BUT I THOUGHT…
James 2:14-18 NKJV
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus 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 without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
One of the key tenets of any solid evangelical church is the belief that by grace, we are saved through faith, not of works, so no one can boast (Ephesians 2: 8-9). Unlike some groups that believe they will get into heaven by their works, we don't subscribe to that. We believe that only through faith in Jesus Christ is a person saved. And yet, so many still believe that it's their works that gain them entrance to heaven.
But we don't believe that our works is what gets the job done. So what's up with James and this second chapter, where he exclaims that faith without works is dead? But I thought Paul said, by grace are we saved through faith. So, who is right? The good news is that both are right. The key to understanding this passage in James is looking a bit deeper at the word works.
James is not talking about the works of the Jewish law, such as those we find in the Old Testament. Neither is he speaking of the good works that supposedly get us into heaven. A better word for works is action. The Weymouth translation substitutes 'corresponding action' for the word works, and it starts to make sense.
There must be a corresponding action to our faith. We see this with salvation. In each service at The Ark, we give people an opportunity to receive Christ, and we ask them to do two things. Raise their hand to acknowledge they want salvation or to be restored to the Lord. And confess Jesus as their Lord and Savior out loud as we lead them in prayer. Both of those things are actions as a result of what they believe. They are not just believing and going their way. People every service act on their faith. They have corresponding actions to what they believe.
James says that faith is revealed in corresponding actions. That's how a person would prove he has faith. James says, show me your faith without any corresponding actions, and I will show you my faith by my corresponding actions. Later in this same chapter, James cites Abraham as an example of someone who believed God, and it was displayed as he offered his son Issac up on the altar. James even goes as far as recognizing the prostitute Rahab. She was the lady who hid the two spies when they came to spy out the city of Jericho. Rahab believed in the God of the Israelites more than the safety of Jericho's walls and protected the two spies. She hid them and sent them out another way to safety and wound up saving her whole household. So, even a prostitute was saved because of her faith and corresponding actions. God is good and oh so merciful.
APPLICATION
A good question we can ask ourselves is, how is my faith being revealed? Here are a couple of good places to look: look at your words and your actions. Don't discount your words. We received the Lord by believing in our heart—faith. And confessing Him as Lord and Saviour with our mouth—action. What we say and do are both indicators of our faith. For faith to be alive, there must be corresponding action. Our praying, giving and serving are acts of faith. Attending church and reading the Bible are actions that correspond with what we believe. We have more faith than we realize, and it shows up in our words and in what we do.
PRAYER
Lord, show me how I can add life to my faith by my words and actions. I want a living faith that pleases You.