Faith Without Works Is Dead

The Prophet Isaiah reminds us Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”

Prayer:

Be Thou My Vision: A Liturgy for Daily Worship Day 9

Blessed Lord, you have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning—grant us that we may in such a way hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them; that by patience and comfort of your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Book of Common Prayer (1552)

Vegan Story

What does a real faith look like? How do you know it is genuine. Let me ask you a question. Let’s say the next time you talk with your best friend here in town they being to tell you in an excited buzz about a new health kick they have been on. Recently they have become a vegan and enthralled with how amazing of a lifestyle this is. They cannot believe all the injustices done to animals and they have become fed up and disgusted with the whole animal byproduct industry. They go on and on about the health benefits of changing your diet, how your gut will be healed almost over night, and that this kind of lifestyle will make you live 10 years longer! Wow you think to yourself, that sounds like a pretty sweet deal!What is weird though is that when you go out to lunch with them a few days later, they order a chicken sandwich. You wait until the waiter leaves and ask why they did that after they just told you all about being a Vegan and they tell you that this was their last day eating meat and then they swear they are off of the stuff. Perplexed you let is slide and move on. Yet you see them begin posting all over social media about veganism and how everyone should become one but every time you get together with them, they keep eating meat. You are deeply disturbed by this and a little put off because they are not only telling you about it but they are trying to convert everyone to Veganism but they won’t live it out themselves. you may think that they don’t actually believe in being a vegan. It might sound nice, they might even be able to write a book on how to be a vegan, but they don’t actually believe in it. This is the kind of life that James is describing here as someone who says they have faith but does not have works.

Context

James wrote this letter to a group of twelve house churches in the Dispersion, or the area just outside of the city of Jerusalem in about the year 40 AD. These churches were filled with Jewish Christians who were struggling with trails of various kinds as we see in chapter 1 verse 2, namely: poverty and oppressed condition. James is writing a general letter, not written to anyone specifically but, to this group of Christians in general to give them practical wisdom for living out their faith, which as we see following in verse 5, God gives generously to all without reproach. Where we come today in out text is James expounding the idea of true religion, and he begs the question: what does real faith look like? How are we to live our lives as exiles from Eden waiting the return of Jesus. Well, James describes three main points to help us 1) Faith by itself is dead 2) Right theology isn’t enough 3) Faith produces works in our lives. Again that is 1) Faith by itself is dead 2) Right theology isn’t enough 3) Faith produces works in our lives.

Main Point

James main point of his this section of his letter is James 2:24 “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” He is going to build up to this idea and then expand this idea further by giving us some examples. Now you might be saying to yourself, there you see! The Bible is full of contradictions, James is saying a person is justified by by works and not by faith alone but Paul in Romans 4 says that we are justified by faith alone and not by works? You have a keen eye to notice that, but to truly see something you need to be looking with both eyes and that is just what James and Paul are doing. James is looking at this from a different angle than Paul. You see we have a historical fact that both James and Paul were present at the Council of Jerusalem we read about in Acts 15. They were both contributing members of the conversation which spoke of the unbelievably good news that Gentiles are now welcome into God’s family. So how can James say that we are justified by work and not by faith alone? He himself said that we are justified by faith alone earlier in his life. Well, James is trying to get our attention. He is trying to communicate to his readers something about the faith they say that they have.

What Good Is It?

Starting with verse 14, James begins to exhort the community by further developing the theme that hearing must lead to doing. He starts off with the rhetorical question, what good is it if someone says that he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? Now again this is a rhetorical question so the implied answer to this is no, it cannot. James then goes on to give us one example of what that could look like. He says in verse 15 " If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,  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? The is now the second time he has asked this question so your Bible ears should perk up! Repetition in the Scriptures are vitally important for communicating something important. Now, one way to think of what James is talking about here is passing by the poor or homeless outside of the church, for example someone you might see holding up a sign as you are driving by I-70 , but look closely at what he is saying here. He says if you see a brother or sister who is poorly clothed. He is saying here that if you see someone in your own church who is lacking the basic necessities of life and all you give them is trite spiritual platitudes then what good is that? These are fellow members of the promise God made with those who trust in him, whom you are to share everything with and all you say to them is to “go in peace, be warmed and filled”. Can that faith save you? He says so faith by itself, if it does not have works is dead.

Not A New Idea

Now Christians have been thinking about this for a long time, especially the distinction we see in James and Paul, but this exact idea, faith and works came to a head during one of the major events during church history. The Protestant John Calvin who was writing for the church to reform her back to the scriptures said is one of his letters that: “it is faith alone that justifies; nevertheless the faith that justifies is not alone”. This faith that justifies alone never remains alone, it will always produce works in the believers life. It is from a life of faith that good works flow out of. So when James is speaking about faith he is saying that our works prove our faith, the are not what make us right before God.

Right Theology Isn’t Enough

Next James gives us a hypothetical example where he imagines someone that would retort back. It reads in verse 18, “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 here that you believe that God is one, and you do well! This is a core affirmation that Jewish people have believed through the centuries.Remember James is here writing to a largely Jewish audience so that would be intimately familiar with this verse. It comes from the Shema in Deuteronomy 6:4 ““Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” It is a beautiful truth about our God but he says that “even the demons believe this- and shudder! This would be akin to telling Christians today they believe that Jesus is fully-God and full-man and to that I would say good!

Demons Theology

Yet, This is a sobering statement. James is saying it is not enough for Christians to know all of the right theology but have no actually life change. Demons have a better theology than we do, they were there at the creation of the heavens and the earth. They are entirely aware of who is in charge of things; they would be able to pass every Bible or seminary exam and would probably do a better job than me in crafting a sermon but what they lack is a heart that has been transformed. What they lack though if what we all here who proclaim the name of Jesus have, which is a new heart. They have no love for Christ and do not have the glory of God as their motivation. C.S. Lewis, when he would speak with young men going into the ministry, would warn about the endeavor they were about to undertake because constant contact with “holy things” could make them apathetic to the deep realities that God has come to save them from their sin.

The Fruit of Faith

Now you may agree with James at this point and think that works should flow out of a true faith, what does that look like? Well in James 2:20 “Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?” Then let me show you some examples.James was kind enough to give his readers application points in the text of what works look like. If you look at the text starting in verse 21, James gives us what works looks like in the life of the saints. James sums of what a true faith is with examples to Love God and Love Our Neighbor. He does that by giving two examples of Old Testament stories of the evidence of faith through works. He begins with Abraham. Now Abraham was a man who had been taken out of his home country and sent as a sojourner to a new land with a promise from God that he would be the father of many nations and the benefactor of the Covenant made with him. Abraham was shown immense grace in his life and out of response to that grace, Abraham obeyed God.

A Real Faith

What is interesting to note here is when Paul speaking of Abraham being justified by faith he alludes to what I just described, God beginning him out of the land of Canaan into the promised land for no other reason that god’s grace. James on the other hand, speaks of Abraham being justified by works much later in Abraham’s life when he is required to offer up Isaac on the alter. James is speaking of what the life of someone looks like once they have been so enthralled by the grace of our Lord that it motivates them to obedience. A real faith, a living faith, a saving faith produces fruit in our relationships to God. The great commandment to love God with all of our heart soul, mind and strength. Abraham Got that. Abraham is the father of our faith. In response the the sheer and utter grace God shows to Abraham, he obeyed even when it would have cost him everything. Abraham was willing to say God you are so much better than anything I could ask, if you ask it of me I will give it to you!

Rahab Loves Her Neighbor

The natural outflow of a true love for God is a love for people, and his people primarily. So it makes a lot of sense why James then goes on to give us the story of Rahab. We learn about the story of Rahab in the book of Joshua chapter 2, there we learn that Joshua had sent two spies into the promised land, the land that God swore to give to his people in the Old Testament. The first thing that these spies did when they got there was stay at the house of Rahab the prostitute. The King of that region was made aware of their presence in the land and sent to Rahab and demanded for the spies to be handed over to him, but Rahab lied to the king’s court and told the delegates that the spies had left under cover of night and she doesn’t know what happened to them. She had really hidden them on her roof though. She revealed that the reason she hid them was because Joshua 2.9 “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.”

What Faith Produces

Why would James tell us this story? How does this have to do with faith and works? You see, Rahab had already heard of the One True God and the mighty deeps he had done before the spies ever showed up to her home, and she believed in Him. She seemingly was already worshipping God by the time the spies showed up and the texts shows us the reason she hid the men was because she knew that God was going to destroy her city and she wanted to be delivered. She knew had faith and without ever even seeing the power of God for herself that God would be merciful and gracious to her is she trusted in Him. So she acted out of love and devotion to His people. Rahab’s motivation was to protect her whole family from the coming destruction.

Remember

Remember, James is writing to Jewish Christians so they would be very familiar with this story as well. They would know what it meant for Rahab to be kind to God’s people. That was what he was calling them to, was to show each other grace and kindness even in the midst of their hardships and troubles. And this is the call to you today. Does your faith cause you to love God and love your neighbor better? If not than James is telling us that we have a dead faith that cannot save. James is not expecting perfection here, but he is calling God's people up to be the church for each other and live wisely. He is asking you to live in the reality of the Spirit of God living inside of you. This is why he concludes with James 2.26 “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” Christian, you have been given a new spirit that enables you to boldly live as you have never before. So let that Spirit empower you to Love God and Love your neighbor more today.

Martin Luther

As I close i want to leave you with a few things. One is a quote from Martin Luther, another Protestant Reformer, sums up well what James is trying to say here actually in his preface to his commentary on Romans:

The Letter of James, second edition (Pillar New Testament Commentary | PNTC) B. The Faith that Saves (2:14–26)

O it is a living, busy active mighty thing, this faith. It is impossible for it not to be doing good things incessantly. It does not ask whether good works are to be done, but before the question is asked, it has already done this, and is constantly doing them. Whoever does not do such works, however, is an unbeliever. He gropes and looks around for faith and good works, but knows neither what faith is nor what good works are. Yet he talks and talks, with many words, about faith and good works.

Response To Our Neighbor

It is hard today not to apply this teaching to our current context with Roe v Wade being over turned. For us today what does real faith look like? Well from what we read from James, real faith is active along with works. There are going to be many women effected by this overturning so what we can do is raise our sons to be good husbands and fathers who love and care for women. One practical way you can help right now if be going down to MU Women’s and Children’s hospital and volunteer your time with young mothers who are now going to be learning how to take care of a child. This Supreme Court decision is going to effect people in an incredible number of ways that there is no way to be able to predict. If we are going to love God and Love Our Neighbor as ourselves, one of the most important things we can do is help those in our community right now who are going to be the most vulnerable because of this decision. This is how we can be the church, we can be a city set on a hill who looks after others. The church since int’s inception has been a place of shelter and refuge for mothers and infants. Let us do that now.

Concluding Prayer

Lord, you have given us such an unbelievable amount of grace in our lives to be your church. We are now a people who are called to be salt and light in the world and to let our works be seen by others so that they can give glory to you. I pray we do that for everyone in our community and our city and we pray all these things in your son Jesus’ name. amen.