Faith: What Is It? (James 2:14-26)

¹⁴ What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? ¹⁷ Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. ¹⁸ But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” ¹⁹ You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.²⁰ But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? ²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? ²² You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; ²³ and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. ²⁴ You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵ In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? ²⁶ For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. James 2:14-26 (NASB)

Introduction

James addressed the Jewish Christians of Jerusalem with these sermons/teachings. An editor then compiled into one epistle near the end of the revolt against Rome or right after it. James taught the Jerusalem Christians during the mid-40s AD when famines occurred and the people of Jerusalem suffered from lack of food and money. Wealthy Jews sent food aid to the Jews of Jerusalem, but the Christians of Jerusalem received little of the aid. Because of this, the Jewish Christians would be tempted not to help another person with the meager amount they possessed. They would be tempted to recant their faith in Jesus Christ so they could receive aid from the wealthy Jews. With these things in mind, it makes sense James spoke to his people in Jerusalem about faith – what is it, what it is not, and what God expects from a person of faith.  

In James 2:14-26, James spoke about faith – what it is and how people show their faith. In verses fourteen, seventeen, twenty, and twenty-six, James defined true faith as bearing fruit – actions of love and kindness to other people and to God. He succinctly stated “faith without works is dead.” (vs. 26) What did James mean by this statement? What did he mean when he said, “Faith without works was useless?” (vs. 20) 

What is Faith?

James began this section of his speech saying in verse fourteen, “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him?” Did he counter Paul’s theology of justification by faith? Through this study, we will learn James did not disagree with Paul’s theology of justification/righteousness. He spoke about the results of true faith. A true follower of Christ will produce fruits resulting in right actions and words. In James 1:22, James said, “But prove yourselves doers of the word and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” James believed and taught as did Jesus that belief in God and His Son produced righteous actions – a life lived out as a servant of God who enacted the two greatest commandments Jesus taught (Matthew 22:37-40). 

Faith - Mental Assent Only?

With verse fifteen, James began unpacking what he meant by works of the faithful. A believer in God and Jesus Christ cared about the poor. James specifically referred to a brother or sister - fellow believers - who could not meet their own daily needs. He asked, “What use is it to people needing food, clothes, or shelter to just receive words from a believer?” Of what use is the peace blessed on a person (vs. 16) if he or she does not have daily physical needs met? Jesus spoke of this same thing in Matthew 25:34-40 when he told of when the Father judged people at His return. He said God would bless the people who clothed, fed, gave drink, and gave shelter to “the least of these brothers of mine.” John the Baptist spoke of helping the poor in Luke 3:11. John asked a question related to this topic in 1 John 3:17. He said, “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need, but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” Each of these men taught children of God to put into actions his or her belief in Jesus Christ. They told fellow Christians to show God’s love in practical ways providing for the daily needs of others. To James, a faith with no actions shows the person does not have a genuine faith. True faith derived from the love God through Jesus Christ instilled in a believer always manifests itself with righteous actions. James emphasized this point with verse seventeen, by saying again, “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” True faith and conversion shows itself in the actions of the person. If no righteous actions show, then the person’s faith is destitute of power (is dead). That person may not be saved from their sins because true faith produces good fruit/works in a person growing toward Christlikeness. Even people other than ministers are to show their faith in loving actions. They are to grow toward Christlikeness along with ministers called by God. 

Faith – More than Mental Assent

James asserted rightly that faith is more than a mental assent of God. A person may challenge you about your faith. That one might challenge that your faith cannot be seen if it has no works; whereas his or hers can because of his or her works. A person’s faith cannot be seen and justified by other people without it being put into action in real life. True faith must show right fruit/actions - give evidence or proof of its existence. A person can boast and say he or she is a Christian, but if no outward manifestation shows by actions, that person’s faith is of no value. Paul said this same thing in Galatians 5:6. He said, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Actions of love show/express the faith a person claims and asserts. Jesus said this as well in Matthew 7:16. He said the fruit of a person’s belief will show the person he or she is. In the Matthew passage, Jesus spoke about false prophets and then he taught, “By their fruits you will recognize them.” This can apply to people who claim to be Christians. Their fruits – actions and words – will enable others to recognize them as followers of Christ or not. James acknowledged even demons recognize and believe the Lord God is the God of heaven and earth (vs. 19). He said they shudder in fear because of this knowledge knowing they are not good, but evil. The point James made in these verses is anyone can acknowledge God as God, but only those who produce acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior , God as almighty God, and bear righteous fruit – who do right and just deeds – are Christians. He repeated verses fourteen and seventeen again for emphasis in this section in verse twenty. He said in this verse, “But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?” Faith is more than mental assent. 

Faith - Examples

Once again, James gave examples of true faith. In verses twenty-one through twenty-five, he spoke about Abraham and Rahab. Both people received no teaching about God and never saw Jesus Christ, but their faith in God justified them in God eyes. Their later actions justified them as true believers in the eyes of other people. 

Let us look at Abraham. When God promised him descendants who numbered more than the stars in heaven, Abraham expressed awe. He believed the LORD God. We read this in Genesis 15:6, “Then he (Abram) believed the LORD, and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” Righteousness in the Old Testament comes from the Hebrew word tsedaqah and means righteousness as ethically right, righteousness/justification/salvation of God. This righteousness reflects God and has the quality of being holy or right as God is holy and right. The New Testament word translated as “righteousness,” which James used in verse twenty-three, comes from the Greek word dikaiosune. It means righteous, virtue, purity, and rightness and correctness of thinking, feeling, and acting. It has a judicial feel of being made right. It comes from right thinking, feeling, and acting. This righteousness is not the righteousness called tsedaqah of being holy and right as God is holy and right. The Old Testament word speaks of the being and the New Testament word speaks of the judicial use - doing and living. So when James said in verse twenty-one, “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?” justification for him came secondarily after being made righteous by God. This second justification came because he lived out his faith, by being obedient, due to his love for God. Abraham offered the only sacrifice he had to give God, his son, Isaac. He showed true faith when he lived out his faith with loving actions toward God and others (i.e. Lot at Sodom and Gomorrah’s destruction). 

When faith works with actions, the result is faith being perfected. “Perfected” comes from the Greek word teleioo and means to make perfect and complete, to add what is wanting to make a thing full/perfect/complete. A person’s faith is complete when every action, word, and thought of the person reflects his or her faith. According to the Bible, this will occur when we are in the kingdom of God. This process is called sanctification. When Abraham put Isaac upon the altar and offered him as the sacrifice, he showed his love of God. His faith true showed him to be a friend of God (2 Chronicles 20:7, Isaiah 41:8). Is our faith so pure and active in our lives that God calls us His friend? 

James emphasized again his teaching about faith resulting in right works. He stated in verse twenty-four, “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.” A person shows him or herself to be righteous by his or her actions that come from his or her faith. That is the meaning of “justified” for James in the New Testament. It is a justification before the eyes of other people because of one’s actions, thoughts, and words. 

With verse twenty-five, James reminded his hearers and later readers of a woman from Jericho named Rahab. When the Israelite spies of the exodus entered the Promised Land to see the land, cities, and people, they encountered Rahab. She welcomed the spies to Jericho and kept them safe in and through her home on the city’s walls. Rahab declared the LORD God as the God of heaven and earth because of what she had heard about the God of the Israelites. Her faith in the Israelites’ God and their promise to keep her and her family safe led to her assisting the spies to leave Jericho safely (Joshua 2:9-14, 6:22-25; Hebrews 11:31). Rahab acted upon her faith in the LORD God (the God of the Israelites) by trusting His people to keep her safe and by providing them a safe exit from Jericho. Her actions testified to the spies of her faith in God and His people. Rahab’s actions proved her faith, just as Abraham’s action to offer Isaac as a sacrifice to God proved his faith. God justified - made righteous and holy - Abraham and Rahab when each believed in God as the God of heaven and earth. They both were justified - proved their faith - when they acted upon it, Abraham towards God and Rahab towards God’s people. 

What is Faith?

This lesson is so important that James repeated it four times within thirteen verses. As a finale, he stated it again for the final thought like he stated it in the first verse of this teaching. James wrapped his teaching with the thematic statement. He said, “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” Just as faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior saves you, lack of faith leads to death, separation from God. How does God know who has true faith? He looks at a person’s heart. Is that person’s heart cleansed - made right and pure? Does that person’s heart have His intentions, which shows in the person’s actions, thoughts, and words? How can other people know if a person is a child of God other than by his or her fruit – his or her actions and words? Humans cannot judge a person’s heart, but they can see some of a person’s heart by his or her actions and words. We learn from James in this passage a person is justified by faith in God by God. That person is justified in eyes of humans by the works and words in that person’s life. 

Recap

James stated faith is not truly faith that justifies a person unless it flows with the love of Christ as actions and words in the world as love for God and humankind. He gave examples of this kind of life through Abraham and Rahab lives. James did not say works can justify a person in God’s eyes. God looks for faith in a person’s heart as justification. Works perfect the faith of a person. They attest to the inner faith the person has in Jesus Christ. Faith and works must go hand-in-hand. 

Relevance and Conclusion

For people today considering this passage, we each must consider first if we have ever had a true faith experience with God. Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord? If you have and are living a life of love towards other people because of the love Christ put in you through the Holy Spirit, you can know you are a child of God. 

The other question that must be asked: If you are doing loving works in the world, are you doing them out of faith in God? Have you left faith behind when you do this work for God? Do you need to stop and take time to be with God - be empowered by Him, receive His further command, and get His blessing for the continuance of the work? As God’s children and even more so for Christian service workers, it is easy to hear God say do something then get busy doing it. We are working for the Lord so it must be right, right? Yet often when we turn around and see we are no longer working with God, but alone and under our own power. Good works may not be the best works. Under the command, power, and daily guidance by the Lord, your good works will be the best works. Then you will be doing what God wants you to do that day. 

Where do you fall in this spectrum? Are you doing good works, but not as a child of God? That will not save you. Are you doing good works God told you to do, but in your own power? Or, are you doing the best works under the blessing, power, and daily guidance of the Lord?

Each of us must go before the Lord now and determine where we stand with God.

Will you take that challenge?

Mercy Wins: A James 2:10-13 Devotional

¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. ¹¹ For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. ¹² So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. ¹³ For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. James 2:10-13 (NASB)

Today many people live lives of judgment upon other people. If people we see or know pollute the earth by throwing rubbish into the street or river, we judge them. If a girl is out late with her boyfriend, without knowing the details we judge they slept together. If a person made an “A” on an exam, but was known as a slacker, we judge he cheated.

This is not the way of God. God did not say one sin was worse than another. He said if we sin against any of them, we have sinned against Him. In Deuteronomy, Moses taught the Israelites to be faithful to all God’s laws and commandments and that any breaking of them would bring God’s punishment or curse. No one law, say murder, is greater than another, say adultery. All laws are equal in God’s eyes.

James made this same point in his letter, James 2:10-13. He said in verse ten, “Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point has become guilty of all.” James wrote to the dispersed Jewish Christians. Because God gave laws and commandments to the Jews, they knew right from wrong, righteousness from unrighteousness. Righteousness only came from a perfect life unstained by sin. Obeying the 613 Jewish laws became somewhat of a competition among the Jews. The Pharisees made a point to show their piety by wearing sack cloth and ashes in the street and praying loudly so every person would see and hear their so-called piety.

James made the point that no sin was greater than another. Added to this, He told them to speak and act with mercy toward other people because they themselves are sinners, too. Show the other person mercy - kindness with an earnest desire to help the other person. Do not point them out as sinners against your own supposed smaller sin. Life is not a competition, but a striving to live in the liberty the Lord Jesus gave us. His liberty gave us the power over sin and death through His indwelling Holy Spirit. Through this liberty, we should strive to live as Christ did, with mercy and love, not competition and pointing out another person’s sin.

James further said, when we live by the law of liberty, we will be merciful and will receive mercy from God the Father who will judge each of us. Jesus stated in the Beatitudes, “Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7). God’s love and mercy triumphs in the end. He will judge every person on his or her sins. No sin is greater than another. They each separate a person from God. Yet, God’s mercy and love wins out.

How does God’s mercy win out and affect us? When a person accepts Jesus Christ as his or her Savior, they accept the love and mercy of God’s provision of a perfect sacrifice for the judgment of his or her sin. That person’s sin is atoned for in the death of Jesus Christ. Whether the person sins or not the rest of his or her life, Jesus Christ’s blood atones for that person’s sins. God’s judgment of a Christian’s sin will not involve death, permanent separation from Him, because Jesus blood paid for our penalty. We can never be separated from God. That is God’s love gift – His mercy. Despite our sinfulness, He chose to love us, provide the perfect sin sacrifice, and show us mercy by washing our sins away so we would not receive our just sin penalty – death. We did not deserve God’s grace and mercy. He gave it to us because of His love. God wants to be in a relationship with each of us.

What happens to a person who sins then? If the sinner is a Christian, God will judge that person when he or she dies and goes to heaven. His judgment on the person will not be permanent separation from God because Jesus bought our freedom from that judgment with His death. God’s judgment will occur though in some way. Maybe we will not live in a great a house or sing in the first choir when in heaven or perhaps we will live with the consequences of our sins while on earth – polluted land, poverty because of gambling, sickness due to life choices, etc. We cannot fathom the depths of God’s thoughts and can only conjecture what may be.

But what happens to the person who sins who is not a Christian? Once again, God is merciful. He gives that person their whole life to hear about Him and respond to His love shown through the Gospel – the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. If during the person’s life, using the free will God gave him or her, the person chooses not to follow Jesus Christ, that person will experience permanent separation from God when he or she dies. A chasm will exist for eternity between that person and God. Permanent separation is hell.

Getting back to James then, we should understand what he taught the Jewish Christians of the first century. He taught them not to judge other people. Judging is God’s job. Everyone would undergo judgment by God at the appropriate time. Instead, these Jewish Christians must realize every sin is equal. Each sin creates a wedge, a separation, in their relationship with God. Because each person is imperfect because of sin, they must be kind and merciful to other people. The Jewish Christians’ sins were not “better” than the sins of a non-believer; therefore, they could not and should not judge another person. Instead, show mercy just as they would want to receive mercy. Love and be kind because God has shown love, kindness, and mercy to them. Remember, since mercy triumphs over judgment, they knew as believers they would win out in the end because Jesus Christ won the victory for every believer.

Show other sinners the victorious life. Show them love, mercy, and grace so they will want to believe in and follow Jesus, too. Mercy wins in the end.

What will you do today?

Will you compare yourself to another sinner to make yourself feel better than that person?

Or

Will you praise God for His grace and mercy that won you victory over sin and death?

Then will you turn to the other person and show him or her the love, grace, and mercy of God

so he or she can have the victory of Christ, too?

Once again, you get to decide.

David, God's Man to Rule: 2 Samuel 8

2 Samuel 8

King David was called a man after God's heart by God. He was a regular man. He sinned against God as we all do. He sought the Lord as many of us do. He repented. He followed. He gave God the glory and praise. He waited on God. Most of the time.

In 1 Samuel 8 we read of David expanding his borders. His kingdom grew much in this chapter. Why was the favor of the Lord on him so evidently in this chapter? Here are a few possibilities:
1. He sought and followed God.
2. He dedicated the winnings to the Lord.
3. He did not totally annihilate his enemies, but left a remnant so they could see and hear about Yahweh God and choose to follow Him.
4. He had vision. He sought what God wanted to give him.
5. He was just and righteous.
6. He gave praise and glory to God.

Do you want to be considered one of the saints of the Lord like the roll call of saints in Hebrews 11? We need to each look to our hearts and lives and see if we are doing the things David did in this chapter (minus the annihilation of enemies because we have the victory now that the Messiah has come).

Are you seeking and following God? Are you looking for His vision for your life? Are you dedicating the things in your life to God for His purposes? Are you praising and giving God all the glory? Are you just and right with God and man?

We must each come to God asking these questions and seeking to be made right before Him. Then we can know we are growing and seeking to have a heart for God, too.

Attitudes and Actions: A James 2:1-13 Devotional

Oh, we know this one! We have heard preachers and teachers preach and teach it if our parents took us to a Christian church. Even if your parents did not raise you to be a Christian, your mom or dad probably taught you to be kind to every person.

James, as the head of the Jerusalem church, led the Jewish Christian people. He understood and knew the Jewish Christians understood of the laws of God, how they affected one’s relationship with God and with one’s relationship with other people. That is how the Ten Commandments are divided. Taking care of the poor, widow, orphan, and alien is a big part of the Old Testament Jewish laws. Moses spoke about them many times in Deuteronomy.

Still, the Jews considered the poor unclean and not to be touched. With the arrival and teaching of Jesus Christ came a closer understanding of caring for one’s neighbor. One Pharisee asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus answered him with the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37). The man answered the question for himself after the parable. The man stated the neighbor was the one who had mercy toward another man. Whether Jew, Greek, gentile, Roman, Samaritan, Jesus’ point was that a neighbor is anyone you meet. Considering whom Jesus called a neighbor, we must realize then when Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” He meant to treat them with mercy – treat them as you want to be treated. The Jews understood helping a person with physical needs.

 James went deeper in this passage. He told them not to show partiality among the people who enter the church/assembly to worship. Do not give the better seat to the rich and clean person and make the poor and dirty stand at the back or sit on the floor. Do not give preferential treatment. Showing bias like that is a heart action. Prejudice is a bias of the heart. When Jesus came to earth, He taught attitudes are to be changed as much as actions. He told the people what is on the outside of a person is not what makes him unclean, but what comes from the inside (Matthew 15:11). From within a person comes a person’s attitude, which determines the person’s actions. When a person becomes a believer in Jesus Christ, His Holy Spirit indwells the person and changes the person from within so that the heart becomes changed.

When James told the Jewish Christians not to show partiality to the rich and give the poor the lowest place, he reminded them of what Jesus taught that everyone is their neighbor and they were to show mercy. James directed their thoughts to consider their actions in church towards another person just as important as their actions outside of church. The Jewish Christians and all Christians are to love everyone and show mercy at all times whether in church or out. James told them showing partiality was a sin and any sin, no matter which one, made them transgressors of the whole law. God will judge the person who sins, whether in adultery, murder, prejudice, or against any of the other laws of God. For those who do not show mercy, James said God would show no mercy to them either.

Following Jesus requires 100% obedience and love of Him and every person. Whether a person is in church or living in his or her daily life outside church, the love Jesus showed to him or her and the love of the Father must be lived out within his or her life. Prejudice for gain or for supposed “religious” purposes is sin. To combat this, we each need to examine our own hearts, ask the Lord to show us our sin, confess it, and ask for the strength of the Spirit to empower us to overcome it. In this way, we can show the love of God and His mercy to everyone we encounter, not just people like ourselves.

Are you willing to look into your heart and allow God to change you from within? It will affect the way you live. By it, you will show the love and mercy of God.

Humiliation and Exaltation: A James 1:9-11 Devotional

James 1:9-11

On my spring day today, this passage of the Bible stands out well as being illustrated by nature. The people of the world strive to get by, many on less than $.01 per day to feed and shelter themselves. The rich man though should humble himself/herself and aid these people who are poorer.

James said, if the rich strive for praise and exaltation, gaining more and more things and congratulations as the goal, they will be like the flower, which fades, withers, and dies. The rich person's pursuits will be useless to his ultimate goal of reaching heaven.

We should aim to show our faith by works, to care for the poor, widows, and orphans. We should be humble even when we have excess and use it to help those who are humbled by their poverty in life to bring them up and give them hope.

Riches and striving to get them will not give you heaven and a relationship with God. Seeking God first and living out your faith no matter your material circumstances will give you a strong relationship with the Lord and He will exalt you for it. Your reward in heaven will be great.