The Letter of James - 2:21-26

Overview

Last week we covered 2:14-20 where James asks the question, "What good is it if you say you have faith but don't show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?"

He then goes into a hypothetical, to better drive home his point; Unless faith produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

James unpacks this idea of an intellectual faith versus a living faith. True faith will produce.

Don’t miss the meaning behind James statement in vs 17

James 2:17 NLT

17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

He’s not saying that deeds or action without faith produces.

Faith without action is as useless as action without faith.

Even the demons believe there is one God. And get this, the tremble in terror! If your faith doesn't produce, you're no better off then the demons who believe in the one true God.

Authentic faith is "belief in action."

(NLT)

19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. 20 How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?

James 2:19–26 NLT

19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. 20 How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless? 21 Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. 23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. 24 So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone. 25 Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. 26 Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.

21 Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. 23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. 24 So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.

25 Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. 26 Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works

Abraham

Abraham, the father of the nation of Israel. You really can't get much better than that. Well, except Moses, maybe.

Faith without good deeds is useless. I'll prove it. Remember Abraham? Well, he was counted righteous because of what he did. James gives some examples of faith that works.

James original readers were very familiar with this story.

Genesis 22:1–14 NLT

1 Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.” 2 “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” 3 The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.” 6 So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, 7 Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” 8 “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together. 9 When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. 11 At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” 12 “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” 13 Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

God promised Abraham that he was going to be the father of a great nation. Only problem, Abraham was old. Really old. And his wife was too. But Abraham believed God. Finally, Sarah was pregnant and gave birth to a son whom they named Isaac. This was the son that the promised nation would come.

As Isaac is getting older, late teens, early twenties, God tests Abraham's faith. He told him to sacrifice his son, Isaac. They get up early the next morning, gather all of the supplies for the sacrifice and take a 3-day journey. They arrive at the foot of the mountain God told Abraham about, Isaac decides to speak about the elephant in the room.

Genesis 22:7–8 NLT

7 Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” 8 “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.

I don't know about you, but I'm not sure that would be a good enough explanation for me to continue up the mountain if I were Isaac.

They arrive and build an altar. Abraham tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood, picked up the knife to sacrifice his son. Abraham passed the test!

The LORD provided a ram for the sacrifice and Isaac was not harmed.

What was Abraham thinking? He receives two contradictory statements.

Isaac is the son that will become a great nation through whom all nations will be blessed.

Take Isaac to this mountain and sacrifice him.

God, do you realize that only one of these statements can become true? It would be very easy to believe one and reject the other. But Abraham believed both!

Hebrews 11:17–19 NLT

17 It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, 18 even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” 19 Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.

Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice by faith alone, without actions. No. Abrahams actions completed his faith. Faith and actions work together.

James 2:21–23 NLT

21 Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. 23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God.

Did God count Abraham righteous because of his actions or faith? His faith.

Genesis 15:6 NLT

6 And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.

Abraham believed the Lord and righteousness was credited to him a full seven chapters earlier. That's some 35 years before he proved his faith in when he sacrificed his son.

Faith is the ultimate cause of Abraham's actions. I believe that the point James is making is that Abraham's faith was much deeper than a cognitive belief. Not that his faith produced his work, rather his faith and works cooperated together.

James 2:22–24 NLT

22 You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. 23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. 24 So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.

Woh James. Wait a minute. We're shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone? Did he not read Pauls letter to the Romans?

Romans 3:27–28 NLT

27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.

Romans 4:1–3 NLT

1 Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? 2 If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way. 3 For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”

Romans 4:5 NLT

5 But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners.

Romans 5:1–2 NLT

1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

Here is the critical difference between Paul's doctrinal stance and that of James. One is relating to salvation while the other is relating to righteousness.

While Paul is claiming entrance into the Kingdom is solely dependent on faith in Jesus and not obedience of the Jewish Law, James is declaring true faith in Jesus will be evident from our acts of service to God, with a focus on works of charity.

James was not saying that Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son was the means by which he secured salvation. He's saying his willingness revealed obedience that he truly had faith.

Luke 7:35 NLT

35 But wisdom is shown to be right by the lives of those who follow it.”

Wisdom's value is confirmed in the actions that come from it.

"James would be claiming that Abraham was “shown to be right” by his actions: his prior acceptance by God (), the “righteousness” that he had already attained by faith, was demonstrated in his deeds of obedience.

Genesis 15:6 NLT

6 And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.

Douglas J. Moo, The Letter of James, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2000), 135."

James 2:25 NLT

25 Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road.

James' examples went from a patriarch to a prostitute. He's covering the whole scale here.

Rahab, the prostitute.

How would you like that title? She's probably thinking, "That was so long ago. Why can't you refer to me as Rehab, the one who hid Joshua's spies in Jerico and helped them get away?"

Believe it or not, there's a reason she's referred to as Rahab, the prostitute not just because she was a prostitute.

It's believed that Joshua's spies went to a prostitutes house because it wouldn't be that out of place to have random guys stop by for the night. Their spies, they don't want to gain the attention of the king's men and incite suspicion.

Either way, their plan didn't work. The king got word that spies had come to his city and he sent orders to have them brought out.

Joshua 2:4–7 NLT

4 Rahab had hidden the two men, but she replied, “Yes, the men were here earlier, but I didn’t know where they were from. 5 They left the town at dusk, as the gates were about to close. I don’t know where they went. If you hurry, you can probably catch up with them.” 6 (Actually, she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them beneath bundles of flax she had laid out.) 7 So the king’s men went looking for the spies along the road leading to the shallow crossings of the Jordan River. And as soon as the king’s men had left, the gate of Jericho was shut.

Rahab went up on the roof to talk with them.

Joshua 2:9–12 NLT

9 “I know the Lord has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. 10 For we have heard how the Lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed. 11 No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below. 12 “Now swear to me by the Lord that you will be kind to me and my family since I have helped you. Give me some guarantee that

Rahab had faith before the spies showed up at her door. It was that faith that motivated her to do what she did.

Abraham & Rahab are extreme opposites in light of their background. But both proved their faith in God through their actions.

Abraham's faith prompted obedience. Rahab's faith produced action.

Rahab's faith produced action.

Neither Abraham or Rahab secured salvation by their actions, that happened by faith, trusting in God. Their actions proved their faith was real. Their actions are an expression of their faith.

Doing vs Being

It doesn't matter what you say; if you don't act, your faith is dead.

It sometimes seems this whole idea is difficult to understand. Faith alone. Faith plus works. What is it?

What it really boils down to is this, it’s the idea of doing vs being.

Faith without action is only believing.

Action without faith is only doing.

Faith accompanied by action is being.

If only the Church at large could fully grasp this idea. If we would not focus so much on the doing part of the action, but focus on the being part of action. Instead of do, be. Instead of believe and do, believe and be.

I believe that this is

Instead of believe and do, believe and be.

Authentic faith leads to action. Not an action of doing but an action of being.

If you ever question your salvation. If you question if you're in the faith or not. Observe your actions to see if they demonstrate the faith that you claim to have.

Remember that deeds demonstrate the validity of a person’s profession of faith.

I want to close with two passages from Paul.

Romans 6:15–23 NLT

15 Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living. 19 Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. 21 And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. 22 But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

We are not saved by our actions, but our actions should prove that we are saved.

Galatians 2:20 NLT

20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

If Christ lives in you, your actions should reflect his presence.