More Than Words: Living Faith

James 2:14 – 26

 

I was talking with a friend the other day about how it feels like the 90’s was just yesterday. It really does, it may be 2025, but the 90’s certainly weren’t 30 years ago, were they? I guess the feeling of the 90’s being just the other day is amplified by how certain things from the 90’s entrenched themselves in pop culture. One of those things being Tom Cruise’s famous line from the movie Jerry Maguire.

 

“Show me the money!” he yells into the phone at Cuba Gooding Jr.’s prompting. Cuba’s character wanted to hear his agent’s commitment to getting him a new, lucrative, contract. He wanted Jerry, Tom’s character, to put his money where his mouth was. He wanted to see living proof of his words and promises.

 

Francis of Assisi has often been misquoted as having made the statement, “Preach the Gospel at all times; when necessary, use words.” Francis of Assisi never actually said that.

 

And while Scripture does make it clear that words are necessary in preaching, or sharing, the Gospel, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17), the point behind the quote is important. Faith must be visible in how believers live, in their actions, by their deeds or works.

 

When it came to having a saving faith in Jesus Christ, James was clear, genuine faith must be visible in the actions of believers, including in how they took care of one another. In what is written almost like a sermon, complete with illustrations, James makes his application. If faith in Christ didn’t lead people to act in accordance with that faith, then that faith was useless. Let’s read God’s Word together: James 2:14 – 26.

 

James has been building up to this in his letter. Beginning in chapter 1 James wrote that God brought us forth by the word of truth, and that we should receive the implanted word with humility. James calls on believers to not just be hearers of the word, to let the word just sit in them, but to be doers of the word. He reminds believers that true religion, that is a religion that is rooted in faith is one that actively meets the needs of the least of those within the family of believers.

Then in chapter 2 he goes on to show how faith in Christ actively demonstrates itself in how we interact with one another, and how genuine faith is demonstrated in our love for one another. James makes it abundantly clear that the connection between words and actions is inseparable. If believers are going to profess faith in Jesus Christ, they must walk the walk, not merely talk the talk.

 

• Living faith must meet the needs of others.

 

James asks the question here, what good is faith that is merely expressed in words and not action? This is the point in James’ letter that many have argued stands in contradiction of Paul. So, before we go any further let me define the word “works.”

 

The historical context of who Paul writes to and who James writes to are important for distinguishing between the works each of them talks about. Paul mostly talked about works as a means to attain salvation.

 

In his letter to the Romans, Paul lays out the gospel, that faith in Jesus Christ alone is what saves a person. Faith apart from works of the law. There is no amount of good that anyone can do in this world that will earn them salvation.

 

James on the other hand talks about works evident in those who claim to have been saved. He argues that works, or deeds, or actions, must flow from a saving faith in Jesus Christ. Genuine faith produces fruit in keeping with that faith. James’ argument about works is that works flows from saving faith, not the other way around.

 

It’s not that actions, deeds, or works, are what save anyone. It’s that anyone who is saved by faith shows that faith by their actions. James was expounding upon the nature of faith, not on the question of salvation in the end.

 

To that end, James’ asks the second question here. Can faith that isn’t demonstrated save a person? Is faith that takes no action genuine? James doesn’t answer that question, he leaves it hanging there. What he does is go on to highlight the uselessness of faith without action.

 

 

 

By way of an illustration, James points out the inability of such faith to meet even the most basic and practical needs of others. What good is it if a believer sees a fellow brother or sister hungry and in need of clothes and all they give them is well wishes? Go in peace, be warmed and filled are certainly just empty words if they don’t come with the things needed for the body.

 

This was a common issue in the early church. The gospel spread quickly among the poor, and rightfully so because it brought real hope for the future for those who had nothing to hope for in the world but their faith was Jesus Christ. But that didn’t mean that there weren’t well off brothers and sisters in the body of believers, capable of meeting the needs of fellow Christians.

 

In the very beginning of the church, in Acts 2, Luke wrote about the fellowship of believers that, “And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need” (Acts 2:44 – 45).

 

In less than 30 years, James was stoned to death in Jerusalem around the year 62 A.D, the church had gone from what Luke recorded in Acts to needing correction in how it looked after the poor and persecuted.

 

But James wasn’t the only one to address that concern either. In his first letter, the apostle John asked the same question James does here, “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:17 – 18).

 

Scripture is clear, faith must be evident in how believers take care of the least of these among them, that faith demonstrated by love. James demonstrates a deep concern for and sympathy for the poor and persecuted, that much is clearly seen by this point in his letter.

 

There is no life in a faith that is only attested to by mouth. James can’t get any more serious in what he says in v.17, faith by itself, if it doesn’t have works, is dead.

 

• Living faith is more than just head knowledge.

 

James presents a counter argument to his point of view. The someone of v.18 is a hypothetical someone for the purpose of providing the counterpoint to James’ position.

 

The counter argument is that faith and works can be separated. That it’s enough for some folks in the church to just believe in God and not do the things God wants them to do, while others do the work. Sounds an awful like the modern mentality that it’s some people’s job within the church to serve and others to just attend worship and believe.

 

For James, the issue is whether anyone can prove the existence of saving faith without works. James punches back with the impossible. He challenges his opponent to demonstrate his faith apart from works.

 

Faith is intangible. Faith is something you believe in your head and your heart and cannot be seen by itself. Only by what we do, visible and tangible evidence, can anything be seen. Faith is evident when it is lived out. That’s why James goes on to say, “I will show you my faith by my works.

 

The proof is in the pudding folks. Works prove that one’s faith is alive. Anyone can claim to be a Christian. Anyone can profess to have believed in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. In fact, most people have no problem with Jesus as their Savior, it’s submitting to Him as Lord that usually presents a challenge.

 

The only way anyone can demonstrate their faith in Christ is by their actions, by how they live their lives. If Christ dwells in you, then their ought to be signs. Submitting to Christ as Lord means serving Him by prioritizing the things He prioritizes, like taking care of the poor and persecuted.

 

The people of God cannot be split into two categories, those believers who are just “hearers” of the Word, and those believers who are “doers” of the Word. Both groups have a kind of faith, but one of those is lifeless.

 

The claim of faith is impossible to prove where there is no action. Living faith in Christ must produce tangible fruit.

 

 

James equates faith without works with mere acknowledgement of the truth of God’s existence, basically head knowledge. This kind of faith has nothing to show for itself. No personal trust, no pursuit of wisdom, no life transformation. And while James doesn’t fault the cognitive content of this belief, he does point out that it’s not enough.

 

Even the demons believe in God, and they shudder. I know that C.S. Lewis was a Christian author, but it still was interesting to see how he portrayed uncle Screwtape, a demon, as knowing so much about God but clearly having no love for God.

 

Even demons have the kind of faith that merely acknowledges the truth about God, yet they are still evil. Many folks believe what is true about God, that He is One, but that belief has no effect on their lives.

 

The only effect on the demons is that they shudder at the thought of God’s existence and His power over them. The knowledge of God ought to have a much greater effect on believers than it does demons. Believers should be doing more than shuddering, just as they should be doing more than merely professing their faith.

 

• Proof of living faith is seen in the actions of believers.

 

Now James gets blunt, you foolish person, do you want to be shown that faith without works is useless he asks. In a single sentence James goes back to the beginning of this passage, and he stands firm in his stance that faith without works is useless.

 

James is driving home his point about genuine faith. At the start of our passage James asked what good is faith without works, essentially saying such faith is of no benefit. In v.17 he said such faith is dead, and here he says it’s useless.

 

We have a literal play on biblical Greek words here, “faith that has no works does not work.” It just doesn’t work. Genuine, living faith is faith that works.

 

James uses the word “justified” in this passage, and that is the main thing that many, including Martin Luther one of the key players in the protestant reformation. Paul says that we are justified by faith apart from works of the law in Romans 3:28.

For Paul, faith that trusts the word of God saves, this was his understanding of “faith alone.” This faith, and the justification that is gifted to the believer by God, is the point of entry “into Christ.”

 

But for James, as we’ve seen repeatedly so far in his letter, his concern was with demonstration. For James, the claim by believers of faith by itself was avoidance of the necessity of demonstrating faith.

 

James isn’t saying that believers’ actions justify them before God, only faith in Christ can do that, and that’s a given to James. Believer’s works justify them by proving their genuine faith in Christ that saved them.

 

James illustrates that kind of faith by the examples of Abraham and Rahab, the father of Israel and a famous sinner. What on earth could those two possibly have in common, besides both being in Jesus’ lineage?

 

James asks the question, were they not justified by their works, and then he gives examples that highlight their amazing works. But James is careful to show that their faith was active along with their works.

 

When you look deeper at the two stories of Abraham and Rahab you see that faith in God preceded their actions that proved their faith genuine. James cites Genesis 15:6, Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.

 

The story of Isaac is from later in Genesis, chapter 22, proving James’ argument that you see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works. That was the final evidence given of Abraham’s faith in Genesis, and in Hebrews 11, the hall of faith.

 

The same is true for Rahab. In Joshua 2, after taking command of the Israelites after Moses’ death, Joshua sent spies to Jericho to assess their strength to begin the conquest of the land God had given them. They come to Rahab’s house, and she hides and protects them from the king of Jericho.

 

She tells the spies that she recognized the Lord their God as God, and because of that she hid and protected them. Again, you see in Rahab that her faith in God was a useful faith, a faith active with works.

 

She exemplified faith in that she recognized the truth of God in his works of delivering Israel, and she demonstrated that faith. She’s also in Hebrews 11 for this act of faith.

 

James sums up his point with some serious imagery. As the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. Works of faith, not the law, are the breath of life for faith. Faith and deeds are inseparable.

 

Because living faith cannot be separated from deeds, you must demonstrate your living faith by more than just words, but by actions also.

 

This truth is James’ point in this entire passage. James understood that faith in Jesus Christ is what saves you, the implanted word that is able to save your souls. But he also understood that the faith that saves must be demonstrated through our deeds and actions, our works.

 

James never directly answers the question if faith without works can save someone, but he does paint a clear picture that the faith that saves is clearly visible in the life of believers by their works of faith.

 

There is no evidence that James and Paul had read each other’s writings. But only the work of the Holy Spirit, through divine inspiration of God’s Holy Word could have these two men agree.

 

Look at what Paul wrote in Ephesians 2, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:8 – 10).

 

Works and deeds bring faith to life the same way that the spirit brings the body to life. And when you recognize that the same God breathed life into your lungs and that His Spirit dwells in you through faith in Christ, you recognize that works of the faith were all part of His plan for you.

You were saved for a purpose; your faith was not meant to lie dormant within you. If you truly took hold of your salvation in Christ Jesus then you will take hold of the good works that God prepared for you beforehand. You will take hold of the good works that prove your faith in Jesus. Let’s pray.