James 2:14-26

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 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? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
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. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 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? 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. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 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? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

James 2:14-26

Faith without works is dead.  What is faith?  Faith is belief in something.  James is addressing the faith the believers profess to have.  Do they truly have alive faith or dead faith?  What is dead faith?  Well, dead faith isn't really faith at all.  I guess dead faith would be faith that is only professed but has no action to back it up.  Dead faith isn't real faith at all.  Dead faith is not saving faith.  To put it another way, dead faith really means that you don't actually have faith to begin with.

The example James gives is about seeing a brother or sister who is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food.  What does the person do in this example?  This person says "go in peace, be warmed and filled", but doesn't give the things needed for the body (warm clothes, food, etc).  This is just as useless as faith without works.

I remember Francis Chan giving an example at his church.  Or rather, I remember him recalling an example that he gave at his church.  He asked the congregation if they believed in his ability to shoot a bb gun that he had with him.  So, he asked if anyone truly believed in his ability, they could prove it by coming up on stage, holding a target in their mouth and allowing Francis Chan to shoot that target without hitting them.  If you truly believed in his ability with a bb gun, you wouldn't have a problem holding that target in your mouth for him to shoot it.  Similarly, if you have faith in something, your actions will prove that you truly believe in whatever you believe in.

James uses another example to show why faith without works is dead.  He points to the fact that even the demons believe that God is one.  Many Jews may have proudly professed faith that God is one.  This alone doesn't mean anything if it is something demons profess as well.  It's more than just clinging to belief.  Faith without works is dead.

I particularly like Shai Linne.  If you listen to "Doxology Intro", he describes how theology should lead to doxology.  So, a right understanding of God should lead to a right response to him (praise).  Fine, it's not a solid example, but I like Shai Linne.

James moves on to use two examples from the Old Testament.  The first example is of Abraham who was "justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar".  The second example is of Rahab who saved the spies.  What would've happened if Abraham hadn't sacrificed Issac on the alter?  You might be able to conclude that Abraham didn't truly believe in God because his actions didn't support it.  Or you may wonder if Rahab truly believed in the God of the Israelites if she simply turned in the spies.

One thing I noticed was that NLT translates this as "good deeds".  I'm not sure that's quite right.  Yes, I get it, Christians are indeed called to good deeds.  However, the point isn't necessarily the "good deeds", but rather the action that accompanies faith.  If you truly believe in something, you'll act accordingly.  If you truly believe that Jesus died for your sins and you are raised to new life, you will live in such a way.  As Paul describes believers as dead to sin and alive to Christ, those who have faith in Christ will live dead to sin and alive to Christ.  Faith in Jesus results in being a slave to righteousness and not a slave to sin.  I get why "good deeds" makes sense and how it relates.  However, it's more about the action or the deeds as opposed to the fact that there are "good deeds".

Perhaps I'll be going on and on about this a bit much, but let's look at the examples given by James in this passage.  Is what Rahab did a good deed?  You see, it depends on how you define "good deed".  She helped the spies.  For the Israelites, this was a good deed because she was helping them.  However, for people of Jericho, this was not a "good deed".  She went against the people of Jericho.  What she did was an action that was in line with her beliefs.  She showed her belief in what she said to the spies: "God has given you the land".  She also says, "the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath" showing she acknowledges their God and shows her belief in him.  If she believes that the God of the Israelites truly is God, then her actions would lead her to do the things that she did.

Even Abraham's example is bad, isn't it?  Abraham is offering up his own son to be sacrificed.  Is this a good thing or a bad thing?  If you don't believe in God or don't think he is truly hearing from God, then it's a bad thing, isn't it?  We arrest people who do harm or kill their own children.  This is wrong.  However, what he was doing was obeying God's instruction, no matter how difficult it was.  This shows his faith in God.  His actions were in line with his faith.

So, what matters to Christians?  What kind of deeds are we to do?  How do you know if what you're doing is in line with faith in Jesus?  Well, followers of Jesus are just that: people who follow Jesus.  They do what he says and follow his instruction.  Where do we find his instructions?  The Bible tells us.  It is from this, God's very own word, that we can be guided to do the things of God.