SSL 10 - James 2:14-26
LAST WEEK: In James 1:19-27; 2:1-4, James talked about one of the chief themes for the entire letter: practical Christianity is mandated by the Word of God and is characterized by truly "hearing" and purposefully obeying what it says. There were five main points of application: 1. If we truly want to influence people-in either their faith or their Christian walk-we should carefully listen to them. Most often, they will appreciate the fact that you listened to them and believe you want to understand them. 2. Even if our anger is morally righteous, our speech should still be measured and controlled. Even when our anger is in response to some kind of wrongdoing, if we speak angry words that only serve to produce antagonism and resentment, it certainly doesn't reflect the righteousness of god. 3. Merely hearing God's Word is not enough. Even studying and compre-hending large parts of the Bible-mere scholarship-is inadequate: it must be applied and practiced just as Jesus taught. Those who merely hear God's Word but fail to live it are fooling themselves. 4. As doers of the Word, our obedience to God will evidenced by good works. Good works may be defined as unselfish deeds that benefit others, and when we do this, we are assured of God's blessings. 5. When we are tempted to like or dislike certain people based on purely human distinctions, we are projecting our own personal prejudices onto Christ Jesus. When we act this way, we aren't representing the faith of Jesus but violating the law of love.
THIS WEEK: We move into James 2:14-27 and cover what is probably the best known and most controversial theme of James' entire epistle; namely, that faith without works is dead. In this lesson, James expands on his argument that hearing and doing the Word must include faith that leads to doing good works. Although it may seem, at first glance, to contradict Paul's statement that, "by grace you have been saved through faith...not the result of works" (Eph. 2:8-9), a careful examination of the text reveals there's no real conflict between faith and works. Paul and James would both agree that the basis of salvation is by grace alone through faith, with works not the basis of salvation but the necessary result of it. Read James 2:14-19 - FAITH AND WORKS
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!
v. 14: "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?" - This simple question has provoked a lot of controversy. On its face, it seems to be at odds with Paul's theology of salvation by faith rather than works, for example, Eph. 2:8-9: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." James' point, however, is that genuine faith will result in works, and any faith that produces no good works in not true faith. Paul would agree with this premise and said as much in Eph. 2:10: "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
TRUTH 1: Paul and James would both agree the basis of salvation is by grace alone through faith, with works not the basis of salvation but the necessary result of it. James simply puts stress on the fact that genuine faith will result in works, and faith that produces no good works in not true faith.
vv. 15-16: "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?" - Here, James gives an illustration of what faith without works looks like in everyday life. The expression "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," is an example of pious words with no action. Mere words can never satisfy the needs of a person who lacks food, clothing, and shelter. What we say with our mouths is a example of what's in our hearts, and if our words are empty, so is our faith.
v. 17: "So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead" - In this context "dead" means useless. James is not attempting to downgrade the role of faith, and in the next verse he will speak of his own faith. But his point is that true faith will reveal itself in noticeable action-will make a self-evident difference in the way we live our lives. Faith that fails to produce this is "dead"-useless.
v. 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 sense of the first statement, "you have faith and I have works," implies that the speaker is saying, rhetorically, that faith and works are different gifts; but James responds that faith and works aren't two separate gifts, which are sufficient by themselves. Specifically, he brings home the point that true faith will always give rise to good works, and, equally, such works will confirm the genuineness of a person's faith.
v. 19: "You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe-and shudder!" - This is a controversial passage that has generated a lot of scholarly comment, especially the part about demons, but I will be brief. The phrase, "God is one," comes from the Jewish principle of Shema that there is only the One God and no other Gods (Deut. 6:4). Even the demons know this truth, though they cannot be saved. The point James is making in that mere intellectual assent to the Christian faith does not save anyone. The faith that saves, as affirmed by both Paul and James, actively embraces the truth of the Gospel and follows through on it. Salvation by faith impacts the head (intellectual), the heart (trust), and the hand (lifestyle and good works). -Dr. Robert Utley, Ph.D., D.T.S.
TRUTH 2: Mere intellectual assent to the Christian faith does not save anyone. The faith that saves, as affirmed by both Paul and James, actively embraces the truth of the Gospel and follows through on it. Salvation by faith impacts (1) the head (intellectual), (2) the heart (trust), and (3) the hand (lifestyle and good works).
Read James 2:20-24 - ABRAHAM: AN EXAMPLE OF LIVING FAITH
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.
vv. 20-21: 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?" - These two verses and those that follow have been the source of a major theological controversy over the centuries, but while interesting, we don't have time to cover the voluminous details. Here's the problem: In v. 21 above, James asserts, in a rhetorical question, that Abraham was justified by works. However, in Rom. 4:2-3, Paul said, "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 counted to him as righteousness." Rephrased, Abraham was justified by faith. So, who is right? The short answer is both, because they were using the same word "justified" (Gk. dikaioo) in different contexts. Paul's statement was made in the context of Gen. 15:6: "And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness"-which is another way of saying that Abraham was justified by his belief-by faith. James, on the other hand, based his statement on the context of Gen. 22:9-10, which recounts the story of Abraham preparing to offer his only son, Isaac, as a sacrifice, a completely different set of circumstances. By saying this, James uses the word "justified" in the sense of being validated, i.e., that Abraham's obedience to offer Isaac as a sacrifice was a work that validated Abraham's faith. Thus, the conclusion is that Paul and James aren't giving two ways of salvation, but two aspects of one salvation. Paul speaks of the beginning of Abraham's walk of faith and James verbalizes the ongoing characteristics that gave evidence of true saving faith. Spurgeon said it this way, "The grace that does not change my life will not save my soul."
v. 22: "You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works" - In the first phrase, James is not implying that faith alone does not save, but that Abraham's faith was continually active in his life as shown by his works. When he says "faith was completed," the word completed (Gk. teleios) means the same as perfected or matured. Paul explained it this way in Phil. 3:12: "Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus." We are a "good work" in progress.
v. 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" - Here, James quotes Gen. 15:6 as Paul did in Rom. 4:3. While Paul focused on Abraham's faith, James pointed to Abraham's obedience, which was an act of faith, and in this sense, the two statements compliment each other with no disagreement. In the phrase, "friend of God," James alludes to 2 Chron. 20:7 and Isa. 41:8 in which the Hebrew word ahavi literally trans-lates "friend loved by God," emphasizing the individuality of the bond. We have this unbreakable bond of love with God, too. While we have many human "friends" who love us, none love us as unconditionally and completely as God does
v. 24: "You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone" - When James uses the term "faith alone," it's in the same sense as v. 19, above: that mere intellectual assent to the Christian faith will not save anyone. Saving faith actively embraces the Gospel and lives it. This is right on point with Paul's statement in Eph. 2:10: "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
TRUTH 3: When James said Abraham was justified by works when he offered Isaac as a sacrifice (v. 21), he used the word "justified" in the sense that works did not justify but validated his faith. Paul and James aren't presenting two ways of salvation, but two aspects of one salvation. While Paul speaks of the beginning of Abraham's walk of faith, James verbalizes the ongoing characteristics that gave the evidence of true saving faith.
Read James 2:25-26 - RAHAB: EXAMPLE OF LIVING FAITH
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.
v. 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?" - Here we see James use two extremes to prove his point. When Rahab, a young Canaanite prostitute, hid the two Israelite spies in Jericho, she simultaneously expressed great faith when she said, "for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below." Josh. 2:11b. She was ultimate proof of God's forgiveness and the power of repentance. She was also the first Gentile convert and an ancestor of Jesus (Mt. 1:4). In this way, she became a model of faith completed in works.
v. 26: "For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead" - As a concluding statement, James likens the relationship between faith and works to that of the body and the spirit. In this sense, "spirit" is a figure of speech for life, not the Holy Spirit, with the connotation that a body without life is a dead-a corpse. So by comparison, faith without works is dead, not the genuine faith that saves.
TRUTH 4: In this chapter, James compares the relationship between faith and works to that of the body and the spirit. In this context, "spirit" is a figure of speech for life, not the Holy Spirit, with the connotation that a body without life is dead-a corpse. So by comparison, faith without works is dead, not the genuine faith that saves.
