Faith without Works is Dead James 2:17

As James, “the servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ”, wrote to the people within the “twelve tribes scattered abroad”, he asked them what it “profited” if a person said he had “faith” and did not “have works”. He used the example of speaking to a person who was without daily provisions of food or clothing without actually providing for their physical needs. Their “saying” would be of no profit without actions, and in chapter two and verse seventeen of his letter, James concluded that “faith without works is dead” in the same manner where we read:

Even so faith, if it has not works, is dead, being alone.

The verse begins, “Even so faith, if it has not works,...” James began with the words, “Even so faith” which means “and, also, indeed in this manner and thus it is when the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ and a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God ”, “if it has not” or “does not hold or keep” “works” which refers to “business, employments, enterprises and undertakings”. James referred to “faith” like the emptiness of only saying to a person “be warmed and filled” without actually doing something to meet their needs.

The verse continues, “...is dead, being alone.” James added, “is dead” or “destitute of life, force and power which is inactive and inoperative”, “being alone” which means “according to, toward and along itself”. In other words, there is no “life” or “profit” to “faith” when it is by itself, and “faith” is “inactive and inoperative” if it merely stands by itself.

When we think through these words of James, we may be challenged to wonder what Paul the apostle meant by sharing that “faith” is all that is needed for salvation. We must remember, these teachings are not contrary, but rather complementary to one another. James surmised that “Faith” “works”, and those who have true “faith” in God and His Son Jesus Christ will manifest it within their lives. In other words, their “works” demonstrate and declare what they actually believe. Jesus desires for us to have an “active” and “alive” “faith” that trusts in Him, and when we apply James' words to our own lives, others will discover what we truly believe.

Next time James asks his readers to “show” their “faith without” their “works”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.