IS YOUR FAITH ALIVE?

James 2:14–26 (NET)

Faith and Works Together

2:14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can this kind of faith save him? 2:15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacks daily food, 2:16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,” but you do not give them what the body needs, what good is it? 2:17 So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself. 2:18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by my works. 2:19 You believe that God is one; well and good. Even the demons believe that—and tremble with fear.

2:20 But would you like evidence, you empty fellow, that faith without works is useless? 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 2:22 You see that his faith was working together with his works and his faith was perfected by works. 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Now Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 2:24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 2:25 And similarly, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another way? 2:26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

This is our fourth sermon from James. We have talked about Do Not Nibble the Bait, Preparation for Engagement, Do Not Judge a Book by the Cover. Today we continue in the latter half of chapter two. This is a very familiar section of scripture which talks about faith and works. James gives us the saying of faith without works is dead. We will look into this a little deeper and perhaps from a different perspective. We are not talking about a generic type of faith, but a faith that will lead to eternal life in glory with the Creator.

We are referring to a faith that is deeper than believing whether or not a chair will hold you. A faith that must go beyond if someone is going to show up and do their part. We are talking about living out the faith we say we have in our Lord Jesus Christ, the son of the Creator. James challenges us to show what this faith really entails as we live it out. What this faith will cause us to do as visible evidence in our lives. So the topic for today is Is Your Faith Alive?

Are You Only Professing Your Faith?

It is not good enough to only profess your faith. As Christians, simply professing our faith is not enough to show that we are living out our faith. James states this in verses 14-17. 14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. How many of us have at one time or another turned away someone when we are in a position to fulfill the need? How many of use the phrase “I will pray for you” when prayer may not be what they need at the moment. See, this will should help us avoid writing verbal checks that we know our faith will not allow us to take to the bank. In other words, is what you are living out matching to what your mouth is professing? Do not allow your profession to turn you into a hypocrite. This also keeps us from boasting about our faith.

James is telling us that our faith alone is not enough. That it must be accompanied by works. But not just any type of work. This brings us to our second point.

Are Trying to Justify Your Faith?

I believe this is what James is trying to ask us in verses 18-20. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder. Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is barren? How can you show your faith without works? James is pointing out that even the demons believe and tremble at the name of Jesus, thus pointing back to our first point, profession alone is not enough. You cannot try to justify your faith by only doing works of the law. You cannot use your tithing if you are tithing outside of a willing heart. We have church attenders that will give a helping hand on special occasions. You even have people that do not attend church at all, but will help with a donation or physically when asked. Galatians 5:6 (NET) 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision carries any weight—the only thing that matters is faith working through love. We cannot justify our faith through works as the works are done with the wrong motive. We cannot justify our faith through works as works cannot lead to salvation. 2:11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. 2:12 It trains us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 2:13 as we wait for the happy fulfillment of our hope in the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 2:14 He gave himself for us to set us free from every kind of lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are truly his, who are eager to do good.(Titus 2:11-14, NET)

This takes us to our final point for today

Faith Leads to Works that are the Will of God

Here is the point the James is wanting us to fully understand. I seen this for the first time as I was studying this again. I hope you will gain a new revelation as well. I am not trying to get you to think like me, I just want you to think. Let us read verses 21-26 again. 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 2:22 You see that his faith was working together with his works and his faith was perfected by works. 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Now Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 2:24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 2:25 And similarly, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another way? 2:26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. (NET Bible)