Faithful Living - Studies from the Book of James
Faith and Works Part 1 James 2:14-26
Introduction
The concluding verses of James 2 must be examined with
great care. In this section we have the age-old conflict between "Faith
and Works".
James says in v 17
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. (KJV)
James 2:24 ye see
then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
Verse 26 faith
without works is dead.
On the surface it would seem that these
statements are contrary to the great Biblical doctrine of Justification by
faith. They seem to contradict the teaching of the Apostle Paul.
Rom 3:28 Therefore we conclude
that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. (works)
James seems to be saying that a person is
justified by what they do, by their works. Are Paul and James in conflict over
this issue? If they are, the Unity and the authority and the inspiration of the
Bible are destroyed.
We need to carefully examine just what
James is saying.
The Faith and works dispute arises when
people fail to make a distinction between the "Requirement for true
salvation and the Result of true salvation.
1. Faith is a key doctrine in
the Christian life. The sinner is saved by faith.
Eph 2:8 for
by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the
gift of God: Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
It is impossible for a person to have the
new birth experience, to have moved from darkness into light, from death unto
life.
To have the life of God
dwelling within, and not to produce the fruits of that new life. The new life in Christ produces a new life style, new
values, and the fruit of good works.
2. The Believer must walk by
Faith.
2 Cor 5:7 (For we walk by
faith, not by sight:)
Heb 11:6 But
without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh
to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him.
Hebrews 11 is the great portrait gallery of Faith, which records
those who acted upon God’s Word, no matter what price they had to pay,
producing fruit for God’s Glory.
Faith is not some kind of vague feeling
that we work up from time to time.
Faith is being confident that God’s word
is true and having the conviction to act upon what the Lord says. This will
bring the fruit real blessing.
The Church needs a Faith that works—a
faith with accompanying fruit. Faith alone saves but faith that saves, is not
alone it is always accompanied by good works.
Illustration. George Sweating-- in
his book on James, "How to Solve Conflicts," told the story of
Blondin, the great tightrope walker.
While performing on a cable across
To which the people cheered loudly.
"How many believe I can push the wheelbarrow across the cable with a man
in it?" Again, there came a loud response.
Blondin then pointed to one of the most
enthusiastic men in the audience and said, "You're my man, now get into
the wheelbarrow!!" Needless to say, the man made a quick exit.
Faith without fruit is the burden of James
in this section. James shows us that Faith without fruit is false, futile and
fatal.
A Claim
that is False (v 14-16, 19)
In the early Church, as it is today, there
were those who claimed to have a saving faith in Christ but they did display
the fruit of salvation. Where there is the true, you will always find the
counterfeit and where there is wheat you will find the tares.
A faith without fruit is false.
Let us see what Jesus has to say on the
subject we are considering. Matt 7-16-21)
16 Ye shall know them by their
fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree
bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring
forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not
forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye
shall know them.
21 Not every one that saith
unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth
the will of my Father which is in heaven. (KJV)
3. James is not speaking
about a man who had Faith,
but of one who claims to have
Faith.
He is saying in v 14, what profit is there
in that? For one to profess to have faith, and not to show the works of that
faith, the fruit of faith. Can such faith save his soul? No
Mat 7:21 not every one that
saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that
doeth the will of my Father, which is in heaven.
Merely claiming to be a Christians does
not make us children of God. We're not Christians just because we say we are.
Many people claim to have faith, but they have never trusted Christ alone for
salvation, entering into a personal relationship with Him.
Unless the fruits of a living faith are
evident in the life the claim of faith is a false one. People with dead faith
substitute words for works.
They speak the language of a Christian.
They talk the talk but do not walk the walk, for they are still dead in sin.
Dead men do not walk.
A truly converted man will be a changed
man. " If any man be in Christ he is a new creature, the old things have
passed away all things have become new. This will be evident in the fruit of
his works.
A. The Principle he Defines.
V 14 A Faith with no works is a faith
with no worth.
B. The Proof he Displays. V (15-16)
In these verses James again uses a very
vivid, and practical illustration. Having explained false faith, he proceeds to
illustrate it.
He tells a hypothetical story of one who
claims to be a Christian. He comes into contact with a person who has a great
need of the basic necessities of life.
This man is not a con artist; he has a
legitimated need. He comes into the Church fellowship and a man who professes
faith in the Lord says to him after the service.
"Goodbye, have a nice day, and be
sure to keep yourself warm and I hope that you find something to eat, I will
pray for you" The person, who claims to have faith does nothing about the
needy persons physical needs. All that this man got was a few pious words but
no compassion.
Words would not keep this poor man warm or his stomach
filled. Faith that stops at words is useless and fruitless.
Faith shows Genuine Compassion, which comes from a Genuine
Conversion. If a person does not show compassion to those who are in need, it
indicates that their "Faith" is not a true and living one
Luke 10:30-37----The Story of
the Good Samaritan
A priest, and a Levite, one of the
priestly line, passed by the beaten man. But a man, who was a Samaritan, went
to where the man was and he had compassion on him.
You see, the first two were men who
wore the title of faith, but the Samaritan was the only one who demonstrated
his faith. As a man believes, so he is. Lip service is no substitute for life
service.
Gal 6:10 as we have therefore
opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are
of the household of faith.
It is the duty of Christians to help meet
the needs of all men, but especially we are to help those who are of the
household of faith, our brothers and sisters in Christ
1 John 3:17 But whoso hath this
world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his (his heart) of
compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
1 John 3:18 My little children,
let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
Christianity demands a level of caring
that transcends human inclinations. How often do we defend our faith and yet fail to show compassion to
others.
Turn if you will to (Job 31:
16-22) for here we see a man who
had not only great faith, but he had also great works.
Here is the reality of real faith. Would
we dare to say such words? What a challenge and what a contrast to the type of
man whom James has in mind.
B. The Proof he Displays.
A.
False
Faith shows no Compassion.
B.
False
faith shows no fruits of Conversion.
James 2:14 what doth it profit,
my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save
him? (Can such a faith save him?) Amp.
James is not asking Can faith save! He is
asking Can faith, that is never seen in practical works be real faith? The only
way to know faith is by its fruit.
Now we are not to judge whether someone
else’s faith is false or not.
Mat 7:1 Judge not, that ye be
not judged. But we are permitted
to be fruit inspectors.
Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their
fruits ye shall know them.
A person cannot say that they have faith
if the evidence of their life proves otherwise. This kind of faith is dead.
James 2:17 Even so faith, if it
hath not works, is dead, being alone. ( The Amp.) So faith, if it does not have works (deeds and actions of
obedience to back it up) by itself it is destitute of power—inoperative, dead.
It was John
Calvin who wrote. "It is faith alone
that justifies, but faith that justifies can never be alone.
True saving faith will never be alone, by
itself; it will produce fruit to accompany it. The Legal profession would be
quick to tell us that it cannot deal with hearsay. They look for evidence; they
look for the facts to prove the case.
False faith shows no fruits of Conversion.
Dead faith is a counterfeit which lulls people into a false sense of security of
thinking that they have eternal life. It is only he who has the Son who has
life. He that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
"If there is no fruit,
then there is no root!"
A. The Principle he Defines.
V 14 A
Faith with no works is a faith with no worth.
B. The Proof he Displays. V (15-16)
C. The Point he Delivers. V 19
. James 2:19 Thou believest that there is
one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
1. False Faith shows no
Compassion.
2. False faith shows no fruits
of Conversion.
3. False faith has no
communion with God
False faith believes in God but has no
experience of communion with God. Friends, demons believe in the existence of
God, and believing they shudder and tremble.
We must ever keep in mind the reality of
demons and the activity of demons. Jesus often cast out demons. Paul often
confronted demonic forces in his ministry.
In Eph 6 He exhorts the Christian to put
on the whole armour of God, to claim God’s protection to defeat the spiritual
forces of wickedness.
James is telling us that demons have
faith. They believe in the existence of God. They believe in the Deity of
Christ, and they bore witness to His deity.
Mark 11&12 and unclean
spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art
the Son of God. And he straitly charged them that they should not make him
known.
Demons also believe in the existence of a
place of punishment. In Luke 8:28
We have the deliverance of Legion. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with
a loud voice said, what have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God
most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.
Luke 8:31 and they
besought him (Demons) that he would not command them to go out into the deep.
Luke 8:33 then went the demons
out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a
steep place into the lake, and were choked.
The Demons believed, their emotions were
moved, and they trembled but they perished. Why? Because, they still remained
demons
Friends a person can be enlightened in
their minds, stirred in their emotions, know whom Christ is, tremble before Him
and still be lost in the abyss forever.
Why? Because they have never experienced a
saving faith that forgave their sins and brought them into the place of
communion with God.
Their faith is no more than head knowledge
and not a heart experience. Therefore their faith is false and futile. True
saving faith involves something more, something that can be seen and
recognized.
1. A Claim
that is False
.2. A Comparison that if Foolish
James 2:18 Yea, a man may say,
Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I
will show thee my faith by my works.
We have now a snatch of a conversation
between two people who were discussing this whole question of a genuine
Christian experience.
The Argument—You have faith but I have works.
The conversation goes something like this.
One says to the other " Well you have great interest in Doctrine, and in
theology, and therefore you put the emphasis on faith. There is nothing wrong
with that, it is fine for you, but I put the emphasis on the works that I do.
For me, Christianity is living up to the
Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount. You major on what you believe but
I labour on what I do.
"Surely there is room for both of
us"? This is still the argument today.
The Answer-- show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.
The word translated "By"
in the Greek, means emerging out of or emerging from.
Friends. How can a dead person show his
faith without works? Can a dead sinner perform good works that bring glory to
God? The Apostle Paul states.
Eph 2 8 -10 for by grace are ye
saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.
For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto
good works, which God
hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Paul is saying, "that Faith
alone is necessary for salvation. That Grace saves a man through faith unto
good works.
Good works is the result of genuine faith.
Paul and James are in fact complementing, not contradicting each other.
Someone has
said, " Faith is like Calories, you cannot see them, but you can
see their results".
I will show you my faith by my works. The
Presence of Christ, like works, proves the Presence of a genuine faith. The
absence of works proves the absence of Faith. Life received will be a life
revealed that has truly changed. Faith in Christ will be displayed in works.
Illustration. Two men while they were rowing a lake were debating
this issue that we have been discussing.
One said, "let us assume that one of
these Oars is "Faith" and the other one is "Works"
Let us take the "Works"
oar out of the water and we will just use the Faith Oar".. When
they did this the boat went round in circles. After some more discussion they
said " perhaps we have got it wrong.
Let us take the "faith Oar out
of the water and we will just use the Works Oar. Again they went round in
circles. Finally they put both Oars back into the water and made straight for
the shore. When the Oars worked together there was balance.
Friends, biblical Christianity has
precisely this kind of balance. Only the person who has Faith and works,
working in perfect harmony is going in the right direction.
1. A Claim
that is False
2. A
Comparison that if Foolish
3. A
Conviction that Is Firm.
James 2:17 even so faith, if it
hath not works, is dead, being alone.
James 2:26 for as the body
without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
James develops this theme and we shall
look at it again in our next study. There is no great disagreement between Paul
and James.
Paul great theme is –that no one can produce salvation by the works of the
Law.
James great theme is—that no one can prove their salvation except by the
works of Love.
When Paul speaks in
Titus 15 Unto the pure all
things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing
pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.
They profess that they know
God; but in works they deny him,
This verse makes it very clear that Paul
and James were on the same wavelength.
May our Faith in Christ be always
displayed in our good works?