Expression
Of True Faith
Another shift in the argument of the epistle can be seen by James’ use of my brothers. He introduced this paragraph with a rhetorical question, What good is it… if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? The emphasis is not on the true nature of faith but on the false claim of faith. It is the spurious boast of faith that James condemned. Such “faith” does no “good”; there is no “profit” (ophelos, used in the NT only here and in Jas. 2:16; 1Cor. 15:32). It is worthless because it is all talk with no walk. It is only a habitual empty boast (“claims” is in the pres. tense). Can such faith save him? A negative answer is anticipated in the Greek. Merely claiming to have faith is not enough. Genuine faith is evidenced by works.
If
a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, Jas 2:15
In
the last passage, we learned that works do not save you, but you will
have good works, if you are saved. The brother and sister here, are
not brothers and sisters in the flesh, but in the faith. This is
speaking of those who are Christians. This is not speaking of wants
in their lives; this is speaking of their needs.
The
rhetorical question is followed by a hypothetical but realistic
illustration: Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and
daily food. (James frequently wrote about the poor: Jas. 1:9, 1:27;
2:2-6, 2:15.)
And
one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye
warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things
which are needful to the body; what doth
it
profit? Jas 2:16
James
is saying in this, that just telling them to be filled will not fill
that empty place in their stomach. To wish them well, without giving
them a coat to warm with will not keep them warm. We must put action
to our wishes. Feed them and clothe them, and then wish them well,
and you will have done something.
Mat.
25:42-43 “For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was
thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:” “I was a stranger, and ye took
me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye
visited me not.”
Be
doers of the Word, and not just hearers. Be a sermon by the actions
you take toward others.
For
one in need of the basics of life, sentimental good wishes do little
good, like the common Jewish farewell, Go, I wish you well (lit., “Go
in peace,” Jdg. 18:6; 1Sam. 1:17; 2Sam. 15:9; Mar. 5:34; Luke
7:50). If nothing is done to fill the pressing need for warm clothes
and satisfying food, what good is it? The same phrase that James used
to introduce this paragraph (Jas. 2:14) is repeated for emphasis.
Even
so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Jas 2:17
Even
so faith… Just as professed compassion without action is phony, the
kind of faith that is without works is mere empty profession, not
genuine saving faith.
We
can say we have faith, but we will not be believed, unless we have
works to match up with our faith. The faith of Abraham was put into
action when Abraham was about to offer his son, Isaac, as sacrifice
to God.
dead,
being alone...
Faith without works is dead; works without faith is dead (Jas. 2:17,
2:20, 2:26). Neither is complete in itself. It is like fire burning
without fuel and fuel burning without fire. One can say that this is
possible, but it is not; it is contrary to the creative makeup and
the laws that govern fire and fuel.
Faith
brings results. Faith causes us to step out and do things we would
not think of trying otherwise.
The
vain boast, faith by itself, or faith in and of itself with no
evidence of action, is dead. Work-less faith is worthless faith; it
is unproductive, sterile, barren, dead! Great claims may be made
about a corpse that is supposed to have come to life, but if it does
not move, if there are no vital signs, no heartbeat, no perceptible
pulse, it is still dead. The false claims are silenced by the
evidence.
Yea,
a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith
without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Jas
2:18
Yea,
a man... Interpreters disagree on whether
(1)
“A man” is James humble way of referring to himself or whether it
refers to one of James’ antagonists who objected to his teaching;
and
(2)
how much of the following passage should be attributed to this
antagonist as opposed to James himself.
Regardless,
James’ main point is the same: the only possible evidence of true
faith is works (2 Pet. 1:3-11).
Look
with me, at faith in action.
Heb.
11:7-8 “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as
yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by
the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the
righteousness which is by faith.”
“By
faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he
should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not
knowing whither he went.”
Heb.
11:29 “By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry [land]:
which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.”
All
of these Scriptures show faith in action, or faith acted upon. We
must do the things of God, if we are of faith. One of the very best
examples of this is the parable about the 3 men who received talents
from the Lord. Two of them acted in faith and earned more for the
master. The third was afraid and hid his talent. His Lord was angry
and took it away from him.
Fear
is the opposite of faith. To be truly faithful, we must act upon our
faith. Just to sit down and say you have faith, without doing
something about it, actually shows lack of faith.
Evidence
Of True Faith
This
may be one of the most misunderstood sections of the entire epistle.
But
someone will say, You have faith; I have deeds. An
imaginary respondent, “someone,” was introduced. He did not
object to James’ conclusion. He agreed that faith without works is
dead. But he wrongly disparaged faith while stressing works (see Jas.
2:19).
What
follows, Show
me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I
do, may be the
continuation of the respondent’s words. If so, they should be
included within quotation marks. (If this were James’ response to a
contender’s “I have deeds,” James would have written, “Show
me your deeds
without faith.”)
Though recent translations do not include the second half of Jas.
2:18 in the quotation of the respondent (e.g., NEB, NIV, RSV), the
NASB correctly considers this entire verse part of his remarks. The
Greek, of course, does not include quotation marks, which accounts
for the variations in English. It seems, however, that the respondent
is throwing down the challenge, “Show me your faith apart from
(chōris,
‘without’) works, and I will show you my faith by (ek,
meaning “out of” emerging from my works”.
Thou
believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also
believe, and tremble. Jas 2:19
Thou
believest that... Believing
in God is no proof that you are justified by faith alone, for even
devils believe without justification. A
clear reference to the passage most familiar to his Jewish readers;
the Shema (Deut. 6:4-5), the most basic doctrine of the Old
Testament.
Deut.
6:4-5 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the
Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your strength”.
devils
also believe... Even fallen angels affirm the oneness of God and
tremble at its implications. Demons are essentially orthodox in their
doctrine (Mat. 8:29-30; Mar. 5:7; Luke 4:41; Acts 19:15). But
orthodox doctrine by itself is no proof of saving faith. They know
the truth about God, Christ and the Spirit, but hate it and them.
Many
believe that just to say you believe in God is enough, but without
trust in God to act upon the faith, it becomes very questionable
about whether you really have faith in God, or are just saying you
do.
The
devils believe, because they have seen God in heaven. It takes no
faith at all to believe something you have seen with your own eyes.
The true faith is believing in your heart in something you have not
seen.
devils...
here, is speaking of the angels that followed Lucifer out of heaven.
They tremble, because they know the terrible fate that awaits them.
It
may be well to include even Jas. 2:19 as part of the respondent’s
argument: You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons
believe that — and shudder. If so, he may be a typical Gentile
believer who attacked the creedal belief of monotheism accepted by
all Jews. He was saying, to “believe” in one God may be good so
far as it goes, but it does not go far enough. The demons do that. In
fact not only do they believe (the same verb, pisteuō);
they even “shudder,” or “bristle up” (phrissousin,
an onomatopoeic verb used only here in the NT). The “belief” in
one God may not be “trust” in that God. Unless it is “trust,”
it is not true faith and will not be evidenced in good works.
In
other words the respondent is saying, “Faith is not the key; what
counts is works.” Thus the respondent has gone too far. James did
not say that works are essential
to faith, or that faith is unimportant. His argument was that works
are evidence
of faith.
Other
writers understand this passage to mean that James (Jas. 2:18)
challenged the “someone” to show his faith without deeds — the
point being that it cannot be done! James, however, said that faith
can be demonstrated (only) by what one does (Jas. 2:18). The demons’
“belief” in God is inadequate. Such a so-called but unreal faith
is obviously unaccompanied by deeds on their parts.
But
wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Jas
2:20
But
wilt thou...
Questions 8-11. Next, Jas. 3:11. Are you willing to be instructed as
to the nature of true saving faith?
O
vain man... Literally empty, defective. The objector’s claim of
belief is fraudulent, and his faith is a sham.
faith
without works... Literally “the faith without the works.” James
is not contrasting two methods of salvation (Faith versus works).
Instead, he contrasts two kinds of faith: living faith that saves and
dead faith that does not (1 John 3:7-10).
Faith
that is not acted upon brings no fruit.
Mar.
4:8 “And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang
up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and
some a hundred.”
Mar.
4:20 “And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as
hear the word, and receive [it], and bring forth fruit, some
thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
Those
who profess faith must be like this fruitful tree. Silent Christians
are not fulfilling the great commission to go into all the world and
preach the gospel. It is not our obligation for them to listen, but
it is our obligation to tell them, if we have faith. To have faith
and do absolutely nothing about it, is no faith at all.
James
did not launch into a lengthy refutation of the respondent. The
apostle simply addressed him forcefully, You foolish man, and
returned to his original argument that faith without deeds is useless
(argē,
“lazy, idle, negligent”). The adjective “foolish” (kene)
is usually translated “vain,” “empty,” or “hollow” (cf.
mataios,
“worthless, fruitless, useless,” in Jas. 1:26). Flimsy faith is
dead; so are empty, faithless works. James’ argument is not
pro-works/anti-faith or pro-faith/anti-works. He has simply said that
genuine faith is accompanied by good works. Spiritual works are the
evidence, not the energizer, of sincere faith.
Was
not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac
his son upon the altar? Jas 2:21
justified
by works...
Two examples of justification by faith and works, not works only
(Jas. 2:21-26):
1.
Abraham (Jas. 2:21-24; Gen. 22:1-24)
2.
Rahab (Jas. 2:25; Jos. 2:1-24; 6:1-27)
This
does not contradict Paul’s clear teaching that Abraham was
justified before God by grace alone through faith alone (Rom. 3:20;
4:1-25; Gal. 3:6, 11). For several reasons, James cannot mean that
Abraham was constituted righteous before God because of his own good
works:
(1)
James already stressed that salvation is a gracious gift (1:17-18):
and
(2)
In the middle of this disputed passage (verse 23). James quoted (Gen.
15:6), which forcefully claims that God credited righteousness to
Abraham solely on the basis of his faith; and
(3)
The work that James said justified Abraham was his offering up of
Isaac (Gen. 22:9, 12), an event that occurred many years after he
first exercised faith and was declared righteous before God (Gen.
12:1-7; 15:6). Instead, Abraham’s offering of Isaac demonstrated
the genuineness of his faith and the reality of his justification
before God.
James
is emphasizing the vindication before others of a person’s claim to
salvation. James’ teaching perfectly complements Paul’s writing,
salvation is determined by faith alone (Eph. 2:8-9), and demonstrated
by faithfulness to obey God’s will alone (Eph. 2:10).
Abraham’s
faith was tested to see if it was really faith, or just talk. He
acted upon his faith, and God saved his son Isaac. Abraham had great
faith. His faith had grown into complete trust in God. He knew in his
heart, God could raise him from the dead.
Heb.
11:17-19 “By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac:
and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten
[son],” “Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be
called:” “Accounting that God [was] able to raise [him] up, even
from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.”
when
he had....
It is clear from Gen. 22:1-24 that Abraham proved his faith in God
when he was asked to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice. It was faith that
led him to this act of obedience (Jas. 2:23). Had he refused to obey,
it would have demonstrated that he had no faith in God or His Word.
It is also clear that this act of faith and works was not his initial
justification by faith. That was at least 40 to 50 years before
offering Isaac (Gen. 12:1-4; Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:1-6).
Abraham’s
faith was strong enough to stand the test.
Examples
Of True Faith
As
a final proof of his thesis, James gave two biblical examples:
Abraham, the revered patriarch, and Rahab, the redeemed prostitute.
He presented each example in the form of a question, anticipating the
reader’s ready agreement.
Was
not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he
offered his son Isaac on the altar? This question is often held to be
directly opposed to Paul’s statement that Abraham’s faith, not
his works, caused God to declare him righteous (Rom. 4:1-5). Paul,
however, was arguing for the priority
of faith. James argued for the proof
of faith. Paul declared that Abraham had faith, and was therefore
justified, or declared righteous (Gen. 15:6), prior to circumcision
(Gen. 17:11; cf. Rom. 4:9). James explained that Abraham’s faith
was evident in his practice of Isaac’s sacrifice (Gen. 22:12), and
he was therefore justified, or declared righteous. Works serve as the
barometer of justification, while faith is the basis for
justification.
Seest
thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made
perfect? Jas 2:22
faith
made perfect... This refers to bringing something to its end, or to
its fullness. Just as a fruit tree has not arrived at its goal until
it bears fruit, faith has not reached its end until it demonstrates
itself in a righteous life.
The
faith of Abraham was made perfect in the action he took. He
proclaimed his perfect faith and trust in God by his actions. Had the
test of offering his son for sacrifice to God never arisen, we would
not have realized how great faith Abraham had in God. His act of
faith helps us in difficult situations to act upon our faith.
We
might be like the man who brought his son to Jesus for healing. He
said he believed, but help his unbelief. Each person has a portion of
faith, but to let it grow, we must use it. Our faith grows with every
use.
James
emphasized the joint role of faith and… actions… working
together. Faith is the force behind the deed. The deed is the
finality of the faith. The verb translated was made complete
(eteleiōthē)
means to “carry to the end.” Faith finds fulfillment in action.
And
the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it
was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend
of God. Jas 2:23
Abraham
believed God,...
Quoted from Gen. 15:6 which was many years before offering Isaac as
in Gen. 22:1-24. Thus, every act of obedience is an act of faith and
works combined to maintain justification before God.
the
Friend of...
The greatest blessing possible is to be a friend of God. Abraham
is so called (in 2 Chr. 20:7 and Isa. 41:8), because of his obedience
(John 15:14-15).
it
was imputed... The belief of Abraham was counted unto him for
righteousness. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Without
acting upon the faith that we have, it is not faith at all. To be the
Friend of God would be the highest honor we could be paid. God had
great regard for Abraham.
So
it was with Abraham.
Ye
see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
Jas 2:24
not
by faith...
The whole passage emphasizes faith with works—not faith only or
works only. Even Paul did not teach justification by faith only, for
he also taught works whereby Christians should demonstrate their
faith (see, Jas.
2:14).
The
works spoken of here, are an evidence of the faith the person has.
Faith saves us, but the works are a by-product of our faith. When we
stand before Jesus on judgment day, He will say to His own, well
done, thy good and faithful servant. Servants serve.
James
and Paul quoted the same passage — Gen. 15:6 — to prove their
points (cf. Rom. 4:3). Paul said that Abraham was justified by faith,
and James said that Abraham was justified by faith evidenced by what
he did.
Likewise
also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had
received the messengers, and had sent them
out another way? Jas 2:25
Rahab
the harlot...
Rahab was also justified by her works and her faith when she hid the
spies with peace (Jos. 2:1-24; Heb. 11:31). The Old Testament records
the content of her faith, which was the basis of her justification
before God. She demonstrated the reality of her saving faith when, at
great personal risk she protected the messengers of God (Jos. 2:4,
15; 6:17; Heb. 11:31). James did not intend however, for those words
to be a commendation of her occupation or her lying.
Just
as James presents two examples of spurious faith (verses 16, 19), he
concludes with two examples of genuine faith: Abraham and Rahab. One
was a Jewish patriarch of great sanctity, whose faith was perfected
by his works. The other was the lowest citizen of a condemned Gentile
city, whose newfound faith was dramatized by her works. No matter
whether one has the mature faith of an Abraham or the baby-like faith
of a Rahab, there must be evidence of that faith.
The
actions that Rahab took revealed that she had faith in God. She
helped the messengers, because her faith in God was greater than her
fear of men.
In
the same way (lit., “and likewise also”; homoiōs
de kai) was not even Rahab
declared righteous for her actions in welcoming the spies (angelous,
“messengers”) and helping them escape? (Jos. 2:1-24; 6:1-27)
For
as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is
dead also. Jas 2:26
body
without the...
Only the body dies at the time of physical death. This is caused by
the soul and spirit leaving the body. The body returns to dust and
the soul and spirit of the righteous go to heaven to await the
resurrection (2Co. 5:8; Phlp. 1:21-24; Heb. 12:23; Rev. 6:9-11). The
soul and spirit of the wicked go to hell to await the resurrection
(Luke 16:19-31; Isa. 14:9; Rev. 20:11-15). The soul and spirit are
spiritual and immortal. They cannot go back to dust.
so
faith without...
Just as surely as the inner man leaves the body at physical death and
is no longer with the body, so faith without works is dead
(separated) and is powerless.
The
point of this analogy between the body and one’s faith is that both
require an energizing element. The absence of that element renders
the other component dead.
The
spirit within the body is the real you. It is the spirit that is
alive, quickened by the Lord Jesus Christ. The body is just the house
that the spirit lives in here on the earth. When a person’s spirit
leaves the body, the body is dead. Jesus dismissed His Spirit from
His body, and the body died on the cross.
The
spiritual body that lives within this body of flesh is the part of us
that will live on. When the spirit leaves the body, the life is gone.
Faith that is not acted upon is like this empty shell of the body.
Faith is not real, until the actions show the faith of the person.
The
conclusion is most clear. Faith and deeds are as essential to each
other as the body and the spirit. Apart from (chōris)
the spirit, or the “breath” (pneumatos)
of life, the body is dead. Apart from (chōris)
the evidence of works, faith may be deemed dead. It is not
the real thing. True faith continually contributes to spiritual
growth and development.
Not
only is a believer to stand confidently on God’s Word even in the
midst of trials and temptations (Jas. 1:1-27), but also he must serve
his brothers and sisters in Christ (Jas. 2:1-26). He is to accept all
members of God’s family without favoritism (Jas. 2:1-13) and to aid
the family with a working faith (Jas. 2:14-26). To gain spiritual
maturity a believer must be what God wants him to be and do what God
wants him to do.
