Truth 02 · 3 of 3

Faith that shows

Why James and Paul agree

Read these first

Ephesians 2:8-10 · NRSVue

⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— ⁹not the result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we may walk in them.

James 2:14-24 · NRSVue

¹⁴What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Surely that faith cannot save, can it? ¹⁵If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food ¹⁶and 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? ¹⁷So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. ¹⁸But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith apart from works, and I by my works will show you faith. ¹⁹You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder. ²⁰Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is worthless? ²¹Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²²You see that faith was active along with his works, and by works faith was brought to completion. ²³Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness," and he was called the friend of God. ²⁴You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

Luke 6:46 · NRSVue

⁴⁶"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I tell you?

A few words on what they mean

Two words you will hear a lot. Grace means God gave you what you did not earn. Faith means you trusted him enough to act on what he said. Paul puts them together in one breath: "by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not the result of works, so that no one may boast."

Then James asks a question that unsettles people: can faith without works save? He answers it himself. "Faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead." "Even the demons believe, and shudder." "Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?" James is not disagreeing with Paul. They are using the word "works" for two different things. When Paul says works cannot save, he means the works of the law: circumcision, food rules, keeping days, anything a person does to build a claim on God. When James says faith without works is dead, he means a hungry brother sent away with a blessing and no bread. Paul rules out the first. James demands the second. James is describing what Paul's faith looks like from the outside. "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness"; and because he believed, when God said go, "he set out, not knowing where he was going" (Hebrews 11:8).

So saving faith is obedient faith. It is not less than believing, but it is more than a thought. Jesus asked, "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I tell you?" Faith hears the word, repents, goes into the water, receives the Spirit, and keeps walking. Those works do not earn anything. They prove the faith is real. Profession without possession is what James is warning about.

Here is the freedom in it. Because you are already justified by grace, you obey from safety, not for safety. You are not working towards a verdict. You are living out one that has already been given.

Sit with this

What does your faith look like from the outside? If a stranger watched your week, what would they see that shows you believe?

Verse to memorise · NRSVue

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

Say it until you can say it without looking.