. Though she lived on the outer wall of the city, she took a bold step by hiding them from the king’s soldiers. She confessed her faith in Israel's God, saying, "I know that the Lord has given you this land" and "the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below" (Joshua 2:9,11). Her faith led her to action—to protect these men, lie to the authorities, and help them escape safely. Her actions weren’t perfect, but her allegiance was clear. And when Jericho fell in Joshua 6, Rahab and her family were spared because of that faith. She didn’t just say she believed—she risked everything to prove it. That’s why James includes her. Not because she had perfect morality or deep theological knowledge, but because when the moment came, her faith moved.

Tyler Staton: “Faith looks like risk. It looks like courage. It looks like crossing lines to love.”

Rahab didn’t wait until she had all her theology in order. She acted in loyalty to God’s people. And heaven honored it. Faith is not limited by background. It’s activated by trust.

Application: Don’t wait until your theology is perfect to obey. Start where you are. Say yes with what you know. Step out even when your legs shake. Risk looking foolish if it means honoring Jesus.

PART 5: Faith Without Breath Is a Corpse (v.26)

26 Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.

Rahab embodied this so clearly. She wasn’t raised in a God-fearing home, didn’t have a spotless reputation, and had no certainty of how things would turn out—but when faced with a moment of decision, she put her life on the line for a God she had only just heard about. That’s the kind of risk real faith takes. It dares to move when everything else says stay still. It dares to act when fear says be quiet. That’s what courage looks like in the kingdom of God—stepping into obedience before you have all the answers. And it almost always looks like crossing lines to love someone that others have overlooked. It’s inconvenient, it’s messy, and it’s often misunderstood. But that’s where God meets you. That’s where faith comes alive.

In Greek, “breath” is pneuma — also meaning Spirit.

A faith without the Holy Spirit won’t move. It just sits. It’s religious, maybe even polished. But it doesn’t breathe.

John Mark Comer: “You cannot follow Jesus without walking. Discipleship is not a thought—it’s a lifestyle.”

If your spiritual life feels like survival mode, maybe it’s time to breathe again—not just inhale God’s grace but exhale it in mercy, action, obedience.

GOSPEL MOMENT: The Work That Works For You

You’re not saved by your works. You’re saved by Christ’s work. His obedience is our righteousness. His blood is our covering.

He moved first. He came down. He obeyed perfectly. He laid down His life for yours.

Jesus didn’t die for you to be a spectator. He died and rose again to make you alive.

Tim Keller: “Religion says, ‘I obey, therefore I’m accepted.’ The gospel says, ‘I’m accepted, therefore I obey.’”

We don’t work for grace. But real grace will go to work in us.

INVITATION + SINNER’S PRAYER

“Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the grave. I don’t want a dead faith. I want to trust You, follow You, obey You. Forgive me. Save me. Fill me with Your Spirit. Teach me to walk with You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

CLOSING CHARGE

May we not be content with belief that doesn’t breathe. May we be a people whose faith moves toward the hurting, risks when it’s scary, gives when it costs, and obeys when it’s hard.

Because faith that moves… is faith that’s alive.

Amen.