SERMON: “Faith Works” (James 2:14–20)
“Faith
Works” (James 2:14–20)
Series: “James: True Faith Works” #12 Text: James 2:14–20
By: Shaun Marksbury Date:
January
12, 2025
Venue: Living
Water Baptist Church Occasion:
PM Service
I.
Introduction
We have a new year upon us, so in some ways, it’s fitting
that we come across this passage. There
is an account of a young preacher who…
thrilled his congregation with his
first sermon — a challenge to “gird their loins” for Christian service and
living. Then, to their dismay, he
preached the same sermon the following Sunday. When he confronted them with the same ringing
message on the third Sunday, his flock felt something must be done.
“Don’t you have more than just one sermon?”
blurted a spokesman to the pastor.
“Oh, yes,” he said quietly, “I have quite a
number. But you haven’t done anything
about the first one yet!”[1]
James is writing to scattered believers seeking to live out
their faith in Gentile or pagan lands. One
point he is trying to drive home is that a person cannot claim to have faith in
Christ while not doing what Christ commands.
Thus, in chapter one, he says, “But prove yourselves doers of the word,
and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (1:22). He then contrasts someone who claims to be
religious who doesn’t bridle his tongue to someone who practices his religion
by caring for orphans and widows (vv. 26–27).
There is a faith that is true, and then there is a faith that is merely
professed.
He continues that subject into the second chapter. James states in v. 1, “do not hold your faith
in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an
attitude of personal favoritism.” He
contrasts in vv. 5–6 the fact that God chose the poor but they despised them. He continues in vv. 8–9, “If, however, you
are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your
neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing
sin and are convicted by the law as
transgressors.” This is a chapter of
contrasts: those who claim they have faith and those who act according to their
faith.
Now, in the next few verses, James describes one of us. No one can say they have kept the law of love
and liberty perfectly. I have failed in
many ways to love those around me, and so have you. We cannot work off our debts with God, though;
we need the mercy of our forgiving King.
Yet, if my attitude were to resist giving the mercy God has shown me to
others, then I am not worthy of that mercy.
My deeds must match my profession.
We are beginning to look at a very controversial passage,
but I hope you see this evening that it fits with the themes that James has
already been highlighting. True
Christian faith transforms a person from a mere hearer to a doer. We’ll see two elements of a faith that works
this evening: First, we’ll see that a saving faith is not a dead faith (vv.
14–17). We’ll then see that a living
faith is useful (vv. 18–20). Let’s
consider the first of these:
II.
First, a Saving Faith is not a Dead Faith (vv.
14–17)
What use is it, my
brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save
him? If a brother or sister is without
clothing and in need of daily food, 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? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead,
being by itself.
This is a hotly debated passage, especially among those who
want to state that Christians should engage in works as part of the requirement
for salvation. This is calling out false
faith, though, a sign of which is lack of works. We must act upon our profession of faith,
paralleling Jesus’s words in Matthew 7:21–23.
Yet, James 2 is the primary counterclaim by Catholics that justification
comes through faith alone.
Perhaps that makes sense if you just look at the word “save”
in v. 14. In fact, if we look to v. 21,
we also have the word “justified,” another term related to salvation. As such, we might think that this passage is
teaching that a person gets to heaven on the basis of works.
However, that ignores the context of these verses. In the case of v. 14, James is continuing to
contrast kinds of faith. He says in the
second question, “Can that faith save him?” What kind of faith? Well, the kind of faith that has no works.
Notice his emphasis in the first question: “if someone
says.” The tense of this verb means that
someone is continually claiming this.[2] James is addressing those who claim as
an identity a kind of faith that lacks the accompanying evidence of works. As the MacArthur Study Bible notes, “This
important phrase governs the interpretation of the entire passage. James does
not say that this person actually has faith, but that he claims to have it.”[3] Mere words, no matter how eloquent, cannot
replace a life actually transformed by the gospel.
Interestingly, against those who claim James is making the
case for works in salvation, James never says, “Works save a man.” He simply demonstrates a faith that is devoid
of any evidence and shows the empty nature of such a profession. Genuine salvation transforms a person into
someone who wants to live differently.
This is professed faith, not necessarily possessed
faith. To demonstrate this, James
gives an illustration of dead faith: “If a brother or sister is without
clothing and in need of daily food, 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?” (vv. 15–16). We have here a practical example of useless
words versus useful works.
Imagine encountering a fellow believer in desperate need. The term “naked” most likely means “poorly
clothed” (ESV),[4] so
we might think of someone without a coat during these winter months. Moreover, this brother or sister also has
want of food. (Perhaps this was
happening around the time of the famine mentioned in Acts 11:27–30.[5]) Offering traditional words of benediction[6] like,
“Go in peace, be warmed and be filled” may sound nice and Christian, but without
addressing tangible needs, the words are empty and obviously unhelpful.
This is Christian charity.
The illustration is echoed in 1 John 3:17–18, which says, “But whoever
has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart
against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or
with tongue, but in deed and truth.” True
saving faith moves beyond sentiment and into action. It reflects the heart of
Christ, who not only sympathized with our plight but also took on human flesh
to save us (Philippians 2:5–8).
Incidentally, the primary application of this is to the
church. This is what we see in the
judgment of the sheep and the goats in Matt 25:35ff. Christ’s disciples should care about the
needs of others, especially those who claim to be in the faith. Galatians 6:10 says, “So then, while we have
opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of
the household of the faith.” We should
likewise work so that we might have something to give to our families and to
others (Eph. 4:28; 1 Tim. 5:8), and Christians should have a special care for
believers.
Faith without works is dead.
Now, James’s statement in v. 17 does not contradict the doctrine of
justification by faith alone. Rather, it
complements it. The Reformation Study
Bible clarifies: “When Luther and the Reformers insisted on justification
by faith alone, they meant that justification rests upon reliance on the merit
of Christ alone. The ‘alone’ does not
mean that faith exists without any subsequent fruit of obedience.” True saving faith is a gift of God (Eph.
2:8–9), and it results in works like repenting, believing, and obeying in all
that Christ taught. We are saved by
faith alone, but the faith that saves us is never alone.
Saving faith is a living faith. One study explains it this way: “Workless
faith is worthless faith; it is unproductive, sterile, barren, dead! Great claims may be made about a corpse that
is supposed to have come to life, but if it does not move, if there are no
vital signs, no heartbeat, no perceptible pulse, it is still dead. The false claims are silenced by the
evidence.”[7] If a person professes a faith but isn’t
living any differently, then we must wonder if that faith is but a corpse.
Faith that is alive will naturally produce works, just as a
healthy tree bears fruit. As Jesus notes
in Matthew 7:16–18, “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?
So every good tree bears good fruit, but
the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good
tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.” Faith that comes from above will give us new
cares and concerns, producing Christian fruit.
If there is no Christian fruit, then we must consider the tree, or the
faith, dead, regardless of the confession.
Some might think this is too harsh a reading. They may object that genuine, saving
Christian faith can exist without works.
In fact, that is the comment of an imaginary objector in the text. Let’s turn to our final verses.
III.
Second, a Living Faith is Useful (vv. 18–20)
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.” You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and
shudder. But are you willing to
recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?
It is easy for Christians to get confused. We read where God says clearly in salvation-related
passages such as Ephesians 2:8–9 that we are saved apart from works. We also understand that regenerate people will
bear varying amounts of fruit in their lives — some may produce a hundred-fold,
while others produce thirty-fold — and whatever results come through a maturing
process. Moreover, we know that the Holy
Spirit gives spiritual gifts as He wills.
As such, we can’t really compare ourselves to one another, and we
imagine that there may be true Christians who have no real works to show.
It seems that this is the objection James anticipates here. Now, before we get too far into it, v. 18 is
actually a very debated verse, even among Protestant Evangelicals. It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact reading
of this text.
It’s clear that James is arguing, perhaps this is
introducing a generic “you” and “I” in the text. Yet, there is disagreement here as to who the
“someone” is, what argument is being presented, and (since there are no
quotation marks in the original text), how many words the “someone” here
speaks. So, we should take a moment to consider this.
For instance, some suggest here James may be humbly refer to
himself or to Christians who would agree with him. In that case, we’d read it: “But someone (I
or someone agreeing with me) will say, ‘You have faith (that is, faith without
works) and I (James) have works (that is, faith with works).’ ” However, this view doesn’t account for the strong
disjunctive (the “but”), which best seems to introduce an objector to James.
A better view is that this may be someone contrasting
James’s argument in v. 17 that faith and works are inseparable. Perhaps he is saying faith and works exist
separately, as in the gifts of 1 Corinthians 12:4–10. A commentary explains that James “may just be
putting up a straw man in order to knock him down: supposing purely
artificially a separation of faith and works in order to enforce his argument
for their inseparability…. Faith cannot
stand apart: show me this faith of yours
without works is an impossible demand, but I will demonstrate to you my faith from my works, for they are its
proper expression.”[8] The objector doesn’t like what James has
said.
Now, this view requires that we close the quotation of the
objector in the middle of the verse, adjusting the translation of the NASB:
“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.” In this case,
James begins responding with the next clause of the verse.
This hypothetical challenger, then, represents those who
separate faith from works, treating them as independent entities. James
responds by demonstrating that genuine faith is inseparable from works. James is saying that the objector cannot show
“faith” that is without works or deeds.
Still, some see a contradiction here because Paul says that
God justifies us and credits righteousness apart from works (Rom. 3:28;
4:6). However, that’s a category error, a
fallacy of logical thought, talking about a different issue. Imagine my daughter asks me how we get
bruises, and I explain that it happens when blood vessels under our skin break
from an impact; she might counter that this can’t be true, because fruit can
bruise without blood vessels. We have to
understand the categories of these passages, even if the language is similar;
the Romans passages are discussing salvation, while James is talking about the
practice of the Christian faith.
Works are the fruit of faith, not the foundation. The eleventh chapter of the Book of Hebrews
discusses faith, but goes on to demonstrate how the people of faith engaged in
deeds; they “conquered kingdoms, performed acts
of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the
power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong,
became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight” (cf. Heb. 11:33–36). Faith has practical outworkings, even though
those deeds are not the grounds for justification unto salvation.
Faith and works are not opposing forces; they are
complementary. Paul emphasizes this in
Ephesians 2:10: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Faith is useful in its outworking.
James offers a striking comparison. He says in verse 19: “You believe that God is
one. You do well; the demons also
believe, and shudder.” This refers to the
Shema (Deut. 6:4), one of the earliest creeds of Scripture expressing a belief
in monotheism. Even demons possess a
level of orthodox belief — they acknowledge the oneness of God and the reality
of His power. Yet their belief produces
fear, not obedience.
This highlights a sobering truth: intellectual assent to
biblical doctrine is not enough. Many
self-satisfied Christians might cite their orthodox credentials, but that doesn’t
mean that they have true faith. Genuine
faith involves trust, submission, and action.
So, James concludes with a rebuke. He writes, “But are you willing to recognize,
you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?” The term “foolish” signifies spiritual
emptiness. A profession of faith without
accompanying works is barren, like a fig tree with no figs. The person is spiritually empty, and so is the
useless expression of the faith.
Incidentally, this is where we see the passage come together,
showing that there are two kinds of faith in this passage. In v. 14, we read, “What use is it, my
brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith
save him?” Rendered literally, he says
in v. 17 that “the faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead”
(v. 17). That kind of faith cannot be
justified or demonstrated before others, but James says, “I will show you my
faith by my works” (v. 18). Don’t have a
kind of mere belief akin to what even the demons have (v. 19) — “the faith”
that is useless (v. 20). We want a
useful, living faith, not a dead and useless one.
IV.
Conclusion
James’s message is clear: true faith works. It is not content with empty words or passive
sentiment. Instead, it moves into
action, reflecting the heart of God in love, compassion, and obedience.
As we examine our lives this evening, consider: Does my
faith bear fruit? Am I a hearer of the
Word only, or a doer also? May we be
found faithful stewards of the gospel, living out our faith in a way that
glorifies Christ and serves others.
[1] Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia
of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Garland, TX: Bible
Communications, Inc.
[2] A. T. Robertson, Word
Pictures in the New Testament, (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933), Jas
2:14.
[3] John MacArthur Jr., Ed., The MacArthur Study Bible, electronic ed., (Nashville, TN: Word
Pub., 1997), 1929.
[4] Robertson, Jas 2:15.
[5] Charles C. Ryrie, Biblical
Theology of the New Testament, (Dubuque, IA: ECS Ministries, 2005), 123.
[6] “Common Jewish farewell (Judges 18:6; 1 Sam. 1:17;
20:42; 2 Sam. 15:9). Used by Jesus (Mark
5:34; Luke 7:50).” Robertson, Jas 2:16.
[7] J. Ronald Blue, The
Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, 1985, 2, 825.
[8] Sophie Laws, The
Epistle of James, Black’s New Testament Commentary, (London: Continuum,
1980), 124.
