Living with Works
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Turn with me in your Bibles to James 2. James wrote this letter to the scattered believers throughout the Roman empire. Today we’ll look at one of the most important passages in the book. Stand with me as we read James 2:14-26 together this morning.
This is God’s Word, and if you let it, it will change your life.
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
17 So also 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 apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?
22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works;
23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.
24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
Pray
When we started this series in James, we looked at the entire first chapter and saw that James is preoccupied with a faith that works. I established the theme of the letter: that faith is not faith until it is actively obedient to God’s commands. He’s already set the parameters of what proper faith looks like:
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.
24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.
25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
Now, we’ll zero in on this major theme of an active faith. James focuses our attention in today’s passage with two questions:
What Good Is Faith without Works?
What Good Is Faith without Works?
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
You might even ask this question a little differently: “What is the advantage of having faith without works?” In other words, what do you gain by having faith but not having any works to go with that faith? Then, as if that wasn’t enough to ponder, he posits another question:
Can Faith without Works Save?
Can Faith without Works Save?
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
The way that James asks this question is strange in English. It’s a tough translation. Some, like the ESV here, asked whether faith without works can save this person. The LEB, however, puts a different spin:
14 What is the benefit, my brothers, if someone says that he has faith but does not have works? That faith is not able to save him, is it?
James here uses a particular word that leaves the question lingering. In fact, James doesn’t answer this question directly at all. So before we answer it, let’s look at what he does say about the first question: what good is faith without works?
What Good Is Faith without Works?
What Good Is Faith without Works?
James begins to answer the question with a real-life scenario (and possibly some actual situations he was looking to address among these communities of believers):
Example: The Needy and the Unemployed
Example: The Needy and the Unemployed
15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
What is going on here? This is a hypothetical situation, but the truth is clear: the needy are not helped merely by our good intentions. Good intentions may have the right heart, but without actually addressing someone’s need, they are useless. They do nothing to help those in need. It takes actual effort to help the needy. That’s James’ conclusion, too.
17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Answer: Faith without Works is Dead
Answer: Faith without Works is Dead
So that’s it, right? Okay, now we just need to sing the invitation and go home...
No. Because people don’t run out of excuses just because of a good argument. So we have the question and answer, then we have the objection:
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
In other words:
Objection: Faith Is My Thing, Works Are Your Thing
Objection: Faith Is My Thing, Works Are Your Thing
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
The objection basically accuses James of not recognizing “their role.” Everybody has a part to play, they say, and my part is the faith part. I believe in Jesus. I come to church. I pay the tithes, and maybe even give extra. That’s my role. Your job is to do the works - to care for the needy, to feed me when I come to the service, to preach Jesus out there while I “support” you. It is the sin of passivity. God has not granted any of us the right to remain passive while the ministry is carried out by some elite group of spiritual forces. No, works are not optional for the church, whether you have the title of “minister” or not. And James gives us four examples to show that “it’s not my job” is a false objection:
Example 1: James
Example 1: James
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
James says this objection that “I do faith, you do works” doesn’t work because works are the means to demonstrate faith. How can you show your faith without employing it? You can’t! You must have works, so James says “Go ahead and try to show me your faith without works, but meanwhile I’ll show you the faith I have by the works I do. Then he moves on to another example. You might expect him to go to the hall of fame when it comes to faith…he will, but first he gives an unlikely example of faith:
Example 2: Demons
Example 2: Demons
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
Now I admit: using demons as an example of faith is not exactly typical. I don’t think I could get away with preaching very often phrases like “we need to be more like demons!” But notice the example we see: they believe (that’s faith), and even demons have enough faith to act on that belief (they tremble!). Granted, it’s not enough faith to actually save them, but even the little they have is enough to work out in fear.
Maybe somebody wasn’t convinced with these two examples.
20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
Do you need any more proof? How about those heroes of the faith:
Example 3: Abraham
Example 3: Abraham
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?
22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works;
23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.
So Abraham believed God first (Genesis 15:6), and it was credited to him as righteousness. Then, he fulfilled that credit by offering Isaac on the alter (cf. Genesis 22:9ff.) James is making the point that faith is completed by works. Our works prove our faith. So he says:
24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
And Abraham isn’t the only example of a hero of the faith:
Example 4: Rahab
Example 4: Rahab
25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
Yep, even a foreign prostitute grafted into the Messianic line has a faith proven by her works.
Conclusion: Faith without Works Is Dead!
Conclusion: Faith without Works Is Dead!
Blah
But there’s still a loose end: I said at the beginning that James asked two questions - everything he has said has directly only answered the first question - “what good is faith without works?”. Remember, though, the second question:
Can Faith without Works Save?
Can Faith without Works Save?
James didn’t directly answer this question, but we can definitively provide the right response. Let’s consider the evidence:
You can’t help the needy with only good intentions - it takes works to help those in need.
You can’t demonstrate faith without works - you must demonstrate faith by works.
Even demons demonstrate enough faith to fear, and that’s not enough to save them!
Abraham and Rahab were justified (proven faithful) by their actions, and not solely by their faith.
Faith without works is dead.
Answer: No
Answer: No
So what kind of faith does save? The faith that works. A faith that works is a faith that does the will of God - that surrenders my will to his, that puts full confidence in Christ’s righteousness and none in my filthy rags, that confesses my sins before a holy, just, merciful God. That kind of faith will bear fruit - it is not only able to save, it is absolutely guaranteed to save.
Do you have a faith that works like that?
Transition to Invitation