James 2:14-26

Translation

14 What is the benefit, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have work? Is that faith able to save him? 15 If a brother or a sister is naked and lacking daily food 16 but someone says to him, “Go in peace, be warm and full,” but he does not give him that which is necessary for the body, what is the benefit? 17 And so faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works”; show me your faith without works and I will show you faith through my works. 19 You believe that God is one, you do well; also the demons believe and they shudder. 20 But do you wish to know, oh vain man, that faith without works is inactive? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified through works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith worked together with his works and through works faith was made perfect, 23 and what was said in Scripture was fulfilled, “but Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness” and he was called a friend of God. 24 You must see that through works a man is justified and not through faith only. 25 But likewise also was not Rahab the prostitute justified through works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? 26 For just as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

Outline of Passage

1. 14-17 What good is faith without works?
• 14. Is workless faith effective faith?
• 15-16 The brother in need
• A brother is seen to be in need
• The brother is wished well
• None of the needs are addressed
• This is a useless response, no working out of faith
• 17. Faith without works is dead
2. 18-26 Getting more specific: examples
• 18. Words of faith
• Show me your faith with your words
• I will show you my faith with my actions
• 19. Demons and faith
• You believe in one God
• Even demons believe in one God
• The demons are terrified by God
• 20-25 Demonstration from the Torah
• 21-23 Father Abraham
• 21. He was made righteous by faith in action
• 22. Faith and works together, faith made perfect by works
• 23. Abraham believed – faith completed in action.
• 24. Justified by works and not faith alone
• 25 Rahab the prostitute
• Protected the messengers of Israel
• Justified by her faith in action
• 26. Death through separation

Sermon Manuscript

A few weeks ago we looked at James 1:19-27 in which James talks about being more than just hearers of the word. Summarized in James 1:22: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” In our text this morning James approaches the issue from another angle: our claims of faith. We often let people know that we are Christians, claiming faith in Jesus Christ, but how often is our claim filled with real substance? Put another way, how often are we living out the things that we claim?

Let’s hear what God has to tell us through his servant James in James 2:14-26.

Pray

There was once a man who loved guns. This story will be hard for you to follow since we don’t know any people like that. This man had one gun in particular that he always carried with him. He said it was his favorite gun, that he was licensed to carry it, and that he always wanted to have it with him for protection. He claimed that he was ready: Just let someone come after him or his family, they would receive a swift and harsh response!

But there were some problems. For one, the man had never shot a gun. For all his years of collecting guns, he had yet to pull the trigger. If he were to be faced with a conflict he wouldn’t really know how to fire in order to defend himself.

The biggest problem was that he never carried ammunition with him. No one knew if he actually owned any or if all his guns were unloaded.

Not everyone knew about the problems. Some people were impressed by his big talk. Some thought, “That is the man I want to be with in a dark alley! He’d keep me safe!” Others knew the truth and they looked on him with contempt.

Had this man faced danger he might have looked a little intimidating with his guns and his claims, but an experienced adversary might not be easily fooled.

The story sounds a little ridiculous. Would such a man actually exist? Well, they probably do. And understanding that the story is a picture of what James is talking about, we know that such people certainly do exist.

Among Christians these are the people who claim faith in Christ but their faith is like an unloaded gun: it is empty, ineffective, and is unable to demonstrate any of the power of God.

James’ question is a valid and important question: what good IS faith that has no works? We have to be careful not to misunderstand James. It was passages like this that led Martin Luther to want to pull James from the canon of Scripture. But James is not contradicting the teaching that salvation is by grace alone through faith. Works cannot save a person. This passage is all about faith. It is faith that brings salvation, but James is concerned that we have true, saving faith.

Let’s take a moment to define faith.

Hebrews 11:1 tells us: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Faith is that assurance, that trust, that belief we have that the things promised are things that will come to pass. Faith is not based on testable evidence, it is not based on rules of logic and reason, and for these reasons modern scientific thinking has difficulty accepting the notion of faith.  Do not fault people who struggle with faith in this way – love them and guide them into the truth. Their struggle is understandable. Faith is not something that is easy to grasp, even if it is something that all people experience, whether they realize it or not.

So faith is the assurance of the unprovable. What is Christian faith? After all, we’re not interested in any vague notion of faith but faith as it relates to the Christian life.

For Christians, faith is trust in the promises of God as revealed through his Word, the Bible. We have faith that God is in control. We believe what the Bible says about our sinful state and separation from God. We believe that the Bible is true when it tells of Jesus coming to die for our sins. We have faith that Jesus has redeemed us of our sins and has given us a new life. 2Corinthians 5:7 tells us that we “walk by faith and not by sight.” We do not live for this world; we live for God and we work in the kingdom he has established. We do not build up treasures on earth but treasures in Heaven, having faith in 1 Corinthians 2:9 which tells us, “as it is written, ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him’”. These things come only by faith. Trust that God holds us now and God holds our future.

Faith should make one be willing to throw caution to the wind when God calls us to do something that seems crazy. There is a story from early Irish Christianity of monks who were sailing in the ocean. They had journeyed for several days when the wind suddenly died down. The order was given to extend the oars and the monks rowed, waiting for the wind to return. For a long time there was no wind and the men grew exhausted. Finally the head of the group called out to them, “God is our helper. He is our navigator and helmsman, and he shall guide us. Pull in the oars and the rudder. Spread the sail and let God do as he wishes with his servants and their boat.”[1] That is faith.

Faith can take on forms that seem much more mundane to us than the faith in this story. Helping those in need is living faith. James gives the example of one believer who sees another believer in need and wishes him well but does nothing to help him. He speaks with words of faith but his words are empty. Perhaps the man, though he has enough to live, is running low on supplies and he wants to be sure he doesn’t end up in the needy man’s position. Faith does not take such things into account.

Artesia, Mississippi is a place of farmers. Sandra and I spent a bit of time there a couple of summers ago, during one of their most severe droughts. I heard a story about a previous drought, severe enough that the lack of rain meant no hay had grown. No hay meant no food for the cattle. One cattle farmer had just about run out of hay and did not know what he would do. Another cattle farmer heard of his troubles and went to him, offering to share his hay when the man ran out. “But what will you do?” the man asked, “I know you don’t have a lot of hay yourself!” “Well,” the helping man responded, “then we’d better pray for rain or our cows will be hungry together.” That is faith.

Faith is more than just words. True faith is displayed in a life that lives out the claims. You say you believe in Jesus Christ and trust in him? Good! Show me. If you trust in Jesus then you will do what he says. If you trust him then you know that the life he lived is the best way for a person to live. One of peace with others. Helping those in need. Sharing the word of God with those around you – and always displaying God’s love in your life.

In verse 18 James mentions the difference between a person who talks about faith and the person who lives faith: the talker has nothing to back up what he claims. He can only spin a web of words, a web that is empty, shallow, useless, dead. Talk to me about faith all you want! While you are talking, I will show you faith by the way that I live. Trusting in the promises of God. Serving those around me. Even doing the things that might put my life in danger because I know that God holds my life in his hands. Does God hold your life? Yes! Then why do you hold on to it so tightly? Let go and show your faith to the world!

Faith without works is a dead thing. It is an unloaded gun in the middle of a war. Indeed, we are in the middle of a war and God has called for his people to live out their claims. Anyone can talk about their belief in God. Indeed, James reminds us in verse 19 that even the demons believe in God. They have even stronger belief than most Christians: no doubt, no wavering, no uncertainty at all. Before they turned away in rebellion they were in the presence of God in Heaven. Demons believe in God, and that belief causes them to tremble in fear. If all you do is talk about a belief that you have, you are no better than a demon who lives in ways contrary to what he knows.

In verses 21-25 James gives us some specific examples of living faith. The first story is from the life of Abraham found in Genesis 22, the second from Rahab the prostitute in Joshua 22.

God promised a son to Abraham. Through that son Abraham was to be the father of nations. Isaac was the promised son, born to Abraham when he was an old man. In Genesis 22 we read that Abraham was told to sacrifice his son. God was putting Abraham to the test. Would he have faith in God? Would he trust that God would fulfill his promise even if Isaac were to be sacrificed? This would mean raising Isaac from the dead. How much faith did Abraham have?

If Abraham were like most Christians today, he would have talked about the message from God. He would have spoken with great faith that he knew God could take care of him, that God would preserve the promise. With pious words he would have told others how God protected the promise. But if Abraham were like many Christians today, he would have disobeyed God, he would have stayed home, he would not have put his faith into action by sacrificing his son. His faith would have been shallow and useless, foul and sinful.

But Abraham was a man of faith, living faith. He knew that God would not break the promise so he journeyed to the mountain with his son and there made ready for the sacrifice. Only as the knife began to swing was he stopped by an angel who said he had passed the test, he had shown his faith. Because of his faith he was declared righteous. His faith was more than just words – it was words lived out in his work.

James does not teach salvation by works. He teaches salvation by faith alone. But he believes faith to be more than just a mental acknowledgement of certain truths. Faith is a commitment to God, trusting that he is who he says he is, he will do what he says he will do, and the one who trusts in God will call out with David who in Psalm 25:3-5 says, “No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse. Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”

Do you ask God to show you his ways? Do you seek the will of the Lord your God, the one you claim to trust? Will you follow him into the mouth of the dragon? Will you sit with Daniel in the den of lions? Will you stand in the furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Will you live out your faith in the 21st century by helping those in need, spreading the gospel, and committing your life to the will of God rather than the luxuries of the world?

James gives one more example: Rahab the prostitute. The men of Israel were scouting out the promised land, preparing to invade. Two spies go to Jericho and their presence is detected. They are protected by Rahab who helps them escape and deceives those who pursue them. Why would Rahab – a gentile who is not a part of the people of God, and one who makes a living doing something considered foul in the sight of the Lord! Why would she help these men? She had learned something about the God of Israel. She explains herself to the spies in Joshua 2:9-11: “I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.”

Don’t  you know that this is the same God you serve? The very one who led the people out of Egypt, who parted the Red Sea, who fought for his people in conquering the promised land? The Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below! Have done with dead faith. Cast off useless faith. Enough with empty words. Live out the things you claim to believe! Is your God indeed the creator of Heaven and Earth or are you really serving something weak and wilted, something you created in your own imagination? Serve the one true God, and trust in him.

James tells us that as the spirit is to the body, so works are to faith. If you remove from your body that essence which makes you you, there would be nothing left but a lump of flesh. Remove from faith the works that demonstrate the faith, and nothing is left but hot air. There is too much hot air in the church today.

Christian, what do you believe? Do you believe those things we mentioned earlier? Is that your confession? More importantly – is that your life? Are you living out your belief? The creed includes the affirmation that one day Jesus Christ will return and judge the world. 1 Thessalonians 5:2 tells us “For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” In the gospels Jesus himself spoke about his return. Hear his words in Matthew 24:36-44:

"But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Are you ready for that day? It is not so far off as you think. And the same one who will judge the world on that day already sees and knows how you live. He is not fooled by your words of faith. He knows your heart. He knows your actions. He knows you are afraid to trust him, but he is calling you to himself and urging you to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). Do not wait longer before you will live for him. Commit yourself to him now, and live out the things you claim to believe.

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[1] Calvin Miller, The Path of Celtic Prayer, p74.