Faith & Works: James 2: 14 - 19 (P12)

James 2: 14 - 19

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works?  Can faith save you?  If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and 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?  So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.  But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works."  Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.  You believe that God is one; you do well.  Even the demons believe - and shudder.

Coins have two sides - heads and tails.  The heads side matters.  The tails side matters.  A coin that is only one-sided, all heads or all tails, is useless ... worse, it's counterfeit.  You cannot pay for things with it ... you cannot make choices through it ... it serves no purpose.  What good is it? 

Faith has two sides - intellect and behavior.  Intellectual knowledge matters.  You must know what you know.  Behavioral practice matters.  You must do what you know.  A 'faith' that is only one-sided, all intellect or all 'doings', is useless ... worse, it's an illusion.  It serves no purpose.  What good is it? 

Do James' words in this passage disagree with the teachings of the apostle Paul?  Paul preached and wrote about our being saved by faith, not by our works.  Is James picking a fight with Paul over theology.  No.  Careful reading shows  they agree with each other.  Listen to Paul in Ephesians 2: 8 - 10:

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

You see, when we "believe", we "walk" in that belief.  We live it out.  It changes the way we approach our lives - our day.  It changes our behavior patterns.  At the end of every one of the letters from the apostle Paul, he wrote about the practical ramifications of our faith - the way that faith 'works itself out' in life.  And that's the "good of it". 

In one of Beth Moore's lessons on James, she said:  "If you don't live it - you don't believe it.  You may talk it - but you don't believe it." 

So my question for us today ... do you believe it?  If so, it will be seen.  Jesus said you will know a tree by its fruit.  (Matthew 12:33).  

You are saved by grace through faith.  Now ... work that salvation out in your life.   We don't want anyone to say of our faith, "What good is it?" 

Lord, may our faith show itself useful today.  We believe ...