James 2:14-26

Did you know that Larry King is a big fan of Jesus? Let me read a quote from him. Larry King said, “As a Jew, I have nothing but the greatest and most profound respect for Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He was, after all, Jewish; born Jewish, died Jewish.... I think Jesus Christ was the greatest single individual of both millenniums, and He had a more profound effect on mankind than any individual ever born. If there’s one person I would like to interview, it would be Jesus.”

Larry King will never get to interview Jesus, but one day Jesus will ask Larry King a few questions! Let’s assume Jesus was not available for an interview, so Larry King has to settle for Jesus’ half-brother James. James also convinced the apostle Paul to tag along for fun. Larry is a perceptive interviewer so I am sure he would pick up on the religious angle of these two men.

James: ¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? ¹⁵ Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶ 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? ¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. ¹⁸ 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. ¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. ²⁰ You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? ²¹ Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³ 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. ²⁴ You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. 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? ²⁶ As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Larry: Thank you James. Paul, do you agree with James—that faith without works is dead?

Paul: ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.

Larry: So wait a minute Paul, aren’t you contradicting what James is teaching? James teaches that faith and works must go together and you seem to be teaching that good works have nothing to do with faith. Which of you is correct?

If this fictional conversation were to happen it would illustrate the tension that has existed between these two verses for the past 2,000 years. Martin Luther was so committed to Paul’s teaching on justification by faith and the denial of any good works for salvation that he wanted the book of James to be thrown out of the Bible. Martin Luther said the book of James was "flatly against St. Paul and all the rest of Scripture." Is this a genuine contradiction or is there another way to harmonize these two verses into a united Biblical truth?

Let’s start again at v.14. James asks two rhetorical questions. ¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? James expects that the answer to both rhetorical questions is “no”. If anyone claims to have faith and does not have evidence of their faith in the form of good deeds, then it does no good. Can such a faith without any good works be genuine saving faith? Again the answer is no. James lays out our first principle this morning: saving faith must result in a changed life (good deeds). If there is no evidence of a changed life, then the faith that is claimed is dead.

I used to understand this verse in a different way. I used to think that James meant that if good works did not flow out of your faith, then your faith was weak and lifeless. You were still saved, but you weren’t living out your faith. I could not have been more wrong about this passage. When he says faith without works is dead, he does not mean it is lifeless, he means it has no life. The faith is dead because it does not exist. Without evidence of a changed life, then a person cannot be truly saved. James is a disturbing book, isn’t it?

A little later we will return to the question about whether James contradicts the teaching of Paul, but first let’s look closer at the illustrations given by James. Look at the strong words in v. 20— You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Why would James use such harsh language? How would you respond if I called you fools, would you be more or less inclined to listen to me? James is not just being mean and harsh, but he is merely being consistent in his use of the word wisdom. Do you remember the definition of wisdom? Wisdom = right beliefs + right action. A wise person combines right beliefs and right actions—otherwise you are not a wise person, indeed you would be a foolish person. The audience James is addressing thinks that they can separate right beliefs from right actions. In their minds it is sufficient to have right beliefs without right actions. Since this is the opposite of wisdom, naturally James refers to such people as foolish. So he is not just being mean but by calling them foolish he is making a deep theological statement.

James has a striking commentary on those who have the right beliefs but do not have right actions. In v. 19 he said, You believe that there is one God. Good! James was speaking to Jews and Jewish Christians. Every single Jew who read this verse would have known exactly what James was speaking about. This is what is known as the Shema from Deuteronomy 6:4—“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” This phrase is one of the first things every Jewish boy and girl would learn. It is a core Jewish doctrine. James was in effect saying, “You know the shema—do you believe that God is one. That’s a good thing. That’s a good start, but you know what?” Even the demons believe that—and shudder. Even demons—the arch enemies of God—believe in one God. Of course they believe it—they have seen him. They used to stand in his presence and worship this one God. But now they tremble with fear at the thought of God. Right beliefs without right actions is as good as the faith of demons. In other words, it is not true faith at all.

Don’t forget, James premise is that faith and works must go together in order to have saving faith and the first illustration he chooses is example of Abraham. Understand this—choosing Abraham to illustrate his premise was the most difficult thing he could have done. Abraham is the poster boy for faith. Using Abraham to prove the necessity for works would have been a shocking statement to James listeners. Look at how Paul describes Abraham in Galatians. Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. Abraham is the father of all who believe—who have faith. If you have saving faith, then Abraham is your father. Paul called him the “man of faith.” Abraham is not associated with good works. As a matter of fact Paul uses many examples of Abraham to prove that Abraham did not earn his faith by good works, but ONLY through faith. Abraham is the man of faith—the number one poster boy for faith. What if I said to you, “I want to prove to you why being a Democrat is a good thing—and I will use Ronald Reagan as my best illustration”. You would think I was nuts, I couldn’t possibly choose a more difficult example than Ronald Reagan to prove my premise about being a Democrat. Likewise, James could not have chosen a more difficult example than Abraham to prove his premise that faith must result in good works.

Let’s pick up his argument is v.21, Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? The answer to this question that James expects is “yes”, but we are tempted to say “no” Abraham was not considered righteous by good works, but by his faith. It appears James has an uphill battle here.. ²² You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³ And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Paul also quotes this same passage from Genesis 15:6 to prove that faith alone brings salvation. Since James is referring to examples from Genesis it is best if we look at the original context to gain a more complete understanding.

Turn back to Genesis chapter 15. ¹After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” ² But Abram said, “O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit^c my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” ⁴ Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir.” ⁵ He took him outside and said, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” ⁶ Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. Here is the order of events. God stated the promise—your offspring will be countless, like the stars in the sky. This is a restatement of God’s earlier promise—you will be the father of many nations. Then Abraham placed his faith in the promise of God.

PROMISE “Look up at the heavens and count the stars. So shall your offspring be.”

Now the interesting thing is that James uses the well-known example of Abraham offering his son Isaac on the altar. That story does not come until Genesis chapter 22. Abraham’s faith comes in chapter 15 and the story of Isaac on the altar doesn’t come until a full seven chapters later, yet James links the two events as if they were one and the same thing. To understand why let’s turn to Genesis 22 to get the context of that story as well. ⁹ When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. ¹² “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” ¹³ Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” ¹⁵ The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time ¹⁶ and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷ I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore.

Did you notice what the Lord said after this act of faith? He repeated the same promise given to Abraham in chapter 15-- I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. This completes the order of events. First the promise is given—then Abraham places his faith in God—then Abraham acts on his faith—finally God repeats the same promise.

PROMISE “Look up at the heavens and count the stars. So shall your offspring be.

FAITH IN ACTION Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son.

PROMISE I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky

Looking at it this way we can now see why James linked these two separate events as if they were a single event. Abraham was considered righteous for what he DID. It was his faith in action that was proof of his genuine faith in God. This is how Paul describes the faith of Abraham in Romans 4, Abraham was “fully persuaded that God had the power to do what he had promised.” We are the children of this man of faith. So do you believe that God has the power to do what he has promised?

The second illustration that James used was the example of Rahab the prostitute. Once again James assumes that his Jewish readers will know Rahab’s story of faith and rescue. But for greater emphasis, let’s read it in its original context. ¹Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute^a named Rahab and stayed there. ² The king of Jericho was told, “Look! Some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” ³ So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.” ⁴ But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. ⁵ At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, the men left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.” ⁶ (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) ⁷ So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut. ⁸ Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof ⁹ and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. ¹⁰ We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea^b for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed.^c ¹¹ When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. ¹² Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign ¹³ that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that you will save us from death.” ¹⁴ “Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land.”

Can you see the order of events in this story? First came Rahab’s faith, v.11, When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. She had heard about God and it caused her to tremble in fear. Who else in this passage in James trembled in fear at the thought of God? Yes, the demons trembled, but their fear causes them to run away from God rather than toward God. Next came her faith in action—she hid the spies on her roof. But did you notice she did more than just hide the spies, she defied the King of Jericho. Recall that Jericho was a powerful city and an impregnable fortress. The king would have been a mighty king with absolute authority. If it was ever discovered that she had lied, she would have been dragged before the king and probably executed in his sight. She defied the most powerful earthly king she had ever known because there was another king whom she feared even more—the God of heaven and earth.

First her faith, then her faith in action—then a promise: “Our lives for your lives!” Once again the faith and the good works, or faith in action, are considered as a single event. How important was this event in Biblical history? Rahab’s faith allowed Israel to conquer Jericho and get a foothold in the promised land. Her act of faith was so remarkable that Rahab was included in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew. She is listed alongside Abraham and Moses in the so-called Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11. And she is listed as only one of two historical examples of faith in the book of James. In both Hebrews and James Rahab is identified as “Rahab the prostitute”.

Now if my name was listed in such a prominent place in Scripture I would want my name to not be associated with my former sins. Can you imagine such a thing? I might be known as “Rich the angry one” or Rich the murderer in his heart”. I think Rahab has her former profession attached to her name for two reasons. One, the Biblical writers want to make certain their readers know who they are talking about. Rahab isn’t as well known as Abraham so they identify her as Rahab the prostitute. In the original language she is called Rahab the porne, which literally means Rahab the one who sinned sexually.

But the other reason she is called Rahab the harlot is because her act of faith represents a changed life from her former life of sin. She was a prostitute before she placed her faith in God. The same could be said of Abraham. The Bible tells us that Abraham worshipped other gods before God called him. If he were not so well known he may have been identified as “Abraham the idolater”. If Abraham is the father of all who believe, then he is also the father of all who have sinned. Sexual sin and idolatry are examples of rampant, everyday sins which plague all of mankind. But even these sins did not keep them from expressing their faith in God through their actions.

Neither do our sins keep us from having a great faith like Abraham and Rahab. It is not the size of their sin that matters. It’s not even the size of their faith that matters. What matters was the size of their God. Both Abraham and Rahab understood that God was the one and only true God. Abraham was an idolater before he placed his faith in the one true God. Rahab was a prostitute before she placed her faith in the one true God. What we you before you placed your faith in the one true God? If that faith is a real faith and not a false faith, then good works must follow.

James does not contradict any of Paul’s teachings because Paul was teaching against the works of the Law which were believed to precede faith and bring about eternal life. James would have spoken out against these types of works as well. James taught that good works must come after saving faith as evidence and proof of that faith. Good works that come prior to faith don’t do any good—in fact they are potentially harmful if you think they can earn you salvation. But good works that come after faith are absolutely necessary in order to prove that faith exists.

If you have a Bible with you this morning, show me your Bible. Hold it up high so I can see it. Now show me your right hand—stick it up in the air. Now, show me your faith. That’s the problem—you can’t see faith. I cannot see your correct doctrine just be looking at you. But I can see your faith if I also see evidence of a changed life. Saving faith requires BOTH right beliefs and right actions. Saving faith requires that you believe that Christ is the only way to heaven and that you can show evidence that he has changed your life. Without such evidence your faith is dead. That does not mean your faith is lifeless or dormant---it means it is dead. It does not exist. You are not a Christian.

Martin Luther was wrong and James was right—faith without works is dead. Paul agrees with James. ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.. ¹⁰For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Grace comes by faith in Christ, but good works must follow. Good works must follow because God has prepared them in advance for us. Anything good that comes from your faith—any changed aspect of your life—all come about because God prepared them for you from before the foundation of the world. He didn’t choose you just so you could go to Heaven. He chose you so that you could do many, many good works.

c The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.

a Or possibly an innkeeper

b Hebrew Yam Suph; that is, Sea of Reeds

c The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the LORD, often by totally destroying them.