James 2:14-20
~16 min read
💭 Consider this: What do your works reveal about the condition of your faith? Does the way you live your life declare your faith and love for Christ?
TRANSCRIPT
As we are studying through the Book of James, we have come to James 2:14-20. One of the key verses in the Book of James is James 2:20: "Faith without works is dead." Because of that, some people think that James teaches salvation by works. They feel that the Book of James and the Epistles of Paul contradict each other because Paul's emphasis was always salvation by faith alone. But nothing is further from the truth. They did not contradict each other; rather, they complement and supplement each other. James did not teach salvation by works.
One important theme that runs throughout his book is perhaps summarised in this one statement: True faith is a faith that works. It has nothing to do with earning salvation through works as taught by the Roman Catholic church. However, some pastors still deliberately steer away from this particular book because of this misconception. Basically, James was teaching that if your faith is real, then this faith must work practically in your life.
James was not the only person who emphasised this doctrine that true faith is a faith that works. Listen to the words of our Lord Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16). The inner light that the Lord gives to his people is the true saving faith, and it will shine outwardly in the form of good works.
In Matthew 7:21, Jesus said, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." So, this true saving faith that you and I have will lead us to do the will of our Father. In John 8:31, Jesus said, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed." As disciples of Christ, we have this true saving faith, and we will obey his word. In Matthew 13:23, Jesus said, "But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."
True saving faith should and will produce spiritual fruits, not just some fruits but much fruit. To the Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes, John the Baptist said, "O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham." (Matthew 3:7-9). In other words, if you have true saving faith, you will not rely on your heritage, however great it may be. You will only rely and trust in God, and then you will repent from your sins, producing the fruits of repentance and live a righteous life.
To summarise, a true saving faith will do the will of God, obey God's word, produce spiritual fruits, produce the fruits of repentance, trust God and this is not even exhaustive. It must also lead to worship, to serve God, to pray fervently, to give cheerfully, to love God and our neighbours, to exercise spiritual gifts that He has blessed us with, and so forth. All these activities are included in the works of righteousness that the true believer will produce in his or her life.
Is it possible for a person to profess faith in God, and yet he is a false believer? Most certainly. How can a person know if his faith is real or not? Through his works. What we do will reveal who we really are. A true profession of faith is alive, and it will produce works of righteousness. On the other hand, a false profession of faith is dead, and it is incapable of producing works of righteousness. The title of our message is ‘Show Me Your Faith and I Will Show You Mine.’
I. True Saving Faith Will Not Make Empty Professions
Our first point is: True saving faith will not make empty professions. Let us begin with James 2:14, "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?" Remember, James was writing this letter to the Jews who were dispersed throughout the world outside Palestine. They identified themselves as believers of the Christian faith. Many of them were persecuted and suffered greatly. However, like most churches even in our modern times, some of them were true believers and some were not. So here James was writing to the church at large, made up of true and false believers.
What is the use, brethren, he said, even though a man may profess that he has faith, but if he does not have works, can that so-called faith save him? Take a moment and consider this: Can a faith that has no impact in our lives actually be used as the instrument to redeem us from sin, death, and eternal damnation? Can such a faith really bring you to heaven? Can a faith that is simply a verbal profession — ’Oh, I have faith, I have believed in Jesus Christ, I have said the sinner's prayer, I have called on Jesus as my Lord and my Saviour’ — but it is just paying lip service, no life transformation, it does not lead me to a life of worship, obedience, love, trust, and devotion for Christ? Can that faith, that kind of profession of faith, actually save me? Essentially, that was what James was saying. Can just any kind of faith save you? Can empty words, can empty professions of faith save you? Surely not.
Most of us are familiar with Ephesians 2:8-9. Maybe you can turn with me to this portion of Scripture: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Most certainly, salvation is by faith alone, not of works, in that we do not trust in what we have done, but we trust in what our Lord Jesus has done for us. But that faith is not empty. What kind of faith is that? It is a kind of faith that produces something.
Most people, when they read these two verses, they would just stop at verse 9. Many of them would memorise these two verses, but they should continue to read verse 10 as well. If you look at verse 10: "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." God, who has ordained for us to be saved by faith, He has also ordained for us to live out that faith in good works. That is the kind of faith that saves, not an empty profession of faith.
Dear friend, if you have true saving faith, it means that God's sovereign grace has reached down into your heart and regenerated you, to cause you to be born again, and transformed you from a sinner to a saint. And God will create in your soul the desire to forsake sin, to serve the Lord Jesus Christ, and obey His word. It does not mean that as a newborn believer, you and I automatically and immediately know everything we should and should not do. No, those things will come as we grow in the knowledge of God's word and through the wonder-working of the Spirit of God. But at the point of our conversion, as new creatures being born into God's family, there will be this immediate spiritual orientation, this turning away from our old sinful ways, this change of direction.
Allow me to give you one classic example in the Bible, and that is Zacchaeus, the tax collector. The moment he believed in Jesus, there was this immediate spiritual turning away. He said this: "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold." (Luke 19:8). He was not an empty profession of faith. True saving faith begins with this immediate spiritual orientation, this turning around, this change of direction, and then it will grow to produce more and more spiritual fruits. Is this the kind of faith you have, or is it just an empty profession of faith?
II. True Saving Faith Will Have Compassion
Our second point is: True saving faith will have true compassion. Let us move on to verse 15: "If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food." It does not mean that the brother or sister was naked or dying of starvation, but that brother or sister was so poor that he did not have sufficient clothes to weather the cold. He lacked the daily normal food to nourish his body. Some people believe that James was just giving an example to illustrate his point, but I believe he was speaking of a real-life scenario. Remember, the believers at that time were being persecuted, and so they were deprived of shelter, food, and clothes. So there were many believers who did not have sufficient clothes, who did not have sufficient food. So James said in verse 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?" Here, the implication is that they were able to give, but they did not.
The phrase "depart in peace" means ‘go in peace.’ In our modern-day language, it is like saying ‘God bless you, He will take care of you.’ That was a most heartless, foolish, and empty statement. Do you know why? It was heartless because the person was totally indifferent and disinterested to help in any way. His heart was void of love. If he had true faith, he would have loved his neighbour the way he loved himself. Remember the Second Great Commandment: thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. He would have felt the pain and suffering of the brother or sister. He would have at least provided a blanket or fed them with a meal, but he did not. He was heartless. He was foolish because if that needy person had the ability to warm himself with clothes and be filled with food, he would have already done so. Therefore, in a way, he was being sarcastic by saying, ‘Go, keep yourself warm and be filled,’ knowing full well that that person was incapable of doing that. It was empty because if his words were sincere, if his words meant anything, it must lead to action. Those so-called words of comfort were meaningless as far as meeting the person's need.
Imagine yourself meeting a beggar in the street and then you say to that beggar, ‘God bless you. Go keep yourself warm and eat well.’ The beggar will be looking at you puzzled, but how to? Your words mean nothing to him. James went on to say in verse 17, "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." Just as our words of comfort must be backed by our actions, our faith must be backed by our works. It cannot stand alone.
What lessons can we learn from here? Sometimes, when we see a person in desperate need and we have the means to help, yet we say to the person, ‘Dear brother, I will pray for you that God will provide for you,’ we have failed to understand that God has allowed us to see this need so that we will be His instrument to meet that need. There is a time when we should stop praying and just give — stop praying as in stop asking God to send someone else because we will be that instrument to provide for the need.
A story was told of a European queen several centuries ago who attended a drama show in a theater. It was wintertime and freezing cold. She left her coachman sitting on her carriage while she went into the theater. The drama was so heart-wrenching that the queen wept and sobbed throughout the entire performance. But after the show, when she returned to her carriage, she discovered her coachman had frozen to death, and she did not shed a tear. A moment ago, she was deeply moved by the drama, but now she was completely untouched by the real one happening in front of her.
Isn't it true that sometimes people can be so detached from reality? People can watch a movie or hear a song and become so emotional they can cry when they see the tragedy, injustice, and poverty that the actors had performed, and yet they have no concern or compassion for the plight of the one standing right in front of them. In reality, they are crying for the actors who had performed their roles very well, but they are driving fast cars, living in big mansions. That is what we mean by being detached from reality. You know our hearts are moved with what is unreal and then untouched by what is real right before us. What we see on the internet, in movies, and on television becomes more meaningful than reality. How sad.
Believers who have a true saving faith will never behave like that. They will have the spiritual discernment to know what is real and unreal. They will have a heart of compassion because the indwelling Holy Spirit is a God of compassion, and He will cause the believer to do everything he can to help and to provide for those needs which are real. In Acts chapter 2, after Pentecost, the early believers saw those poor believers. The moment they saw those poor believers, their hearts were overwhelmed that some of them started selling their properties and possessions so that they could share with those poor believers. Those believers had true saving faith.
Dear friend, when you hear news about our brethren in the Myanmar mission churches going through a most difficult time, being caught in the midst of the intense fighting between the military government and the opposition groups, the whole country is in a political upheaval. Losing their jobs, having their children being forced to fight in the battlefield, facing the threat and prospect of losing their lives — is your heart not stirred up? Those are real-life situations, not the movies you watch on television. Do you have a heart of compassion?
The Apostle John said, "For he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also." (1 John 4:20-21). True saving faith has true compassion, and this is the wonder-working of the Holy Spirit, the God of compassion.
III. True Saving Faith Will Have True Conviction
Our final point is true saving faith has true conviction. Verse 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 was not boasting about his own faith or his faithfulness. He was speaking to anyone who opposed the truth he was declaring about true saving faith. To all those people who say, ‘I don't need anything. I don't need to show anything. I don't need to obey God. I don't need to produce spiritual fruits in my life. I don't need to serve in the church to give and support the gospel work. All I need is faith.’ James will say to them that kind of faith is not faith at all, certainly not saving faith. Show me your works, or show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. I will let my works do the talking, so to speak.
Some people remember their conversions very clearly. They can share with you their testimonies, how they experienced the conversion, how they confessed their sins and received Jesus into their lives, even to the point of remembering the date and the place. But that in itself is not a proof of their salvation. The only reliable proof is the life we live after making that profession. Jesus himself repeatedly warned us against the false confidence of salvation. The devil wants us to believe that we are safe, but in reality, we may not be. The devil wants us to cling onto this false faith, false profession of faith, empty. So Jesus said, ‘Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not what I say? I'm not your Lord because you do not do what I say."
Verse 19: "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble." Faith is about believing in God, and the God whom you and I believe in is one — the Triune God: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. This is the center of everything we believe in. Therefore, James was saying, you say God is one. You have done well; that is good theology, that is right theology. God is one. Then he made this shocking statement: ‘But even the devils also believe, and they tremble.’ To tremble is to be struck with extreme fear, to be horrified. In Mark chapter 3, the demons believe that Jesus was the Son of God. In Luke chapter 8, the demons believed that there was a place of punishment and Jesus, He was the judge. He was able to send them to this place of punishment, and they pleaded with Him not to send them there. In other words, the demons have good theology in the sense of knowing and understanding those truths about God. They believe, as in the right theology, and they trembled, but they did not have true saving faith.
It does not mean that theology is not important. What James was saying is that theology in and of itself was not enough. Good theology is not an end in itself. It is a means to an end. It must lead the person to have faith in Christ. There must be a radical change in the way he lives his life. Otherwise, theology, though it is good, is useless to the person as far as his salvation is concerned if it does not lead him to have faith in Christ, if it does not lead him to live a life transformed by the Spirit of God. It is useless; it is just head knowledge.
A person may know all the facts and truths about Jesus Christ and the gospel, but yet does not have true saving faith. He may attend all the Bible study programs, he may be knowledgeable, he may debate in things hard to be understood, he may dot all the i's and cross all the t's in the Bible, and yet does not have true saving faith. How do we know? By watching his life. Is there a connection between his theology and his life? Is his knowledge leading him to live a transformed life producing works of righteousness? If not, then it is empty. It is a false conviction.
Finally, James said in verse 20, "But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?" In other words, you foolish man who rejects the truth that true saving faith will produce works of righteousness, are you willing to recognise now that faith without works is dead?
Dear friend, do you have faith? Is your faith dead or alive? Does your faith lead you to do the will of God, obey His word, produce spiritual fruits, produce the fruits of repentance, trust in God, lead you to worship, serve God, pray fervently, give cheerfully, love God and your neighbour, exercise your spiritual gifts, and so forth? If not, something is terribly wrong. You may be clinging onto an empty profession. Now, this is not to target anyone. It applies to everyone, including myself. As the old preachers used to say, ‘You are just clinging onto a horse hair.’ Once you swing into eternity, it is too late. Come Judgment Day, it is too late. Repent and truly believe the Lord Jesus Christ, and that true saving faith will produce the works of righteousness.
If your faith does produce works of righteousness, praise God. Then you will be able to say, like James, not in a proud sense but for the purpose of declaring to all your loved ones, all your friends, relatives, and the people around you who may be clinging onto empty professions, clinging onto false faiths, you are declaring to them through your life, ‘Show me your faith and I will show you mine.’ You can only do that through a transformed life producing the works of righteousness. Otherwise, you will never be able to say, like James, ‘Show me your faith and I will show you mine.’
Let us pray. Our Father in Heaven, indeed it is so important for us to know that the Apostle Paul, his emphasis was about salvation by faith alone. James did not contradict him. He was teaching this essential doctrine that true faith is a faith that works. It is not empty. It produces something. It produces the works of righteousness.
Today, there are many people, many churches that teach that all you have to do is just have faith, just call out the name of Jesus and you are safe. But we learn from the Scriptures today that true saving faith is not an empty profession. It will produce works of righteousness. True saving faith will have true compassion because the indwelling Holy Spirit is a God of compassion. He will cause us to have compassion and true saving faith is also a true conviction. It is not just having good theology in our minds and not living it out in our lives. It will lead us to live a transformed life. There will be a radical change.
Oh Lord, remind us and help us always to examine Thy scriptures and then to examine our hearts if we are true believers or not. For we do not want to live a life that is vain. We do not want to make empty professions. We do not want to be void of compassion and live our lives without conviction. Oh Lord, may Thou remind us, and for those who still have not believed in Thee, may Thou cause them to experience what it means to be saved through the convicting work of the Holy Spirit, that they will be convicted of their sins, to turn to Jesus, the only one who can save them, to be regenerated, made spiritually alive, born again, and then live a life producing spiritual fruits for Thee. And we all know that the first fruit that anyone will produce is the fruit of repentance. We thank Thee for reminding us and we pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.
THE BOOK OF JAMESFacing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 1]Facing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 1]James 1:1-4
Facing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 2]Facing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 2]James 1:1-4
The Need For Wisdom In Times Of TrialThe Need For Wisdom In Times Of TrialJames 1:5-8
Trial Is No Respecter Of PersonsTrial Is No Respecter Of PersonsJames 1:9-12
How To Deal With TemptationHow To Deal With TemptationJames 1:13-15
Remember Who God Is And Who We AreRemember Who God Is And Who We AreJames 1:16-18
Be Receptive To The Word Of GodBe Receptive To The Word Of GodJames 1:19-21
Doers of the WordDoers of the WordJames 1:21-25
Be Responsive To The Word Of GodBe Responsive To The Word Of GodJames 1:22-25
Are You Transformed By The Word?Are You Transformed By The Word?James 1:26-27
The Sin Of Showing Partiality [Part 1]The Sin Of Showing Partiality [Part 1]James 2:1-4
The Sin of PartialityThe Sin of PartialityJames 2:1-13
The Sin Of Showing Partiality [Part 2]The Sin Of Showing Partiality [Part 2]James 2:5-13
Show Me Your Faith, And I Will Show You MineShow Me Your Faith, And I Will Show You MineJames 2:14-20
Faith In ActionFaith In ActionJames 2:21-26
A Warning To Want-To-Be TeacherA Warning To Want-To-Be TeacherJames 3:1-2
Seminar: The Role of the Sunday School Teacher (Part 2 of 2)Seminar: The Role of the Sunday School Teacher (Part 2 of 2)James 3:1-13
The Power Of The TongueThe Power Of The TongueJames 3:3-6
The Taming Of The TongueThe Taming Of The TongueJames 3:7-12
The Danger Of False WisdomThe Danger Of False WisdomJames 3:13-16
The Blessing Of Heavenly WisdomThe Blessing Of Heavenly WisdomJames 3:17-18
Dealing With Conflict In The ChurchDealing With Conflict In The ChurchJames 4:1-6
What Constitutes True SalvationWhat Constitutes True SalvationJames 4:7-10
Speak No EvilSpeak No EvilJames 4:11-12
God’s Plan Or My Plan?God’s Plan Or My Plan?James 4:13-17
Physically Rich But Spiritually PoorPhysically Rich But Spiritually PoorJames 5:1-6
How To Be Patient In Times Of TroubleHow To Be Patient In Times Of TroubleJames 5:7-11
