James 2: 18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
Have you ever been confused by this passage of Scripture?
It seems to contradict the Apostle Paul who in Romans and Galatians insists we are saved by faith alone. Here is James the half brother of Jesus telling us ”Hey don’t think that just believing in Jesus will get you into the Kingdom of God. You have to display some works in order to validate your faith.“
Ok, so which is it? Are we saved by faith or by works or a combination of both? What’s going on here? Can someone clarify this contradiction? Galatians 3 makes it quite clear that Paul was referring to the Law of Moses when he said we are saved by faith alone and not by keeping the “works” of the Law.
Take a look for yourself:
Galatians 3: 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” 11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” 12 Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.”
What James was saying was that a simple belief in Jesus and adherence to the gospel has to be backed up with evidence of that faith.
We understand Jesus died on the cross to forgive us of our sins. He took the penalty of sin away from us. The Judgment of God was averted from us and we were justified before him because of what Jesus did for us. Jesus rose from the dead annihilating the price of sin, and rose in the power of the Holy Spirit opening the door for the Holy Spirit to be sent to anyone who believes so they can live a holy life before God.
What does a person who believes this to the core of his being live like? That is the question.
His life would demonstrate a love for God, a deep appreciation for the Scriptures by living them out, a desire and delight in worshipping God, and a hunger to know him better through his prescribed means and be like him.
So you would expect an active prayer life, a passion in worship, a commitment to fellow Christians, a meaningful participation in the body of Christ and some self sacrificial activity in his life.
He certainly wouldn’t live taking his faith for granted and do nothing to cultivate his relationship with God.
He would demonstrate a definite change in his life and lifestyle in that it would resemble the life of Jesus in the way he spoke, acted, related to others, used his money, spent his time, raised his children, treated his wife and loved ones.
He would see himself as a world changer to some degree and strive to make a difference of some kind according to the will and heart of Jesus in comforting the hurting, reaching out to the lost, loving the rejected, feeding the hungry and sharing his faith with others.
Wherever and whenever the people of God would gather to celebrate Jesus, there he would be also. In short, you would know he was a Christian because he would live the way you would expect a Christian to live. That was the point that James was making in his epistle.
Simply saying you believe in Jesus but showing little evidence of it is a dead, ineffective, useless faith. In fact, it is not faith at all because biblical faith produces fruit.
In this day and age there are countless so called Christians who profess faith in Christ but show nothing for it. They live like anybody else would live. They are lukewarm, casual, uncommitted, spiritually dead but really religious. They talk big but live small. They may even get emotional about Jesus, speaking about him with teary-eyed affectionate tones but never translate that emotion into action. They think believing is enough. Action born out of that belief is not necessary. That is why James wrote that faith without works (not effort to earn salvation, but evidence that salvation has taken place) is dead!!!
Now, how about you? If we observed your life over a period of a few weeks would we conclude that you are a Christian who has a vital relationship with the Lord. Would there be any evidence that your faith in him has produced a Christ-like life? Or are you just a religious person who half-heartedly touches base with Jesus if at all and honours him with mental assent but vilifies him by not taking faith further than simple belief. James said “The demons also believe and they shudder. Some who profess Christ don’t even do that. Put a tag on them. They are the believing dead!
