Faith Without Works...

[Digging4Truth]

Yeah... I'm a little slow. I know. But I was sitting here working and listening to Follow You by Leeland and it just hit me like a ton of bricks. So I went and did some reading to see if what I had just realized was true to the word.

James does indeed say faith without works is dead but the concept that I have heard these scriptures used to purvey is faith without dressing a certain way is dead. Faith without shaving that beard is dead.

This is not, by any stretch of the imagination, what James was talking about and it is a travesty against the Living Word of a Holy God to make these scriptures say anything other than what the intended purpose was and is. He was talking about faith without showing love and compassion to your brother is dead. Faith while preferring your rich brother to your poor brother is dead.

Like I said... I'm a little slow sometimes. But, today, I woke up a little bit more.

James 2:14 What [doth it] profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
James 2:15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
James 2:16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be [ye] warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what [doth it] profit?
James 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
James 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
James 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
James 2:22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
James 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
James 2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
James 2:25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent [them] out another way?
James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

[missourimary]

True. And Gal 2 is referring to "works" of the law--circumcision and ceremonial law. 2 Tim 1 and Titus 3 might be about Jewish traditions as well.

[Digging4Truth]

Originally Posted by missourimary

True. And Gal 2 is referring to "works" of the law--circumcision and ceremonial law. 2 Tim 1 and Titus 3 might be about Jewish traditions as well.

Indeed...

How did they used to say it?


"Consistency thou art a jewel"

[Maximilian]

Context for James is also important, as Martin Luther would shout really loudly

James is written with the idea of discipleship and believers being who they are called to be in mind. It's not talking about "how" we are saved, but "why" we are saved. Similarly to John, one of the ways people will know we are disciples is if we "bear good fruit."

I join with Luther and am sometimes baffled at the way James' book is worded. Nevertheless, after studying this book, noticing the way James' argument is structured, I can see -- and agree, that James is appealing to the brothers to bear good fruit. James' words do not conflict with Paul's or even Jesus'.

The words "justification" should be viewed in the sense of how are faith is played out. We obey because we believe. We are justified because we believe.

I like Eugene Patterson's paraphrase:

Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?

18I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, "Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I'll handle the works department."

Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.

19-20Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That's just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands?

21-24Wasn't our ancestor Abraham "made right with God by works" when he placed his son Isaac on the sacrificial altar? Isn't it obvious that faith and works are yoked partners, that faith expresses itself in works? That the works are "works of faith"? The full meaning of "believe" in the Scripture sentence, "Abraham believed God and was set right with God," includes his action. It's that mesh of believing and acting that got Abraham named "God's friend." Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works?

25-26The same with Rahab, the Jericho harlot. Wasn't her action in hiding God's spies and helping them escape—that seamless unity of believing and doing—what counted with God? The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse.

[Maximilian]

The Book of James, for the longest, was a stumbling block to me. It seemed inconsistent to the Pauline Gospel. But once I understood it for what it was -- a letter sent to a church with the purpose of "provoking them to good works," it helped make better sense of it.

Their salvation that they had shared in meant that they should be producing good fruit. The fruit doesn't justify them, but it's evidence that the work of Grace is active in their lives.

The fruit that James points out to is the type of works absent in many Pentecostal churches -- or it's a "program" where 5% of the church volunteers. It's not a way that we are living our life yet. We demand people to earn our charity, to show they are grateful, etc. Thankfully, there are many churches out there that have responded in the last several years with wonderful outreaches and pragmatic ways to be "salt and light."

[Scott Hutchinson]

To me if one really has true faith in Christ,it will cause to see about the welfare of his or her's fellow believers and fellow man,but this is rarely mentioned.But this is mentioned by James. Also if one is in a state of justification and regeneration his lifestyle will reflect this.

[A.W. Bowman]

An excerpt from one of my posts on another forum:

As it is in almost every case, our problem of scriptural interpretation and reconciliation is our failure to understand the two different world views (Hebrew and Western), and our attempt to mix them together without proper consideration. I almost always fall into this same problem when initially studying a passage, and I then have to go back and rethink what it is I have read – from the proper world view - only then does it begin to make sense.

It is the same to day, when the scriptures plainly say that obeying the commandments of God are necessary for understanding the gospel [of Jesus Christ](Revelation 12:17), necessary in order to express one's faith in Jesus (Revelation 14:12), and [for] gaining access to the tree of life and the new Jerusalem (Revelation 22:14). Doing works in order to acquire one's salvation has never worked - it is the heart that obeys God out of love that reaps its reward.

Also see Gen 26:1-6 for a prime example of faith being expressed in action, that is acceptable unto God.

[Praxeas]

Faith without works is dead. Leave that statement as it is. It just means what it says. Faith lacking works is dead. It does not say "We are saved by both faith and works"

[Maximilian]

Originally Posted by Praxeas

Faith without works is dead. Leave that statement as it is. It just means what it says. Faith lacking works is dead. It does not say "We are saved by both faith and works"

Respectfully, this book has been one of the most talked about in the last several hundred years. Your admonition to "leave it alone" is a little late to the scene.

Especially controversial is the language of us being "justified by our works." This takes some hashing out, context and understanding.

[Praxeas]

Originally Posted by Maximilian

Respectfully, this book has been one of the most talked about in the last several hundred years. Your admonition to "leave it alone" is a little late to the scene.

Especially controversial is the language of us being "justified by our works." This takes some hashing out, context and understanding.

My point was "leave it alone" meaning, don't add to it or interpret it. Leave it as it is "Faith without works is dead"...to illustrate that point I contrasted it with what it does not say "we are saved by faith and works"