Connection Between Faith & Works

Connection between Faith & Works(Actions)

James 2:14-26

14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds[works]? Can such faith save him?

15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.

16 If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?

17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action[works], is dead.

18 But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds[works]." Show me your faith without deeds[works], and I will show you my faith by what I do.

19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-- and shudder.

20 You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds[works] is useless?

21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?

22 You see that his faith and his actions[works] were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.

23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend.

24 You see that a person is justified by what he does[works] and not by faith alone.

25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?

26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds[works] is dead.( NIV)

[KJV uses the word works]

This set of verses has to be one of the most controversial issues in Christiandom. Why, because for one thing, Paul explains in

Rom 3:28

28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.(KJV)

Rom 4:5

5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.(KJV)

Rom 5:1

1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:(KJV)

Gal 3:11

11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.(KJV)

Eph 2:8

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:(KJV)

We read these verses and say how come James is contradicting Paul? Well, folks, he really isn’t and I will tell you why that is the case. Even though I know you can figure it out for yourself by the Holy Spirit’s leading and teaching, some of you would like to know why there seems to be this contradiction but have not yet sat down with God and really searched for the answers. It is really simple. Take a look again at James 2:17,18. He states here-faith unaccompanied by actions is dead. Then he states that by your actions you actually show that the faith is there. You see the point that James is trying to make to everyone is that without actions accompanying faith, your faith means nothing; there is no evidence of the faith. The actions, the works, the deeds you do are what point out that you have faith. And just like it proves to other people you have faith, it proves also to God that you have faith. It proves that your faith is real and it proves you are willing to live by that faith. Here are some examples:

Heb 11:20-23

20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

21 By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.

22 By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.

23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment.

Heb 11:24-28

24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;

25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

28 Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.(KJV)

I could paste more verses in here, but that gives us a small example. And of course we know Abraham proved his faith by leaving for the promised land-uprooting his whole family and making that trip into the land promised to his descendants. If he had not had faith, there would have been no trip and probably no descendants through him. But his trip, his actions proved his faith. Same with the folks mentioned above. This is James’ point in chapter 2.

Listen to what Jesus says in the gospel of John,

John 14:15

15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.(KJV)

John 14:12

12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.(KJV)

John 14:23-24

23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.(KJV)

Do you notice how Jesus is saying here-‘if you are not obeying me, you aren’t loving me. Your obedience is love toward me.’ Well, what is obedience? It is actions, it is deeds, it is various works that are the result of faith. And James himself explains that in verse 22 that faith is made complete by what you do. He also makes it clear that if your actions don’t prove your faith, then really the faith is dead. I look at it this way. It isn’t really faith. It is mental assent. A mental outlook, not faith. Yes, you do have to first start with a mental outlook, but if it does not move into the realm of real faith, real trust, real putting your faith into God, real obedience to Him, then there is no faith really there. You don’t honestly believe in your heart of hearts.

Jesus made it clear that out of the heart come the issues of life. You see, you already act on those things you really honestly believe. Where your faith is actually lacking, you don’t bother to put actions onto your faith. An example from scripture: Moses’ parents-if they had not honestly believed that they could save Moses’ life by putting him in basket in the shallows of the Nile in an area where big sister could keep an eye on him, then Moses too would have been killed when those Egyptian soldiers started killing off the boy babies. Fortunately Aaron was too old to be a candidate. If they had not done what they did, it would prove they did not have the faith that Moses could be saved from slaughter. Their faith gave them the courage and willingness to step out and act on the faith that Moses would be safe. Their faith gave them reason to take action and they did so.

Remember James says the devils believe and tremble? A lot of people say they believe God when they really don’t, because if they did, their actions would prove it.

Take a look at it this way also. You have a zipper. One side is labeled faith. The other side is labeled works or actions or deeds. You have a zipper tab that zips up the two sides. When the two sides are open and unzipped, the whole zipper is of no use. But once zipped up by the tab, the zipper does it’s work and faith and works are properly connected and you have a true and effective zipper. You see, faith and works, faith in and deeds resulting have to go hand in hand. Otherwise why did Jesus say

Matt 7:21

21 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.(KJV)

Jesus is saying here-just cause you call me Lord, doesn’t mean you have made me Lord. It is those who do the will of my father who enter the kingdom.

You see it is those who do-not merely say they believe-God’s will because of faith that enter the kingdom. And you know something? I believe that includes the entrance into salvation, first entering the kingdom that way, and then later into the final abode. After all, to even get saved, you must first hear God’s word to you, decide you believe it, you must also repent of past sins and lifestyle, and accept the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus paying for your sins, and then live by faith-obeying God because of that faith.

Understand, Brothers and Sisters, your faith is of no use to anyone if it is not accompanied by actions that prove it. You can say you believe all you want, but faith is an active placing of trust in God and being willing to make the steps God calls on you to make.

And don’t confuse faith with hope. They are two different things. If and when I get onto the subject of that difference, I hope to be able to show you how some folks think they pray with faith when all they are doing is praying with hope. Not that God frowns on hope. No not at all, but praying with faith is what is most needed.

Next week folks, we go on to chapter 3. Have a great weekend. The Good News Lady