Faith Proven in Action

Introduction

Last week, we began looking at one of the most challenging passages in the book of James.

James asked the question: “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith, but does not have works?”

And then James gave us a rather uncomfortable answer. Faith that never shows itself in action is dead.

That is a hard word because most of us would probably say that we believe the right things.

We believe in prayer.

We believe the Bible is God's Word.

We believe we should share our faith.

We believe generosity is important.

We believe family matters.

We believe honesty matters.

We believe we should love our neighbors.

We believe we should help people who are hurting.

Very few Christians would say, “Those things don't matter to me.”

But there is an important difference between what we say we value and what we actually value.

It once described this distinction as the difference between a preferred belief and an actual belief.

A preferred belief is something we say is important.

An actual belief is something that shapes what we do.

Think about it this way.

You can say that exercise is important to you, but your calendar reveals whether you actually believe it.

You can say that saving money is important, but your bank account reveals whether you actually believe it.

You can say that your family is important, but your schedule reveals whether you actually believe it.

And James is asking us to apply that same principle to our faith.

What does your life say that you believe?

Because it is easy to say, “I believe in Jesus.”

It is much harder to let that belief change the way we live.

James has already told us that faith without works is dead.

Now he is going to show us what living faith looks like.

And he gives us two very different people as examples.

One is Abraham.

The other is Rahab.

One is a patriarch.

The other is a prostitute.

One is a man.

The other is a woman.

One is an Israelite.

The other is a Canaanite.

And yet James says both of them demonstrate the same thing:

Real faith acts.

Let's read the passage.

James 2:21-26

James 2:21–26 NIV

21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 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 considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Faith Is More Than Something We Say

James begins with Abraham.

“Wasn't Abraham our father justified by works in offering Isaac his son on the altar?”

Now, if you know the Bible well, you might immediately think: Wait a minute.

Paul says Abraham was justified by faith. James says Abraham was justified by works.

So which one is it?

Did James just contradict Paul? No.

James is not trying to explain how someone earns salvation. He is explaining what genuine faith looks like. James is dealing with people who claim to have faith but whose lives show no evidence that their faith has changed them.

James attacks the idea that faith can remain nothing more than words.

We are saved by grace through faith. But the faith that saves is never merely intellectual agreement.

Think about the difference between knowing something and trusting something.

You could tell me that you believe a bridge is structurally sound.

You could explain the engineering.

You could tell me the history of the bridge.

You could even give me a lecture about how much weight it can carry.

But if you refuse to walk across it because you don't actually trust it, your actions have exposed something about your belief.

You may believe information about the bridge. But you don't actually trust the bridge.

James says faith works the same way.

There is a kind of belief that stays in our heads. And there is a kind of faith that moves into our hands and feet.

Real faith eventually becomes visible.

Abraham Shows Us Faith That Obeys

James takes us to Genesis 22.

God tells Abraham to take Isaac, his son, and offer him as a burnt offering. This is one of the most difficult stories in the entire Bible.

Isaac wasn't just Abraham's son. Isaac was the son through whom God had promised to fulfill His covenant.

God had promised Abraham descendants. God had promised that through Isaac the covenant would continue.

And now God tells Abraham to offer Isaac. Abraham doesn't know how God is going to resolve the situation. He simply knows what God has commanded.

So Abraham gets up.

He prepares for the journey.

He takes Isaac to Mount Moriah.

He builds the altar.

He arranges the wood.

He binds his son.

And he raises the knife.

And then God stops him.

Genesis 22:12 says: “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.”

Notice what God says. “Now I know.” Abraham's obedience made his faith visible. His action didn't purchase God's love. It didn't earn Abraham a better position with God.

Instead, his obedience demonstrated what was already true about his relationship with God. Abraham was all in.

He was willing to trust God even when he couldn't understand what God was doing.

And that is precisely what James is pointing toward.

James says: “You see that faith was active together with his works, and by works, faith was made complete.”

That word “complete” is important. It is the same basic idea James used earlier in chapter 1. Remember what he said?

“Let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.”

God uses trials to develop and mature our faith. And here James says Abraham's faith was made complete through action.

Faith doesn't sit still.

Faith grows as we trust God.

Faith matures as we obey God.

Faith becomes stronger as we step out and discover that God is trustworthy.

Think about Peter stepping out of the boat.

The faith isn't proven while Peter is sitting in the boat talking about how much he believes Jesus.

The faith becomes visible when Peter puts his foot over the side.

That's what James is talking about.

Faith acts on what it believes.

Faith Gives Everything to God

There is another part of Abraham's story that we shouldn't miss. God didn't simply ask Abraham to do something difficult. God asked him to surrender what was most precious to him.

Isaac represented Abraham's future. Isaac represented the fulfillment of God's promise. Isaac was the child Abraham had waited years for.

And God says, in effect: Will you trust Me even with this?

That is where faith becomes real. Because faith isn't simply saying, “God, I believe You can do something.”

Faith says: “God, I trust You enough to obey You even when I don't understand what You're doing.”

That's much harder.

We often want a faith that makes sense before we obey. God sometimes calls us to obey before everything makes sense. Abraham didn't know what God was going to do. But Hebrews 11 gives us insight into what Abraham believed.

Abraham believed God was able to raise Isaac from the dead if necessary.

In other words: Abraham trusted God's promise more than he trusted his own understanding of the situation.

That is faith.

And that raises a question for us.

What are we unwilling to place in God's hands?

Our finances?

Our future?

Our family?

Our plans?

Our reputation?

Our comfort?

Our time?

Our dreams?

It is easy to say, “I trust God.”

But sometimes God asks us to demonstrate that trust.

And when He does, our obedience becomes the evidence.

Rahab Shows Us Faith That Takes a Risk

Then James gives us another example. Rahab. And James deliberately identifies her as: “Rahab the prostitute.” He could have simply said Rahab.

But he doesn't. He wants us to remember exactly who she was.

Rahab lived in Jericho.

She was a Canaanite.

She was a woman living in a pagan culture.

And she was a prostitute.

Yet when the Israelite spies came into Jericho, Rahab hid them. When the king demanded that she turn them over, she lied to protect them. She sent the king's men in the wrong direction. Then she helped the spies escape by lowering them down the wall.

Why would she do that?

Because she believed what she had heard about Israel's God. Listen to what Rahab tells the spies in Joshua 2.

Joshua 2:11 CSB

11 When we heard this, we lost heart, and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below.

She says that she knows the Lord has given Israel the land. She says that the people of Jericho are terrified because they have heard what God has done.

She says: “For the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on earth below.”

Rahab believed. But notice what she did with that belief. She acted on it. Her faith put her life at risk.

She could have said: “Israel's God is powerful. I believe He exists. That's interesting.” But she didn't stop there.

She hid the spies.

She protected them.

She helped them escape.

And in doing so, she placed herself in danger.

That is why James uses her as an example.

Abraham and Rahab could hardly be more different.

But their faith had something in common.

They trusted God enough to act.

Abraham risked what was most precious to him.

Rahab risked her own life.

And both of them demonstrated that their faith was more than words.

Faith Is Proven When It Costs Us Something

There is something interesting about both of James's examples.

Neither Abraham nor Rahab demonstrated faith when obedience was convenient.

Their faith was demonstrated when obedience was costly.

Abraham had something to lose.

Rahab had something to lose.

And sometimes that is how faith becomes visible.

It's easy to say we trust God when everything is going well.

It's easy to say we believe God is good when the bills are paid, the family is healthy, the job is secure, and life is comfortable.

But what happens when obedience costs us something?

What happens when following Jesus means forgiving someone who hurt us?

What happens when generosity means giving when we would rather keep?

What happens when telling the truth costs us something?

What happens when loving someone is inconvenient?

What happens when serving someone gets in the way of our plans?

What happens when God calls us to step outside our comfort zone?

That is when our faith becomes visible.

Faith isn't proven by what we say when obedience is easy. Faith is revealed by what we do when obedience is costly.

Faith Does Not Earn Salvation, But It Reveals Salvation

Now we come to the difficult verse.

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

That sounds like James is saying we are saved by works.

But that would contradict the clear teaching of Scripture.

Paul says: “For we conclude that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.”

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.

We don't work our way into God's family.

We don't earn forgiveness.

We don't accumulate enough good deeds to make God accept us.

Salvation is God's gift.

But James is asking a different question.

What kind of faith receives that gift?

James is confronting the idea that someone can possess a faith that consists only of mental agreement.

“I believe God exists.”

“I believe Jesus died for me.”

“I believe the Bible is true.”

“I believe all the right things.”

And yet nothing changes. James says that kind of faith is dead.

It is not saving faith. Why? Because genuine faith doesn't merely believe facts about Jesus.

Genuine faith trusts Jesus.

And when you trust Jesus, that trust begins to reshape the way you live.

Galatians 5:6 CSB

6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision accomplishes anything; what matters is faith working through love.

This is why Paul himself can say in Galatians 5:6: “What matters is faith working through love.”

Paul doesn't believe in a faith that never does anything either. Paul says faith works. James says faith works. The difference is that neither man believes our works are the foundation of our salvation.

Christ is the foundation. Grace is the source.

Faith is the means by which we receive it. And works are the evidence that the faith is alive. A living tree produces fruit. The fruit doesn't make the tree alive. The fruit shows that the tree is alive. In the same way, our works don't purchase salvation.

They reveal the life that salvation has produced in us.

The Question Is Not “Do I Have Faith?”

So maybe the question James wants us to ask is not simply: “Do I have faith?”

The better question is: “What is my faith doing?”

Because James has already told us that even demons believe.

They know exactly who God is.

They have better theology than many people sitting in church.

They know God is one.

They know Jesus is the Son of God.

They know judgment is coming.

But their knowledge doesn't produce obedience. Their belief doesn't produce love. Their belief doesn't produce submission. Their belief doesn't change them.

James 2:19 CSB

19 You believe that God is one. Good! Even the demons believe—and they shudder.

James says: “You believe that God is one. Good! Even the demons believe—and they shudder.”

So simply believing the right facts isn't enough.

The question is whether our belief has become trust.

And whether our trust has become obedience.

What Does Living Faith Look Like?

So what does this mean for us?

James is not telling us to go out and do spectacular things so that we can prove our faith.

Abraham was asked to do something extraordinary.

Rahab did something dangerous.

But most of the time, faith is demonstrated through ordinary obedience.

Faith looks like forgiving someone.

Faith looks like showing generosity.

Faith looks like serving when nobody notices.

Faith looks like praying when you're afraid.

Faith looks like opening your Bible because you want to hear from God.

Faith looks like telling the truth when lying would be easier.

Faith looks like loving the difficult person.

Faith looks like helping someone who cannot repay you.

Faith looks like sharing Christ with someone who needs to hear the gospel.

Faith looks like trusting God with your future.

Faith looks like doing what God has told you to do even when you don't know how everything will work out.

And sometimes faith simply looks like getting up tomorrow and continuing to follow Jesus.

Not because we have everything figured out.

Not because life is easy.

But because we trust the One who called us.

Next Steps: Does Your Faith Have a Pulse?

James finishes this section with a powerful picture: “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”

Think about a body.

You can have all the right parts.

You can have bones.

You can have muscles.

You can have a heart.

You can have lungs.

You can have a brain.

But if there is no life in that body, it doesn't matter.

It is dead.

James says faith can look right on the outside.

It can have the right vocabulary.

It can know the right answers.

It can sit in the right pew.

It can sing the right songs.

It can say the right things.

But if there is no life coming out of it, James says that faith is dead.

And that brings us back to where we started.

There is a difference between a preferred belief and an actual belief.

A preferred belief is something we say matters.

An actual belief is something that shapes our lives.

So James asks us to look honestly at our faith.

Not to see whether we are perfect.

Abraham wasn't perfect.

Rahab wasn't perfect.

None of us are.

The question is not whether we have flawless obedience.

The question is whether our faith is alive.

Is your faith changing you?

Is it affecting how you treat people?

Is it affecting how you spend your money?

Is it affecting how you use your time?

Is it affecting how you respond when someone hurts you?

Is it affecting how you handle temptation?

Is it affecting how you serve?

Is it affecting how you love?

Is it affecting what you are willing to surrender to God?

Because living faith moves.

Living faith obeys. Living faith serves. Living faith loves. Living faith takes God seriously enough to act on what He says.

Abraham believed God, and his faith moved him to obedience. Rahab believed God, and her faith moved her to action.

And James says the same thing is true for us. We are not saved because we do enough good things. We are saved by God's grace through faith.

But the faith that saves is never dead.

It has a pulse.

It moves.

It acts.

It produces fruit.

So don't settle for a faith that only lives in your head.

Don't settle for a faith that only comes out of your mouth.

Don't settle for a faith that says, “I believe,” but never asks, “What does God want me to do?”

Instead, pursue a faith that trusts God enough to obey Him.

Because real faith doesn't just believe something about God. Real faith trusts God enough to follow Him.

And when faith is alive, people can see it.

Not because we are trying to impress them.

Not because we are trying to earn God's favor.

But because the life of Christ is actually at work in us.

Faith is proven in action.

Listener Notes Faith Proven in Action

James 2:21–26

Faith does not earn salvation. Genuine faith reveals itself through obedience.

1. Faith Is More Than Something We Say

There is a difference between a preferred belief and an actual belief.

A preferred belief is something we say is important.

An actual belief is something that shapes what we do.

James challenges us to look beyond what we say we believe and examine how our faith is actually expressed in our lives.

Real faith eventually becomes visible.

2. Abraham Shows Us Faith That Obeys

Abraham's willingness to offer Isaac demonstrated that his faith was more than words.

His obedience did not purchase God's favor or earn his salvation.

Instead, his obedience made his faith visible.

“Faith was active together with his works, and by works, faith was made complete.” James 2:22

Faith grows and matures as we trust God enough to obey Him.

Faith acts on what it believes.

3. Rahab Shows Us Faith That Takes a Risk

Rahab believed what she had heard about the God of Israel.

But she didn't stop at believing.

She protected the spies and helped them escape, putting her own life at risk.

Abraham and Rahab were very different people, but their faith had something in common:

They trusted God enough to act.

4. Faith Is Proven When It Costs Us Something

Faith is easy to talk about when obedience is convenient.

Faith becomes visible when obedience costs us something.

Living faith may involve:

Forgiving someone who hurt us

Being generous when keeping would be easier

Serving when nobody notices

Telling the truth when lying would be easier

Loving someone who is difficult to love

Trusting God when we don't understand

Following God's direction when the outcome is uncertain

Faith isn't proven by what we say when obedience is easy. Faith is revealed by what we do when obedience is costly.

5. Faith Does Not Earn Salvation

James is not teaching that we earn salvation through good works.

We are saved by God's grace through faith.

Works are not the cause of salvation.

They are the evidence of living faith.

A living tree produces fruit. The fruit does not make the tree alive. The fruit shows that the tree is alive.

In the same way:

Works don't purchase salvation. They reveal the life that salvation has produced in us.

6. The Question Is Not Simply “Do I Have Faith?”

James asks us to examine what our faith is doing.

Is my faith changing me?

Is it affecting how I treat people?

Is it affecting how I use my time and money?

Is it affecting how I respond when I am hurt?

Is it affecting how I handle temptation?

Is it affecting how I serve?

Is it affecting what I am willing to surrender to God?

The question is not whether we have perfect obedience.

The question is whether our faith is alive.

Takeaway

Living faith moves.

Living faith obeys. Living faith serves. Living faith loves. Living faith takes God seriously enough to act on what He says.

Real faith doesn't just believe something about God. Real faith trusts God enough to follow Him.

Bibliography

Bibliography

Anderson, Kelly. “James.” In James, First, Second, and Third John. Edited by Peter S. Williamson and Mary Healy. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, 62. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2017.

Balz, Horst Robert, and Gerhard Schneider, eds. Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1990–.

Bauckham, Richard. “James.” In Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Edited by James D. G. Dunn and John W. Rogerson, 1482–1491. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003.

Cundall, Arthur E., E. M. Blaiklock, et al. Romans–Revelation. Vol. 4 of Daily Devotional Bible Commentary. Wheaton, IL: A. J. Holman Company, 1974.

Got Questions Ministries. Got Questions? Bible Questions Answered. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2002–2013.

Harner, Philip B. What Are They Saying about the Catholic Epistles? New York; Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2004.

Harris, Ralph W., ed. Hebrews–Jude. Vol. 12 of The Complete Biblical Library: Study Bible. World Library Press, 1989.

Ladd, George Eldon. A Theology of the New Testament. Edited by Donald A. Hagner. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1993.

Runge, Steven E. High Definition Commentary: James. High Definition Commentary Series. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015.

Samra, Jim. James, 1 & 2 Peter, and Jude. Teach the Text Commentary Series. Edited by Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2016.

White, Reginald E. O. “Sanctification.” In Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Edited by Daniel J. Treier and Walter A. Elwell. 3rd ed., 771. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2017.

Zackrison, Edwin, and Florence Young. Living in Anticipation of the End-Time: The Conflict between Good and Evil. Eugene, OR: Resource Publications, 2022.

4-Day Bible Study

Faith Proven in Action

A 4-Day Bible Study Through James 2:21–26

Day 1: Faith That Acts

Read: James 2:14–20

James has already established the problem: a person can claim to have faith while their life gives no evidence of it.

James even points out that demons believe that God is one. Their belief is accurate, but it produces no obedience.

Think about it:

What is the difference between knowing something about God and actually trusting God?

Why is intellectual agreement alone insufficient?

What areas of your Christian life are easiest to talk about but hardest to practice?

What would someone learn about your faith by watching your life for a week?

Prayer:

Ask God to reveal any areas where your faith has become merely words. Ask Him to transform your belief into active trust and obedience.

Day 2: Abraham's Faith

Read: James 2:21–24; Genesis 22:1–19

Abraham had already believed God's promise, and Genesis 15:6 tells us that his faith was credited to him as righteousness.

Years later, Abraham's faith was tested when God commanded him to offer Isaac.

His obedience did not earn his relationship with God. Instead, it demonstrated the reality of the faith he already possessed.

James says:

“Faith was active together with his works, and by works, faith was made complete.”

Think about it:

What did Abraham have to trust God with?

Why was Abraham's obedience such a powerful demonstration of faith?

What does it mean to trust God when you don't understand what He is doing?

Is there something you are currently struggling to place in God's hands?

Prayer:

Ask God for the faith to trust Him even when you cannot see how He will work things out.

Day 3: Rahab's Risk

Read: James 2:25; Joshua 2:1–21; Joshua 6:22–25

Rahab believed that the God of Israel was the true God.

But her faith did more than change what she believed.

It changed what she did.

Rahab protected the Israelite spies even though doing so put her own life at risk.

Her faith moved her to action.

Think about it:

What did Rahab believe about God?

How did her actions demonstrate that belief?

Why do you think James chose Rahab as an example alongside Abraham?

What might it look like for your faith to require courage or risk?

Is there an act of obedience you have been avoiding because it is uncomfortable?

Prayer:

Ask God for courage to obey Him when doing what is right is difficult, uncomfortable, or costly.

Day 4: Is Your Faith Alive?

Read: James 2:21–26; Ephesians 2:8–10; Galatians 5:6; 1 John 3:16–18

James does not teach that we earn salvation through our works.

Ephesians reminds us that salvation is God's gift of grace through faith.

But the same passage immediately says that believers are created in Christ Jesus for good works.

Works do not create saving faith.

They reveal living faith.

Paul describes this as:

“Faith working through love.”

And John challenges believers not to love merely “in word or speech, but in action and in truth.”

Think about it:

How do James and Paul complement rather than contradict one another?

What evidence of living faith can you see in your life?

Where does your faith need to move from words into action?

What is one specific act of obedience God may be calling you to this week?

Prayer:

Lord, thank You that salvation is a gift of Your grace. Help me never to treat good works as a way of earning Your love. Instead, let my obedience be the natural response of a heart that trusts You. Make my faith alive, active, and visible through love. Amen.

This Week's Challenge

Choose one specific way to put your faith into action this week.

Do something that demonstrates your trust in God and love for others.

Don't do it to earn God's favor.

Do it because you already belong to Him.

YouTube Description

Faith Proven in Action | James 2:21–26

What does genuine faith actually look like?

In James 2:21–26, James points us to two very different examples: Abraham and Rahab. Both believed God, and both demonstrated their faith through action. Their works did not earn their salvation. Their actions revealed that their faith was alive.

James challenges us to look beyond what we say we believe and ask a deeper question: What is our faith doing?

Living faith obeys. Living faith serves. Living faith loves. Living faith trusts God enough to act.

Join us as we explore what it means to have a faith that is proven in action.

Scripture: James 2:21–26 Series: Faith Works: Faith Under Pressure

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