Faith Works

¹⁸ Suppose someone disagrees and says, “It is possible to have faith without doing kind deeds.” I would answer, “Prove that you have faith without doing kind deeds, and I will prove that I have faith by doing them.” ¹⁹ You surely believe there is only one God. That’s fine. Even demons believe this, and it makes them shake with fear.

²⁰ Does some stupid person want proof that faith without deeds is useless? ²¹ Well, our ancestor Abraham pleased God by putting his son Isaac on the altar to sacrifice him. ²² Now you see how Abraham’s faith and deeds worked together. He proved that his faith was real by what he did. ²³ This is what the Scriptures mean by saying, “Abraham had faith in God, and God was pleased with him.” That’s how Abraham became God’s friend.

²⁴ You can now see that we please God by what we do and not only by what we believe. ²⁵ For example, Rahab had been a prostitute. But she pleased God when she welcomed the spies and sent them home by another way. ²⁶ Anyone who doesn’t breathe is dead, and faith that doesn’t do anything is just as dead! (James 2:18-26 CEV)

After reading this passage, it sharpens the definition of Faith in Jesus. James is saying that you can’t have Faith in Jesus without any actions (some form of work). I like that he talks about those who say they “believe”; but just a mental acknowledgment of God is not Faith in him. Just because a person says they know that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, that he died for the sins of the world, that he was raised on the third day, that he was born of a virgin, that he did miracles, that he is the Son of God and etcetera; this knowledge alone is not Faith in Jesus; even the demons know these things and shake with fear (v. 19).

James finally explains Faith by saying, “You can now see that we please God by what we do and not only by what we believe (v. 24). Anyone who doesn’t breathe is dead, and Faith that doesn’t do anything is just as dead! (v. 26)”

Explaining “Works”

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through Faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:8-10).

There seems to be some contradiction here. At first, James is saying that Faith must be followed by works (James 2:26), but Paul is saying that being saved is through Faith and not of works (v. 9). Is Paul saying that Faith in Jesus is absent of works? Is the Bible contradicting itself? No. To think that there is a contradiction would surely mean an error in our own thinking in which we should ask God for understanding.

Verse 10 says that we are created for good works and that we should walk in them. So Paul is saying that good works is one of the purposes for being saved, but the works are not what saves us. Actually both James and Paul complement one another because God’s word is revealing two kinds of works that surround Faith in Jesus:

Works that are done to please God, but actually don’t.
Works that come by Faith, which pleases God.

Again, Faith in Jesus leads to obedience. Obeying God will lead to some form of work. When you obey and works are produced according to what God asks, this is called a “good work”. When a person does something that God didn’t tell them to do, regardless of how godly or spiritual it looks, to God, it’s a filthy rag; and this is called a “dead work”.

Good Works →