Sermon: Is Faith All You Need? (James 2:14-26)

IS FAITH ALL YOU NEED? (James 2:14-26)

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Dr. Paul Manuel—2015

Some problems require unusual, even extreme solutions. For example, fathers with teenage girls may need to discourage the inappropriate attention of teenage boys.

Two men, both with young daughters, are talking about how they will treat prospective suitors when their girls get a bit older. One man says to the other, "I know you're crazy about your daughter. What are you going to do when she starts to date?" The other man says, "I figure I'll take the first young man aside, put my arm around his shoulder, and pull him close so that only he can hear. Then I'll say, 'Do you see that sweet, young lady? She's my only daughter, and I love her very much. If you were thinking about being physically affectionate toward her in any way, just remember... I don't mind going back to prison."

Some problems require unusual, even extreme solutions. It was so with the problem of man's sin. Several potential solutions were in circulation during the first century, with one solution coming to the forefront, but this particular solution left a question in many peoples' minds: Is Faith All You Need?

In the early 1500s, the Roman Church was engaging in some dubious activities, including the selling of indulgences, whereby people purchased a reduced sentence in Purgatory. This and other such abuses led to the Reformation and to an extensive revision in theology that ultimately spawned many of the denominations in existence today. The Reformers' re-examination of scripture brought them to a fresh appreciation for Paul's assertion that salvation is by God's grace—a gift we accept by faith—and not something we purchase with money or earn with good deeds. In reaction to Catholicism's improper emphasis on works—although not works in the biblical sense—Protestantism swung in the opposite direction and stressed the importance of faith almost to the exclusion of good deeds. Since then, Protestants have tended to tiptoe cautiously around the issue, fearful of straying into error. As a result, many Christians wonder if faith and works are mutually exclusive terms. Part of the reason people have difficulty putting these concepts together is that the New Testament writers themselves seem to disagree. Paul, for example, tells the Ephesians,

Eph 2:8 ...it is by grace you have been saved, through faith...9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

James, on the other hand, asserts that faith without works is useless (James 2:17, 20, 26). So, who is right, Paul or James?

• How many think Paul is right?
• How many think James is right?

We have two problems here:

• The first problem is that some of you did not vote. That is certainly your right in a democratic society, but then you cannot complain about the outcome. So, if it turns out that salvation is by works, and you have been counting on it to be by faith, you cannot say anything because you had your chance to voice your opinion.
• The second problem is that some of you voted for both, which constitutes fraud in most elections.

So, Is Faith All You Need?

Our text this morning is from James, the brother of Jesus, and his letter bears a striking similarity to the Sermon on the Mount, addressing many of the same themes and using similar language (Hendriksen 1976:316-317). James was head of the Jerusalem Church, and his letter may be the earliest of the New Testament documents. He wrote to Jewish believers from "the twelve tribes scattered among the nations" (James 1:1), responding in the verses before us to the question some were raising with a question of his own...

I. What good is faith without deeds?

Jms 2:14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

James seems to disparage faith here. Twice he asks: "What good is it?" By itself...

A. It does not deliver you from destruction (Jms 2:14 17).¹

This appears to be completely contrary to Paul's assertion that "you have been saved through faith" (Eph 2:8). The apparent discrepancy frustrated Martin Luther so that he called the Book of James "an epistle of straw" and relegated it to a lesser position in his translation of the New Testament (Bainton 1978:259, 261). Nevertheless, James clearly views faith alone as inadequate. There must also be deeds, actions,² such as the one James cites here: proper treatment of the poor within the church.³

The congregations to which he writes contain people from different economic strata,⁴ and he speaks here to those more well off than others. In effect, he says, "Believing without doing will benefit you as much as wishing without doing will benefit your needy brother or sister. Faith by itself...is dead," useless to you and to anyone else. Only living faith, active faith is saving faith, which we demonstrate by our love for one another.⁵

Jms 2:18 But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

Apparently, there are some who think that faith and works are an either/or proposition. "No way!" James responds, and he issues a Missouri challenge: "Show me your faith without deeds." It is an impossible demand, of course, like asking to see kindness or friendship. Nevertheless, he indicates this way what he means by faith.

How many believe that regular exercise is good for you? ...Come on, this is not a trick question. Get those hands up; you all believe that. ...You can keep your hands down for this next one. How many of you exercise on a regular basis? If you answered, "Yes" to the first, that is faith. If you answered, "Yes" to the second, that is works. If you answered "No" to the second, your faith on that issue is useless.

What James means by faith is a kind of intellectual assent to a theological proposition, to the fact of God. He is alluding here to the Shema, a central tenet of Jewish orthodoxy.

Deut 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.

However true and important this doctrine is, there is no particular virtue in the mere acceptance of a creed—no advantage. As he stated earlier, that kind of faith does not save. Moreover, belief unsupported by behavior puts you in rather inauspicious company, for...

B. It does not distinguish you from demons (Jms 2:18-19).

They believe it as well "and shudder." They are thoroughly convinced yet without any beneficial effect. Faith is not all you need, not if you want to be different from demons or delivered from destruction. You also need deeds.⁶

Those who are promoting this erroneous notion may well ask for proof of James' claim...

II. What evidence is there for faith with deeds?

Jms 2:20 You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," [Gen 15:6] and he was called God's friend. 24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

Abraham put his money where his mouth is, so to speak. God commanded him,

Gen 22:2 Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and....[s]acrifice him...as a burnt offering....

Had God changed His mind about the promise He made earlier to the patriarch? Did Abraham do something to displease God and lose divine favor? Whatever questions were going through Abraham's mind, he was ready to sacrifice his son, to kill Isaac with his own hand, to prove his faith in God.⁷

I should hasten to point out that God does not expect parents to prove their faith by killing their children, however parents might be tempted at times. This is the only instance in which God makes this request, and He actually prevents Abraham from harming Isaac.⁸ James uses this incident to show that God expects more than just right thinking from us; we must also demonstrate right living, just as...

A. Abraham was "considered righteous for what he did" (Jms 2:20-24).

James does not deprecate faith nor diminish its importance. He says that faith and actions work together, that faith is actually incomplete without actions, that work-less faith is worthless faith. Faith and works go hand-in-hand; they complement each other. They are two sides of the same coin: belief and behavior, trust and obey.⁹

Jms 2:25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Had James consulted me about role models of righteousness, those who exemplify the proper joining of faith and works, Rahab the prostitute would not have been this high on my list. He could have chosen Phinehas the priest, whose quick thinking in the wilderness saved Israel.¹⁰ We read in...

Ps 106:30 [He] stood up and intervened, and the plague was checked. 31 This [good deed] was credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come.

That is another good illustration of what James is discussing, yet so is Rahab. The Israelite army was threatening Jericho, but it was outside the city, separated by some extensive fortification. She, however, was inside the city, living among Israel's enemies, and the immediate danger they posed to her was much greater. Nevertheless, she proved her faith by her actions, and...

B. Rahab was "considered righteous for what she did" (Jms 2:25-26).

The examples of Abraham and Rahab are evidence of faith with deeds, but they also demonstrate the kinds of deeds that evince faith. In each case, it is not what is convenient or safe. The proof of faith is often doing what is demanding and difficult.

There are some churches that place great emphasis on altar calls, getting people saved, as if that event is the most important in a person's life. It is important, but it becomes meaningless if we view it as the end rather than the beginning. Some regard the conversion experience as their (train) ticket to heaven, but it will not get them anywhere if they just sit in the station. They must act upon what God has accomplished, demonstrating subjectively what He has done objectively. He has declared you righteous through Jesus' death, and you must make that righteous decree a practical reality by the way you live.

So who is right, Paul or James? ...They both are because they are not talking about the same thing, despite the fact that they use the same terms (faith and works).¹¹

• Paul's chief concern is what establishes a relationship with God, and he addresses the act of justification, God's declaration of what Jesus' sacrifice accomplished.

• Some claim that you earn salvation by your good deeds.
• Paul counters that it is entirely God's grace, and all you can do is accept what He has done by faith.

• James' chief concern is what maintains a relationship with God, and he addresses the process of sanctification, our application of what Jesus' sacrifice accomplished.

• Some claim that all you need is faith.
• James counters that you must demonstrate your faith by your good deeds.

That Paul is actually in agreement with James on this issue is evident in other things he has said, such as his exhortation to the Philippians—"continue to work out your salvation" (Phil 2:12)—and his admonition to the Galatians—"do good...especially to those who belong to the family of believers" (6:10). The relationship between faith and works is clearest, though, in his letter to the Ephesians. After issuing a strong statement about faith, Paul follows it with an equally strong statement about works.

Eph 2:8 [I]t is by grace you have been saved, through faith...9 not by works, so that no one can boast. [Why? To what end?] 10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

God did not save you so that you could live as you please but so that you could live to please Him. Is faith all you need? No, you need to prove what you believe by the way you behave. That is also salvation's requirement.

For a pdf including Bibliography and Endnotes, see here.