Does Faith require Action?

Introduction

Tonight, we are going to be looking at a familiar text for many of you to see how our faith in Christ should move us towards action because we know that Christ’s perfect sacrifice is what saves us and because He is faithful walks with us even in the darkest of times.

The book of James was one of the last books to be included in the New Testament canon. There is a whole host of reasons as to why this happened. The actual author of the book is not clearly known although the vast majority of present church scholars believe it to be James, the brother of Jesus. Origen is the first church father to present this idea, though, and he did so in the 3rd century. Operating under the idea that the author of James is the brother of Jesus, that means that the epistle had to have been written before 62 AD because according to Josephus (Jewish historian) this was the year in which James was martyred. Some scholars believe that James was actually written even earlier – before 50 AD and the fall of Jerusalem – and that it was one of the first Christian documents because of the fact that it does not include the Jewish/Gentile controversy found in . If this were the case, it would mean that Paul was dependent upon James, not the other way around. Regardless of the date that you subscribe to, we do know that James was a letter written to Jewish Christians living in the diaspora (much like Hebrews). There is a tradition (a false one, at that) that James contradicted Paul regarding what saves a person. As we know, Paul advocated grace alone is what saves while we see that James says that faith requires works. At face value, these ideas seem to lie in direct opposition to one another, however upon further examination (as we will do tonight) we see that these ideas complement one another and should encourage us to live out our faith through the way in which we live our lives. With that in mind please turn in your Bible to James, chapter 2.

James 2:14–26 NASB95

14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. 18 But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” 19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

Inactive Faith is Useless Faith (14-17)

Imagine for a moment that your brother is on death row for a crime he did not commit. A faulty trial and poor decision by the judge led to this sentence. Your reaction would be justifiably mad. You, hearing the sentence at the court room, go out and begin to collect evidence for yourself. You spend weeks of your life trying to prove your brother’s innocence! Finally, you find something that the court overlooked, something of enough weight to merit a new trial. During this trial, your brother is found innocent – something you knew all along. See, if you have faith in someone, you stand up for them. If you have faith in something, you stand up for it. Regardless of the significance of the person or item that you have faith in, your actions will reflect the faith. In the case above, the very life of a man was at stake. In the case below, the eternal state of the world is at stake. See, if Jesus was on trial how far would we go to prove to the world around us that He truly is who He said He was?

Ask congregation if the world would have enough evidence to label them as a “Christian”

Can Faith without Action Save?

James opens this passage by asking a simple question, can faith without works save? This question, as mentioned above, seems to sound odd to our ear because we are familiar with Paul’s statement in where he states that faith alone is what saves. An important distinction to make here is that James and Paul are not talking about the same thing here. In , Paul talks about works of the law being unable to save a man. James saying that deeds of faith are necessary for salvation is not contradicting Paul because these works are not the saving agent! Paul speaks of circumcision of the flesh (obeying the laws of Moses), a completely different type of “work” than what James is talking about in chapter 2. Think of it like this, Paul speaks of works done according to the law before one’s acceptance of the gospel whereas James is speaking of works done in obedience to the gospel! If we look ahead to verse 15 and 16, we see that to James demonstrating our faith through acts of mercy is how we reveal our faith to the world. Think of the vertical/horizontal spiritual image. We have a relationship with God (vertical) and with those around us (horizontal). What James shows in these opening 3 verses is that a “faith” that has no horizontal existence is not a saving faith. A true faith in God (vertical) results in deeds of mercy. James’ argument in these verses boils down to this: Faith without works is good for no one! Deeds/works demonstrate the validity of faith – without them our claim is empty because the needy do not receive help.

Often times whenever we give gifts to people we do so because of a relation to the person or a friendship. Other times we do this because we know in the back of our mind that this person will give us something in return. It was common in Roman society for poor people to give gifts to the rich in order that the rich person might accept and reciprocate a gift for the poor person (wealth had to flow up before it flowed down). James cuts against that idea by showing how those who are blessed should help those in need not because the needy person will help them but because it is what Christ calls us to do. How hollow are nice words without being backed up with righteous action? A word of blessing without an act of blessing is like the promise for salvation without the saving act of God. We have received grace from God and should readily give that same grace/mercy to others, especially those in need within and outside our congregation! Would you help Jesus out if He were without clothing or food? Of course you would! Why would we not do the same for those in need today? The Glory of God should be visible in our lives instead of being brought into question because of our inaction.

James seems to challenge all believers to help their poor neighbors out, not just the rich or “well-off” individuals. Our church does so many wonderful things to help out those in need in our community! This is a dose of encouragement! We do things like “Day of Giving” to help meet the daily needs of people in our community. We help out with “Operation Christmas Child” to help less fortunate families have presents for Christmas. We do many other ministries to help our community out, and this is great, however this call from James extends beyond the corporate level and extends to the individual one. How well do we help those people around us? Not just materially or with clothing and food. How do we offer Biblical counsel/wisdom to our friends caught in the midst of a storm? How are we meeting the material and spiritual needs of those in our lives? Do we merely tell them where we attend church and our faith in Jesus Christ and leave it at that? I pray that is not the case and that our conversations with individuals in need would extend beyond Biblical profession and enter into meeting a need.

Faith without Deeds is Dead

In verse 17, James comes back to his original question asked in verse 14 and answers it.

Just as a word of blessing without an act of blessing amounts to nothing, faith without action is dead. Profession of faith by itself, apart from merciful action is dead. Faith that does not contain within it the will or desire to act is dead. In the Greek text the word for dead is “νεκρα” which means “lifeless” or “useless”. Self-centeredness rather than Christ-centeredness is at the heart of this issue – to James. To have faith and to say that we have faith are two separate entities. To simply believe that the profession of our faith saves us is to accept a cheapened gospel. A dead body is just as useful as a dead faith.

What is True Faith? (18-19)

Can Lifeless Faith Save?

James uses an “interlocutor” to pose a question here (an imaginary person) similar to

what we see Paul do often in his letters (especially Romans). Christians cannot be divided into 2 camps: “Doers” and “Hearers”. We are called to be “Doers” of the Word! By doing/acting on the Word of God, we reveal our faith. By horizontal actions, meeting the needs of needy people, we reveal a true faith. A lifeless faith cannot be shown to be alive just as a lifeless person cannot be shown to be living! The claim of faith is empty when there is no action and no proof of faith is available. You cannot say that you have faith by doing so without works – to James. Now, this might bring you to question of the authenticity of one’s works. DON’T! We are called to live out what we say to believe and that is how we provide proof of our faith. Just because someone does something a little different than we do does not mean that they are completely different – just as Paul paints in Romans, we all are a part of the body of Christ and we all play a different role in advancing the Gospel. Rather than looking at a brother or sister with skepticism, examine if your own faith is acting lifeless or if you are producing deeds of mercy to the needy. To James, a faith that is completely built upon verbal profession is lifeless and useless.

Is Knowledge Saving Faith?

Just as lifeless faith is not saving faith, intellectual assent is good but it too does not save!

Notice, James says “Well done” after saying this in verse 19, however only those who keep the Commandment of Jesus (verse 8) are truly doing well. “Love your neighbor as yourself”. Merely believing that God is one (Jews believed in the “Shema” from ) does no one good. The profession is as good as far as it goes (it is truthful) however it doesn’t go far at all! James furthers this point by stating that even the demons have a monotheistic faith yet they are certainly not saved. Many people believe something truthful about God (being the creator of the universe) or Jesus (dying on the cross) and this is good! However mere Bible facts do not lead to eternal life. You can have so much head knowledge about God and still go to hell on a full ride Bible scholarship if Christ isn’t Lord of your Life!

Justification of Faith: Works (20-26)

Faith with deeds

As if James’s Demonic faith example weren’t enough, he comes back with some positive

examples that his Jewish audience would have understood. In the Greek text, James calls this foolish person in verse 20 an “insane fellow”. Insanity means doing the same thing over and over yet expecting different results. How often do we find ourselves in a situation where we have an opportunity to make known the works of the Lord, yet we pass it up in order to feel comfortable and then feel a deep sense of guilt and ask God for another opportunity over and over again? James seems to make the point that this insanity is traced to the character of the person. To lack understanding is to act foolishly. If we lack wisdom for a situation, says to simply ask God for His gift of wisdom! The believer who wrongly believes about the nature of faith is foolish because he ignores or twists the truth that God has made known. To James, the very foundation of faith was at stake because favoritism and inaction had such destructive ramifications to the church in James’ day… It unfortunately still has destructive ramifications to the church today. To ignore those with needs is to lessen the gospel and ignores Christ’s commandment to love others as ourselves. To claim to have faith but to have no works of mercy evident in your life, regardless of the amount of knowledge you possess, is to be unavailable of eternal life. Even though you are alive, you are in fact dead.

To Paul, the purpose of faith is justification in his legal argument and works aren’t nor could they ever be the saving agent itself. James sees works as useful because they reveal your faith. Faith is trust in God alone, but must be whole hearted and produce good deeds based on the mercy you have received first from God. Faith is always active! You either do good deeds that are in agreement with God or you produce evil deeds that contradict him and promote self-centeredness. James now brings up examples of the Christian faith to boost his claim that a saving faith requires deeds that reflect one’s faith.

Abraham is the Father to the Jews as we all know from , however as Paul claims in , he is also the Father to gentiles as gentile Christians like you and I are grafted into the seed of Abraham. God regarded Abraham as righteous (δικαιοω in the Greek) for offering up Isaac. He endured a trial of extraordinary proportions and we are never told explicitly why God told him to do this. In Hebrews’ “Hall of Faith” passage () we see in verses 17-19 a similar accounting of righteousness to Abraham’s account. This event is similar to James’ theme of persevering through difficult times (). Difficult times/trials are not bad but rather serve as proof that we are true sons/daughters of God. In verse 22, James emphasizes in Abraham that without action, faith cannot be complete. This is because of 2 things: Without action, there is no perseverance and perseverance proves the genuineness of faith (proves a true relationship). Just as we saw in Hebrews a couple of months ago, there is a distinction between justification and sanctification. We are perfect in the eyes of God from a legal sense because the blood of Jesus credits our accounts as righteous, however we are progressively made more like Christ (sanctification). James views this process of being justified as us revealing works that reveal our inner change of status. In other words, you reveal that you are saved by performing acts of mercy based upon the mercy that God has given to you. Abraham exhibited a “working faith” and God imputed righteousness on his account.

If we look at how Paul viewed Abraham in , we see that he says “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the Father of many nations.” James looks at Abraham as how saving faith operates, Paul looks at Abraham as how God forgives sinners. Abraham became known as a “Friend of God” – How awesome is this? He is no longer an enemy of God but is considered a friend of God. Just as Abraham was once an enemy of God, so were we. We were an opponent of God and dead in our sin. We were not just bad, but we were dead but now we are made friends of God just like Abraham.

We are not just bad before a holy God, we are dead before Christ makes us alive!

The claim of faith requires demonstration in action. Paul looks at faith as a life changing outcome that changes the account of the person (justification), James looks at faith and merely adds that the person’s faith must be accompanied by works of mercy which brings in the process of sanctification – being conformed to the image of God. We must be careful whenever we look at the blessing of Abraham to not merely boast in his faith or our standing of being grafted into his seed, but rather to believe as he did!

Verse 25 should be a reason to rejoice among Christians around the world. None of us will be known as the “Father of many nations” or be promised “descendants as numerous as grains of sand on the beach” as Abraham was. We can, however, relate with the background of Rahab. Your English translation says that she was a prostitute, and she very well could have been, however the Hebrew word used to describe her occupation is “zonah” which also referred to an inn-keeper. Because the Israelite spies entered into her home, it is likely that she was an inn-keeper and this helped hide the spies from local authorities because their identities were protected as guests of Rahab. Either way, she had nothing to gain by helping the spies in Jericho however she did and she was credited with righteousness. She wasn’t the leader of a nation like Abraham nor did she possess great wealth and a high status. At worst she was at the very bottom of society and at best she was a normal, everyday citizen. We can relate with her status and we see how God uses 2 non-Jews (Abraham – Chaldean and Rahab – Canaanite) and credits their accounts as righteous. James uses them as exemplars to our faith. God can use anyone at anytime and save even the worst of sinners to further His Kingdom… He can even use you! Regardless of your past, your flaws, your shortcomings or your mistakes, God can use you and He has a purpose for your life. Does that mean that your life is magically perfect and you are successful and “prosper” without suffering? Of course, no! But as a follower of Christ, we are called to something higher than ourselves. We get to play a role in the advancement of the Kingdom of God.

Faith without deeds

James wraps up this passage with the use of the Greek word “πνυεμα” regarding the

“spirit”. This is a substance that animates the body. The ancient world believed in a correlation between the two and you couldn’t have a living body without the spirit. Works do not justify the believer in God’s sight! Works, rather demonstrate the genuineness of faith to others inside and outside the church. Their faith is “useful” as God intended it to be! The spirit and the body are in one accord. This is contrasted with a body and spirit being separated and death being the outcome. God showed mercy to us by action, we, therefore, demonstrate the mercy of God to others by doing the same.

To answer the question, “What does it mean to have dead faith”? Firstly, the very best works, without faith in God, are dead. Only through faith can we do “good”. Secondly, if deeds of faith are absent, one’s faith is most likely not genuine because the evidence of their lives supports this claim. The reality might be otherwise – we all go through bouts of double-mindedness and slothfulness/laziness, however these must be corrected according to James. Self-deception is a cancer to the person and to the church body at large because we fail to live our a life of faith and give mercy to the needy. To James, faith without deeds is like a dead body… But we have been made alive with Christ! Christ should permeate our actions daily. We, therefore, should exhibit deeds of faith not to attain salvation or justification or to gain extra benefits but rather to avoid distorting the very Word of God and not aiding those who are needy in our very congregations!

Conclusion

Where does this message leave us? In a world and society that promotes independency and doing things our own way and building our own fame, James’ message of showing mercy to the needy represents a stark contrast. The difference is this though: Even atheists can see a hungry person and provide them with food, however what they cannot do is provide them with temporary and eternal nourishment. The take away for a body of believers from is that we cannot claim to be followers of Christ whenever we see a need and either ignore it or merely offer a word of blessing without an action of blessing. When we do this, we are no different than the Priest and Levite was to the man in the parable of the Good Samaritan in . Rather, we are called to let our actions reveal our faith in God.

Whenever we claim to believe in a God of mercy and we fail to show mercy in our actions to those around us, how are we reflecting the mercy that we have received from Christ? As John Piper puts it, “The faith which alone justifies is never alone, but always bearing transforming fruit.”. We are called to be a people of action and to share the grace and mercy that we have already received with a world in desperate need of it. Second, acts of mercy should extend outside our church body. It is easy to love those who you are close to and with whom you have a good relationship with. It can be difficult, though, to show grace and mercy to someone who you do not know or someone who has wronged you. James’ call is to show the same mercy that you received to all you come in contact with, both inside and outside the local church. Remember, you were not just lost or “bad”, you were DEAD before Christ made you alive. As born again believers, doctrine is important. We can discuss soteriology and eschatology until the cows come home and debate the arguments of imputed righteousness and substitutionary atonement, however if we do so while not showing compassion to the needy then we are no different than the Pharisees. What matters is circumcision of the heart, not the flesh (or head knowledge) as Paul shows in . Finally, don’t stop your spiritual journey after coming to the understanding of your need for Christ. Aren’t you glad that Christ saved you from the punishment of your sins before a Holy God? Think for a moment, though, if that’s where we stopped in our spiritual journey. Scripture (primarily Paul) speaks of an “already/not yet” kingdom where believers are saved and filled with the Holy Spirit and we experience a glimpse of our future glory that will be fully manifested with the second coming of Christ. We are filled with the Holy Spirit for a reason. We are not called to be silent or to merely speak of our inward change, but we are to allow the Spirit to work through our entire lives and reveal an inward transformation. Often we think of what Christ has saved us from (hell) but we don’t focus so much on what He has saved us for, the make known the glory of Yahweh, God. Christ can save anyone, at any time and He can use even the worst of sinners like you and I to reveal His glory. Don’t stop your walk with Christ after a profession of faith or coming to understand your need for Christ. It’s hard work and you will experience suffering/persecution for it, but we are called to make known the works of the Lord not just in our profession but in the way that we live our lives day to day. Our faith is a laborious one, however there is no greater call than to live as Christ and to share His grace and mercy with those whom the world has deemed worthless or unnecessary. Faith is the root, good works are the fruits, and we must see to it that we have both. We must not think that either, without the other, will justify and save us. This is the grace of God where we stand, others should see a changed person when they see us because we were dead, but now Christ lives through us. Let that be our call to action this week, to live as Christ.

Let our actions reveal our faith in God

Acts of mercy should extend outside our church body

Don’t stop your spiritual journey after coming to the understanding of your need for Christ

We often think of what Christ has saved us from (hell) rather than what He has saved us for (to make known the works of the Lord)

Whenever we claim to believe in a God of mercy and we fail to show mercy in our actions to those around us, how are we reflecting the mercy that we have received from Christ?

As John Piper puts it, “The faith which alone justifies is never alone, but always bearing transforming fruit.”.

We are called to be a people of action and to share the grace and mercy that we have already received with a world in desperate need of it. Second, acts of mercy should extend outside our church body. It is easy to love those who you are close to and with whom you have a good relationship with. It can be difficult, though, to show grace and mercy to someone who you do not know or someone who has wronged you. James’ call is to show the same mercy that you received to all you come in contact with, both inside and outside the local church. Remember, you were not just lost or “bad”, you were DEAD before Christ made you alive. As born again believers, doctrine is important. We can discuss soteriology and eschatology until the cows come home and debate the arguments of imputed righteousness and substitutionary atonement, however if we do so while not showing compassion to the needy then we are no different than the Pharisees. What matters is circumcision of the heart, not the flesh (or head knowledge) as Paul shows in . Finally, don’t stop your spiritual journey after coming to the understanding of your need for Christ. Aren’t you glad that Christ saved you from the punishment of your sins before a Holy God? Think for a moment, though, if that’s where we stopped in our spiritual journey. Scripture (primarily Paul) speaks of an “already/not yet” kingdom where believers are saved and filled with the Holy Spirit and we experience a glimpse of our future glory that will be fully manifested with the second coming of Christ. We are filled with the Holy Spirit for a reason. We are not called to be silent or to merely speak of our inward change, but we are to allow the Spirit to work through our entire lives and reveal an inward transformation. Often we think of what Christ has saved us from (hell) but we don’t focus so much on what He has saved us for, the make known the glory of Yahweh, God. Christ can save anyone, at any time and He can use even the worst of sinners like you and I to reveal His glory. Don’t stop your walk with Christ after a profession of faith or coming to understand your need for Christ. It’s hard work and you will experience suffering/persecution for it, but we are called to make known the works of the Lord not just in our profession but in the way that we live our lives day to day. Our faith is a laborious one, however there is no greater call than to live as Christ and to share His grace and mercy with those whom the world has deemed worthless or unnecessary. Faith is the root, good works are the fruits, and we must see to it that we have both. We must not think that either, without the other, will justify and save us. This is the grace of God where we stand, others should see a changed person when they see us because we were dead, but now Christ lives through us. Let that be our call to action this week, to live as Christ.