Faith and works

5

What to do when faith doesn’t work

(James 2:14–26)

 

For as the body without the spirit is dead,

so faith without works is dead also.

 

James Patterson and Peter Kim conducted a monumental survey that

resulted in The Day America Told the Truth. In that book they surveyed

the American people about many issues, including the relevance of

their religious belief. In a chapter entitled “Who Really Believes in God

                                                 Today?”

they wrote:                                      

What is going on in congregations, parishes, and synagogues

across America? The news is good—and bad.

God is alive and very well. But right now in America, fewer

people are listening to what God has to say than ever before.

Ninety percent of the people we questioned said that

they truly believe in God. It would be the logical conclusion

then to think that God is a meaningful factor in

today’s America. But we reached a different conclusion

when we dug deeper with our questions.

In every single region of the country, when we asked

how people make up their minds on issues of right and

wrong, we found that they simply do not turn to God or

religion to help them decide about the seminal or moral

issues of the day.

 

For most people, religion plays virtually no role in

shaping their opinions on a long list of important public

questions. This is true even for questions that seem closely

related to religion: birth control, abortion, even teaching

creationism and the role of women in the clergy.

On not one of those questions did a majority of people

seek the guidance of religion in finding answers. Most

people do not even know their church’s position on the

important issues.…

Only one American in five ever consults a minister, a

priest, or a rabbi on everyday issues.

 

Half of us haven’t been to a religious service for a

minimum of three months. One in three haven’t been to a

religious service for more than a year.

More than half of us (58 percent) went to services

regularly while growing up, but less than half of those (27

percent) do so today.

Only one in ten of us believe in all of the Ten

Commandments. Forty percent of us believe in five or

fewer Commandments.¹

Charles Colson sees the impact of this shallow faith reflected in our

churches today:

People flit about in search of what suits their taste at

the moment. It’s what some have called the “McChurch”

mentality. Today it might be McDonald’s for a Big Mac;

tomorrow it’s Wendy’s salad bar; or perhaps the wonderful

chicken sandwiches at Chick-fil-A.… Spiritual

consumers are interested not in what the church stands

for but in the fulfillment it can deliver.… The result is

an age of mix’em match’em, salad bar spirituality.²

Apparently there were also some in James’ day who spoke the language

of Christianity without reflecting the reality of its truth in their

lives. This section of his letter addresses that problem, and it is not the

first time that he has raised the issue:

His entire epistle consists of the tests of true faith, all of

which are the practical fruits of righteousness in the life of

a believer: perseverance in trials (1:1–12); obedience to the

Word (vv. 13–25); pure and undefiled religion (vv. 26–27);

impartiality (2:1–13); righteous works (vv. 14–26); control

of the tongue (3:1–12); true wisdom (vv. 13–18); hatred of

pride and worldliness (4:1–6); humility and submission to

God (vv. 7–17); and right behavior in the body of believers

(5:1–20).³

Faith and works are mentioned together ten times in the thirteen

verses of this section. James is about to set forth in very clear tones the

major premise of his letter. In his words “Faith without works is dead”

the whole of this epistle can be summarized. Faith that is not evidenced

by a life of integrity is not biblical faith at all. To James, works are not

“an added extra to faith, but an essential expression of it.”⁴

The lesson is clear: If we say we have faith, there needs to be some

evidence in our lives to back up our claim. The writer asks us to take a

look at some of the spurious kinds of faith so that we might be better

able to discern real faith—faith with integrity!

 

Real Faith Is More Than Verbal Affirmation

This is one of the most controversial texts in the New Testament. If it is

not carefully understood, it can lead to serious error in a most important

area of doctrine. In verse 14 and again in verse 16, James refers to what

people “say” about their faith. As he rejects the false say-so faith, he

points out several reasons for the failure of this verbal-affirmation faith.

 

Verbal Faith Does Not Save

James here uses two rhetorical questions to make his point. First,

he asks, “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has

faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?” In the case of

both of these questions, the expected answer is in the negative. A. T.

Robertson explains, “The question of James 2:14, introduced by the

Greek participle me, grammatically presumes a negative answer: ‘Can

that faith save him? Of course not!’”⁵

In other words, a faith that does not demonstrate its genuineness in

works is not genuine. A few verses later James writes, “For as the body

without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (2:26).

In this regard, John MacArthur is accurate when he concludes:

Not all faith is redemptive. James 2:14–26 says faith

without works is dead and cannot save. James describes

spurious faith as pure hypocrisy, mere cognitive assent,

devoid of any verifying works—no different from the

demons’ belief. Obviously, there is more to saving faith

than merely conceding a set of facts.⁶

James is simply saying that if one has been truly born anew, his

life will be changed. “James was addressing himself to the ever-present

conflict between mere assent to a creed and a vital faith which displays

itself in action.”⁷

The one thing that James and those close to Christ simply

could not accept was the idea that one could make a great

profession with words but produce no constructive action.

The watching world cannot accept such hypocrisy today

either.⁸

Part of the confusion over the second question in verse 14 results

from an inadequate translation in the King James Version of the New

Testament. When the scholars translated this verse, they chose to

ignore the Greek article in front of the word faith. In other words, the

question is not “Can faith save him?” but “Can that faith save him?”

James is not contradicting Paul and creating a new means of justification

before God. Here is his question:

“If a man says that he has faith and it is not demonstrated

through his works, can that kind of faith save him?”

Answer expected, “No.” He was not talking about faith

in general but about “the faith” which the person in his

illustration was claiming to possess.⁹

Alexander Maclaren makes a valid observation when he writes,

“The people who least live their creeds are … the people who shout the

loudest about them. The paralysis which affects the arms does not, in

these cases, interfere with the tongue.”¹⁰

 

Verbal Faith Does Not Serve

Because verbal faith is powerless to save, it is also incapable of

serving. Once again, James uses a stirring illustration to drive home

his point. He recites a little parable that many believe represented

a common occurrence in the early church. James asks his readers

to imagine a situation in which they are confronted by a Christian

brother or sister who is destitute of food and without adequate

clothing. This person shows up at the door of the believer asking

for help.

If, instead of helping the needy brother, the Christian says to

him, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” and does not give him

the things that he needs, that professing Christian has cast doubt

upon the integrity of his own faith. It is this point that the apostle

John makes in his first epistle, “But whoever has this world’s goods,

and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how

does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love

in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth” (3:17–18).

So if faith is not expressed in one’s lifestyle, then, according

to James, it may not be genuine faith. The following satire etched

James’ lesson into my heart. Perhaps it will have the same impact

on you:

I was hungry, and you formed a humanities club and

discussed my hunger.

I was imprisoned, and you crept off quietly to your

chapel in the cellar and prayed for my release.

I was naked, and in your mind you debated the morality

of my appearance.

I was sick, and you knelt and thanked God for your health.

I was homeless, and you preached to me the spiritual

shelter of the love of God.

I was lonely, and you left me alone to pray for me.

You seem so holy, so close to God, but I’m still very

hungry and lonely, and cold.¹¹

The hungry man needs bread and the homeless man needs a roof;

the dispossessed need justice and the lonely need fellowship; the undisciplined

need order and the slave needs freedom. To allow the hungry man

to remain hungry would be blasphemy against God and one’s neighbor,

for what is nearest to God is precisely the need of one’s neighbor. It is

for the love of Christ, which belongs as much to the hungry man as to

myself, that I share my bread with him and that I share my home with

the homeless. If the hungry man does not attain faith, then the guilt

falls on those who refused him bread. To provide the hungry man with

bread is to prepare the way for the coming of grace.¹²

 

Verbal Faith Does Not Survive

James makes a very strong summary statement in verse 17 when

he writes that faith unaccompanied by works is dead. In other words,

it was never alive, and the lack of any fruit in the life is the proof of a

“profession only” faith. Adamson says, “Having form, this faith lacks

force. It is outwardly inoperative, because it is inwardly dead.”¹³ James

says that we have the right to see the evidence that one’s faith is genuine.

Jesus said the same thing:

You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes

from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every

good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree

bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit

is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their

fruits you will know them. Not everyone who says to Me,

“Lord, Lord,” shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he

who does the will of My Father in heaven.

(Matt. 7:16–21)

Even Martin Luther, who is sometimes cited as an enemy of James’

teaching, wrote the following:

Oh, it is a living, quick, mighty thing, this faith.… It does

not ask whether good works are to be done, but before

the question could be asked it does them, and is always

doing them. He who does not these good works is a man

without faith.… Yea, it is impossible to separate works

from faith, as impossible to separate burning and shining

from fire.¹⁴

Before changing directions, James proposes one more hypothetical

situation. He imagines someone stepping forward with a liberal

approach to the entire issue and reasoning like this, “I know that you

are into works, but I’m more into faith. We are both all right … we

just have a different emphasis in our spiritual lives.” While this is a very

loose paraphrase, it is a very accurate representation of what this person

is saying.

Tasker says this unidentified speaker is suggesting that “one

Christian may claim the gift of faith and another the gift of performing

good works … that the two aspects can be divided and that each

position is legitimate.”¹⁵

James explodes in his reaction to such logic. He says, “Show me

your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my

works.” The New American Standard Bible translates this verse this

way: “You have faith and I have works. I can demonstrate my faith by

my works, but I challenge you to exhibit your faith without works.”

In effect, James says here: “You claim to have ‘faith’ and

I claim to have ‘works,’ actions, behavior. I can prove the

existence and quality of my ‘faith’ by my works (actions

and behavior) but I defy you to prove to me or any of

the rest of mankind the existence and or quality of your

faith. For I do not believe that without works, actions, and

behavior you can possibly have any genuine faith.”¹⁶

James is not arguing with the importance of faith in the Christian

experience, but he is attacking the validity of a “professed faith” that

produces no outward result in conduct.

 

Real Faith Is More Than Mental Assent

James’ second point about faith is this: Real faith is more than just

mental assent to a system of facts. He uses the demons as his example:

“You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons

believe—and tremble!”

According to James, there are no atheists among the demons. They

tremble and shudder and bristle when they think of the one true God.

Jesus encountered persons possessed by demons during His ministry

as did his disciples, and the demons always recognized Jesus’ deity

and spoke respectfully (Matt. 8:29; Mark 1:24; 5:7; Luke 8:28; Acts

16:17). They were sincere, but it was not enough!

In the story of the Gerasene demoniac (Mark 5:1–10;

Luke 8:26–33), we have a clear illustration of such a faith

on the part of the demons. These malicious supernatural

spirits, engaged in seeking to possess and torment men,

readily confessed God’s existence and omnipotence;

further, they know that as such He is totally and consistently

their enemy. But their “faith” does not transform

their character and conduct or change their prospects for

the future. They establish the sad truth that “belief may

be orthodox, while character is evil.”¹⁷

William Barclay reminds us,

There is a belief which is purely intellectual. For

instance, I believe that the square on the hypotenuse of

a right-angled triangle equals the sum of the squares on

the other two sides; and if I had to, I could prove it—but

it makes no difference to my life and living. I accept

it, but it has no effect upon me.… There is another

kind of belief I believe that five and five make ten, and,

therefore, I will resolutely refuse to pay more than ten

pence for two fivepenny bars of chocolate. I take that

fact not only into my mind but into my life and action.

What James is arguing against is the first kind of belief,

the acceptance of a fact without allowing it to have any

influence upon life.¹⁸

No one illustrates the futility of mental-assent faith better than

John Wesley:

Before John Wesley was a believer, he was a clergyman

and a missionary who worked with all he had. He

memorized most of the Greek New Testament. He had

a disciplined devotional life. As a missionary to the

American Indians, he slept on the dirt to increase his

merit and hopefully be accepted by God. But then came

that celebrated day when he trusted in Christ alone

for his salvation. It was then that he began a worksfilled

life.… He preached in Saint Mary’s in Oxford; he

preached in the churches, he preached in the mines, he

preached in the streets, he preached on horseback. He

even preached on his father’s tombstone. John Wesley

preached 42,000 sermons. He averaged 4,500 miles a

year. He rode sixty to seventy miles a day and preached

three sermons a day on an average. When he was

eighty-three, he wrote in his diary, “I am a wonder to

myself. I am never tired, either with preaching, writing

or traveling.”¹⁹

 

Real Faith Is More Than a Positive Attitude

James continues to make his case that faith without action is useless.

There are many today who have defined faith as a “positive mental attitude.”

But faith is more than an attitude; faith is an action. According

to James, faith is made perfect by works. This is not a contradiction

of Paul’s doctrine of justification by faith. Manfred George Gutzke

integrates the concepts of faith and works when he writes:

Faith is significant only when it promotes action. Faith

without action is useless. This is the basic principle for

everything everywhere, and it is true in every case. It

would be true in the matter of farming. It would be true in

the matter of insuring a home. It would be true in the matter

of conducting a business. If we say that we have faith

in anything and we do nothing about it, our faith does not

amount to a thing. Faith without action is useless.²⁰

Now James appeals to two well-known Old Testament personalities:

Abraham the patriarch and Rahab the prostitute.

 

Abraham the Patriarch

Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he

offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith

was working together with his works, and by works faith

was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which

says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him

for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God.

You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by

faith only. (James 2:21–24)

Abraham was the most powerful example that James could have

chosen. Father Abraham was revered as a man of faith who enjoyed a

close relationship with God. Nothing would be considered legitimate

truth that was contradicted by Abraham’s experience. In Genesis 15

we read of God’s promise to the patriarch concerning his future and a

son. Showing him the stars of the heavens, God told him that his seed

would be as numerous. And Genesis 15:6, quoted by James, says, “And

he believed in the Lord, and he accounted it to him for righteousness.”

That was the first use of the word believe in the Bible!

Abraham demonstrates that we are justified by faith alone. But our

faith is never alone, for it is always accompanied by works. When he was

told by God to take the son of promise, Isaac, and go to Mount Moriah

and there sacrifice him upon the altar, Abraham did what God told him

to do! How did he do this? And why is he so honored for doing it?

In his life, Abraham had shown trust and confidence in

God by traveling to the promised land, waiting decades

for his promised son, Isaac, and finally demonstrating his

obedience by being willing to sacrifice him. The supreme

test was not so much in his traveling or waiting but in

preparing to sacrifice Isaac. Killing his own son meant that

the promise would end. But as the writer of Hebrews sums

it up, “Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead,

and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from

death” (Heb. 11:19 niv).²¹

Abraham had to come to some conclusions, and it is in his conclusions

that the nature of his faith is found. In the Genesis passage,

we are told that he believed that he and Isaac would return from the

mountain. “Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the

place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the

donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come

back to you’” (Gen. 22:4–5).

If Abraham had said, “I believe God,” but had refused to obey His

commands, he would have had mental-assent faith but not real faith. It

was his trip to the mountain, his obvious intention to go through with

the sacrifice, that made the difference. We are justified by faith alone,

but not by faith that is alone.

James’ statement about works has often been used to illustrate

the differences between James and Paul. Here James clearly says that

Abraham was justified by works, and he quotes Genesis to prove his

point. Paul also refers to Genesis and uses it to conclude that Abraham

was not justified by works.

What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found

according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by

works, he has something to boast about, but not before

God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed

God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Now

to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but

as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on

Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for

righteousness. (Rom. 4:1–5)

… just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted

to him for righteousness.” Therefore know that only those

who are of faith are sons of Abraham. (Gal. 3:6–7)

While this may seem to be a contradiction, it is not, when we

understand what both writers are saying:

Paul and James cite different incidents in Abraham’s life

which illustrate the point each is making. Paul is referring

to Abraham’s absolute reliance on God’s promise, however

improbable it seemed (Rom. 4:1–12). Abraham’s faith was

reckoned or counted to him as righteousness (Gen. 15:6),

resulting in a right standing with God. James (v. 21) is referring

to the time when Abraham was prepared to sacrifice

Isaac, the miraculous son of promise, on Mt. Moriah (Gen.

22). In Paul’s example, Abraham had righteousness and

salvation reckoned or counted to him as righteousness

(Gen. 15:6), resulting in a right standing with God. In

the example used by James, Abraham demonstrated the

life-changing nature of his earlier experience by his action

of preparing to offer his son in obedience to God. To put

it another way, Paul views the matter from the heavenly

or divine perspective and asserts that we are justified in a

legal, positional sense and that faith is the ground of that

justification. James views the situation from the earthly or

human perspective and asserts that works are the evidence

before men that salvation indeed has occurred. A faith that

saves will result in good works. Ephesians 2:8–10 reveals

clearly the agreement in theology which exists between

Paul and James. We are not saved by faith plus works, but

we are saved by a faith that does work.²²

Because of this passage, Martin Luther rejected the entire Epistle

of James and called it “a right strawy epistle” and without evangelical

character.²³ But there are few today who see any conflict between the

teaching of Paul and the teaching of James. “They are not antagonists

facing each other with crossed swords; they stand back to back, confronting

different foes of the Gospel.”²⁴ Paul was attacking the belief

that works were necessary for salvation. James was attacking a verbal

faith that did not produce godliness in life. They both agreed that

works were the proof of salvation and not the path to salvation.

There is no question … as some seem to imagine of setting

“works” in opposition to faith as the ground of justification.

No man can, by general busyness or specific good deed …

merit salvation. Activity is never a rival to faith. We cannot

gain God’s commendation by presenting to Him—as Cain

desired—the work of our hands. Faith alone is His requirement:

the sole condition upon which He justifies the ungodly.

Such faith always goes hand-in-hand with obedience …

it is ever fruitful. Relationship to God never leaves the life

unchanged.… Men and women of God will manifest that fact

in godly acts. Faith ever finds expression in works—works of

faith, not the mere doing of good. What these works should

be in individual lives, God will reveal in each case.²⁵

 

Rahab the Prostitute

The second example of faith is Rahab. There could be no greater

contrast between two people than between Abraham and Rahab:

Abraham is a Hebrew, called by God to become the father

of believers. Rahab is a Gentile, an inhabitant of ancient

Jericho, destined for destruction by the Israelite army. As a

man, Abraham is the representative head of God’s covenant

people (Gen. 15:17). Rahab is a woman, known only

as a prostitute.… Abraham … gave proof of his obedience

to God for at least three decades.… Rahab knew about

Israel’s God only by hearsay, yet she displayed her faith by

identifying herself with God’s people.²⁶

John Calvin believed that James put together “two persons so different

in their character in order more clearly to show that no one,

whatever may have been his or her condition, nation, or class in society,

has ever been counted righteous without good works.”²⁷

James returns to a rhetorical question as he inquires about Rahab.

His question implies a positive answer: “Likewise, was not Rahab the

harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and

sent them out another way?” (2:25).

What James fails to mention in his statement is the content of

Rahab’s faith. She truly had come to believe in God. She said,

I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the

terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants

of the land are fainthearted because of you. For

we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the

Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what

you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on

the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you

utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things,

our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more

courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your

God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.

(Josh. 2:9–11)

Because of her faith, Rahab went into action. She hid the spies and

advised them where to flee. She risked her life for them. Because of her

active faith, she was spared from death when the walls of Jericho came

tumbling down: “By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those

who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace” (Heb.

11:31).

Rahab’s works were very different from Abraham’s, but they had

the same effect—they proved that she had a living, working faith, that

she was a woman of spiritual integrity.

James’ summary statement is yet another vivid illustration of the

interrelationship between faith and works. He concludes, “For as the

body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also”

(2:26).

The human body is a perfect example for James’ concluding argument.

Just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith that does not

demonstrate itself with works is also dead. “An inactive faith, entombed

in an intellectually approved creed, is of no more value than a corpse. A

saving faith is an active faith.”²⁸

Frank Gaebelein reminds us of the relevancy of this test of faith for

this generation of believers, describing it as “a greatly needed corrective

to the unreal, verbalistic kind of religion that claims allegiance to high

doctrine but issues in living on a low and selfish level.”²⁹

Gaebelein wrote his warning before a survey of mainline denomination

members found that only 32 percent believed their faith had

anything to do with their life outside of church.³⁰

Many have thought that James 2:14–26 is the hardest passage in

the New Testament to interpret. I do not argue with their assessment,

but I cannot help but wonder if the difficulty lies in a different direction.

As I have pondered these words of our Lord’s half brother, I have

found that the difficulty for me is in what I clearly do understand. The

Christian life must have integrity! As followers of Jesus Christ, we must

be set apart from the lifestyle of our contemporary world. Most of all, if

we understand James’ key illustration, we must be men and women of

compassion. We must not turn our brothers and sisters away when they

stand at our door in need of that which we are able to supply.

Our message to the watching world must be more than what we

say. In the words of Francis of Assisi, “Preach the Gospel all of the

time; if necessary, use words.” Charles Haddon Spurgeon, in a sermon

preached on September 7, 1867, reminded his congregation that the

Christian

serves his Lord simply out of gratitude; he has no salvation

to gain, no heaven to lose … now, out of love to the God

who chose him, and who gave so great a price for his

redemption, he desires to lay out himself entirely to his

Master’s service.… The child of God works not for life, but

from life; he does not work to be saved, he works because

he is saved.³¹

With clear direction Os Guinness sends us marching out of this

chapter with a deep commitment to the integrity of our faith:

Stress obedience apart from faith and you produce legalism.

Stress faith apart from obedience and you produce

cheap grace. For the person who becomes a Christian, the

moment of comprehension leads to one conclusion only—

commitment. At that point the cost has been counted

… and a contract for discipleship has been signed. The

decision is irreversible. It is not faith going a second mile;

it is faith making its first full step, and there is no going

back.³²

 

 

I adapted all of this from Dr. David Jeremiah’s sermons on the book of James, at shadow mountains church, California