James 2:14-26--Faith Without Works Is Dead

James 2:14-26 English Standard Version (ESV)
Faith Without Works Is Dead
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 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.

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Here it is....probably the most well-known passage in the book of James.  What does saving faith look like?  Can a faith that is not put into action really be considered saving faith?  This passage has been misinterpreted by many to claim a works-based salvation or that somehow faith plus works is necessary for salvation.  Remember, the apostles are all going back to the teachings of Jesus as they teach the churches who may not have heard Jesus' sermons in-person.  That's why we originally started this blog series with the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus lays out there that His disciples that are genuine will be known not by their beliefs and creeds, but by their fruit (the part that is visible for everyone to see).  The way we conduct ourselves will show what kind of tree we really are and will reveal the "root" (what is at the center of our worldview--what we believe about God, man and nature).  James takes up this same topic here but is very direct with the Christians he's writing to about specific instances where their orthodoxy and orthopraxy don't match.  Okay, I know I just used some really big words there, so let me define them.  Orthodoxy is a strict adherence to the fundamental beliefs of a particular religion.  Orthopraxy is putting those beliefs into practice and living out your faith.  James is saying that orthodox beliefs alone are not enough to save you because you don't really believe something unless you are willing to put it into practice.

A common story told with respect to this is the man who walked a tightrope across Niagara Falls.  After walking from the US side to the Canadian side and back he asked the crowd who believed that he could put someone in a wheelbarrow and push them across the tightrope to the other side and back.  Many raised their hands.  Then he asked, "Who is willing to get into the wheelbarrow?" You see, many were willing to say they believed something until it required them to put that faith into action.  So did they really believe if they were not willing to put that trust into action?  This is the idea here.

A faith that does not produce works is like a tree that does not produce fruit--it's dead.  Even the demons know the truth about God and Jesus, but they refuse to organize their lives in a way where they are subject to the authority of God and His commandments.  Knowing the truth is not enough to save you.  It is only faith that is tested and put into action that we know is genuine.  While we are justified before God by the finished work of Christ, our faith is justified and validated before men when we put our faith into actions and words work in concert to not only tell people what we believe, but to live it out before them.  Again, faith without works is like a body without a soul--it is dead and able to do nothing.

While our works do not save us, it should be impossible for us to be genuinely saved and for our works to not match our faith.  This goes back to the example we've been using over and over again.  If the caterpillar has undergone metamorphosis and become a butterfly than it will live like a butterfly, not like a caterpillar.  And what is a butterfly that never flies or drinks nectar from a flower?  You know the saying "If it walk like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck."  Well hopefully someone will be able to say of us, "If they walk in the Spirit, and bear the fruit of the Spirit, then they have the Spirit of God living in them and are children of God."