Why Work? (James 2:14-26)

(Biblical text and some word studies from www.nextbible.org)

James 2:14-26 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can this kind of faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,” but you do not give them what the body needs, what good is it? So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by my works. You believe that God is one; well and good. Even the demons believe that – and tremble with fear. But would you like evidence, you empty fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? You see that his faith was working together with his works and his faith was perfected by works. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Now Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness," and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And similarly, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

This passage is merely one of the most controversial in Scripture. It's the passage that led Martin Luther to reject the canonicity of James, and a passage that critics of the Bible point to when claiming the Bible contradicts itself. A close study, however, will show that James' teaching on justification is not contradictory to Paul's; rather, they are two sides of the same coin.

James begins by noting that faith, without works, is useless or "dead". If faith is not accompanied by practicial demonstrations of love - what Gal. 5:6 calls "faith working through love", then it is dead. James' question, "Can this kind of faith save him", references the faith just described, a faith without works. In the Greek construction it is a rhetorical negative question that expects a negative answer: No, that faith cannot save.

Verse 16 depicts a pat, spiritual answer to a real, practical need: "Be warm and filled". It was a blessing, to be sure, a verbal proclamation of something they wanted to see happen. A modern equivalent might be, "I'll pray for you - stay warm", as we walk away with a jacket on leaving someone outside Wal-Mart waiting on a ride. Saving faith goes beyond, meeting the tangible physical needs of the other person. James isn't imploring a social gospel here that ignores spiritual needs - we'll see that he gives plenty of attention to that area. But he does stress the need to balance eternal hope with temporal help.

Verses 18-21 have a significant cross reference in Roms 3:28, as well as all of Galatians 3 and Romans 4. In Romans 3:28, Paul introduces his extensive teaching on justification by faith with this statement: "For we consider that a person is declared righteous by faith apart from the works of the law". Thus, we know that Paul's use of "works" in the section following with amplifies this theme refers to "works of the law". Paul contrasts genuine faith with works of the law. James, however, has already established that the "works" he refers to as accompanying saving faith are practical works of righteousness. James has just affirmed how easily the law can be transgressed, so we know that he agrees with Paul on the inefficacy of the law. We must make this distinction to really see that James and Paul agree: Legalistic works - rituals, etc. - never save! James further observes that doctrine alone is insufficient. Even fallen angels know that there is one God.

Instead of legalistic works or mental assent to doctrine, James provides the example of faith that was demonstrated in practical works - practical obedience to God. Abraham's faith was demonstrated at the sacrificial altar. He observes that through this Abraham's faith was "perfected" - a root meaning completed, or "carried to the end". This is a key word - James doesn't say that through this Abraham's faith was established ... he says completed or as it is sometimes translated, matured. Faith and works were partners in a maturing faith in Abraham. It was a "work of faith" (1 Thess. 1:3).

Paul and James quote the same passage from Gen. 15:6: "Then he (Abraham) believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness." Abraham's later work of faith showed the fulfillment of this imputed righteousness - it simply worked! While Paul focuses on the faith alone that led to the establishment of Abraham's faith and his "justification" before the Lord, James emphasizes the maturing of that faith, the confirmation that we can see in his willingness to sacrifice Isaac, the works that were essential to prove that Abraham's faith was real. James concludes his teaching with the example of Rahab and the notation that faith cannot be separated from works any more than body can be separated from spirit.

Application
What we do matters - a lot! In fact, what we do says more about what we believe than a doctrinal statement. But the "works" we are called to are not ritual works of law, but practical acts of love. These demonstrate the reality of our faith.