Series: FAITH & WORKS; Faith without Works is Dead

James 2:14 - 26

James 2:14–26 “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

Introduction

Welcome church! Today we’re going to get into James chapter 2 and take a deeper look at what you might call the theme of James’ letter; Faith and Works. If you were with us last week, we learned together that it’s one thing to listen and receive the word, and it’s another to act on it.

To be living God’s best we must learn to be people of action who not only hear the word, but respond in righteousness to the word. James elaborates on this idea further in chapter 2 by comparing the relationship between faith and works. And this comparison, rightly so, has drawn the attention of pastors and theologians for hundreds of years;

One such theologain by the name of Dietrich Bonheoffer said, “Faith without works is not faith at all, but a simple lack of obedience to God.”

Charles Spurgeon said, “Faith and works are bound up in the same bundle. He that obeys God trusts God; and he that trusts God obeys God. He that is without faith is without works; and he that is without works is without faith.”

And C.S. Lewis said, “Regarding the debate about faith and works; it’s like asking which blade in a pair of scissors is most important.”

So, is there really a debate? It sure seemed so based upon James’ letter to the church in Jerusalem… Is the debate an ongoing one? I imagine it is, but you will come to know what God is saying about it after we spend some time learning from James.

SLIDE 1. FAITH WITHOUT WORKS(ACTION) IS DEAD

Verse 14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

SLIDE 2. 1 - Saving Faith

These 2 questions, in this verse 14, are at the heart of the “debate” about faith and works. And James will start to get into some practical examples next, which highlight the point he’s trying to make.

But before we go on, let me ask all of you today, what good is all the faith in the world if it doesn’t move you to action? Can a person with an inactive faith truly be saved? That’s the part of our first verse that’s so difficult to reconcile. Especially in light of a passage like Ephesians 2:8-9 which so clearly states we are saved apart from the “works” we do:

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9  Not of works, lest any man should boast. 

So, on one hand it seems clear from scripture that salvation comes through faith alone, not as a result of anything you or I do. And on the other hand, what James is saying is a faith filled person will be a person of righteous action. I’ve heard it said we are not saved BY good works but TO good works. And once you’re saved, the righteous action of a transformed heart and mind will follow.

Thankfully, Jesus himself gives us some divine insight right smack in the middle of the sermon on the mount. Here’s what He said:

Mat 7:15  Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?  17  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 

So you will recognize them by their fruits.

You will recognize them by the fruit of their lives… What an amazing insight from Christ himself. So simple. So straightforward. So practical.

While we are not, as Jesus says earlier in Matthew chapter seven, supposed to judge others. We are invited to be “fruit inspectors.” Or said another way, we can expect there will be fruit from the life of one who follows Jesus. And not every tree produces the same fruit, or the same amount of fruit, but it can be expected that those in Christ will produce righteous fruit of some kind and amount.

So it’s not that your works “save” you, but rather once saved, the kingdom works will follow. A SAVING FAITH.

SLIDE 3. 2 - Examples to Consider

And this brings us to the next section of James, where he begins making comparisons and sharing examples to substantiate the point he’s trying to make. His very first point, in verses 2:15-16, are about seeing someone in need and doing nothing.

Here’s where James makes it personal… What if you see a brother or sister in need? Someone whom you share faith with… someone from your church body? Not just anyone on the street, but someone whom you are in fellowship with. If you see this person in need and try to warm them with mere words but nothing else, is your faith real? Is your faith impacting your daily walk?

“In the same way,” says James, “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” James 2:17

“But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” James 2:18

There will always be those willing to engage in debate on this and other topics… but here’s a good thing to consider. If I were to say, “show me your faith apart from your works,” what would you show? What would you point to?

“You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!” James 2:19

The belief that God is one is a fundamental tenet of Judeo-Christian faith. This is what you would call a doctrinal pillar of our faith. And James is making the point that his original listeners were good to have the right doctrine. But then he makes the point that even the demons believe in the right doctrine, and they tremble because of it.

What James is saying is that you can have the correct orthodoxy but without orthopraxy - the practice of faith - it doesn’t matter. Even demons have the right orthodoxy and they seek to steal, kill, and destroy. Their actions are unrighteous, the fruit of their existence, rotten.

And this is an issue pastor James gets fired up about. In verse 20 from the NIV version, he says, You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?  Apparently, whatever was going on in this early church community was wearing on him. Maybe he was tired of trying to inspire people to action? Maybe his congregation was too comfortable in their orthodoxy? Maybe he felt what we’ve all felt at some point, that he wanted to see faith move people.

Whatever the case, his next example is a shot right into the heart of Jewish faith with a look into the life of Abraham who, as we know, was willing to sacrifice his own son in obedience to the Lord. Examples to Consider.

SLIDE 4. 3 - FAITH IN ACTION

Verse 21 reads Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22  Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?  23  And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 

Being justified is a biblical way of saying, he was counted righteous. And here the point is made that Abraham had incredible faith, which was active in his works. In fact, his great act of faith is counted as such because he was willing to go to such an extreme.

This is the last of the examples that James shares in our text for the day, but not the last example he shares in chapter 2. If you feel inclined to read on, you can. However, the point of the text, and the message seems to be fairly clear at this point.

Faith and works are partners.

Remember the point that I made earlier, it’s like trying to decide which blade on a pair of scissors is more important. You need both, and you can have both as a follower of Christ. Your works will flow from your faith and your faith will grow as a result of your works. Like the story of Abraham, who in that darkest moment was about to sacrifice his only son, God intervened and his faith grew tremendously.

The various trials of our lives are accomplishing something in us, as we learned a couple weeks ago. Trials force us to lean into God, which in turn grows our faith, which in turn makes us even more courageous and action oriented in other areas of our lives.

If you’ve seen Him show up once, you know He can do it again. FAITH IN ACTION.

Conclusion

You’ve probably heard faith is like a muscle, and the more you exercise your faith, the stronger it becomes.

But not all of us are inclined to willingly thrust ourselves and our families into situations that would stimulate our faith to grow. Especially in the ways James probably had in mind when he wrote this letter… as the church in Jerusalem was being persecuted.

And yet, these are some of the moments where we see our faith grow the most… In the midst of suffering, pain, hardship, and persecution. Maybe James was trying to inspire his church to keep going, to keep “fighting the good fight of faith” as the apostle Paul says. Maybe it had been difficult enough for long enough that people were starting to lose hope. Maybe a reminder that, “Faith without action is dead,” was exactly the kind of blunt truth this early church community needed to hear.

And maybe it’s the truth you need to hear today as well.

We live in an admittedly “easy” culture compared to the one James was writing from. And it’s no secret that there are other believers all around the world facing very real life-or-death persecution because of their faith. Their experience of faith is markedly different than yours or mine is.

So today, I want to encourage you to find ways this week to put your faith into action. Don’t get too comfortable or worse, complacent in your faith. Allow yourself to enter into situations that will stretch you and grow you as a believer. Pray that God would give you the courage to step out in faith. And remember…

The world is hungry for the good news of Jesus and we are God’s chosen ambassadors to spread the word of God. Let your faith and your works be co-laborers for the kingdom of heaven. And let me say this on the matter of Faith or Works when it comes to salvation. That there is no contradiction between Paul and James with regard to the matter of saving faith. The apostle Paul emphasizes faith as the means by which we accept Christ as our Savoir. Romans 3:22 (NIV) This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,. James calls our attention to the fact that true faith must be an active and enduring faith that shapes our very existence. James is not saying that faith and works save us. He contends instead that the essential nature of true faith will express itself in righteous deeds. Therefore Faith and Works can never be separated. Works flows naturally from Faith.

Mar k 2:1 And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. 

Mar 2:2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them. 

Mar 2:3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. 

Mar 2:4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. 

Mar 2:5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. 

Let’s pray together. Prayer: Lord, I can see how faith and action work together as one. I can see that there are times when I simply get too comfortable in my faith and I forget to walk everyday in righteousness and action. Give me courage and strength to have both faith and works that bring glory to you.