Is There Faith in Your Works? by Pastor Ed Evan

Scripture:  James 2:14-26

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good^[a] is that? ¹⁷ So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. ¹⁹ You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! ²⁰ Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? ²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; ²³ and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. ²⁴ You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.²⁵ And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? ²⁶ For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

Just as we don't as easily speak of our illnesses and pills to strangers as we do to our doctor, we are often more willing to speak of personal brokenness or incompleteness with our pastors, or perhaps with a friend whom we know to live the Christian life.

But there are also those who either don't know of, or won't admit to, their own brokenness. I am always grateful when people will ask for prayer or speak to me of problems to which I can extend the hand of Christ and open the conversation to matters of faith.  Frankly, that seems to happen more since I retired than before when I was responsible for leading a church.

So often today it seems the general populace, so many lacking a childhood basis in matters of faith, has become steeped in equating the Christian faith with "magical" words and "the right" prayers, and have missed entirely the power of the simple love of Christ. Too often it becomes a matter of debunking myths of denominationalism that border on cultic leadership, encouraging reliance on truth and logic -- as Ravi Zacharias says, "Let my people think." -- and showing how when we begin to put others first, setting aside our own self motivations, everything else begins to fall into place.

James, in today's scripture lesson, seems to zero in on our human susceptibility to listen to the shout of our emotions even when our rational intellect is telling us something else.  Now, we know that our brains control our hands and feet, the muscles of our tongue, and yet our experience demonstrates these are more often controlled by our sentiments; what we feel more than what we think.

Back in James 1:22, the writer admonished his readers, "You must be doers of the word and not only hearers who mislead themselves."  James is telling us that faith alone cannot save us.  Any claim to faith that doesn't result in proper behavior is inadequate.  As someone has said, "A faith that fails to change behavior had a flaw from the start."

But wait, students of Biblical scripture will recognize that what James has written seems at odds with what Paul wrote.  For example, in Roman 3:28, Paul wrote, "For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed the law."  And in Galatians 2:16, in Paul's letter to Galatia, we find, "However, we know that a person isn't made righteous by the works of the Law but rather through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.  We ourselves believed in Christ Jesus so that we could be made righteous by the faithfulness of Christ and not by the works of the Law -- because no one will be made righteous by the works of the Law."

Are James and Paul teaching radically different theologies?

The 16th century theologian and leader of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther, for example, believed that James contradicted Paul; that the writing of James lacked the authority of Paul's writing.  But scholars today believe that James, never having seen Paul's writings, was responding to second-hand inaccurate conceptions and misunderstandings of Paul's theology.  James was not condemning the idea that one needs to have faith, but rather condemning those who claimed to have faith but whose actions did not confirm that faith.  In truth, Paul would have agreed with James that faith leads to changed behavior.  For Paul wrote in Galatians 5:6, "Being circumcised or not being circumcised doesn't matter in Christ Jesus, but  faith working through love does matter."

Now we see that James and Paul were addressing different issues.

Paul was responding to those who believed their salvation was earned by keeping the Law.  He insisted we are saved by placing our trust in Jesus Christ.

James was reacting against those who taught that we are saved by faith, with some claiming there was no need to keep the moral law; a misinterpretation of Paul's writings. 

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "Not everybody who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will get into the kingdom of heaven.  Only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter.  On the Judgment Day, many people will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in Your name and expel demons in Your name?'  Then I'll tell them, 'I've never known you.  Get away from me, you people who do wrong.'"  (Matthew 7:21-23)

Jesus repeatedly speaks about the importance of our behavior, noting in Matthew 7 that good trees bear good fruit.  "All who want to come after me," Jesus said in Matthew 16, "must say no to themselves, take up their cross and follow me.  All who want to save their lives will lose them.  But all who lose their lives because of me will find them."

So we can see that James and Paul agree, and we can agree with them.  But both James and Paul would tell us the issue is not about whether or not we agree.  The issue is do we walk what we talk?  Do we practice what we preach?  Or do we feel we have "spiritual fire insurance" since we believe in Christ, so we don't have to worry about taking up our cross or being radically obedient?

We see mischief and evil in the world today all around us, even among those who claim to have faith.  But what kind of faith is it?  James would say it makes a difference. 

As a young student in grade school, I became aware of the sciences and came to have faith that the earth revolves around the sun, not the way it appears with sun rising in the east and setting in the west.  I have continued to believe that all my life.  But believing that has made no change in my behavior.

Yet at a point in my life, I came to know and believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.  As I grew in knowledge and faith, that knowledge and faith effected changes in my life.  I gradually became aware, as Paul wrote, that as a child of God all things were legal to me, but all things were not expedient; that God works all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purposes; and that as it says in Matthew 16:27, "For the Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay each person according to what He has done."

The followers of Jesus Christ in America are aware that this nation has often been labeled a "Christian" nation.  But over time it has become increasingly diverse and secular, presenting a particular problem for Christians.  Lying, cheating, pornography, illicit and selfish behavior is all about us, much of it condoned as an individual "right."  We are often called upon to act in concert with family and friends, going along with a tainted and unscriptural culture.  One of the most difficult factors in this life is to live in variance from the prevailing culture.

How strong is your faith?  How do you put your faith into practice?  How does your faith influence your behavior?  How is your life different from that of a neighbor who is not a Christian?

So it is that we see while we are bought with the blood of Jesus Christ and saved by faith in Him, yet our path forward is one of obedience to Him.  If the authorities came to round up all the Christians, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

Amen.