PART V (Publish 9 October 23)
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Now let’s continue in James chapter two.

Read verses 14-17
14 What use is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 In the same way, faith also, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.

Back in chapter one James tells Christians that members of the Church must be slow to speak and slow to anger. As I mentioned then, perhaps this is an indication that they were not getting along with one another. They were facing some serious trials, after all.

What we see beginning in these verses is that the problems what are within the Church—the tension and fracturing that are occurring within the system—may have their origin in more than the squeeze of external pressure. There may, indeed, be some deeper divisions between Christ’s sisters and brothers.

Remember that back in chapter one, James tells the Church to put away all filthiness and what remains of wickedness. He ends this thought by defining true religion.

What we learned is that James tells the Church that we get rid of filthiness and wickedness by “visiting the orphans and the widows in their distress” and keeping ourselves “unstained by the world.” (1:27) This results in God’s righteousness.

To put this another way: we replace the sinful practices and habits of our past with the righteousness of God. To quote Yoda, we unlearn/undo what we have learned—the sinfulness of the world—by learning about/doing the things of God.

Or as I am fond of saying, we don’t get our ducks-in-a-row and then come to the altar, but we come to the altar TO GET OUR DUCKS IN A ROW.

James begins this section with a rhetorical question: What use is it if someone says that he faith but has no works? Can that faith save him? In other words, is it effective? He follows this with a practical example of a brother or sister in need of food and clothing being told to be at peace but then receiving no help from the Church to alleviate their suffering. James asks, “What use is that?”

Through this example, James may be telling us the extent of the division in the Church: It seems clear that there are those who are refusing to lift a finger, even to help fellow members of the Church who are in need.

(Of course, based on what God commanded His people to do—what we dove into last episode—I think James means by “brothers and sisters” not only Church members but also strangers.)

“In the same way, faith also, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” (17) The works of which his is speaker here are not the works of the law—works intended to justify ourselves before God—but rather deeds that prove or show our faith—who we are in Christ Jesus. Faith is not effective if the faithful have no deeds!

Doesn’t Jesus say in John 14:12, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father”? “No. That’s not what He meant,” I hear some say. “All I have to do is believe!”

Well, if that’s true, James is lying to the Church. John 14:15, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” There ol’ Jesus goes again.

On September 24th I preached about the meaning of atonement in celebration of Yom Kippur. I talked about justification and righteousness and covered some of the same ground that needs to be covered here but in greater detail. I invite you to visit Northport Methodist Church’s Facebook page or YouTube channel to learn more.

The works of the Law were intended to allow the person to say to God, “I deserve to be here in Your presence.” But James is not talking about that: The work that he is demanding is a work that produces God’s righteousness that is the mark of true religion.

“In the same way, faith also, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” The philosopher Philo says the same thing when he writes, “For what use is it to say what is excellent, but think and do what is most shameful?”

Read verse 18.
18 But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

Here at the end of verse eighteen summarizes quite well what James has just said. “…I will show you my faith BY MY WORKS.” Following this, James doubles down on proving to the Church that works or deeds of righteousness are necessary as demonstrations of faith.

Deuteronomy 6:4 (James 2:19)
19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.

Here is the Shema, the central belief of Judaism, that God is one. It is the declaration that there is but one God, and that He is sovereign. This is stated in Deuteronomy 6:4 as well as in many other places in the Old Testament. But what James writes in the second part of the verse is what should be concerning to those who think that there needn’t be any sign of their faith. “…the demons also believe, and shudder.” This should be enough, James says because it follows this in verse 20:

20 But are you willing to acknowledge, you foolish person, that faith without works is useless? James then sets out to use examples of faith being shown through deeds or works that his Jewish audience had no way of refuting; he holds up Abraham and Rahab as his examples.

Read verses 21-24

21 Was our father Abraham not justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called a friend of God.

Genesis 22:9, 10, 12, 16-18 (James 2:21)
21 Was our father Abraham not justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?

These examples make it seem clear that there are those in the Church who think that deeds are no longer necessary. For these people, belief in Jesus Christ is enough. This new way belief could reasonably arise as an overreaction to what they once were taught: that to have a relationship with God one must perform the works of the law—the belief that works justify. James uses the story of Abraham’s offering of his son Isaac to God as a means of debunking throughout Genesis 22.

This proves that for James belief and faith ARE NOT THE SAME THING! Perhaps you can say that deeds of righteousness, like visiting the orphans and the widows in their distress, transform or elevate belief—which is shared with the demons—to a faith that is reckoned as righteous.

22 You see that faith was working with his works [that is, Abraham’s], and as a result of the works, faith was perfected…

In fact, God’s covenant with Abraham is re-iterated—or perhaps made even firm—following the Patriarch’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac. This covenant was first made back in Genesis 12 when Abraham was told to leave his family’s home for the Promised Land. Obviously, Abraham—then named Abram—believes God; he shows faith. But that faith is not “perfected” (James’ word) until Abraham is willing to have skin in the game—to give up his son—the child of the promise.

And it is here that James says that Abraham’s faith is credited to him as righteousness. Not in the leaving alone but also in the willingness to perform the deed—along with all the other signs of faith that came before this.

Genesis 15:6; 2 Chronicles 20:7 (James 2:23)
23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called a friend of God.

Belief without righteousness easily wanes. This is why James tells the Church that if it wants to endure, it must produce the righteousness of God. On the contrary, a belief that has been perfected in good deeds, produces something that can endure. Here I am reminded of the opening chapter of 2 Peter—but that is for another day.

In 2 Chronicles 20:7, Judah is invaded by the Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites. King Jehoshaphat in his prayer to God about the situation speaks of God’s fulfillment of the promise that He made to Abraham; this prayer occurring after a period of fasting. It is an expression of faith in God’s promise, and one that God honors.

Joshua 2:4, 6, 15 (James 2:25)
25 In the same way, was Rahab the prostitute not justified by works also when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?

James ends chapter two reminding the Church of the actions of Rahab the prostitute in Joshua 2. This foreign woman—one who ends up in Jesus’ lineage—proves her faith in the LORD, a foreign God, by welcoming Joshua’s spies into her home and risking herself to protect them.

I want to thank you for tuning into First Day as we look at James’ letter to the Church. Reach out to me by email if you have in questions, or call or text me if you have my number, and I look forward to our next meeting.

I’m Patick and you have been listening to the FirstDay podcast. Please visit the podcast’s website at www.firstday.us and follow the link to my Facebook page. Blessing to you all