Faithful Works

Orange Trees with a lot of fruit

For those who are a little less familiar with the Bible, this passage may sound odd. Even for those who are very familiar with the Bible might wonder how this passage fits with the rest of the Bible. After all, isn't the main message of Christianity is that you cannot work your way to heaven? Isn't salvation by grace through faith?

These are the sorts of questions that we bring to this text, but this isn't really James' point. As we will see, James isn't trying to tell us how one gains faith, but what true faith actually looks like. We can know this even before we come to this text. One thing that we remember is that the Bible doesn't have a bunch of different authors but there is One Author, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit doesn't forget what He intends to say, so He isn't going to say that salvation is by grace on the one end and that salvation is at least partially by works on the other.

Even if we didn't know that, we have a report in both Acts and Galatians that Paul and James met. If they were truly that far apart on this issue, they would not have had as warm a relationship as they did (Gal. 2:2,9). Clearly they have met and agree with one another enough to continue working with each other.

This will become more plain as we look in the text itself, but as we do so, let's not look at this text as just a theological puzzle to solve. We will see that Paul and James agree on what the gospel is, but they are answering different questions about that gospel. Here in James we want to particularly pay attention to what point he is trying to make. That point will be our first point.

A True Living Faith Changes Your Life

James begins by pitching to us an important question: What are we supposed to think of a person's faith if they merely say that they have faith, but do not actually show any works to demonstrate that? As my old seminary professor points out, we are in a whole book about proper speech and action. In fact, just a couple of verses ago (v. 12) James tells his audience to both speak and act as those who will be judged. Now, we are addressing what happens when there is speaking but not actual action.

Many people today think that faith is a private matter, some ritual or way of life that is between God and you that is all bottled up inside. James tells us that this is no real faith at all. Real faith results in action. It actually produces a real rightness inside of you.

He gives an example of worthless speech. Imagine if you come across someone hungry and cold, and you speak over them, "Be warmed and filled," but do nothing at all to alleviate their suffering, what are those words really doing? Nothing! No good is being done. James asserts that faith works the same way. If you are just claiming things, but nothing is happening, it isn't a living faith at all. It is a dead faith.

Now, here in verse 18, James gets into an imaginary debate with someone pushing back. They try to frame works as something that not everyone has. Some people have the "gift" of works as it were, while others have the gift of faith. James tells us that this is impossible. One cannot show that their faith in Christ has changed them without works. Whereas James is perfectly able to show his faith by his works. You can't have one without the other. It would be like a fire with no light or heat. They just come together. It would be like a fruit tree with no fruit. They come together.

Now, someone may shoot back and say, "Well, faith isn't about what one does but what one knows? After all isn't theology important? The Christian life can be boiled down to a set of things to get right. It IS a mental thing after all." No, James replies, perfect orthodoxy is an accomplishment in hell. The demons can successfully graduate seminary. James illustrates this by quoting one of the most basic creeds of the Old Testament: God is one. The demons believe that, and at least they tremble about it! But that knowledge isn't changing anything for them from an eternal perspective. It isn't producing righteousness.

James goes on to show that people in the Old Testament, Abraham and Rehab, to name two, that demonstrated their living faith by their actions. Now, this is the section that gets people spooked because James uses the words "justified by works and not faith alone." Now, that sounds extremely suspicious doesn't it? Does not Paul say that we are notjustified by works of the law (Galatians 2:16)? He does.

Again, this is where we remember that these two men have met and agreed, and the same Holy Spirit is moving in both of them. This is where we get to the two very important words here, "faith" and "justify." "Faith" here is clearly being used as just an empty claim, like we've already mentioned when we were talking about telling others to be warmed and filled while doing nothing. The second word "justify" which usually means "declared righteous," can also mean "demonstrate" or "vindicate" (1 Tim. 3:16). In other words, Abraham is shown to have living faith because he is following through on what God said.

It is like the difference between a seed and the plant it grows into. You can make distinctions between the two, but you can't separate them. We don't look at a seed and say, "Ok, I need to add a plant to this." No, the plant will grow. This is what Jesus talks about in the parable of the sower. The seeds that took root produced fruit.

To take it back to Abraham, he saw that God was trustworthy. He saw that God would fulfill His promises to Him to give him a multitude of children. God has already conquered biology by giving him a son at a very old age. Now God is telling him to sacrifice his son. Abraham assumes that God will simply raise Isaac from the dead. That is a great faith! And that faith produced the work.

It is the same for Rehab's story. She truly believed that God was more powerful than her city's walls. She defected to the Israelites side because her faith in God was strong. That faith, however, was only demonstrated by her works.

And is the same with you. If your faith never moves you to do anything different, then it is quite likely that you have no faith at all. It is like claiming to be playing the virtual reality game but never reacting to anything. James isn't trying to say that you need to tack on works to your faith, but that your faith will inevitably produce good works. And Paul says the same thing. Romans 2:13 "For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified." Same concept. Sitting here listening to God's word doesn't make you a Christian. Ephesians 2:8-9 is precious: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." but it goes on in verse 10, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." This is what it means to be born again.

Now, the inevitable question is, "How many good works? How good is good enough?" Well, there is a certain sense in which one could never do enough. There is no way in a thousand lifetimes to do all the good that needs to be done. That's why Jesus died on the cross.

But asking that question is sort of like, "How many nice things do I have to do for my wife in order to stay married?" If you are asking questions like that, it means that either your don't love your spouse very much, or you don't think they love you very much. God loves you perfectly.

But God isn't calling you to do all the good. He is calling you to be faithful to Him right where you are (Dorriani, 98). For Abraham, that looked like radical trust. For Rehab, that meant harboring spies. For you it is be a neighbor to the person in front of you. Tell the people around you about Jesus. Raise your kids to fear God. It is going to look different from season to season, but the main thing will be doing your life with Jesus in mind.

And as you do these things, remember that these things are not what ultimately get you into heaven. Even James is saying that these examples of great works were just the results of faith. It is faith in Christ that produces this kind of working. It will never be perfect.

So how can you tell if you are trying to work your way to heaven or if you are properly trusting Christ? What happens when you fail? Do you get mad at yourself, start journalling harder, and white knuckle your way to holiness? Or do you fall to your knees saying, "I cannot produce this goodness out of myself. I need you Jesus to empower me to do this." And trusting that Jesus' record not yours gets you to heaven, you stop worrying about yourself, and find people to love in Jesus' name.

So what is our takeaway? Good works, repentance from sin are required. They are not the basis of your salvation, but they are the effect of your salvation. No one will be in heaven boasting how they got there. But there will be no one in heaven that won't have a story to tell of Jesus' changing of them. Jesus rose from the dead and claims sovereignty over the whole world, including you. He has a new way for you to live that, by the way, is the actual path to human flourishing. If you say that you believe that but don't live it, then you don't really believe it. It's that simple.

So if you realize that it is time for change, surrender to Christ. Ask for faith. The living faith. By grace, he gives it to you. New desires will begin to grow in you. With the help of the Holy Spirit, you will cultivate those desires and produce a genuinely righteous life.