James 2:14-26

Introduction

James 2:14–26 CSB

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can such faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food 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? In the same way faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself. 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. You believe that God is one. Good! Even the demons believe—and they shudder. Senseless person! Are you willing to learn that faith without works is useless? Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by works in offering Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was active together with his works, and by works, faith was made complete, 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. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 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? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

Helmut Thielicke was a German theologian who lived during the 20th century, born in 1908 and died in 1986.

Helmut told this story of when he was a young boy and riding his bicycle down the street and all of a sudden sees this hand-painted sign of the most delicious looking sandwich you have ever seen in your life.

This sandwich looks so good that immediately Helmut begins craving it. He has to have this sandwich.So, he looks quickly at the shop’s name painted on the sign and the address, and sees that it is only a couple of blocks away. He pedals over as fast as he can, screechs to a stop in front of the shop, and runs inside. Out of breath, he looks at the person behind the counter and says, “I would like to order a sandwich just like the one painted on your sign a couple of blocks away.”

The person behind the counter looks at Helmut in confusion and says, “I’m sorry, we don’t make sandwiches, we just paint signs.”

We talk about a lot of things as Christians. Even in the book of James we have just talked about the love we are to have for God and the love we are to have for others. We agree together that Christians should be kind, merciful, just, care for the poor, the marginalized, the widow, the orphan. We agree that a Christian should be growing in personal holiness, experiencing victory over sin and deeper love for the things of God. We agree that prayer, Scripture reading, biblical, godly community are all things that Christians should engage in and grow in our affection and desire for.

We speak of these things often, and we can paint very good pictures with our words.

But, this passage in James insists that we look beyond simply what we say, or even what we believe in our heads, and instead interrogate our behavior and the orientation of our hearts to see whether our faith is real and alive, or dead and ineffective.

In other words, are you making sandwiches, or are you just painting signs?

James, we must remember, was originally written primarily to Jewish Christians, Christians who had come out of an incredibly rigid, restrictive, legalistic religion that had more laws and rules than you could ever hope to keep. As a reaction against that religious system, some of these Christians had allowed their personal pendulum to swing far in the opposite direction, beginning to claim that simply having faith was enough, they didn’t have to do anything based on the faith they claimed to have. They had come to think that simply believing the right things about God, Jesus, etc., was good enough, and doing anything (“works”) was unnecessary as long as you believed the right things in your head.

In this passage James attacks that thinking head on. This passage is considered to contain the central message of the book of James, and here he is insistent that his readers, and us by extension, are crystal clear on one main point:

True faith works.

Exegesis

I. 14-17 - Dead Faith

Can dead faith save?

James comes out swinging

Brings up this person that claims to have faith

Anyone can claim anything

Where is the proof?

James is clear - this “someone” claims to have faith - but does not actually

How do we know? No works

Type of salvation - eschatological deliverance - rescue at the judgement

Can “that kind of faith” (faith without works) save someone?

The Greek sentence structure implies a negative response

In other words - NO

James’ Example

The person’s reaction makes no sense

All of us would agree that simply saying “go on, blessings to you, be warm and fed” is nonsensical

James may also be using this example to continue to develop the importance of caring for the poor and the needy - a common theme

James’ point: Faith that is all talk and no action is dead, inoperative and ineffective faith - “not real”

Dead faith is not saving faith

Dead - nekros

It cannot save or justify - you are still dead in your sins

“But I thought we were saved ‘by grace alone through faith alone’”? - Yes

Problem is not with doctrine but definition

Faith is not just a mental acknowledgement that certain facts are true - this is James’ whole point

Romans 10:9–10 “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.”

Saving faith is belief, yes, in that you understand and confess certain “facts,” but that is unified with belief in the heart that results in life change

Dead faith is not real faith

Work out your salvation - Philippians 2:12–13 “Therefore, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose.”

This is hard - we may want to believe that “dead faith” can still save us, our family, our friends

Tempting to talk about dead faith as still being “faith” - these people will get into heaven by the skin of their teeth

We don’t see that in Scripture at all

When we ask this question we are actually asking: what is the bare minimum I can do and still be “saved?”

Dallas Willard - barcode religion

Jesus brings life.

The salvation that Jesus bought for you is not a salvation that simply a terms and conditions agreement - you know, like the ones you always read

Jesus does not say - come to me and I will make sure you know all the right things and then go off and do whatever you want

No, he says come to me and I will give you life, rest, peace, joy, I will change you

So, that change, however slow and steady it may be, is proof of true faith.

True faith works.

Transition: Jesus does not just want your mind, you to acknowledge certain things to be true, he wants all of you. That is why we can’t pit faith and works against each other as James talks about next…

II. 18-19 - Dead Theology

Hypothetical Argument

“You have faith, I have works”

Separating faith and works

Some people are head knowledge people some are heart people

Some people like to think, some people like to act

Some people are deep into theology, and some people don’t have time for any of that

“I’m not gifted in that” - what, doing the right thing?

Don’t pit faith and works against each other

Not a balance, a unity

“Grace and truth”

What if we framed the “balance” negatively?

Unify faith and works together

Unity of Faith and Works

How do you show faith?

Faith = Invisible

“Since faith is invisible, his possession of faith is dependent upon his verbal testimony alone.” - Hiebert, 160

Works = Visible

Again, you can claim to have faith, but where is the proof?

There is no proof of faith without works - how could there be?

Proving your faith might hit you the wrong way.

Why do I have to prove anything to anyone? Isn’t God the one who justifies me? Doesn’t this emphasis on works feel a lot like trying to “earn” my salvation?

We are, rightly, concerned about trying to “earn” our salvation by works.

We call that legalism.

Legalism is trying to either earn or maintain our relationship with God, our salvation, through strict adherence to a list of rules and regulations, some of which may come from the Bible but often some that do not.

Put simply: the basis of our relationship with God is our performance, not Christ’s work for us.

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

So let’s be very clear - when you were dead in your sins, in a hopeless state, Christ reached down into the pit that you could not climb out of yourself and rescued you. The entirety of the work of salvation has been accomplished by Christ and you have no room to boast in your own ability (as it says in Ephesians).

Our response is simply to acknowledge our sinful way and repent and believe the gospel.

So in the same way that you are not saved by your own performance, you are also not holding onto Jesus by your own strength and performance. You rest in his grip and he will not let you go.

James does not touch on this here but we know that you are given the Holy Spirit of God upon salvation and he dwells within you and helps guide, counsel, convict, and grow you into the image of Christ. Your effort did not save you and your effort does not primarily grow you.

All of that is true with out an asterisk or caveat.

James teaches us that saving faith, the faith that we have in Christ Jesus, results in a life reorientation - we live differently.

In our day and age, we may have a hypersensitivity to legalism. We dislike doing things to “check a box,” or sometimes anything that feels like “effort.”

Doing the right thing is not legalism.

There are things in Scripture that we are told to do and not do. There is right, and there is wrong. And sometimes we will feel like doing what is right, and sometimes we will not.

The danger is that we will be driven by our feelings more than our faith. We may be tempted to excuse ourselves by saying “I don’t want to ‘fake’ it,” so I just won’t do it. We are so scared of doing anything that might seem disingenuous that sometimes we just want to wait until we “feel” like doing something we know we should do.

Sometimes, I don’t want to read my Bible. Sometimes, words come out of me that should not. Sometimes thoughts are in my head that should not be.

James is not contradicting the free gift of salvation. He is not contradicting the gospel. He is not saying you must work to be saved. He is saying, if you never feel any desire to do anything that God would have you to do, if the needle of holiness is not moving in your life, then it may be time for you to do an honest diagnosis of the validity of your faith, and whether you even have the Holy Spirit of God.

Because true faith works. And sometimes that requires…effort. But…

Effort ≠ Earning

There are times where we employ effort, not in a way that “earns” our favor with God, but works out our faith.

Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude. Effort is an action. 

Dallas Willard

There are clear times when there is a right thing to do and a wrong thing to do. You may not feel like doing the “right” thing. But, the knowledge of what is right comes from the Holy Spirit, and the knowledge that you should do what is right comes from the Holy Spirit, and you are able to do what is right - and even if it may feel like effort in the moment we are freed to employ that effort from a heart that knows we are not earning anything - that has already been earned for us on the cross.

But here we have to deal with a strange little inclusion that would probably have made James’ readers sit up and pay attention, and it makes us sit up and pay attention as well.

In order to drive home the point that the proof of true faith is works, James makes it clear what is not the proof of true faith. The ability to articulate precise theology. Why not? Well…

Demons have pretty precise theology

Maybe more precise theology than you

What does “God is one” mean?

Shema - a pious, daily confession of faith for the Jewish people.

Deuteronomy 6:4 ““Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”

phrissousin - bristle

Reaction based on contact with God or the supernatural

There are no atheists, agnostics or skeptics in hell

Demons lack true faith but at least shudder - at least they have some response - unlike many Christians who claim to believe the same thing

“For James is writing to Jewish Christians for whom the Shema would have been among the most basic of beliefs. Proclaiming that ‘God is one’ in that context would have been similar to churchgoers today loudly proclaiming their belief in the deity of Christ.” - Moo, 130

Bending over backwards so that you can be self-satisfied with precise theology that results in no life change is a waste

You can recite a systematic theology but you can’t live by it

Good theology is not just hypothetical

Some of you really like the “idea” of a lot of things but not the “reality” of them

You like the “idea” of doing many things that are good for you, but when you are actually presented with the opportunity to do those things, you don’t

Some of you hurt people by pulling them into relationships because you like the “idea” of them or the “idea” of a relationship in general. But when you have to face the reality of who that person is or what it means to be in a relationship - you bail.

In same way - many of you like the “ideas” of Christianity without living them out. The reality of being a Christian isn’t really for you.

Theology is wonderful

“Words about God” - you are all theologians

But what we say and believe about God must be revealed in our behavior. If we have an answer for every theological question and yet cannot live like a Christian, our theological knowledge provides no benefit for our eternal salvation

Paul David Tripp - two of the angriest men I ever counseled were two of the best non-seminary trained theologians. They loved studying the biblical labyrinth of theology, they could have passed most seminary theology courses, but that theology had not begun to transform their lives.

“The enemy of our souls will gladly give you your formal theology. He’ll give you your Sunday morning church attendance, episodic moments of ministry, if he can rule and control your heart.”

Paul David Tripp

James has framed this short teaching in a pretty structured way. He has provided two negative examples of what living, true faith is not, and now he is going to provide two examples of what it is, both from the Old Testament…

“…the first two illustrations are negative (what faith is not); the second two are positive (what faith is).” - Motyer - 107

III. 20-24 - Living Faith

Abraham

“Senseless” - κενοσ - empty, empty-handed, vain, empty faith

This person is “empty” and James wants to “fill” them with the proper teaching on faith and works

He first uses this ultimate act of faith - Abraham and Isaac

Both here and elsewhere in Scripture this story is pointed to as the pinnacle of the story of Abraham - it’s where he truly does prove his faith in God by his willingness to give up his only son, the son God himself promised to him, if that was what God asked. Hebrews 11:19 says that “He considered God to be able even to raise someone from the dead; therefore, he received him back, figuratively speaking.”

“James is therefore not using Genesis 15:6 in a way contradictory to that of Paul. They address different issues from different backgrounds and need to make different points about Abraham’s paradigmatic experience with the Lord. And so, without necessarily disagreeing about the basic sense of the verse, they set Genesis 15:6 in different biblical-theological contexts and derive different conclusions from their contextual readings. Paul seizes on the chronological placement of Genesis 15:6 and cites it as evidence of the initial declaration of righteousness that Abraham attained from God solely on the basis of faith. James views the same verse more as a ‘motto,’ applicable to Abraham’s life as a whole.” - Moo, 139

Rahab

In the same way James uses Rahab’s story as an example of faith and works working together. This story is from the book of Joshua chapter 2 where Rahab hides two of the Israelite spies who had come to scout out Jericho. She had heard of the Israelites and their God and what he had done, and her fledgling faith in him causes her to put herself in peril to protect this God’s servants

Both of these examples are meant to be a picture of what it looks like for faith and works to be active together

Justification by Works or Faith?

Right here in the middle of this story, though, there is a little verse that might cause some alarm bells to go off, particularly if you are familiar with theology, or biblical teaching on justification

James 2:24 “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.”

What is James talking about?

Does James contradict Paul?

At first glance, it seems like James may be contradicting the Apostle Paul. After all, Paul literally says in Ephesians 2:8–9 which we read earlier - “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast.”

So, which is it? Faith or works?

The answer is, kind of, yes!

James and Paul are using similar language and even the same word to talk about salvation from two different perspectives

“Paul was rooting out ‘works’ that excluded and destroyed saving faith, James was stimulating a sluggish faith that minimized the results of a saving faith in daily life.” - Hiebert 158

Remember - true faith always reveals itself in works - it can’t not

If a sinner can get into relationship with God only by faith (Paul), the ultimate validation of that relationship takes into account the works that true faith must inevitably produce (James).” - Moo, 141

Works do not save you - but once you come to faith they do prove the legitimacy of that faith

Faith is dead on its own and works are dead on their own.

Does James contradict the Reformers?

Protestant Reformation - Luther, Zwingli, Calvin

Better question: do the Reformers contradict James? Remember - Reformers were just men. They were valuable but made mistakes.

No - they are in agreement with James

“Faith alone justifies, but the faith which justifies is not alone.”

John Calvin

Even Martin Luther - who didn’t really like the book of James (an epistle of straw, or a “right strawy epistle”) agrees…

“Yea, it is impossible to separate works from faith, as impossible to separate burning and shining from fire.”

Martin Luther

Consistency - not contradiction

Both James and Paul, and even Calvin and Luther are all pointing to the same idea: we are saved by faith alone through grace alone, and that true saving faith will result in works.

These examples of Abraham and Rahab are meant to drive home James’ point that faith is made “complete” or “perfected” by works. In other words, it is affirmed, shown to be real, legitimized

James then reiterates where he started - faith without works is dead. Dead faith never saved anyone. But…

Application

True Faith Works

True faith, living faith, works.

The natural response of a heart that has been captured by deep affection for Jesus and indwelt with power of the Holy Spirit is to grow in doing good as their faith works itself out.

Matthew 7:17–20 CSB

In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So you’ll recognize them by their fruit.

A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit.

What does being “saved” mean?

If we are not careful, we can think of salvation, of being saved, like getting a “get out of jail free card” that we hang onto until we die or Jesus comes back. Every real implication of our faith is always futuristic, in some other point in time

We mentally accept the gospel as being true, God punches our ticket, and then we settle in to run out the clock until heaven.

In the meantime, we just kind of do whatever we want. After all, we’re good. We’ve got our ticket. Why would we do any kind of work? Just wait it out!

That is not true salvation. That is not true faith.

As we clearly see in James, works do not save you, but they are the natural response to a heart captured by Jesus.

But if we misunderstand salvation, misunderstand faith, it will be easy to have that mindset.

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.”

An idea of salvation that is only futuristic, is just a card we punch for heaven is not only wrong - it’s kind of boring.

Of course I’m being facetious, being made right with the God of the universe is not boring but I just don’t want us to misunderstand what salvation is and what it means. It means eternal life with Christ, yes, but it also means that we have been invited into God’s mission to save the world.

2 Corinthians 5:17–21 CSB

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

When you are saved you are invited into this cosmic story that God has been writing for eternity. In repentance and faith you are made new and given a mission: be messengers of reconciliation. We are God’s representatives on this earth, growing in love for God and love for others, doing good works that spring up naturally from our new being - not perfectly - we struggle and fail - but that is the beauty of grace.

Grace

Grace is not just present at salvation, or when you mess up. It isn’t just a safety net

Grace also enables us to be able to do good works, to live godly lives, to pursue holiness

Before grace, you could not not sin. You were in bondage, no freedom. Now, you don’t have to sin any more. You still may, but you do not have to. Through the power of the Spirit and the work of grace you are free.

Listen to…

Titus 2:11–14 CSB

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people for his own possession, eager to do good works.

Grace is not like the principal’s office. You don’t only tap into it when you’ve messed up. God in his grace is with you every step of the way, celebrating your growth as a father rejoices over his kid learning to do something new, and picking you up and dusting you off when you fall. His grace enables you to grow in godliness.

Hebrews 11:6 “Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

All of this works together.

So what do you need to do in response to this message?

You don’t know that you have ever felt a desire to do what is right. Not really.

Maybe you have done some good things while you’re around Christians

Maybe in your head you believe some “Christian” things, but they have not impacted your heart

You might say “I would give anything for God” but you won’t actually do a thing about it

If you were on trial for being a Christian would you be acquitted for lack of evidence?

I am not trying to get you to question your salvation, or introduce fear and doubt - but James says that faith without works is dead.

You have the desire to do what is right, it’s there, there are just some things that you know God would have you do or not do that are really, really hard

Or maybe you have settled into complacency. You want to please God, that inward desire is there, but so many other things have gotten in the way

Maybe you’ve excused yourself by not wanting to be legalistic, or so many other things

It says in Hebrews that part of the reason we gather together is to “stir each other up” for love and good works Hebrews 10:24 “And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works,”

So maybe this morning you need to be stirred up. Stirred up in your love for God and others that reveals itself in works

Maybe there is something specific you need to do, or stop doing, and although it may not be perfect, you do need to move in that direction

Conclusion

Abraham and Rahab

Abraham was a patriarch, he talked with God, knew God intimately. He is a hero of the faith, a man that God declared righteous.

Then we have Rahab. Rahab had only heard of God. She did not know him like Abraham did, she had just heard of who he was. Furthermore she was a prostitute, an immoral woman who made her living in an immoral way.

But both of them are presented as a picture of living faith, since both turned from their own way and instead trusted in the God of the universe in faith, and that faith was revealed in action. Patriarch and prostitute, both are invited into relationship with God in repentance and faith.

So wherever you are, whatever you have done, you have been invited into this relationship with God. Whether you know a lot, or you’ve done a lot - God calls you into life with him. A life of faith. Faith that works. Because…

True faith works.