Summary of James 2:14-26:
James asks what good is it to have faith without deeds? Faith by itself without action is dead. You show your faith by what you do. As shown by deeds, Abraham offered his son Isaac on the altar which showed his faith complete by deeds. A person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
Rahab was considered righteous when she gave lodging to the spies and sent the soldier off in different directions. Faith without deeds is dead, as the body without the spirit is dead.
BSF Study Questions Acts Lesson 28, Day 5: James 2:14-26
12) True faith is accompanied by deeds, meaning not that deeds is required to have faith, but if you have faith and Jesus in your heart, this will lead you to do works because that is what Jesus did.
13) You can believe in your mind that Jesus died for our sins but not in your heart. True faith is believing with your heart and mind, which will show in your deeds as you do good for others.
14) Personal Question. My answer: It challenges me to do more for others to live out what Jesus would do and not just believe in what Jesus would do.
BSF Study Questions Acts Lesson 28, Day 5: James 2:14-26
As many of you know, this is my second time through the Book of Acts with BSF. I found this passage (purported to be one of the toughest in the New Testament so if you are struggling, you are not alone) much easier this go-around to understand than the last time. If you have Jesus, you are drawn to work for him. That is true faith. If you only have intellectual faith, you will have no works. That is not faith.
BSF Study Questions Acts Lesson 28, Day 5: James 2:14-26
James thought it impossible that someone could genuinely have saving faith with no works. But someone could say he has faith, but fail to show good works. So, the question is valid: Can that kind of faith save him?
James wrote to Christians from a Jewish background that discovered the glory of salvation by faith. They knew the exhilaration of freedom from works-righteousness. But they then went to the other extreme of thinking that works didn’t matter at all.
James did not contradict the Apostle Paul, who insisted that we are saved not of works (Ephesians 2:9). James merely clarifies for us the kind of faith that saves. We are saved by grace through faith, not by works; but saving faith will have works that accompany it. As a saying goes: faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is not alone; it has good works with it.
Paul also understood the necessity of works in proving the character of our faith. He wrote: For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10). He also wrote: This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. (Titus 3:8)
Real faith, and the works that accompany it, are not made up of only spiritual things, but also of a concern for the most basic needs – such as the need for comfort, covering, and food. When needs arise, we should sometimes pray less, and simply do more to help the person in need.
What Can I Do? NOT How Can I Pray?
Faith alone saves us, but it must be a living faith. We can tell if faith is alive by seeing if it is accompanied by works, and if it does not have works, it is dead.
A living faith is simply real faith. If we really believe something we will follow through and act upon it
Some might try to say that some have the “gift” of works and others have the “gift” of faith. “It’s fine for you to have your gift of works and that you care for the needy. But that isn’t my gift.”James will not allow this kind of thinking.
We can’t “see” someone’s faith, but we can see their works. You can’t see faith without works, but you can demonstrate the reality of faith by works.
Abraham was justified by faith long before he offered Isaac (Genesis 15:6). But his obedience in offering Isaac demonstrated that he really did trust God.
Significantly, James used two examples of a living faith – Abraham (the father of the Jews) and Rahab (a Gentile). James perhaps is subtly rebuking the partiality that may have developed on the part of Jewish Christians against the Gentile believers starting to come into the church.
Rahab’s faith was shown to be living faith because it did something. Her belief in the God of Israel would not have saved her if she had not done something with that faith.
The lesson from Abraham is clear: if we believe in God, we will do what He tells us to do. The lesson from Rahab is also clear: if we believe in God, we will help His people, even when it costs us something.
Faith without works is a dead faith, unable to save.