A letter from James
Chapter 2 - Part 3
14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if
you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of
faith save anyone? 15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no
food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay
warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing.
What good does that do?
17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless
it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. (James 2 14-17 – NLT)
Faith and action
James addresses a subject that has often been
a topic of debate within Christian circles; that of faith and works. Many have
seen this passage in James as supporting the concept of earning salvation by
good deeds, as opposed to Paul’s claim in Romans that salvation is purely by
faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus, and is a free gift of God’s
grace. Both writers are simply approaching the subject from a different
perspective.
Paul is quite correct in his claim that
salvation is a free gift of God as a response to faith, and James is quite
correct when he claims that faith is useless if it doesn’t result in actions of
Christian love, mercy and compassion.
Perhaps faith that does not stimulate action
lacks real authenticity and substance, and is little more than a mere illusion.
Faith, within the concept of Christianity is a highly active and motivated
characteristic that seeks to generate good results for others. James is spot on
when he says: faith by itself isn’t
enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
James argues that if you truly have faith in
a loving, compassionate and forgiving God, it can’t help but express those
divine characteristics towards others, in your life. He goes on to give an
example which clearly demonstrates that a lack of a compassionate, Christian
response negates any claim to faith. Without Christian action, faith is an
inert thing and it could be questioned as to whether or not it really does exist?
Authentic faith is a strong stimulant which generates a Christlike response to
the needs of others.
Christianity is not an isolated, solo
religion. Many religions are introspective in their nature, concentrated on
exploring the inner self and personal spirituality. While Christianity
certainly deals with inner spirituality and a personal relationship with God,
it is also outward-looking in its nature. It can only be truly authentic and Christlike
in a community that genuinely and actively seeks to care for others in the most
practical way possible.
18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith;
others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you
don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”
19 You say you have faith, for you believe that
there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they
tremble in terror. 20 How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without
good deeds is useless?
James embarks on an imaginary argument with
some who claim a natural separation between faith and good deeds; some may have
faith, some may do good deeds. However, James contends that if you have
authentic faith it will manifest itself in your actions. He cannot conceive of
a faith that is purely intellectual and creates no positive, physical outcomes.
Within the words of Jesus is clear teaching
about the outcomes of our belief: In the
same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will
praise your heavenly Father. (Matthew 5:16 - NLT)… just
as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their
actions. (Matthew 7:20 - NLT)
One of the great dangers of modern
Christianity is the acceptance of a faith that does not impact our day to day
behaviour. Christianity knows nothing of a passive or theoretical faith, quite
the opposite. The compassion, mercy and intentional service of Christians to
humanity have marked it out as a religion with its sleeves rolled up. Authentic
Christian faith is an active and motivating energy that takes the ethereal and
translates it into powerful, day to day action.
Many will claim that they believe in God and
feel that is all that is necessary. As James points out; Even the demons believe this. Believing there is a God and having
an active faith in that God are two very different scenarios. The first is
probably no more than an acknowledgement that somewhere there is a supreme
being. However, such awareness doesn’t really impact life. The latter is a
deep-seated belief that there is a God with whom I can interact on a personal
basis, and my belief in him and his way calls from me some sort of
participatory response.
21 Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was
shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the
altar? 22 You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His
actions made his faith complete. 23 And so it happened just as the
Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because
of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. 24 So you
see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.
25 Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was
shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and
sent them safely away by a different road.26 Just as the body is dead
without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.
James uses two examples of Old Testament
characters to make his point about faith and action; Abraham and Rahab. Abraham
was regarded by the Jews as the father of the nation; consequently, any
illustration which highlighted his life would have caught the attention of the
readers. The reference to Abraham is in
relation to God asking him to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Abraham’s faith was
such that he believed if he did indeed kill his son, God would raise him to
life again. His commitment of faith in God took him to the very precipice of
child sacrifice before God stilled his hand. His actions, no matter how they may appear to
us, we’re as a direct result of active faith. His faith and willingness to act
on what he believed God required of him, justified him, brought him into a
right standing before God.
Prayer:
Father, help us to be Christians whose faith generates a Christlike
response to the needs of others. May the reality of our faith be a motivating
energy that takes the spiritual part of our being, and translates it into
powerful, day to day action.
We would want that our faith would contain an authenticity and substance
that is a visible witness to your presence in our lives, and may this visible
witness express itself in true compassion and love for others, that reveals
itself in Christian action.
May we find, through our faith in Jesus and His redemptive death and
resurrection, that faith which is the powerhouse and driver of compassionate
Christian action.
Hear our prayer in Jesus name – Amen.
Video meditation: Blest be the
ties that bind
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