James 2:20-26

Introduction

Last week we took a pretty deep dive into verses 14–19. And if the message felt a little repetitious at times, it’s because God pressed that truth hard against my own heart. It is not difficult at all to stand in a church building, profess to be a child of God, and yet so blatantly disobey what He tells us. That tension hits close to home for every single one of us.

I want to share an illustration with you this morning—one that connects deeply with what James is teaching us. I’m not sharing this for sympathy but because it expresses a truth God has branded into my heart. Some of you know this; some may not. My mother struggled for years with mental health battles and addiction. We tried repeatedly to help her, but every time she refused. She always said she was going to get better, that she was going to get help. She spoke like she had the faith to do it. But to make a long story short, she ended up losing her battle with depression and addiction in the fall of 2013.

As you can imagine, it devastated my father, my two brothers and me, and so many others who loved her. My younger brother and I were present when that tragic moment happened. Again, I’m not offering a sob story. My purpose is to give you an illustration that I pray will stay with you—and show why today’s passage matters so much.

Because even though my mom would be sober for a few days, and things would look promising, her “faith” in getting better ended up being nothing more than words. And church, if there is a problem—an issue, a sin, an addiction—and we talk about faith but never take that first step of obedience, then that faith is simply dead. It’s faith with no movement. Faith with no action. Faith with no life.

Let me give you one more illustration before we open up the Scriptures. I don’t know about y’all, but good illustrations help keep me from being too boring. Well A few years after my mom passed, my dad and I planted two purple plum trees in the backyard. Over the years they grew tall and full and For two of those years they bloomed beautifully, yet produced no plums. Still, I kept believing they would.

Well, a few years later—around the time spring rolled around again—my family and I finally committed to attending Sunday school and worship service regularly. I could tell Christ had genuinely changed me. And one day the Lord used those plum trees to preach a sermon to my heart that lines up perfectly with James.

The buds started turning into little green knots. As the season progressed, the plums looked ready. One evening I took my usual walk out to the trees to pray and spend time with God. They looked perfect from the outside. So I picked six or seven of them. But every single one I bit into was rotten in the middle.

And right then, clear as day, the Lord spoke to me:

“My son, you can look the part. You can shine the brightest. You can blend in and fool every set of eyes around you. But if your core is rotten, you are no good. You may have fruit, but it may be rotten fruit.”

So this morning, as we step into verses 20–26, we’re going to hear the same theme James hammered on last week. If you remember, it’s this: Faith without works is dead. We learned that we’re not saved by the works we do—but we are saved for the works we do. And church, if Jesus could die for us, the very least we can do is obey Him. James makes it unmistakably clear: genuine faith in Christ naturally produces obedience to Christ.

And as we continue, if anything I say confuses you, please come talk to me after the service. If I don’t have an answer, I promise you I will find one.

Now, as we step into the first section of this passage, my prayer is simple: that God would open our minds and open our hearts to His Word.

Section One – “A Faith That Must Be Proven” (v. 20)

This section covers verse 20, which I’ve named a faith that must be proven , and as we step into it, James does not ease us in gently. He begins with a question that feels almost like a holy slap in the face: He covered this in our message last week, and he doesn’t intend on leaving anyone confused. He asks,

Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?”

James is not being rude. He is being pastoral. He is being direct. He is speaking like a man who loves the church too much to let them sleep through something eternally important. He refuses to let believers settle for a kind of faith that sounds right but has no spiritual substance. He stands as a great example of a Shepard leading his flock, trying to leave no room for error.

And notice what he calls the person who clings to a workless faith: “foolish.”

In Scripture, that word doesn’t mean “stupid.” It means someone who willfully ignores what God has made plain. Someone who knows the truth, but chooses not to apply it. Someone who talks the language of faith but refuses the life of faith.

dont you all see the pastoral heart here? James is trying to wake us up—lovingly, firmly, urgently.

A Useless Faith Is a Dangerous Faith

James says a faith without works is useless. The word he uses there means “empty,” “fruitless,” “void,” or “of no value.” In other words, it’s the kind of faith that talks but doesn’t walk, sings but doesn’t obey, confesses Christ but doesn’t follow Christ.

Jesus warned about this over and over.

He said in Luke 6:46

Luke 6:46 ESV

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

He said that a tree is known by its fruit—not by its bark, not by its leaves, not by how close it stands to other trees

He said that the wise man hears His words and does them, while the foolish man hears them but never puts them into action.

James is echoing his big Brother. He’s not teaching a new doctrine; he is reaffirming what Jesus has already made crystal clear:

Real faith produces real obedience.

Faith and Works Are Not Enemies

Now, let’s slow down here because some people get nervous about it. James is not suggesting we can earn our salvation. He is not contradicting Paul in any way. He is not saying we climb the ladder to heaven by performing spiritual chores.

Paul said, “By grace you have been saved through faith,” and that remains true.

But Paul also said that we are saved “for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

James and Paul are not standing face-to-face arguing.

They are standing back-to-back fighting two different enemies.

Paul is fighting people who think they can earn salvation by works.

James is fighting people who think they can have salvation without works.

Both are defending the same gospel from two opposite lies.

And let me just say this as your pastor and friend:

It is absolutely possible to attend church for twenty years, speak Christian words, pray Christian prayers, and still cling to a faith that has no obedience behind it.

Not because you intend to be fake, but because it is easy—dangerously easy—to confuse religious habits with spiritual transformation.

The Call to Examine Ourselves

James is not trying to scare us. He’s trying to shepherd us.

His question—“Do you want to be shown?”—is an invitation.

He’s saying, “Let me help you see what genuine faith really looks like.”

Yall, one of the most loving things God can ever do is confront us.

To show us what we cannot see.

To expose what we’ve been covering.

To call us out where we’ve grown comfortable.

To turn on the light in a room we’d rather leave dark.

Because if we truly belong to Jesus, conviction is a gift, not a burden.

It’s His Spirit pulling us closer, not pushing us away.

So Section One brings us face-to-face with this truth:

A faith that never obeys is not a saving faith. It’s a deceiving faith.

A faith that never moves is not alive. It’s dead.

A faith that produces no fruit is not barren—it is useless.

And , my prayer as we move forward is that none of us would be content with a faith that sits still… but that we would hunger for a faith that breathes, a faith that acts, a faith that obeys, and a faith that shows the world we truly know Jesus.

This brings us to section 2 and

Section Two – Abraham: The Proof That Faith Must Act (vv. 21–23)

James now brings us to one of the most powerful examples in all of Scripture: Abraham. And, he doesn’t use Abraham because he was perfect. He uses Abraham because Abraham demonstrates what living faith truly looks like.

James asks, in verse 21 “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?”

Now, that can sound alarming at first glance. But remember—James is not saying Abraham was saved by this act. He’s saying Abraham’s obedience proved the authenticity of his faith.

Genuine Faith Always Produces Costly Obedience

Let’s revisit the story. God told Abraham in Genesis 22 to take Isaac—his miracle child, the child of promise, the son he waited decades to hold—and sacrifice him on an altar. And yall that command wasn’t easy. It wasn’t logical. It wasn’t comfortable. It wasn’t convenient.

But Scripture says Abraham rose early in the morning.

No hesitation.

No excuses.

No bargaining.

No “Lord, I’ll obey later.”

Abraham obeyed because his faith was real.

And James says in verse 22, “You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works.”

That word completed means brought to maturity, made fully grown. In other words, Abraham’s faith wasn’t just spoken—it was stretched, tested, and proven.

Faith Speaks, but Works Confirm the Voice

Yall, hear this:

Abraham believed God long before Genesis 22.

But he proved that belief on Mount Moriah.

Many believers live in Genesis 15, where Abraham believed God and God counted it to him as righteousness—but they never move into Genesis 22, where belief becomes obedience.

James is saying, “Don’t stop where Abraham started. Follow him all the way to the mountain.”

Because real faith grows.

Real faith matures.

Real faith steps forward when nothing makes sense.

Real faith trusts God when your world falls apart and you still take that step

this is The Heart of Abraham’s Faith

Now let’s look at something beautiful: Abraham wasn’t obeying blindly.

Hebrews 11 tells us why he obeyed:

He “considered that God was able even to raise Isaac from the dead.”

Abraham obeyed because he believed something deep in his soul:

“If God gave Isaac to me out of nothing, then even if Isaac dies, God can give him back out of nothing.”

And man that’s the kinda faith i want to have

Faith that remembers promises.

Faith that clings to God’s character.

Faith that walks up a mountain carrying wood, a knife, and trust.

And James says this kind of obedience fulfilled Scripture:

“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”

His works didn’t replace his faith—they revealed it.

They didn’t save him—they showed that he was saved

And then we hear one of the most intimate titles in the Bible:

“And he was called a friend of God.”

Not because Abraham was flawless.

Not because Abraham never sinned.

Not because he performed a religious checklist.

But because he believed God deeply enough to obey Him fully.

don’t yall want that testimony said about you?

Don’t you want heaven to look at your life—not at your perfections, but at your obedience—and say, “That one is a friend of God”?

Not a church attendee.

Not a religious talker.

But someone whose faith is alive, visible, and tested.

The Pastoral Truth James Wants Us to See

The point James is making through Abraham is this:

Faith that never obeys is not faith. It’s fantasy.

Faith that never sacrifices is not faith—it’s theory.

Faith that costs nothing will accomplish nothing.

But a faith that obeys—even when it hurts, even when it confuses us, even when it stretches us—that is the kind of faith God calls righteous.

So James gives us Abraham not to intimidate us but to inspire us.

To show us that real faith is not displayed in comfort but in surrender.

Not in easy moments but in costly ones.

Not in the safety of the camp but on the mountain of obedience.

Section Three – Rahab: The Proof That No One Is Too Broken for Living Faith (v. 25)

After lifting our eyes to Abraham—one of the greatest figures in the Old Testament—James immediately shifts our attention to someone completely different: Rahab. And church, this contrast is intentional. It’s beautiful. It’s humbling. It’s gospel-centered.

Because if Abraham shows us that genuine faith produces costly obedience,

Rahab shows us that genuine faith is available to anyone—no matter their past, their reputation, or their brokenness.

James writes, “And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?”

Rahab Had Every Reason to Be Disqualified

Let’s slow this down and look at who Rahab was.

She lived in Jericho—a pagan, idolatrous, violent city under God’s judgment.

She was a Gentile—outside the covenant community of Israel.

She was a woman in a male-dominated society.

And Scripture identifies her occupation plainly: she was a prostitute.

you couldnt find someone further—morally, spiritually, culturally—from Abraham.

And yet James says, “in the same way.”

Meaning: Rahab stands beside Abraham as an example of true, living faith.

Why?

Because God delights in saving people the world counts out.

Because the gospel knocks on doors no one else would.

Because faith is not reserved for the polished, the religious, or the respectable.

Rahab reminds us that your yesterday doesn’t disqualify you from God’s grace today.

Rahab’s Faith Moved Her to Risk Everything

When the Israelite spies entered Jericho, Rahab hid them in her home.

She risked her life.

She risked her livelihood.

She risked her future.

She risked the wrath of the king.

Why? Because she believed something about God that the entire city ignored.

Listen to her confession in Joshua 2:

“The Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.”

Folks—Rahab had heard about the Red Sea.

She had heard about the wilderness miracles.

She had heard about God’s power.

And unlike everyone else in Jericho, she responded in faith.

Not with words alone.

Not with empty acknowledgment.

But with decisive action.

With obedience.

With a choice that put her life on the line.

Her Works Revealed Her Faith Was Real

James says Rahab was “justified by works.” Again—he means her works proved the authenticity of her faith.

Her actions were the evidence.

Her obedience was the demonstration.

Her courage was the fruit.

And yall, don’t miss this:

Rahab obeyed in the very place she once sinned.

The same house where she once welcomed men for sinful purposes became the house where she welcomed God’s messengers.

Grace does not just forgive—it transforms.

Grace redeems.

Grace reclaims what the enemy tried to destroy.

Rahab’s Obedience Changed Her Entire Legacy

Because her faith produced action, God didn’t just save her life—He wrote her into His story in unimaginable ways.

She married into Israel.

She became the great-great-grandmother of King David.

She became part of the genealogy of Jesus Christ.

Her name appears in Hebrews 11—the Hall of Faith—right beside Abraham.

People—only God can take a broken past and turn it into a redeemed future.

Only God can take a prostitute and make her part of the Messiah’s family line.

Rahab is living proof that:

No one is too far gone.

No one is too stained.

No one is too damaged.

No one is beyond the reach of God’s transforming grace.

James’ Point: If Faith Is Real, It Will Always Show

Rahab didn’t know everything.

She didn’t grow up in church.

She didn’t have years of spiritual training.

She didn’t have all the theology Abraham had.

But what she did have was real faith—faith that moved her to obey.

She didn’t just talk about God; she trusted Him.

She didn’t just admire God; she aligned herself with Him.

She didn’t just acknowledge truth; she acted on it.

And in doing so, Rahab stands as a testimony to every believer, reminding us that:

Faith that is alive will always lead to action.

Faith that is genuine will always produce obedience.

Faith that is surrendered will always bear fruit—even in the most unlikely person.

Rahab’s inclusion in this passage is God’s way of saying,

“If Abraham can show you what mature faith looks like,

then Rahab can show you that anyone—absolutely anyone—can walk in it.”

Section Four – A Body Without Breath: The Final Verdict on Dead Faith (v. 26)

James closes this passage with a statement so simple in verse 26, so visual, and so sobering that no one can misunderstand it:

“For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.”

Yall, James does not say faith is weak without works.

He does not say it is struggling, injured, or incomplete.

He does not say it needs a little help, a little tune-up, or a shot of encouragement.

He says it is dead.

Dead like a breathless body.

Dead like a lifeless shell.

Dead like something that once had potential but now has nothing but the shape of what used to be.

Every one of us understands what a dead body is. The form is there. The shape is there. The features are there. It may look like the person you knew… but the life is gone.

James is saying that a workless faith looks like a believer on the outside,

talks like a believer,

acts spiritual,

knows the vocabulary,

sits in the pew,

carries a Bible…

…but inside, there is no life.

No breath of obedience.

No pulse of surrender.

No heartbeat of transformation.

It’s a frightening image—but a necessary one.

Because .. God loves us too much to let us settle for a faith that only resembles the real thing.

Dead Faith Doesn’t Need Encouragement—It Needs Resurrection

A dead body does not need a cheerleader.

A dead body does not need someone to hug it, pat it, or give it a motivational speech.

A dead body needs life—the breath of God.

And a dead faith needs the same.

It needs repentance.

It needs surrender.

It needs the Holy Spirit to breathe fresh conviction and fresh obedience.

James is not trying to condemn us. He is trying to rescue us.

To pull us back from a Christianity of empty words.

To call us out of stale, lifeless religion.

To bring us into a faith that breathes, responds, obeys, and transforms.

The Sobering Reality: Many people Sit in Churches with Dead Faith

This is where the pastoral urgency rises.

Because James is not writing to pagans, atheists, or people far from God.

He is writing to church members.

To believers.

To people who gather in worship, who hear the Word, who participate in the community.

Meaning—it is entirely possible to look alive spiritually and yet be spiritually dead.

That’s why Jesus warned the church at Sardis, “You have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead.”

Church, that’s not talking about the bars, the casinos, or the streets.

That’s talking about the pews.

That’s talking about people who look the part but have no inward transformation.

Living Faith Leaves a Trace of Obedience Everywhere It Goes

But here’s the glorious, hope-filled truth:

Wherever living faith exists, you can see it.

You can’t always see how mature it is.

You can’t always see how strong it is.

You can’t always see how far it has come.

But you will see something.

A desire to obey.

A hunger for God.

A growing conviction over sin.

A willingness to surrender.

A pattern of spiritual fruit—not perfection, but direction.

Living faith leaves marks—grace marks, obedience marks, repentance marks.

Dead faith leaves nothing but the outward shape of religion.

James’ Final Truth: Works Are Not the Root of Salvation—They Are the Proof of It

James is ending this entire argument with one big, undeniable truth:

Works do not give life to faith.

Works reveal whether life is there at all.

Just as breath doesn’t create the body but simply shows the body is alive—

obedience doesn’t create salvation;

obedience shows salvation is present.

So James holds a mirror up to our souls and asks:

Is your faith breathing?

Is your faith moving?

Is your faith obeying?

Is your faith producing fruit?

Is your faith alive?

Not perfect.

Not flawless.

Not without struggle.

But alive.

Because church, the world does not need more Christians who look alive.

The world needs Christians who are alive.

Christians whose faith breathes obedience.

Whose lives display the transforming power of Jesus.

Whose walk matches their talk.

Whose hearts beat in step with the Word of God.

James closes the passage with a line no one can escape:

“As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead.”

But for the believer who truly knows Christ…

for the believer who has surrendered to Him…

for the believer who has received the Spirit…

faith is not dead.

Faith is alive.

Faith obeys.

Faith bears fruit.

Faith proves what God has done inside the heart.

Conclusion & Invitation

Church, as we bring this message to a close, James has laid something before us that we cannot ignore. He has shown us Abraham—faith that obeyed even when it cost everything. He has shown us Rahab—faith that obeyed even when her past told her she didn’t deserve God. And then he has shown us a body without breath—faith that looks alive but is spiritually dead.

This passage is not meant to crush you. It is meant to wake you up.

It is meant to stir you, convict you, and push you toward the kind of Christianity that breathes with the life of Jesus Christ.

So let me ask you as your pastor, as your brother, and as someone who truly cares for your soul:

Is your faith alive?

Is it moving?

Is it obeying?

Is it producing anything that resembles the life of Christ in you?

This isn’t about perfection.

This isn’t about performing.

This isn’t about trying harder.

This is about surrender.

This is about letting the Holy Spirit breathe life into what has been dry.

This is about letting the Word of God break apart the hard places in your heart.

This is about asking God to take any dead, lifeless, hollow area of your spiritual walk—and resurrect it with obedience.

Because church, you can leave today the same way you came in…

or you can leave today with a faith that is alive, breathing, active, and transformed.

And for someone in this room today, you don’t need revival—you need salvation.

You need to become a new creation in Christ.

A Simple Invitation From Romans

The Bible tells us in Romans 10:9–10 that salvation is not complicated.

It’s not about cleaning yourself up first.

It’s not about earning something from God.

It says:

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead—you will be saved.”

Romans 10:13 says:

“For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Church, that includes you.

Your past doesn’t exclude you.

Your sins don’t disqualify you.

Your failures don’t push you away.

If today, God is stirring your heart…

If today, you know you need forgiveness…

If today, you feel Him drawing you…

Then call on Him.

Turn to Him.

Believe in Him.

Surrender to Him.

And He will save you.

New life is available.

A living faith is available.

A fresh start is available.

So as we enter this time of response, I invite you to come.

To pray.

To seek Him.

To confess your need.

To ask Him for breath where things have been dead.

To call on the name of the Lord—and be saved.

Church, the same God who gave Abraham strength…

the same God who transformed Rahab’s past…

the same God who resurrected Jesus from the dead…

…is the same God who can resurrect your heart today.

Come to Him.

Trust Him.

Obey Him.

And walk out of here with a faith that is truly alive.