What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Q. I have a question about faith versus works. I am very much a “by faith alone, in Christ alone” believer (who also believes in OSAS). But, to be perfectly honest, I find myself wondering if faith itself isn’t a form of works. Believing is something you have to do to be saved. In other words, if you don’t “work” it by believing and receiving you won’t be saved. Isn’t that works?
A. Then they asked Him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent” (John 6:28-29).
In the Greek language believe and faith come from the same word. Therefore if faith is a “work” it is the only one that God requires.
In Romans 4:5 Paul said, “To the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited to him as righteousness.”
And in Ephesians 2:8-9 he said we’re saved by grace through faith and not by works. In both these places He differentiated between faith, which is required, and works, which are not.
Therefore, it’s reasonable to conclude that having faith (believing) is the only thing we can do that’s not counted as work, and in fact if faith wasn’t required, then everyone would automatically be saved.
What Was James Trying To Say?
Q. Thank you for your website I have learned so much from it. I understand what James was teaching, that saving faith in Christ would produce good works, not that works saves a person. James I believe was talking to believers. My question is this, why did James have to tell them this at all? If faith in Christ produces good works (and I believe it does) and James was speaking to believers, this is something that just comes natural, to me it is like telling a fish to swim, or a bird to fly. In my opinion it seems to have caused a lot of confusion to those who believe a christian can lose their salvation. Why do you think God inspired James to write it like this? Do you think maybe it was to cause us to dig deeper into His word? This is a prime example I believe of why it is so important to rightly divide the Word of God. I know God in His foreknowledge saw the confusion it would cause, and I know He had a reason for wording it this way. Do you have an opinion of what it was?
Also in a casual reading of James 2:24 in my little finite mind it just seems like a lost man could be confused into thinking if he has good works he is saved. If James would have stopped at verse 23 when he referenced Romans 4:3 it just seems to me it could have avoided so much confusion, but then he dropped the bomb in verse 24. In your opinion why do you think verse 24 was necessary. I would like to know your thoughts on this. I am in no way saying James got it wrong, I believe every word of scripture is God breathed. I just wonder why with God knowing it would cause confusion, why didn’t he word it where there would be no confusion?
A. The issue here centers around the quote James used from Genesis 15:6. “Abraham believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.” Paul used this very same verse to prove that righteousness comes through faith alone. (Romans 4:3) Did James and Paul disagree? If they were both writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, this would be impossible. So what’s going on?
The context of Genesis 15:6 is God’s promise of a biological heir for Abraham. Abraham believed that promise before any of it came to pass, and his belief was credited to him as righteousness, just as Paul said. Sometime later Sarah convinced him to have a child with Hagar to “help” the Lord make good on His promise. Abraham agreed and when he was 86 years old, Ishmael was born. (Gen. 16:16)
But that wasn’t what God intended. 13 years later God said it was time for Sarah to become pregnant and a year after that, when Abraham was 100, Isaac was born. (Gen. 21:5) God had kept His promise. (Notice that when Abraham tried to make God’s promise come true, it just caused a big problem. But when God was ready, all Abraham had to do was believe.)
Sometime after that, God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. In referring to Isaac in Genesis 22:5, Abraham used the same word that he used in referring to his servants. It means everything from “boy” to a young man about 20 years old. We don’t know exactly how old Isaac was, but we do know that Isaac was old enough to understand what was happening and had agreed to it. (In Gen. 22:6-7 the word translated together means they went up the hill united.)
From all this we can conclude that several decades had passed between the time of the promise and the time of the sacrifice. Through all this time Abraham had believed God, and now he was being called upon to act on his faith. The writer of Hebrews said that Abraham did so because he believed that God would keep His promise even to the point of raising Isaac from the dead if necessary. (Hebr. 11:19)
Please note that Abraham didn’t initiate this action, rather he responded to God’s call. Verse 24 shows that a person of faith will respond in faith to the call of God, and in doing so will prove his or her faith to be sufficient for justification. This is not something God needs to learn about us, by the way. He already knows who are His. Neither is it intended to allow others to judge us. It’s not their concern. It’s something we need to learn about ourselves. As John wrote, “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” (1 John 3:18-20)
Is Faith Without Works Dead?
Q. I’ve been given to understand that when James says that a faith without works is a dead faith, he’s referring to someone who’s not saved. That’s what “dead faith” seems to mean in that context. But in Romans 4:5, Paul seems to be saying that if a person does no works, his faith in Him who justifies the ungodly is counted as righteousness. In other words, he’s saved. Please help me reconcile what’s being said in James 2:20-26 and in Romans because both invoke Abraham as an example.
A. James was referring to the works we do in gratitude for having received our salvation which are inspired by the Holy Spirit and done in His strength, and serve as evidence of our faith (James 2:17). In Romans 4:4-5 Paul was referring to the work a person does in trying to earn his righteousness which is of no use because our righteousness is imputed to us by faith alone.
Abraham is a good example of both. He didn’t work to earn his righteousness, it was imputed to him by faith. But afterward, when God asked him to offer Isaac, his response was evidence of his faith. Hebrews 11:17-19 says Abraham was willing to offer Isaac because he believed God would raise him from the dead if that’s what it took to keep His promise. That’s faith in action!
Faith Without Works
James 2:14-26 is giving me fits, referring several times to faith without works being dead. It seems to contradict justification by faith alone as well as having implications to once-saved-always-saved. There must be a logical reconciliation but so far it has eluded me. What are your thoughts on this?
Q. I’m pretty new to the study of God’s Word, but I am trying my best to get up to speed.
James 2:14-26 is giving me fits, referring several times to faith without works being dead. It seems to contradict justification by faith alone as well as having implications to once-saved-always-saved. I believe and will continue to believe that works are a product of thankfulness for salvation due to the completed work of our Savior on the cross. There must be a logical reconciliation but so far it has eluded me. What are your thoughts on this?
Thanks in advance and may the Lord bless.
A. There’s a famous old quote that goes, “If what you believe doesn’t result in action, it’s doubtful that you really believe it.” James could have written that. The so-called good works he referred to are changes in behavior and outlook that are outward evidence of an inner faith. They are also things we do for others solely out of gratitude for what the Lord has done for us. Eventually, to quote another phrase that James could have coined, the absence of evidence could be construed as evidence of absence.
However to this I would add the Lord’s admonition from 1 Cor. 4:5“Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts.”
What Does Faith Without Works Mean?
Please explain the meaning of this biblical verse:
“Faith without works is dead”
Q.Please explain the meaning of this biblical verse: “Faith without works is dead”
A. This quote comes from James 2:17 which says, “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. ”
One of my early mentors used to say, “If what you say you believe does not result in action, you probably don’t really believe it.”
One of the results of our faith in the Lord Jesus is a changed life. We’re no longer slaves to sin, no longer held captive to the things of this world, and we want to express our gratitude for being given the gift of salvation that set us free. This creates a desire to do nice things for others, showing our love for them as a reflection of the love the Lord showed for us. We don’t have to force this, it just happens. It’s faith in action.
Some people use this idea in the wrong way. They want to us to do good things for others to prove we’ve been saved. This defeats the whole purpose. If I have to do good things to prove to you that I’ve been saved, then I’m not doing these things voluntarily as an expression of my gratitude for what Jesus did for me. I’m doing them out of fear that you’ll think I’m not saved. Instead of being free, I’m right back in slavery.
We don’t have to prove we’ve been saved to anyone. Our voluntary acts of kindness prove it to us, and the Lord who knows what’s in our heart doesn’t need any proof. No one else matters.
Faith Or Works?
Q. Romans 4:2 seems to say that Abraham was made righteous through faith and James 2:21 seems to say he was made righteous by works. Could you explain the context of James 2 because it seems to say that if you have faith but you don’t do works your faith is dead, implying that maybe you’re not saved.
A. The Bible is clear in stating that our salvation comes from faith, not works, as Paul explained in Romans 4:1-5, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:4-7 and other places.
What James said is that true faith will manifest itself in works, and he used Abraham as an example. In James 2:22 he wrote that Abraham’s faith and his actions were working together and his faith was made complete by what he did. Notice the faith came first and was made complete in subsequent action.
(Notice also that it was God who determined what action Abraham should take. Action we initiate on our own to somehow prove to others that we are saved is meaningless to the Lord.)
What James said was confirmed in Hebrews 11:17-19, where the writer used the same example.
“By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.’ Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.”
Abraham had faith in God long before he was asked to sacrifice his son. Because of his faith he reasoned that God would keep His promise to bless the world though Isaac no matter what. He believed that even if he killed Isaac, God would raise him from the dead rather than break His promise. Taking action was evidence of his faith. Paul and James agreed.
