Faith and Works

MEMORY VERSE: “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” (James 1:22) “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” —James 2:17

JAMES 2:14-26

THERE has been some controversy among professed Christians as to the relative value of faith and works in one’s endeavors to please God. Some have held that Paul and James disagreed on this matter, claiming that Paul taught justification by faith, while James taught justification by works. But actually this is not true. When Paul stressed the fact that we are justified by faith apart from works he was referring to the ceremonial works of the Law; whereas when James refers to works he means those things which we do in faithfully serving the Lord which demonstrate our faith.

Paul and James both speak of the justifying faith of Abraham, and they both refer to what Abraham did which demonstrated his faith. Concerning Abraham’s faith, Paul wrote, “And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb.” (Rom. 4:19) In other words, Abraham believed God’s promise concerning the birth of a child, and against great odds co-operated with God in its fulfillment. Thus he demonstrated his faith by his works.

James refers to Abraham’s work by which his faith was manifested as being the offering up of his son Isaac in sacrifice. (James 2:21) A failure to have done this when requested by God would have demonstrated that Abraham did not possess a justifying faith.

Actually there is no relative value between faith and works as Christian virtues, for neither one can fully exist without the other. The only works which are pleasing to God are those works which are the outgrowth of a living faith; and the only genuine faith is that faith which is demonstrated by Christian works. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love.” (I Thess. 1:3) Faith works, even as love labors.

This confirms the thought in our memory verse that “faith if it hath not works, is dead.” Thus the importance of being doers of the Word, and not hearers only. In harmony with this Paul wrote, “With the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Rom. 10:10) Confessing, or testifying, the truth of the Gospel is the “work” here referred to as making one’s heart belief vital.

One of James’ illustrations of a working faith concerns the case of a brother or sister in the Lord who is without proper clothing and “destitute of daily food.” We might profess love for such a one, but would be showing an utter lack of faith if we simply said. “Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled.” The work of faith in a case of this kind would be to do what we could to provide clothing and food for the needy brother or sister, even though it might he more pleasant to the flesh to turn aside and enjoy fellowship with the more fortunate ones in the congregation.

James reminds us that merely to believe that there is a God is not enough. “Devils also believe, and tremble,” he wrote. Surely we want a faith that makes us do more than tremble!

James mentions “Rahab the harlot” as another illustration of how works demonstrate faith. Rahab co-operated with God by helping the spies which were sent to Canaan to escape, when capture would have meant their death.

James concludes, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead.” In the marginal translation we are given the word “breath” instead of “spirit.” It is true, as we know, that there can be no life in the body without the breath of life. The translators have used the word “spirit” in an evident attempt to show that when one dies there is something alive called the spirit, or soul, which escapes and continues to exist apart from the body. However, this is an error, and is not taught in the Bible. It is part of the pagan philosophy that “there is no death.” Its origin is in Satan’s lie to Eve, “Thou shalt not surely die.”

QUESTIONS

Do Paul and James disagree on the matter of faith and works? Explain.

What is the true relationship between faith and works?

What illustrations did James use to demonstrate that faith without works is dead?

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