Truth 02 · Session 3 of 3 · About 3 min
Faith that shows
Why James and Paul agree
Saving faith is obedient faith. You obey from safety, not for safety.
Read these first
Show the verses
Ephesians 2:8-10 · NRSVue
8For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— 9not the result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are what He has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we may walk in them.
James 2:14-24 · NRSVue
14What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Surely that faith cannot save, can it? 15If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food 16and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 17So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. 18But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith apart from works, and I by my works will show you faith. 19You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder. 20Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is worthless? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that faith was active along with his works, and by works faith was brought to completion. 23Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness," and he was called the friend of God. 24You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
Luke 6:46 · NRSVue
46"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I tell you?
Ephesians 2:8-10 · NRSVue
8For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— 9not the result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are what He has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we may walk in them.
James 2:14-24 · NRSVue
14What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Surely that faith cannot save, can it? 15If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food 16and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 17So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. 18But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith apart from works, and I by my works will show you faith. 19You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder. 20Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is worthless? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that faith was active along with his works, and by works faith was brought to completion. 23Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness," and he was called the friend of God. 24You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
Luke 6:46 · NRSVue
46"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I tell you?
A few words on what they mean
Grace and faith
Two words you will hear a lot. Grace means God gave you what you did not earn. Faith means you trusted Him enough to act on what He said. Paul puts them together in one breath: "by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not the result of works, so that no one may boast."
James's awkward question
Then James asks a question that unsettles people: can faith without works save? He answers it himself. "Faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead." "Even the demons believe, and shudder." "Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?" James is not disagreeing with Paul. They are using the word "works" for two different things. When Paul says works cannot save, he means anything a person does to build a claim on God: keeping rules, religious observance, being a good person, circumcision and food laws in his day, church attendance and charity in ours. None of it puts God in your debt. When James says faith without works is dead, he means a hungry brother sent away with a blessing and no bread. Paul rules out the first. James demands the second. James is describing what Paul's faith looks like from the outside. "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness"; and because he believed, when God said go, "he set out, not knowing where he was going" (Hebrews 11:8).
Obedient faith
So saving faith is obedient faith. It is not less than believing, but it is more than a thought. Jesus asked, "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I tell you?" Faith hears the word, repents, goes into the water, and keeps walking; and God gives the Spirit. None of that earns anything. It is what believing looks like when it is real. Profession without possession is what James is warning about.
From safety, not for safety
Here is the freedom in it. Because you are already justified by grace, you obey from safety, not for safety. You are not working towards a verdict. You are living out one that has already been given.
Reflection
What does your faith look like from the outside? If a stranger watched your week, what would they see that shows you believe?
Verse to memorise
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9 · NRSVue
Say it until you can say it without looking.