James 2:14-26 A Living Faith Works March 16, 2008
Introduction
Through direct statements or rhetorical questions, James tells us that faith without
works does not save, is profitless, is dead, and is useless. He then illustrates with two Old
Testament examples. Positively stated, his point is that real Christian faith must be exhi-
bited in good works, else it will actually be proven to be false faith.
Belief or at least professed belief is assumed by James (note v. 14). We are not talk-
ing about someone here who does “good” things and may even believe in “God” generi-
cally, and so claims assurance of heaven, yet lacks a personal faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Such a person is deceived, not having made it to first base much less past it. First
base is where faith is placed in the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ. In these notes,
we are talking about the need to reach second, third, and home base, to demonstrate one
actually got to first base in the first place.
1 .The Need of Works Growing Out of Genuine Faith, vv. 14-20
In these verses, James demonstrates first that faith without the following works is
unprofitable—there is no real good in it. Then he argues against a potential objection that
faith can exist apart from works.
A. Faith without Works is Unprofitable, vv. 14-17
i. Professed- but Non-Working-Faith Does Not Save, v. 14
This is the first verse of the section, and as such it is foundational to the rest of the
section. As we pointed out earlier, it sets the context of the passage—someone professes
to have faith. That comes first. Then the question is this: “Is this a true, verifiable profes-
sion or is it not?”
By using rhetorical questions, James makes two assertions. First, if someone says he
has faith but does not follow it up with good works, that faith is unprofitable. Second,
and worse yet, James teaches that such faith cannot save a person! The second question
is best translated as “Can such faith save him?”
So not only is this verse foundational, it is critical because it is talking about how
we might know if our faith is real or fake, and thus whether we are saved or not!
ii. Example of Profitless Faith, v. 15-16
Next we read an illustration that shows what fake faith looks like. As background to
the illustration, remember that we have seen in James 2:8 that the Christian is subject to
the “royal law,” which we also know as the “Law of Christ” as part-and-parcel with the
gospel (Gal. 6:2, 1 Cor. 9:21). The principle of loving one’s neighbor is a key principle
in that law, much like it was a key principle in the OT Mosaic Law (Lev. 19:18). Jesus
taught this in several places (Matt. 22:39), including the special command that Christians
love one another (John 13:34-35). Paul re-iterated this to the believers in Galatia, saying
that they must “do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith”
(Gal. 6:10).
The illustration presents a situation in which a believer is lacking the basic necessi-
ties of life, namely clothing and food. We could apply this idea to basic shelter as well.
From the whole of Scripture, we can tie in to Matt. 6:33 about seeking first God’s king-
dom, and having all “these things” (food, drink, clothing) added to you. One of the
means God may use to provide these is other believers being obedient to the call of the
gospel faith and loving their fellow believers. One caveat is that we assume the believer
is doing some gainful work, otherwise he should not eat (2 Thess. 3:10). We are not al-
lowed to simply live on handouts from others. We have to be productive ourselves.
The illustration further says that a professing believer tells the person to go away,
but without doing anything about their needs first. This person demonstrates useless so-
called “faith” even though he dresses up his statement with “go in peace” and tells the
person to be warmed and fed, apparently by someone else’s provision! Words only are
meaningless. Such “faith” is the profitless kind James is bringing to our attention.
iii. Conclusion: Faith Must Have Works, Else it is Dead, v. 17
James draws our thoughts to the inevitable conclusion that “such faith,” since it is
not followed by works, is by itself and is thus dead. This is where we pick up the theme
for the entire book of James—the tests of a living faith. If we fail these tests, we find out
that our faith is actually dead.
B. Faith Cannot Be Separated from Works, vv. 18-20
Here we have an objector who proposes basically that faith and works can be sepa-
rated. We can spend some time thinking about how the objection is made, but the point
seems clear that a wedge is being driven between faith and works. James says initial
professed faith is evidenced by later works. The objector says such is not necessarily the
case. “Perhaps some folks have faith, and some have works. Maybe it does not matter.
One works for me, James, and the other works for you.” He is objecting to the conclu-
sion drawn in v. 17.
i. Demonstrating Real Faith, v. 18
James then appeals to the objector to demonstrate his faith without works, and
James says he will demonstrate his own faith by what he does. Which is more difficult—
to demonstrate faith without works to do so, or to demonstrate faith with works? Ob-
viously James has the upper hand. Someone can say they have faith all day long, but if it
is just a sterile, lifeless kind of faith, it is nothing.
ii. Pointing Out False Faith, v. 19
This verse fits nicely with the preceding. The objector may indeed have some level
of faith in God—even believing that “God is one” or “there is one God” as the other
Scriptures teach (Deut. 6:4, Isa. 44:8, Mark 12:32, 1 Cor. 8:4). This is true doctrine, but
the problem is that, though it is necessary to believe this, it is not sufficient. How do we
know? Well, even the demons believe this truth, but they are obviously not saved!
The application of this to us is that the world is filled with people who say they “be-
lieve in God.” This is far from sufficient to be saving faith. Many people believe in a
“god” that is not the God of the Bible, and many believe in God, but apart from the Lord
Jesus Christ they are really rejecting that God they profess to believe!
iii. Emphasizing Faith Issuing in Works, v. 20
This verse serves two purposes. Perhaps the more obvious o the two is that it re-
states the conclusion of the section, which has already been stated in v. 17 and will be
stated again in v. 26. Faith without works is dead.
But the second purpose is to call on the “foolish” man, the objector, the one who
says faith can exist apart from works that prove its existence, to reconsider his view. “Do
you want to know” is an appeal to his will. “Are you willing to know or learn that faith
without works is dead?” In essence this is a call to the objector to reject his former view
and turn to the Biblical understanding that James is presenting.
Conclusion For Part 1
In order to be saved, someone must exercise a real faith in Jesus Christ. This in-
cludes knowing the facts of the person and work of Jesus Christ. It includes accepting
them as applicable to oneself. It includes the will or desire to follow Christ. It includes
repentance from sin and an attitude of submission to the Lord Jesus Christ. In short, real
faith has elements of knowing, accepting, willing, repenting, and submitting. It encom-
passes the whole person’s response to the work of Christ.
A test of one’s faith is to see then how it unfolds in life. It must issue in works.
Why? Yes, because James tells us so under the authority of God. But if we consider it
further theologically, we will realize that God gives the gift of faith (Eph. 2:8-10). God’s
work transforms us (2 Cor. 5:17). God’s grace is thus effective and will result in a
change of outward life, not just inward professing or thinking.
MAP
James 2:14-26 A Living Faith Works, Part 2 April 20, 2008
Review
It is of first importance to understand the point that James is teaching. He is saying
that a genuine Christian faith does by its very nature perform good works. He sup-
ports his teaching in two basic ways:
1. In verses 14-20, by stating the truth that faith must be accompanied by works.
2. In verses 21 to 26, by illustrating this truth from the lives of two OT saints.
We have examined verses 14-20 from several different angles. We saw that James
makes two assertions to prove his claim that faith must be accompanied by works. In
other words, there must be a link between them. These assertions are in negative form, in
which James supposes that the link is missing, and then shows that such “faith” is no real
faith at all. He asserts that faith which is not accompanied by works is:
A. Unprofitable, verses 14-17. If your faith does not profit a needy brother when
you are able to do so (v. 16), the implication is that it will not profit you in terms of sal-
vation (v. 14). It is dead faith (v. 17). In other words, if it is not alive enough to do a
basic work in this life, it is not the genuine article given by God. Thus it is not the right
type of faith, and so does not save.
B. Unprovable, verses 18-20. If your faith is not accompanied by works, you cannot
demonstrate the reality of that faith any more than the demons can demonstrate the “real-
ity” of their “faith” by some orthodox assertion about the monotheism of God. The de-
mons know that God is one; they tremble at the truth of it, but they do not submit them-
selves to God’s rule or authority, or repent of their sins, or anything of the sort. Even
faith that makes orthodox claims can be dead, as surprising as that may seem.
It behooves us to keep in mind this truth: faith without works is dead. God is not
fooled by a false profession! No amount of theologizing or philosophizing changes this
fact. Well known “easy-believism” theologians such as Charles Ryrie, Zane Hodges, and
the Grace Evangelical Society are off on this point. For instance, Hodges writes, “We
must resist the specious allurement of telling people that saving faith is a certain kind—
or a special kind—of faith.” (Zane C. Hodges, “We Believe In: Assurance of Salvation,”
Journal of the Grace Evangelical Theological Society [Fall 1990: Vol. 3 No. 2]: 16). The
huge problem with this statement is that James teaches in 2:14-26 that saving faith IS a
certain kind of faith—it is a faith that, after it is given by God, does good works. If it
does not, it is not the kind given by God, and thus not the kind that saves!
Easy believism is unfortunately very common in evangelicalism today. It often
comes up in the “he made a profession when he was five” situation when someone is
grasping for hope that another person is actually a believer. Even more difficult are the
times when someone has just died, or is on their deathbed and cannot any longer com-
municate. We can put a lot of hope in a few religious words that may or may not indicate
one is saved. Even more important than looking at all these situations with other people,
however, is to look at your own situation—have you fallen prey to this kind of un-
Biblical thinking?
Introduction
Now we come to the two illustrations that James uses to show that works do follow
faith, as an evidence and verification of that faith. This section is among the most diffi-
cult in the New Testament. It is used by religious cults to “prove” (note the quotation
marks) that salvation is obtained, at least partially, by works. The text does use three
times the phrase “justified by works” (v. 21, 24, 25). How are we to handle this? Does
James destroy our understanding of salvation by faith alone, taught so clearly in
passages like Eph. 2:8-10 and Rom. 3:28 and Gal. 2:16 and 3:2 and Luke 7:50, and
examples like the thief on the cross (Luke 23:40-43)?
The answer is a definite NO, he does not. One thing that we need to note in re-
sponse to this apparent difficulty is that James assumes that one has made some kind of
profession of faith in Christ as he enters into this discussion. It is either real faith or false
faith, but some kind of faith is assumed. He says as much in 2:14 when he writes, “if
someone says he has faith.” Further, he calls his readers “brethren,” assuming they are in
fact genuine Christians.
This is key because the kind of works that James is talking about are POST-FAITH
WORKS! James never speaks in chapter 2 of works that come before or concurrent with
faith before one’s (supposed) salvation. He cannot therefore be discussing the issue of
salvation by works.
Another thing we need to note is the timing of the events in the illustrations. Let us
look at the illustrations now and see what we learn.
2. The Examples of Works That Demonstrate Genuine Faith, vv. 21-26
(Remember this is numbered as “2.” Because this is part two of our series “A Living
Faith Works.” See our earlier notes from March 16, 2008.) The basic idea of this section
is that James selects an OT man or woman of faith, tells of a great deed that they did, and
asks the readers to see that the deed is one by which the OT man or woman was justified.
A. Abraham, vv. 21-24
i. The Event – Genesis 22:1-18 and the Offering of Isaac, v. 21
For James, perhaps the key verse is Gen. 22:12, where God affirms that He knows
Abraham fears God.
ii. Timing of Abraham’s Initial Justification, v. 21 and 23
Abraham’s faith was mentioned in Gen. 15:6 several years before the offering of
Isaac in Genesis 22. Actually he had real saving faith way back in Genesis 12, according
to Hebrews 11:8. Note the timeline: In Genesis 12:5, Abraham was about 75 years old; in
15:6, he was about 86 years old (16:16); he was 100 years of age at the birth of Isaac in
Genesis 21:5; and by Genesis 22 he was probably 115 or so, because Isaac was weaned
and a young man by this time. The point is that for 40 years or so, Abraham had believed
God; about 30 years had elapsed between Genesis 15:6 and Genesis 22.
iii. What Happened Next, v. 22
The text says that Abraham’s faith was “working together with” his works. Faith
and works were cooperating, as they should do in a true believer. Here we see that Abra-
ham had a “working faith” because his faith was working together with his works! Faith
works through good works.
Furthermore, good works “completed” or “perfected” his faith. Faith is good, and
faith is the channel through which we obtain justification, but it can always be built
upon, improved, strengthened, and purified. Here more specifically we could say that
faith “reached its goal” when it was expressed in works.
iv. Distinction Between the Initial and Subsequent Justifications, v. 23
Note that James is careful to teach us this point about the chronology—that “justifi-
cation by works” was NOT Abraham’s initial salvation. That “the Scripture was ful-
filled” in v. 23 tells us plainly that Abraham had faith in God much earlier; God imputed
righteousness to him much earlier, and his work in offering Isaac was confirming or
fulfilling the statement that was made earlier about his justification. Here was proof that
Abraham was really rightly related to God. It is this distinction between the more com-
mon use of “justify” and James’ use of “justify” that is key to understanding the passage.
v. Conclusion from Abraham, v. 24
Such a confirmation cannot be made simply on faith that is mouthed (like 2:19). So
in this sense, justification cannot be by faith, because as we said earlier, faith without
works is an unprovable faith.
B. Rahab, vv. 25-26
The verse starts with the word “likewise.” Therefore, we can say with certainty that
Rahab was justified by works in the same way Abraham was—after a great deed which
was itself after her initial point of justification.
i. The Event – Joshua 2:1-22 and the Escape of the Spies, v. 25
ii. Timing of Rahab’s Initial Justification
Joshua 2:9-11 indicates that it could have been years earlier, say as much as 40
years earlier because of her mention of the Red Sea. With the mention of Sihon and Og,
the kings who were defeated in battle before Israel ever came into the land, Rahab cov-
ered most of the 40 years of the wilderness wanderings. It is not said how many others
genuinely believed in God. Hebrews 11:31 says she received the spies and did not die in
the Israelite attack on the city, but there were many who are called disobedient ones.
iii. Conclusion from Rahab, v. 26
C. The Meaning of Justification by Works
What does it mean that a man is justified BY WORKS? Perhaps it would be instruc-
tive first to note what Paul means when he says a man is justified BY FAITH. Justifica-
tion is a legal or judicial act of God by which he imputes the righteousness of Christ to
the sinner, declares him righteous, and treats him as such (Rom. 5:18-19, 2 Cor. 5:21).
Note how this happens:
1. The ultimate or “moving” cause is God, not man. Note that in our definition
above, justification is an act of God, not an act of man. Note that Rom. 3:24 and Titus
3:7 show that we justified “by His grace.”
2. The meritorious cause of justification is the alien righteousness of Christ imputed
to the believer. This is how we can say we are “justified by Christ” (Gal 2:17) and by the
blood of Christ (Rom. 5:9).
3. The effective cause of justification is the Spirit of God. He is the agent that pro-
duces faith (see the next point).
4. The instrumental cause of justification is faith, which receives the justification
proclaimed through the gospel. Note that faith only receives justification; it does not
produce it. Thus we can say we are “justified by faith” as well (Gal 3:24; Rom. 3:28,
5:1). Some would say the instrumental cause is the testimony of the gospel, and that faith
is the procuring cause. I will leave that fine point of theology for another discussion.
So a man is justified by God by the work of Christ by the Spirit of God by
faith. This all is helpful because it reminds us that justification starts with God.
We have to remind ourselves that justification is from God—not from other men.
Recall Gen. 22:12, where God made a declaration about Abraham. So not only is our
justification by faith from God, this justification by works mentioned by James is also
from God.
Then we could look at alternate uses of the term “to justify.” For instance, Luke
7:29 says the tax collectors “justified God.” Obviously they did not impute righteousness
to God. Other translations are helpful—they say justified means “acknowledged God’s
justice.” Deut. 25:1 also points out that the term “justify” can be used of simply a decla-
ration of what is true about someone who is already righteous.
The bottom line is that the first kind of justification, by faith, is where God imputes
righteousness to the sinner. The second kind, by works, is where God confirms the righ-
teous standing of the redeemed based on works. Notice in neither case is the producer of
justification man. It is always God!
Conclusion for Part 2
James draws his conclusion in v. 26 by drawing a parallel between a dead body and
a dead faith. A separation between spirit and body means the body is dead. It shows no
signs of life. A separation between faith and works means the faith is dead. It also shows
no signs of life. Not that works animate faith or are the basis of it being alive; they are
simply the evidence of life.
We MUST ask ourselves what difference this makes in our individual life. We can-
not sit by and espouse an easy believism or say that intellectual faith is sufficient. That is
not saving faith. Further, we cannot treat good works lightly. We MUST do them. They
are required, dear friends. We are to do them out of a heart of faith and love toward God,
but nonetheless they are still required. They are required at home, work, school, and in
the local church. The use of our gifts, for instance, is a way in which faith is demonstrat-
ed. Let’s get busy then obeying God. This is what Abraham did, and what James enjoins
us to do.
MAP