James 2:14-26 Bible Study. "Faith" that does not produce works -- acts of godly obedience and mercy -- is not true faith at all. There is a difference between believing *that* Jesus is Lord and believing *in* Jesus as Lord
First presented by Danny Scotton Jr on 1.9.19 at Alpha Baptist Church in Willingboro, NJ
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The Only Kind Of Faith That Works Is Faith That Works (James 2:14-26) [Bible Study Slideshow]
1. THE ONLY KIND OF
FAITH THAT WORKS, IS
FAITH THAT WORKS
JAMES 2:14-26 BIBLE STUDY
1.9.19 DANNY SCOTTON JR.
ALPHA BAPTIST CHURCH
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2. CAN YOU DO ME A FAVOR?
ā¢ Ever do a favor for someone, but the
next time you see them, they act like
they donāt know you?
ā¢ Have you ever given so much of yourself
to others, but when you want others to
give of themselves to you, no one is
anywhere to be found?
ā¢ Donāt you think people respond
appropriately?
3. ANCIENT GIFTS HAD STRINGS ATTACHED
ā¢ In the 1st century Greco-Roman world, there was a complex
system of patronage.
ā¢ Wealthy, powerful patrons would do such favors for clients who
were in need. This unmerited favor was called charis (ĻĪ¬ĻĪ¹Ļ) (like
charity) ā which is translated āgraceā
ā¢ Clients were to respond with faith(fulness) ā gratitude, public
praise, readiness to help the patron, and loyalty. This was
called pistis (ĻĪÆĻĻĪ¹Ļ) ā which is translated āfaithā or āfaithfulness,ā
etc.
ā¢ NT: In response to the grace (charis) of God (Patron) through
Jesus Christ, we (clients) should respond with faithfulness (pistis)
(all points from Richards and OāBrien, 83).
4. OUR FATHER GOD: THE ULTIMATE PATRON
ā¢ Every good and perfect gift comes from God (Jas 1:17)
ā¢ He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and
sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Mt 5:45b,
NIV)
ā¢ Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?ā
36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen (Rom 11:35-36, NIV)
ā¢ All of Godās commands come after His grace (e.g., Israel
given the Ten Commandments after God graciously brought
them out of Egypt) (above points from Simmons, 289).
ā¢ Faithfulness to God is the appropriate response to His
Grace
5. DO YOU KNOW HIM?
ā¢ Where was Barack Obama born? (Hawaii)
ā¢ What number president is Barack Obama? (44)
ā¢ Where did Barack Obama serve as a senator? (Illinois)
ā¢ We might know a lot about President Obama. But how many of us
actually know Barack Obama personally?
ā¢ We might know a lot about God. But how many of us actually know
God personally?
ā¢ How can we ask and take advantage of Godās favor, and then act
like we donāt know Him?
ā¢ The way we have a relationship with God is to respond to Godās
grace through faith(fulness) in Christ
6. FAITH: ITāS WHAT WE DO
ā¢ 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his
one and only Son, that whoever believes
[ĻĪ¹ĻĻĪµĻĻ (pisteuÅ)] in him shall not perish but
have eternal life (Jn 3:16, NIV)
ā¢ Faith (noun) = pistis; Believe (verb) = pisteuÅ
ā¢ NT: Verb occurs 241 times; noun occurs 243
times
ā¢ Lit: whoever faiths in him shall not perish but
have eternal life
7. BELIEF THAT VS. BELIEF IN
ā¢ How many people believe that a bulletproof vest can
stop a bullet?
ā¢ How many people would wear a bulletproof vest and
let someone shoot them?
ā¢ āItās one thing to believe that the vest can save a life;
itās another thing to trust it to save your own lifeā
(Wallace).
ā¢ Itās one thing to believe that Jesus can save a life; itās
another thing to trust (i.e., faith) Him to save your own
life
ā¢ Belief that = intellectual agreement; Belief in = active
trust
8. JAMES: BE DOERS OF THE WORD
ā¢ Throughout, James stresses how āgenuine faith must be put into practiceā (Stulac).
ā¢ Possible outline (Stulac):
ā¢ James 1:1-18 Maintaining faith in the midst of trials
ā¢ James 1:19-27 Putting faith into practice by being doers of the word
ā¢ James 2:1-13 An example of practicing oneās faith: impartiality [concerning wealthy
members]
ā¢ 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let
perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking
anything (Jas 1:2-3, NIV)
ā¢ Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says (Jas 1:22,
NIV)
ā¢ There is a unity between faith and actions (Stulac)
9. CAN FAKE āFAITHā SAVE?
ā¢ What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have "faith" but does
not have works? Can such "faith" save them? (Jas 2:14, authorās translation moving
forward)
ā¢ KJV: can faith save him? NRSV: can faith save you? ESV, NASB: can that faith save
him? NIV: such faith (the presence of the Greek definite article indicates that James
is talking about the previously mentioned āfaithā) (Black, 77; Moo 104)
ā¢ How can someone claim to have faithfulness if they do not act faithfully?
ā¢ Works: generally, āanything done that is in obedience to God and in the service of
God.ā (Moo, 122; cf. Motyer, 109, McKnight, 228; McCartney, 156, etc.)
ā¢ Rhetorical: Does a fire produce heat? Does working faith work? Does workless faith
work?
ā¢ Save: final deliverance from judgment on the last day (Moo, 104 cf. Jas 2:13, 5:20;
McKnight, 229 cf. Jas 4:12, etc.)
10. JAMES: A RAPPINā PREACHER?
ā¢ 1st century: letters were written to be read out loud. Jamesā letter may
have originally been a sermon (Motyer, 105)
ā¢ Statement: I have a lot more money than you
ā¢ Provocative illustration: my money is longer than a politicianās nose
ā¢ Like a rapper, James uses poetic structure, provocative illustrations,
wordplay, and a refrain (a hook)
ā¢ Never let a (A) fool kiss (B) you
ā¢ or a (Bā) kiss fool (Aā) you
ā¢ Chiastic (chi = Ļ) structure. Christ = Ī§ĻĪ¹ĻĻĻĻ (Christos). Christmas =
Xmas
11. THE ONLY KIND OF FAITH THAT WORKS, IS FAITH
THAT WORKS
ā¢ A) James 2:15-17
ā¢ Workless āfaithā does not work for people in need (e.g., the needs of the needy arenāt met) (15-16)
ā¢ Summary (refrain): āfaithā without works is dead (17)
ā¢ B) James 2:18-20
ā¢ Workless āfaithā does not work for justification before God (e.g., even demons believe that God exists) (18-20)
ā¢ Summary (refrain): āfaithā without works does not work (20)
ā¢ Bā) James 2:21-24
ā¢ Genuine faith does work for justification before God (e.g., Abraham believes in God; shows radical obedience)
(21-23)
ā¢ Summary (refrain): a person is justified by faith that works ā not āfaithā that does not work (24)
ā¢ Aā) James 2:25-26
ā¢ Genuine faith does work for people in need (e.g., Rahab aids the Israelite spies) (25)
ā¢ Summary (refrain) : āfaithā without works is dead (26) (Chiasm from Motyer, 108)
12. WORKLESS FAITH DOES NOT WORK
FOR PEOPLE IN NEED (A)
ā¢ If a brother or a sister is poorly dressed and lacking daily food 16 and one of you (all) says
to them, "Go in peace, keep warm and well fed," but does not give them what is necessary
for their body, what good is it? In the same way, also, āfaithā, in itself, if it does not have
works, is dead (Jas 2:15-17).
ā¢ āGo in peaceā was a ācommon Jewish form of greeting, farewell and blessingā that āalso
emphasizes confidence that a personās wishes will be grantedā (McKnight, 231 cf. 1 Sam
1:17).
ā¢ It was sincere when accompanied by an act consistent with the well-wishes. This person
offers the words of a blessing without the act of a blessing (Richardson, 130).
ā¢ Could be saying (middle): Take care of yourself! Keep warm and well-fed! Could be saying
(passive): May God warm you and feed you (Blomberg and Kamell, et. al., 131).
ā¢ Religious talk without religious action (cf. Jas 1:27)
ā¢ Either way, just as words without action does the person no good, āfaithā without action
does a person no good (Blomberg and Kamell, 131). Such faith cannot save (Nystrom, 147;
McKnight, 232)
13. WORKLESS FAITH DOES NOT WORK
FOR JUSTIFICATION BEFORE GOD (B)
ā¢ But someone will say, āYou [the opponent] have āfaithā, and I [James] have works.ā
Show me your āfaithā without works, and I will show you my faith by my works (Jas
2:18).
ā¢ Scholars disagree about exactly how the first part of the verse should be translated.
What seems most plausible is that someone (likely an imaginary objector cf. Keener)
says that one person has faith and the other (James) has works ā as if the two could
be separated (Blomberg and Kamell, 134; cf. Stulac).
ā¢ Opponent may think that faith and works are two separate options ā as if Christians
may have either but not necessarily both (cf. 1 Cor 12:7-10) (McKnight, 239; Moo,
108).
ā¢ James essentially challenges him with the impossible: āshow and proveā (cf. Moo
(Pillar), 130).
ā¢ How can someone demonstrate a āfaithā that produces no demonstrative acts? (cf.
15. WORKLESS FAITH DOES NOT WORK
FOR JUSTIFICATION BEFORE GOD (B)
ā¢ For salvation, correct doctrine is necessary but not sufficient (Davids, 126;
Blomberg and Kamell, 135; Nystrom, 150.)
ā¢ You believe that there is one God? So what? (Keener)
ā¢ Oh, you want to know ā you foolish [empty] person ā that āfaithā without works
doesnāt work? [argos] (James 2:20 cf. McCartney, 161)
ā¢ Theist = believes there is a god. Atheist = believes there is no god
ā¢ A (ānon-ā) + į¼ĻĪ³ĪæĪ½ [ergon] (āworkā) ļ į¼ĻĪ³ĻĻ [argos] = not working,
unproductive, useless (McKnight, 243; McCartney, 161; Blomberg and Kamell,
136 cf. BDAG)
ā¢ ļWordplay: āFaithā without works does not work (Moo, 111)
ā¢ Workless āfaithā is worthless āfaithā (McKnight, 243)
16. GENUINE FAITH DOES WORK
FOR JUSTIFICATION BEFORE GOD (Bā)
ā¢ 21 Was not Abraham, our father, justified by works having
offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith
was working together with his works, and by his works his
faith was brought to maturity. And the Scripture was fulfilled,
the one saying, "Abraham believed in God, and it was
credited to him as righteousnessā ā and he was called a friend
of God.
ā¢ Abraham is the father of all Israel (and Christians cf. Rom 4:16-
17; Gal 3:7) and one of the most revered figures in Jewish
history (Moo, 111 cf. Richardson, 138).
ā¢ Abraham ā the man of faith(fulness) ā would serve as a(/the
most?) powerful example (McKnight, 245)
17. GENUINE FAITH DOES WORK
FOR JUSTIFICATION BEFORE GOD (Bā)
ā¢ He [Abraham] said to his servants, āStay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over
there. We will worship and then we will come back to you (Gen 22:5, NIV cf. Heb 11:17-19)
ā¢ āThe fire and wood are here,ā Isaac said, ābut where is the lamb for the burnt offering?ā
8 Abraham answered, āGod himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.ā And
the two of them went on together (Gen 22:7-8, NIV).
ā¢ 12 āDo not lay a hand on the boy,ā he said. āDo not do anything to him. Now I know that you
fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only sonā (Gen 22:12, NIV)
ā¢ 17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had
embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son [Ī¼ĪæĪ½ĪæĪ³ĪµĪ½Ī®Ļ
(monogenÄs)] (Heb 11:17, NIV)
ā¢ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son [monogenÄs = unique, āof a
single kindā] (Jn 3:16a, NIV).
18. GENUINE FAITH DOES WORK
FOR JUSTIFICATION BEFORE GOD (Bā)
ā¢ The offering of Isaac was seen as Abrahamās greatest work (cf. Philo, Moo, 111; McCartney, 164); he
demonstrates his faith with radical obedience. Itās a summary act of his faithful life (McKnight, 249-
50).
ā¢ When Paul speaks of justification, he is talking about the initial act in which God declares a person
righteous (i.e., not guilty) through their identification with Christ through faith and not by any work
(Moo, 112)
ā¢ For James and throughout the OT, righteousness refers to fidelity to Godās standards and is
associated with the judgment on the last day. Not sinless behavior, but correct covenantal conduct
(Moo, 114; McKnight, 246).
ā¢ Paul and James both use Abraham and Gen 15:6 to make different theological points (Moo (Pillar),
138). 6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness (Gen 15:6, NIV).
ā¢ Paul stresses that, chronologically, it was true faith that resulted in Abraham being deemed
righteous in Godās sight (cf. Rom 4:9-11). James stresses that, logically, such true faith necessarily
entailed works.
19. GENUINE FAITH DOES WORK
FOR JUSTIFICATION BEFORE GOD (Bā)
ā¢ You see that his faith was working together with his works, and by his works his faith
was brought to maturity [ĻĪµĪ»ĪµĪ¹ĻĻ (teleioÅ)] (James 2:22 cf. Blomberg and Kamell, 137).
ā¢ More wordplay; [ĻĻ Ī½ĪµĻĪ³ĪĻ (synergeÅ)] = work together with (Stulac) (like synergy)
ā¢ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature [teleioÅ (adj.)] and
complete (Jas 1:4, NIV cf. 1 Jn 2:4, 4:12).
ā¢ And the Scripture was fulfilled, the one saying, "Abraham believed in God, and it was
credited to him as righteousnessā ā and he was called a friend of God. (Jas 2:23, cf. Gen
15:6, 2 Ch 20:7, Is 41:8)
ā¢ Fulfilled = ā[bring] to its ultimate significanceā (Moo (Pillar), 138 (cf. Mt 5:17); ābrought to
perfection,ā āfull realizationā (McKnight, 252).
ā¢ 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by āfaithā alone (Jas 2:24)
ā¢ Works are those necessarily produced by true faith (Moo, 119); āfaithā alone is the fake,
workless faith
20. GENUINE FAITH DOES WORK
FOR PEOPLE IN NEED (Aā)
ā¢ And also, in the same way, was not Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she welcomed
the spies and sent them out a different way? (Jas 2:25 cf. Joshua 2)
ā¢ Abraham was a man of wealth and prestige; Rahab was a lowly prostitute (Richardson, 142)
ā¢ Merismus: uses two extremes to indicate everything in between (Blomberg and Kamell, 125)
ā¢ E.g., In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen 1:1). From the rising of the
sun, to the going down of the sameā¦ (Ps 113:3)
ā¢ Whether a patriarch or a prostitute (Moo, 121), one can and should have faith that works
ā¢ She did not merely believe that āthe LORD [had] given [the Israelites] [their] landā (Jos 2:9), but
she believed in God by hiding the spies (Jos 2:2-6), and securing the protection of her family
(Jos 2:12-14)
ā¢ Could you imagine if Rahab said, āGee I hope you all find a safe place to hide from the king?ā
(Stulac)
21. GENUINE FAITH DOES WORK
FOR PEOPLE IN NEED (Aā)
ā¢ Just as the body without the spirit [or ābreathā] is dead, so
āfaithā without works is dead (Jas 2:26)
ā¢ If someone is not breathing, they are not alive
ā¢ If āfaithā is not working, it is not alive
ā¢ "believing the truth without obeying the truth does not save
us at all, any more than it saves demons" (Stulac)
ā¢ If we call Jesus "Lord,ā we are implying that we are his servants
ā¢ How can we truly be His servants if we our not serving?
ā¢ Jesus says, āWhy do you call me, āLord, Lord,ā and do not do
what I say? (Lk 6:46, NIV)
22. FAITH: ITāS WHAT WE DO
ā¢ Paul says that, in Christ Jesus, what ācounts is faith expressing itself through loveā (Gal 5:6, NIV).
ā¢ He also brackets his letter to the Romans by saying he has been sent to call all the Gentiles āto the obedience
that comes from faithā (Rom 1:5; 16:26, NIV).
ā¢ Paul warns that those who live by the works of the flesh wonāt inherit the kingdom of God (Gal 5:19-21, 1 Cor
6:9-11).
ā¢ Jesus: Not everyone who says to me, āLord, Lord,ā will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who
does the will of my Father who is in heaven (Mt 7:21, NIV)
ā¢ Godly works are products (fruit) of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) (Moo, Pillar, 42); not just a human endeavor
ā¢ Works: generally, āanything done that is in obedience to God and in the service of God.ā (Moo, 122; cf.
Motyer, 109, McKnight, 228; McCartney, 156, etc.)
ā¢ NT: Faith is both a noun and a verb; we have to act like we know God. James is writing to a church!
ā¢ Knowing about God vs. knowing God personally. Believe that vs. Believe in
ā¢ We ought to respond to Godās amazing grace with genuine faithfulness
23. THE ONLY KIND OF FAITH THAT WORKS, IS FAITH
THAT WORKS
ā¢ A) James 2:15-17
ā¢ Workless āfaithā does not work for people in need (e.g., the needs of the needy arenāt met) (15-16)
ā¢ Summary (refrain): āfaithā without works is dead (17)
ā¢ B) James 2:18-20
ā¢ Workless āfaithā does not work for justification before God (e.g., even demons believe that God exists) (18-
20)
ā¢ Summary (refrain): āfaithā without works does not work (20)
ā¢ Bā) James 2:21-24
ā¢ Genuine faith does work for justification before God (e.g., Abraham believes in God; shows radical obedience)
(21-23)
ā¢ Summary (refrain): a person is justified by faith that works ā not āfaithā that does not work (24)
ā¢ Aā) James 2:25-26
ā¢ Genuine faith does work for people in need (e.g., Rahab aids the Israelite spies) (25)
ā¢ Summary (refrain): āfaithā without works is dead (26) (Chiasm from Motyer, 108)
Religious Jews, for whom contact with a dead body imparted ceremonial pollution, would have regarded such an image as especially repugnant, but dead bodies are repulsive to Gentiles as well.
Dan G. McCartney, , Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009), 157.
Dan G. McCartney, James, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009), 157.