Faith Without Works Is Dead! (James 2:14-26)

 

The Emptiness of Dead Faith (vv.14-17) 

Do you have faith? How can you know? James says that anyone can SAY they have faith. But if someone says they have faith without any evidence for it, it is a dead faith. It makes no difference in that person’s life. Somehow, a living faith brings about change. 

Thinking or Trusting? (vv. 18-20) 

Perhaps it is helpful to understand what the Bible means when it talks about faith, about belief. In one sense, to have faith is to agree with a truth, but much more than that, it is to be persuaded of a truth. And in biblical terms, faith is all about trusting in and following the truth. Saving faith is all about trusting in the truth of the Gospel message. Trusting that Jesus did indeed die in the place of sinners and that His death can save us from the terrible fate that we have earned. And, in understanding that truth, we place our trust in Jesus Christ for salvation from our sin, and we follow Him in the new life He makes available to us. Trust and obey. 

Anyone can say that they have trusted Jesus. In the same way, anyone can say that they have committed to a healthy lifestyle of diet and exercise. However, if you see a person never being active and only eating pizza, pies, and pudding, you might question their commitment to that lifestyle. James is saying here that a person who does not show an effort to live as Jesus commands might just be saying they have faith. The proof is in the pudding. 

Abraham and Rahab (vv.25) 

James goes on to use the same Old Testament passage that Paul famously uses elsewhere to illustrate his point. Abraham indeed had his faith counted to him as righteousness. And we see in the life of Abraham, evidence that he really did trust God and obey what God commanded. It was his faith that saved him, but his faith also produced works. Rahab is another good illustration of real faith. She showed that she truly trusted God, and was delivered from the destruction of Jericho, in that she protected the spies. 

Incomplete Faith (v 26) 

A verbal assent of belief, then, is not the kind of faith that God requires from us. We need to really believe in such a way that we then act on that belief. We need to Trust and Obey. It is our faith, and faith alone, that saves us from our sin. However, faith that saves will invariably change us. If we don’t see a change, we have to ask ourselves if we really have trusted.