Lesson 4 – James Chapter 2:14-26
Here’s a recap about what James had to tell us in the beginning of chapter2:
Verse 1 from an older copy of the New Living Translation says;
“My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim that you have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people more than others?”
This verse introduced us into the sin of partiality. James gave us the example as to how things worked in the synagogues. The Pharisees always made sure that they had the best seats in the house, where their self-righteousness was on full display. James made the point that if a new person came into the synagogue and it was obvious that they were rich, they would be given the best seats in the house in hopes that they would be generous with their wealth. The poor man on the other hand was pushed to a dark corner. This action by the Pharisees should be seen as sinful.
James also shows how hypocritical this was, because it was the rich who slandered and blasphemed our Lord, and that it was the rich who were also dragging them into court.
Verse 10 is an extremely noteworthy Scripture: “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.”
If a person breaks any part of the law, they’re guilty of breaking all of it. So, whatever we say or whatever we do, remember that we will be judged by the law that sets you free… the law of love.
James chapter 2 opened with a reference to faith. Starting in verse 14 through the rest of this chapter we’ll do a deep dive into what faith, true faith, looks like.
Faith is a very real thing, Jesus talked about it, and it’s part of what saves us.
“Faith” occurs 245 times in 229 verses in the NKJV.
• What is a good definition as to what faith really is?
Heb. 11:1
“Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” (NLT)
Eph 2:8
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,”
Matt. 17:20
“So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”
I Cor. 16:13
“Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.”
Faith is real, it is one of the pillars of our Christian belief.
Someone once said that faith is not “believing in spite of evidence, but obeying in spite of consequence.”
Warren Wiersbe; “Faith is not some kind of nebulous feeling that we work up; faith is confidence that God’s Word is true, and conviction that acting on that Word will bring His blessing.”
Here are some questions to where we should find the answers in James chapter 2:
1. What kind of faith really saves a person?
2. Is it necessary to perform good works in order to be saved?
3. How can a person tell whether or not he is exercising true saving faith?
A person that confesses Christ as Lord, but doesn’t live a Christ-honoring life or a Christ-obeying life is a total fraud in their faith.
James 2:14
“What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?”
James starts out by saying, My brethren… We need to remember that the audience that James was writing to is mostly Jewish. The believing Jews come from a background of following the law, and with that, they had lots of do’s and don’ts to follow.
With this in mind, there had to be a number of Jews, that once they heard about being saved by faith and not by works, they were “all in” as they say. On the surface to them, this “new religion” was so much easier than from what they were used to following.
John MacArthur says, “Such people would make a profession of believing about Christ, but with the mistaken notion that, because works are not valuable for salvation, they are, therefore, not necessary for anything. The inevitable result was non-saving faith and a type of living that differed little, if at all, from the way they had formerly lived, it may have even led to worse conduct.”
In other words, they’re just going to kick back and enjoy this new Jesus thing, that they don’t have to “do” anything but just believe.
If someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?
We can reword the question James asks a little bit by saying, “Can that kind of faith save a person?” What kind? The kind of faith that is never seen through practical works. The answer is no! Practical works are everyday good works that are easily seen by those around us.
“What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?” (NLT)
I hope you all agree that the answer here is no.
A person who confesses Christ as Lord, but doesn’t live a Christ-honoring life or a Christ-obeying life is a total fraud in their faith. Any statement of faith that doesn’t result in a changed life and good works, is quite frankly a false declaration of faith.
The person who makes a profession of faith, that is, a declaration of his or her intent to follow Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, is usually demonstrated more by what a person does than by what he claims to be.
Jesus talked about doing good works:
Matt. 5:16
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
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.”
It’s the old saying, “walking the talk,” God designed us for good works.
Titus 3:8
“This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.”
Paul is teaching us to “maintain good works.”
In verses 15 and 16 James describes for us a little scenario:
“If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?”
James gives us a clear picture here… A believer runs into a person who is in great need of all kinds of things. Then, after having a brief conversation with this person, the believer says to the poor person, “Well it’s been nice meeting you, have a nice day and have a good life,” then they go on their merry way.
Then James says, what does it profit? Or, what good does that do? The believer, by acting this way, has just destroyed their testimony, that is, if they had one at all. As believers in Christ, we are to be brand new, that a change has come over us.
II Cor. 5:17
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (NLT)
I think it’s safe to say, that most people have heard the stories about Jesus, and how good He was to all people. For a believer to treat a person that is in great need as we have just seen in this verse, that they would do it with such callousness, is to act very un-Christ-like.
James 2:17
“Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
“So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.” (NLT)
A good point to be made here is, some interpreter’s conclude that James is speaking about genuine faith which has become dead. Other commentators say that this verse is a reference to a faith that was never alive in the first place. You can come to your own conclusion.
The great theologian John Calvin wrote; “It is faith alone that justifies, but faith that justifies can never be alone.”
Faith is not to stand alone. The faith that saves is a faith that brings new life, and this new life produces fruit or good works. This makes perfect godly sense for us.
Warren Wiersbe; “The person with dead faith has only an intellectual experience. In his mind, he knows the doctrine of salvation, but he has never summitted himself to God and trusted Christ for salvation. He knows the right words, but he does not back up his words with his works.”
It’s true that it only takes a small amount of faith to trust in Jesus, but that small amount of faith needs to come from within the heart. And if it does come from the heart, most certainly, that small amount of faith will grow into servanthood to God. Servanthood to God equates to producing fruit or good works in a person’s life.
John 15:5
“I am the Vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
James says, “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” I think it’s safe to say at this point, a person with this kind of faith (a dead faith) isn’t saved at all. Just as a person with saving faith will never reject Christ, that same kind of faith will produce good works.
James 2:18
“But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
“Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” (NLT)
We have a bit of an argument here, where a person is trying to say that their faith can stand all by its self. Let’s pretend that we’re in a courtroom, and there is a person who is charged with “not” having any faith. This person has a defense attorney, but how is this defense attorney going to defend his client without any visible evidence to prove his case? The lawyer can’t simply go on his word or hearsay. There needs to be some evidence, something viable, like good works!
True faith always shows some kind of practical evidence, a dead faith will not.
James 2:19
“You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe – and tremble!”
“You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.” (NLT)
This is a Scripture that a lot of Christians are familiar with. That even the demons have faith, they believe God is real, and that there is one God.
Deut. 6:4
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!”
Demons have faith, but do they have any good works? That would be zero! It’s pretty easy to say that the faith satan and his demons have is a dead faith. Their kind of belief doesn’t lead to love, submission, or obedience; instead it leads to hatred, rebellion, and disobedience.
It’s likely that James was going for a little shock value to get the attention of any complacent readers by saying that even demons have faith. It might surprise most people that demons have faith. Demons are not atheists or agnostics, and they also believe in the deity of Christ.
Mark 3:11
“And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, “You are the Son of God.”
Demons also believe their future isn’t so bright…
Luke 8:30-31
“Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.”
A person with a dead faith is only touched in the way they think about God. Demons are touched in their emotions, they believe and tremble.
Dead faith is a counterfeit faith and lulls a person into a false confidence of eternal life. This is why it’s important for us to examine ourselves spiritually.
Again, from Warren Wiersbe; “But it is not a saving experience to believe and tremble. A person can be enlightened in his mind and even stirred in his heart and be lost forever. True saving faith involves something more, something that can be seen and recognized: a changed life. “Show me thy faith without works,” challenged James, “and I will show thee my faith by works.”
James 2:20
“But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?”
The Greek word translated “dead” carries the meaning of “barren or idle,” it’s kind of like money in a bank drawing no interest, it just sits there.
James has introduced to us two kinds of faith that can never save anyone, a “dead faith” which has to do with our intellect alone, and then a “demonic faith” which is intellect combined with emotion. The only kind of faith that can save is an active faith, which comes from the heart.
I think, once someone realizes their faith is the same kind of faith that demons have, that it might be enough to get their attention.
James 2:21-24
“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.”
Some people might get confused by this Scripture and think that Abraham was saved by works… this is not the case.
Pastor Jon Courson does a very good job explaining this:
“It’s not that Abraham was saved by taking Isaac up the mountain to sacrifice him in obedience to God. No, James says the work that saved Abraham took place years before that when he simply believed in God (vs. 23).
When was Abraham declared righteous? As James quotes Gen. 15:6, we understand that Abraham was declared righteous when he simply believed God would do what He said He would do when He told Abraham that He would make his descendants more numerable than the sand on the seashore.
Interestingly, Paul would also point to Abraham as proof that a man is justified by faith apart from works (Rom 4:3). James and Paul are in full agreement because they both maintain that the moment Abraham simply believed God, was the moment God imputed righteousness unto him.
It is not faith and works that saves a man. It is not faith or works. It is faith that works. All Abraham was doing on Mount Moriah was showing the reality of what had taken place in his life years earlier when he simply believed God.
If your faith is real, it will show itself. How? By obeying the Word of God and following the leading of the Lord, even though you may not understand where it will lead. At the time, Abraham could not have understood the significance of what he had done on Mount Moriah, but this side of Calvary, we see it was a perfect picture of what God the Father would do in sending His Son to that same mountain to die for the sins of the world.
You know you’re truly born again when you find yourself obeying God. We’re not saved by obedience, but our obedience proves we’re saved, for true faith works.”
James 2:25
“Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?”
You can’t find two people that are more different, Rahab and Abraham. Rahab was a Gentile and Abraham was a Jew. Abraham was a godly man and Rahab was a sinful woman, a harlot as the Word says. Abraham was a friend of God, whereas Rahab belonged to the enemies of God. What they did have in common was that they both had saving faith.
You can find Rahab’s story in Joshua 2 and 6. It is about when Israel was going to invade the city of Jericho, in their Promised Land. Joshua sent out some spies to figure out the lay of the land. When they got there they met Rahab, a harlot, and she protected them. She admitted that she believed in what God had said, and what God was going to do. This reminds me of the people of Nineveh, that they believed God and repented. When the spies left Rahab, they promised to save her and her family, and they did just that.
Heb. 11:31
“By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.”
Josh. 2:12-13
“Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a true token, “and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.”
Rahab responded with her mind and with her emotions, but she also responded with her will, she did something about it. She risked her own life to protect the Jewish spies, and then she further risked her life by sharing the news of deliverance with her family. This was faith followed by action, thus putting Rabah in the “Faith Hall of Fame.”
James 2:26
“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
Growing up as a Catholic, it came as quite as a surprise to me when I learned, until a person is born-again, that your spirit inside is considered dead by God. That every spirit within a person needs a re-birth. James says, For as the body without the spirit is dead… meaning a person without the Holy Spirit living in them is dead spiritually.
So faith without works is dead also… James compares dead faith or a professed faith without works, to a body without the Holy Spirit. Both are totally useless and have no life-giving power whatsoever.
We’ll close with this…
II Cor. 13:5
“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless indeed you are disqualified.”
It’s important that every believer study this chapter on faith, so that they can recognize just what kind of faith they really do have. A true and active faith will be easy for others to see and recognize. The most important thing is that you see it within yourself.