"Faith Apart from Works Is Dead" -- James 2:14-26 (Part Two)
“Faith Apart from Works Is Dead” — James 2:14-26 (Part Two)
From a sermon series on the Book of James, preached at Christ Reformed Church in 2007 and edited for the Riddleblog
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Part Two
With this important background in mind, we turn to specifics of the text, James 2:14-26.
In this section of chapter 2, James makes a general appeal to his readers that when someone claims to have faith, and there are no accompanying good works, their so-called “faith” can be called into question. James moves on to give an illustration in verses 15-16 drawn from the earlier discussion in chapter 2 about discriminating against the poor and favoring the rich. In verse 17 he offers up the conclusion that faith without works is dead. Then, in verses 18-19 James connects faith and works, as cause and effect–faith produces works. James then appeals to the examples of Abraham and Rahab, sandwiched around his main premise in verse 24–“You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” In this section, James makes his main point three different ways. Faith, if not accompanied by works is dead (v. 17). Faith without works is useless (v. 20). Faith without works is not a living (or justifying) faith (v. 26).[1] James’ primary point is simply this–genuine faith leads to the performance of good works. To put it another way, a person who claims to be a Christian (and professes faith in the Lord of glory) will demonstrate that faith to be genuine through the performance of good works.
In verses 1-13 James addresses the matter of the sin involved in discriminating against the poor and showing favoritism to the rich. In verses 15-16, James offers an illustration loosely tied to these previous verses. This tells us that James’ discussion about faith, justification, and good works, is a response to those who hear but don’t do. James is also warning those who claim to have faith in the Lord of glory, but who then discriminate against the poor or show favoritism to the rich. James is obviously concerned that there are people who had made a profession of faith in Christ, but who still behave like non-Christians. This is the issue he is addressing, which is entirely different than the situation Paul faced in Galatia.
In verse 14, James writes “what good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” Notice, James addresses his audience as ‘brothers.” This is a good indication that he assumes that his readers who have true faith are already justified! James’ question is clearly aimed at those who have made a profession of faith in Christ but who continue to favor the rich and discriminate against the poor, who show no interest in taming their tongues, and who behave in a worldly manner (the latter two items being themes in the next chapter).
James asks his first question directly– “what about those who claim to have faith, but have no works?” Make no mistake about it, in asking this question, James is connecting genuine faith with good works in a cause and effect relationship. His question implies the following–if genuine faith in Christ is present, good works even if in small measure will also be present. This is because true faith in Christ also produces good works. In the second question, James presses home the obvious conclusion. Can the so-called “faith” of someone who has no good works, actually save them? The answer is “no.” Those whom God calls forth through the Word, have the Word implanted in them. That Word produces a living faith. A living faith trusts Christ and results in the good works James expects. But someone who claims to have faith, without any accompanying works, demonstrates that they don’t have true faith, and likely never have had true faith.
That James is dealing with those in the church who make a profession of faith, but show no signs of actually following Jesus becomes clear. Says James, “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?” As we see throughout this epistle, James’ comments here reflect the teaching of Jesus–in this case Matthew 25:42-43, when Jesus says “for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’” As James frames the matter, when a Christian sees someone in desperate need, and does nothing about that need, except to pronounce a flippant and trite greeting, James asks “what good is that?” This is but another way of asking if a person who ignores the suffering of his brethren has a genuine (justifying) faith in Christ.
James’ response to someone who does this is framed in verse 17. “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” The moral to the story is that someone who won’t help a brother or sister in a time of crisis, is acting in such a way that we may question whether or not they’ve ever exercised saving faith in the first place. No doubt about it, a profession of faith, without any accompanying works, is not a credible profession. A true faith is not a “stand alone” faith. A true faith is accompanied by good works. In fact, a true faith (trust) in Christ produces good works. This is why James can be so emphatic about the fact that someone who claims to have faith, but lets his brother and sister go unclothed and hungry, may not have true faith.
To sharpen the point, in verse 18 James speaks of the objection raised by a hypothetical questioner who don’t see any necessary connection between the presence of faith in Christ and the presence of good works. “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 simply will not allow for the possibility that someone can have a truth faith without works, or (on the flip-side) that there can be someone who has genuine good works which don’t spring from faith. The two (faith and works) are inseparable and the relationship between them is crystal clear. A genuine faith is the cause of good works (the effect). Works done apart from faith are not good. The presence of good works is the sign that faith is genuine.
In verse 19, James now mocks his hypothetical questioner (“someone will say . . .”) by comparing their faith to the faith of demons. “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” Since even a demon believes that there is one God–in the sense of assenting to the truth of the proposition that there is one God who will certainly punish them eternally on the last day (causing them to “shudder”)–what is the difference between what demons believe about God, and what some professing Christian believes, if that so-called faith never leads to the production of good works? Christians may give assent to the truth–they believe every article of the Creed to be true–but they never truly trust Christ, never allow what is in their heads to make its way into their hearts and then into their lives. Someone can believe the right things about God, and yet not have genuine faith. The standard which James applies throughout this epistle to tell “which is which,” (which is genuine faith, which is a mere profession of faith) is the presence of good works. As James sees it, if faith is genuine, good works will be present. To put into the context of James’ epistle, true faith will not discriminate against the poor, favor the rich, nor ignore the naked and hungry who profess the name of Christ.
Continuing to spar with the hypothetical questioner from verse 18, in verses 20-21 James goes to point them in the direction of the Old Testament, specifically to Abraham, “the man of faith.” Says James, “Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?” The proof to the person foolish enough to claim that faith without works is still a genuine faith is the story of Abraham. Every Jew knew this story, so it is only natural that James would direct his reader to Abraham for the proof that trust in God’s promise manifests itself in action. As is clear from Genesis 15:6, Abraham believed God’s promise, and Abraham was reckoned as righteous–i.e., he was declared to be right with God on the basis of the fact that God’s righteousness (as anticipated in the perfect obedience of Christ) was reckoned (credited, imputed, granted) to him through faith. “And [Abraham] believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”
But the story of Abraham doesn’t end in Genesis 15. In Genesis 22, God commands Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. This was not only foreshadowing of the sacrifice of Christ (when the father offers up his beloved son on Calvary) it is also a test of Abraham’s faith. What if Abraham had said, “I believe the promise,” but then did not do what God commanded him to do with Isaac. Would Abraham’s faith be genuine? Would it be the kind of faith which justifies? No. It would not be genuine faith at all because at the end of the day Abraham would have shown that he really didn’t trust God. But since Abraham did believe God, when commanded, he did exactly what God told him to do. He took Isaac up the mountain.
But what does James mean when he speaks of Abraham being justified by works? Here’s where context is everything. James is writing to Jewish Christians exhorting them to be doers of the word and not mere hearers only. He introduces Abraham as his prime example. Abraham’s faith in God’s promise manifested itself in action, and as a result, Abraham visibly demonstrated the righteousness that he had by faith. In other words, Abraham was justified (declared righteous) before God when he believed the promise (Genesis 15:6). But Abraham’s faith was confirmed (shown to be genuine) when he offered Isaac. Paul uses the word “justify” in the context of determining how sinners are declared righteous before God. James speaks of justification as the proof (confirmation) that Abraham’s faith was genuine. Abraham was justified before God when he believed God’s promise. But Abraham’s works justified him in the sense of confirming that his faith in YHWH was genuine.
Not only is this a plausible way to understand the story of Abraham–where we see that faith leads to action–but this is what James has been arguing all along throughout this epistle. If you want to know what it means to be a doer of the Word and not a mere hearer only, look to Abraham. Abraham was justified before God through faith. And the genuine nature of his faith was itself justified (confirmed) when he offered up Isaac.[2] How was Abraham justified?–by faith alone. How can we tell that Abraham’s faith was genuine–by good works.
Therefore, James is able to conclude in verses 22-23, “you see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 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.” James points out what has been implied in this imaginary dialogue all along. Faith and works should not be pit against each other. Rather there is a cause and effect relationship. Because Abraham’s faith in the promise was genuine, his faith was “working along with his works” (there’s a word play in the Greek sentence here). Because Abraham’s faith was active (living) it resulted in good works which completed his faith. Like Paul, James can cite Genesis 15:6 and appeal to Abraham. Paul can appeal to the fact that Abraham was justified by faith before he was circumcised (to clobber the Judaizers–i.e. Romans 4:11), while James can appeal to the fact that Abraham was justified by his works because he believed the promise in such a way that he acted in faith when God commanded him to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham’s faith in the promise was justified (confirmed) by what he did, his good works.
Therefore, when James states in 2:24 that “you see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone,” we can now understand what James means. Paul is referring to how people become justified–apart from works. James is referring to how we know someone’s profession is genuine–the presence of good works demonstrate that faith is genuine. Once again, John Calvin absolutely nails it. “Paul contends that we are justified apart from the help of works, so James does not allow those who lack good works to be reckoned righteous.”[3] It is all a matter of perspective. How are people justified?–by faith alone. How do we tell if faith is genuine?–a person’s faith is justified by works.
To further ram home the point, in verse 25, James takes up the story of Rahab. “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?” Why Rahab, whose story is told in Joshua 2? Along with Abraham, Rahab was considered one of the most famous foreigners who identified themselves with Israel’s God.[4] When she hid Joshua’s spies from Jericho’s king, she did so because she had heard about all those things YHWH had done for Israel. Because she believed in YHWH, she hid the Israeli spies at the risk of her own life. No question about it, her faith in YHWH was justified, because she acted upon that faith. Even a Gentile prostitute who comes to faith in YHWH, confirms the presence of faith through good works.
As James comes to the end of his argument in verse 26, his conclusion is almost anti-climatic. “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” Just as a corpse can do nothing when the spirit departs, so too someone who claims to have faith, but who does not have works, has dead faith (and is therefore not alive). But this is simply the negative way of re-stating the point James made back in 1:18. If God has brought us forth through the Word, we have a living faith and we are justified before God apart from works. But if we have a living faith–given to us by God– we will also do good works, proving (justifying) that our faith is genuine.
As for application, it is all very simple. If we claim to have faith in the Lord of glory, then that faith will be proved genuine by our good works. If our faith is genuine, when the need arises we will care for the poor, clothe the naked, and feed the hungry. If our faith is genuine, we will strip off our sins, just as we take off our dirty clothes. If our faith is genuine, we will not discriminate against the poor, or show favoritism to the rich. If our faith is genuine, we will tame our tongues and not seek to be friends with the world. If our faith is genuine, we will not boast about tomorrow, and we’ll be patient in our suffering.
All of these matters are addressed by James in this epistle and given as exhortations to Christians who are to obey because they already have faith in Jesus Christ. Because Jesus Christ has died for our sins (our infractions of the law) and because he has perfectly obeyed God’s commandments (fulfilling all righteousness), we are justified through our faith in Christ. But that faith in Christ is proved genuine when, good works flow out of justifying faith. This is what James means when he says “faith apart from works is dead.”
Nothing James says here, contradicts anything said by Paul.
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[1] Moo, The Epistle of James, 119.
[2] See the discussion in; Moo, The Epistle of James, 132-136.
[3] Calvin, Institutes, 3.27.2
[4] Moo, The Epistle of James, 143.