2:14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man says
he has faith, but
has no works? Can faith save him?
2:15 And if a brother or sister is naked and in
lack of daily food,
2:16 and one of you tells them, "Go
in peace, be warmed and filled;
and yet you didn't give them the things the body needs, what good is
it?
2:17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is
dead in itself.
2:18 Yes, a man will say, "You have
faith, and I have works."
Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will
show you my faith.
2:19 You believe that God is one. You do well.
The demons also believe,
and shudder.
2:20 But do you want to know, vain man, that
faith apart from works
is dead?
2:21 Wasn't Abraham our father justified by
works,
in that he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?
2:22 You see that faith worked with his works,
and by works faith was
perfected;
2:23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says,
"Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as
righteousness;" (Gen
15:6)
and he was called the friend of God.
2:24 You see then that by works, a man is
justified, and not only by
faith.
2:25 In like manner wasn't Rahab the
prostitute also justified by
works,
in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way? (Josh
2,6)
2:26 For as the body apart from the spirit is
dead,
even so faith apart from works is dead.
CROSS REFERENCES (kjv)
Rom 4:1-8 "What shall we say then that Abraham our father,
as
pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by
works,
he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the
scripture?
Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
Now
to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
But
to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the
ungodly,
his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth
the
blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without
works,
Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins
are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin." John 3:14-16 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness,
even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in
him
should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world,
that
he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should
not
perish, but have everlasting life." Nu 21:7-9 "Therefore the people came to Moses, and said,
We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee;
pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses
prayed
for the people. And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery
serpent,
and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that
is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a
serpent
of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a
serpent
had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived." Rom 10:9-10 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the
Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him
from
the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto
righteousness;
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Rom 4:20-24 "He staggered not at the promise of God through
unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully
persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And
therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not
written
for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to
whom
it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord
from the dead;" were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to
whom God wil credit righteousness-- for us who believe in him who
raised
Jesus our Lord from the dead." Gal 3:5-12 "He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit,
and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or
by the hearing of faith? Even as Abraham believed God, and it was
accounted
to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of
faith,
the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing
that
God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel
unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then
they
which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. For as many as are
of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed
is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the
book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in
the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And
the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in
them."
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
How do you resolved the apparent contradiction between this section and
Rom 4:1-8?
vs 14 What qualities of faith must a person have for it to be
acceptable
to God for righteousness?
vs 15-16 Is James giving examples of works of faith here, or merely
pointing out a general illustration of the emptiness of belief without
application?
vs 17 How would your life be any different if you did not believe in
Christ?
vs 18 Whereas vs 14 gives the case of a man claiming to have faith,
but no deeds, this verse gives the case of the person who claims to
have
deeds, but no faith. James answers both these positions by pointing out
that what we do reveals what we believe. What is the
difference
between this idea and the idea of making a person's salvation dependent
upon his performance?
vs 19 Faith has both an object and a quality. If a person has faith,
he believes in something (the object) and he has a certain manner of
believing
in that thing (the quality). James points out that believing in God's
existence
itself does not save. So what is is the object of the Christian's faith
that saves him? (John 3:14-16; Rom 10:9,10)
vs 21 Why was Abraham's attempt to murder his son considered an act
of faith worthy of one who was reckoned righteous?
What is the difference between this "good work" and works that the
society considers "good"?
vs 21-23 In Gal 3:5-12, Paul points out that Abraham's faith
was not according to the works of the law. What is the different
between
the emphasis on deeds as described in this section with the works of
the
law?
vs 25 Why was Rahab's treason considered righteous?
Shouldn't the fact that she was a prostitute have disqualified her
from being considered righteous?
Why do you suppose of all people to chose Rahab as an example?
Comments
Can Such Faith Save?
James 2:14What good is it, my brothers, if a man
claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
There is a faith that can save. But there are many faiths which cannot
save. One aspect of saving faith is that it is application oriented. A
person of saving faith considers the implications of their faith and
acts upon such implications. Paul writes, "By this gospel you are saved, if you
hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed
in vain." 1Cor 15:2
There are those whose claim of having faith is merely vain. "Do not merely listen to the word, and
so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."James 1:22 And there are those "who claim to know God, but by their
actions they deny him." Titus
1:16a Jesus said, "Not
everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of
heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."Mt 7:21
Wishful
Faith
James 2:15-17 Suppose a brother or sister is without
clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you
well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical
needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not
accompanied by action, is dead.
Here James is drawing an analogy between application oriented faith and
a scenario which, in view of the content of his letter, was likely
present at the time, namely the rich neglecting the needs of the poor,
leaving them with only vain words. Does your Christian life go beyond
mere words? Does it go beyond mere wishful thinking? To merely "wish"
someone well is analogous to those who claim to like Jesus, but have no
intention of listening to him to do what he says. There are those who
claim to believe the gospel who don't really believe it but rather
simply wish it were true. Wishful
faith
is
not saving faith.
Works accompany saving
faith, and thus genuine believers can be identified by their works. "If anyone has material possessions
and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love
of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or
tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know
that we belong to the truth." 1John
3:17-19a A Christian's assurance of salvation is to be
proportional to the degree to which he behaves as a child of God
should. Thus Paul says to the Corinthian Christians, in view of their
misbehavior, "Examine yourselves
to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not
realize that Christ Jesus is in you— unless, of course, you fail the
test?" 2Cor 13:5
Faith
Demonstrated
James 2:18,19 But someone will say, "You have faith;
I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my
faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the
demons believe that— and shudder.
James speaks of those who presume there is not necessarily any
correlation between their alleged "faith" and their behavior. There are
who claim to have faith, but have no corresponding deeds. Likewise
there are those who claim to do "good works" but don't have faith in
God. Such people are misevaluating the "goodness" of their deeds. In
fact you cannot do the works of faith without faith. And "without faith it is impossible to
please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists
and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."Heb 11:6
Futhermore to believe only certain things about God which may be
correct, such as God being one, God being Creator, God being just, God
being holy, such beliefs do not mean that one has saving faith. Muslims
believe a number of things about God, as do demons. One of the tenets
of Islam is that there is one God. But such faith will not save them on
the judgment day. For if a person has broken the law, is he then
justified by knowing that God is one, that God is just, that God is
holy?
It is for this reason that demons shudder at the thought. When Jesus
approached a man possessed of demons, the demons said, "What do you want with us, Son of God?"
they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed
time?" Mt 8:29 Just
like demons have no Savior, those who merely partially believe are
likewise not qualified for salvation. For simply being aware of God's
attributes does not justify a person from the guilt of their sin.
"For since the creation of the
world God’s invisible qualities— his eternal power and divine nature—
have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so
that men are without excuse."Rom
1:20
There
are many ideas that while true have little relevance if not applied. If
a person truly believes in God, this is what Jesus said, "Everyone who listens to the Father and
learns from him comes to me." John
6:45
Abraham's
Application
Oriented
Faith
James 2:20-24 You foolish man, do you want evidence
that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham
considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on
the altar? (Gen 22) You see that his faith and his actions
were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.
And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and
it was credited to him as righteousness," (Gen 15:6) and he was called God’s friend.
You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith
alone.
Now this is no way conflicts with Paul's description of saving faith in
Romans 4. For Paul likewise uses Abraham's faith as a precedent for
saving faith. But while James here is speaking to the issue of those
who claim there is not necessarily any correlation between one's faith
and one's deeds, Paul was speaking to the issue of legalism.
Notice here that James likewise implies that works are not prerequiste
for God reckoning one righteous.
For Abraham was reckoned righteous by faith in Gen 15:6, while it was
many years later in Gen 22 that he showed his faith by his deeds in
offering Isaac. For it is not faith + works which save, but rather the
faith that saves is a faith that works. Thus the example James gives
here is the fact that Abraham's faith - the precedent of saving faith -
was application oriented, whereas Paul was dealing with those who claim
that it's faith + works which save.
Now consider furthermore of this offering of Isaac. It was not merely a
work of obedience. It was a work of faith.
By
faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He
who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only
son, even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your
offspring will be reckoned." Abraham reasoned that God could
raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back
from death.Heb 11:17-19
You see Abraham knew that he was not going to lose Isaac. For God had
promised that Isaac would have offspring, which hadn't come to pass at
this point. Therefore Abraham reasoned.
Saving
faith
is a faith that reasons. It's a faith that considers the
implications of what God has said and acts on them. Abraham acted in
accordance with his faith thus revealing the quality of his faith.
A faith which is alone does not justify a person. What justifies a
person is a working faith - a faith accompanied by works. Consider what works have accompanied your faith. "Do not let anyone lead you astray. He
who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous."1John 3:7 and "If you know that he is righteous, you
know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him."1John 2:29
As for being God's friend, Jesus said, "You
are my friends if you do what I command."John 15:14
Rahab's
Application
Oriented
Faith
James 2:25"In the same way, was not even Rahab
the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave
lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?"
Rahab believed God long before the Israelite spies
came.
She believed God's promise and acted on it. But realize that there were
many Canaanites who feared the Lord, but they didn't act on their
"faith"
and so such faith was not of saving value. Here's what she tells the
spies:
"I know that the LORD
has given this land to you and
that
a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this
country
are melting in fear because of you. 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 Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan,
whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts
melted
and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is
God in heaven above and on the earth below."Joshua 2:9-11
There are those who "believe" in God and fear His judgement to come.
There
are those who "believed" in Jesus, but have not acted on their faith.
Such
faith is not of saving value. Such non-application oriented faith does
not meet God's standard for Him to give out His free gift of eternal
life.
Notice another thing. Abraham and Rahab both had to "reason" to
infer
an application of their faith. (Heb
11:19) Rahab was not acting on a
promise.
For God had not promised to spare any of the Canaanites. But her faith
was in God's character and ability. And it was not a blind faith, for
she
had heard of God's acts. But making an agreement with the spies was
like
taking initiative to approach God to be reconciled and saved from His
wrath.
Thus in Abraham and Rahab we see different aspects of saving faith.
Abraham operated under a promise and was reckoned God's friend before
his
act of faith with Isaac in which he was responding to a command. Rahab
had no promise to work with. She was not reckoned God's friend but
God's
enemy. And she was not acting in response to a command. Rather she
believed
in who God was and in His ability and character. She took intiative to
seek reconciliation, seeking to establish a promise or covenant with
God.
But both had the same kind of faith. It was just that the
circumstances
under which they applied their faith were much different. There are
those
today who for theological reasons discourage people from having a
seeking
kind of faith. But Jesus said, "So
I
say
to you: Ask and it will be
given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened
to you."Luke 11:9 And the author of Hebrews writes, "And
without
faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him
must
believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek
him."Heb 11:6
Rahab is an example of those who earnestly
seek him.
Dead
Faith
James 2:26As the body without the spirit is dead,
so faith without deeds is dead.
If you go to a funeral where the body of the person is
in a casket, such a person may be spoken of as having "passed away" or
of being in another place. Yet the person is right there in front of
you!
That is what James is talking about when he speaks of a non-application
oriented faith. It has an outward form but is empty and lifeless.
Saving
faith is a living faith. It can been seen in one's life and it brings
one
to life. Dead faith is like a dead body. I doesn't do anything but
decay.An example of dead faith are those
in the parable of the sower associated with rocky ground. "The one who received the seed that
fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives
it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When
trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls
away."Mt 13:20,21 They
fall
away
because they failed to consider the implications of the
faith. As such their faith is a corruptibly dead faith. "If he should draw back, my soul has no
pleasure in him: but the just shall live by my faith." Hab 2:4(LXX)
JAMES 2:14-26
RAP
2:14 My dear brothers, what does
it gain
If one believes, but only in vain.
For if faith does not affect how he behaves,
I don't really think that kind of faith
saves. 15 If a brother or sister is naked
or
poor, 16 And you say "be warmed and
filled",
but do no more. 17 Just as they profit nothing from
what
you said,
Faith without works is really dead. 18 Some say, "I have faith, you
have deeds"
But don't you think where that leads?
Our faith is revealed by what we do
So if you have faith, you'll have deeds too!
19 You believe there's one God, you
do
well.
Even demons believe and tremble in hell.
20 But don't you know that even God
said
That faith without works is really dead.
21 Was not Abraham by works justified
When on the mountain by God he was tried.
22 You see his faith and deeds did
meet
And by his deeds, his faith was complete.
23 And so the scripture was
fulfilled
in what it says,
"Abraham believed and was reckoned
righteousness."
And he was called the friend of God.
But with the faith he had, that's not
really
odd. 24 Faith that works, that's the kind
that justifies a man, I find. 25 That Rahab the harlot was
justified
By what she did, can't be denied.
She received the messengers and let them
stay
And sent them out another way. 26 For as the body without the
spirit
is dead.
So too if faith and actions are not wed.
JAMES 2:14-26
RAP