James 2:14-26
Faith and Deeds
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder.
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Issac on the altar? You see that his faith and his action were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by his faith alone.
In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
For the majority of my life, I was taught a message by churches; “You don’t have to work to be saved, God already sent His son to save you.” This message that has been so ingrained throughout my life is warm and fuzzy. Of course, I was always taught the line between knowing I was forgiven when I made mistakes and choosing to do bad things because I knew I would be saved regardless. Regardless of that though, it gives a false reassurance that no matter what I do, I am already saved.
Friends, this isn’t an uncommon message. I’m pretty sure I, myself, shared it with others during college. It makes us feel good and takes the weight of salvation off of our shoulders. It’s a message that gives us an easy out rather than one that asks us to try harder.
“It doesn’t matter what work/deeds you do, you are already saved by Christ.”
I want to be crystal clear here. Yes, God is an incredible and loving God and in His great mercy, He sent His son to die on the cross, that His body would be an atonement for our sin, that we might someday join them, righteous, in Heaven.
It’s an incredible message. A good one that we should desire to share with anyone and everyone. However, our redemption didn’t stop with Christ’s blood on a cross. James uses the second half of his second letter to remind us of something crucial. Something that isn’t warm and fuzzy. That doesn’t permit us to doze off till the second coming. It doesn’t give us an easy out. James reminds us that our actions are living proof of what we say we believe.
Take a look at James 2:19 with me.
James 2:19
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder!
James reminds us that even the opposing force of God believes that there is only one God, to show us how minut just believing in God is. If even a demon is able to believe that there is one God, how much easier is it for us to believe that there is one God? It is easy to believe in God but much harder for us to act as such.
Just like in James 2:15-16, where James asks us what good are words if we don’t take action to carry them out, our faith is dead without action.
We can say that we believe in God but without actions, fueled by our faith to show our faith, our words are just that - mere words.
In James 2:15-16 he shows us a scenario where a person has no food or clothes. We can wish the person well, we can share words of comfort, or in our faith, that God is providing for us, we can stretch our resources to provide for the person who has nothing. Is it a more powerful message of what you believe to tell someone you wished they had a coat or to hand them a coat and say “keep warm”?
In James 2:18, we are shown the opposite of someone who says they have faith but does nothing.
James 2:18
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
The opposite of faith with no action is action with no faith. There are plenty of people who do good works, who love and serve well but do not do so because they have faith. While it is not inherently bad to do good works without faith, there is power in having both faith and deeds.
Let’s look at James 2:20-22
James 2:20-22
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Issac on the altar? You see that his faith and his action were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.
Because of Abraham’s full faith and trust in his God, he was able to carry out the unthinkable action of offering his son as sacrifice. This doesn’t mean that the action wasn’t hard for him or didn’t hurt him deeply. But it does mean that Abraham chose to set aside himself and act out of pure faith rather than a reliance on himself.
It is because Abraham backed his faith with his action that we get this incredible line from James.
James 2:22
You see that his faith and his action were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.
Abraham wasn’t taking action with no faith. Abraham, wasn’t saying he had faith but then ignored the action he was called to. No, Abraham let his faith and his works come together. Instead of choosing a side or fighting to ignore the work God called him to, Abraham gave himself over to Christ and let that compel his actions forward. And because of his willingness to let his faith and actions come together as one, his faith was made complete. Abraham had the great reward of seeing God come through and provide for him because he took action, in faith, before he knew how God would work. By taking action in blind faith, Abraham’s faith was ultimately made richer and deeper leading to a fuller connection with his God.
We will not all be called to portray our faith in the same way. James 2:25 shows us a different story of faith and action working together.
James 2:25
In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?
Where Abraham showed his faith to the world by offering his son, Rahab showed her faith by lodging spies and sending them in the wrong direction.
Everyone has their own way to serve, love and give. It doesn’t quite matter as much what work we do, as it does, that we do work.
You see God does call us to work.
James 2:14
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
God will judge us by our works. He does expect us to put actions behind the beliefs of our heart. He wants us to act because of our faith, to show the world how great our faith is, and ultimately how great He is. It’s less about having to do “deeds” to be saved, and more about our “deeds” being a portrayal of our faith in a God who has already saved.
Living life as a Christian isn’t about living in the zone where we are most comfortable. It’s not about pretending that God expects nothing from us because it’s easier to live by words than by actions.
Friends, God expects a lot from us. But man, what an honor that He does. He expects good and wonderful works from us, using the gifts and talents we already have, because He believes that we are capable of doing His good work.
I don’t know about you, but I rather be challenged to step outside of my comfort zone to pursue God’s work than to live in the shadows of “I believe” and fail to reach the potential God sees in me.
Thoughts for the Week:
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I know this is a hard message. For many, it may be the first time you’ve been told, or realized, that God expects us to work. To be honest with you, when I heard it at church a few Sunday’s back,it took me by surprise because it was in such strong opposition to the message I’ve been told my entire life.
Do you think you have been fed a false narrative that your works don’t matter? Where have you seen this show up in the way you choose to live your life?
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What is one way you can challenge yourself this week to act on your faith rather than speaking alone?
Do you need to follow through on what you say? Do you need to actually pray for those you said you would pray for? Do you need to give to a person or a group? Is your action as simple as starting to share what you believe with someone else?
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Find some time this week, put it in your schedule, set an accountability buddy. Find a quiet space where you can be undisturbed. Maybe it’s in your closet, maybe it’s a beautiful spot outside or over a cup of coffee. Read this week's passage to yourself, close your eyes and breathe. Breathe in God’s love and truth, breath out the lies and mis-teaching that we have been taught over the years.
As you spend quiet time with your God, ask God how He is asking you to step out of your comfort zone and serve Him. Ask Him to guide your faith into actions that your faith may become richer and fuller in His presence.
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Prayer
Lord,
We are constantly learning and hearing new perspectives on your word. We may be taught one thing our entire life and then in a split second learn that your word never aligned with those teachings. Open our eyes and our hearts to hear Your truth. Lord, we desire you. We desire a faith so rich that we carry it out in our actions. We desire our faith and our actions to come together as one.
Protect our minds from believing that we have to work to be saved. We know that your incredible and good message is that You have already saved us. We know that nothing we do could save us. While our works are insignificant in saving us, may they be great in drawing us and others closer to you. May our works show how much we love and trust you and become a beacon for others to help find you.
You are a good God. A God full of mercy and trust. You delight in us, as we delight in you. You choose us. You made us in your image. You made us capable of doing great works because of your greatness in us.
In Your Name We Pray,
Amen
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