Session 10

With Works
True faith produces visible change.

JAMES 2:14-26
Many people are motivated to change their eating and exercise
habits. Some stop eating certain foods because of a medical
diagnosis. Others move from diet to diet trying to lose weight.
Others exercise to improve their mood or to boost their energy.
Regardless of the motivation, many people try to eat healthier or
exercise more.

What are some occasions when you have made visible changes in the way
you live? What triggers produced those changes?

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UNDERSTAND THE CONTEXT
JAMES 2:14-26
Even before today’s focal passage, James was already emphasizing
the visible changes produced by real faith. He had addressed
those who struggled with trials and temptations and encouraged
them not to yield to the desires of the sinful nature (Jas. 1:2-18).
He encouraged them to listen to the word and be changed by it
(1:19-25). Then, he demonstrated how faith in Christ resulted in
caring for those who could not care for themselves—like orphans,
widows, and the poor (1:26–2:7). In chapter 2, James emphasized
that believers should not show favoritism because God Himself
did not show favoritism toward them. He reminded them that by
loving their neighbor they were fulfilling the law of love (2:8). He
emphasized that those who showed favoritism broke one part of
the law and therefore were guilty of all (2:9-11). To sum up the
section, James encouraged them to speak and act as those ruled by
the law of freedom (2:12). If they truly believed in Jesus, it would
show in the way they treated others. This set the stage for the
discussion about the relationship between faith and works.
Read James 2:14-26 and notice how James illustrated his point in these
verses. How do these specific illustrations support his position?

EXPLORE THE TEXT

DEAD FAITH (JAS. 2:14-17)
14
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to
have faith but does not have works? Can such faith save him? 15 If a
brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food 16 and one
of you says to them, “Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,” but
you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it? 17 In the
same way faith, if it doesn’t have works, is dead by itself.

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VERSE 14
With two rhetorical questions, James emphasized that true faith
produces good works. First, James introduced a person who claims to
have faith. Merely saying one has faith is not the same as possessing
it. The absence of works in his life makes that claim suspicious if not
spurious. Therefore, James asked, What good is it? What benefit does
it accomplish for a person to say he has faith when that faith is not
legitimate enough to produce works in his life? Would this kind of faith
prove sufficient on the day of judgment? Claims of faith without any
resulting works are useless, profiting that person nothing.
The second question James asked was important—can such
faith save him? He did not ask, “Can faith save him?” The answer
to that would certainly be that faith can save a person. The Greek
construction of the sentence, placing an article with faith, indicates
James was referencing the kind of faith that claims to be genuine
but lacks works. The kind of faith that has no resulting works is not
genuine and therefore cannot save a person.
Why might a person claim to have faith without any resulting works?

VERSES 15-16
James used an illustration to show the ridiculous claim that
faith exists without any resulting works. Recalling his discussion
about poverty, he mentioned a brother or sister who was living
in poverty. These were clearly believers who existed in fellowship
with other Christians but lacked the basic necessities of life. They
lacked proper clothes and daily food. Using the word for naked, this
probably meant that the poor Christian lacked the outer garment
deemed necessary for respectable dress.
The response of the faith community was appalling. A
fellow-Christian told the poor person to go in peace. This was a
standard farewell address in James’s day. Rather than helping
the poor person, the church member tried to wish him on his
way without helping. Ironically, it’s hard to be at peace without
proper clothing and something to eat. Second, the church member
said to the poor person, stay warm, and be well fed. In addition
to attempting to dismiss the poor person, he wished him the

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very things that he lacked—clothing and food. The poor person
had legitimate needs. He needed more than words; he needed
compassionate action.
If a person claims to care, wishes the poor well, and yet does
not take care of the need, is that concern genuine? James asked
again as he did of faith, what good is it? The hook was set. Nobody
would say that the person’s concern is genuine if it is not connected
with works, and neither should anyone say that a person’s faith is
genuine if it is not supported by actions befitting a person who is
walking with the Lord.
VERSE 17
James delivered the point of his illustration in verse 17. He
emphasized that faith without any resulting works is dead by itself.
Good wishes and blessings without actions are nothing more than
empty talk, and so is faith without visible change. That which is
alive produces fruit, and that which is dead cannot produce fruit.
The kind of so-called faith that does not produce fruit not only is
dead, but it cannot save (v. 14).
It is important to see the difference between Paul’s teaching in
Galatians that the law could not save and James’s teaching that
empty faith cannot save. The two are not in disagreement but
are examining saving faith from two different perspectives. The
Galatian legalists were trusting in their own ability to keep the law
to save them. Paul taught that Jesus alone could save. James spoke
to people who claimed to have faith but had no love in their hearts.
He taught that anyone can claim to have faith, but if it does not
produce works it is a dead faith.
What evidence might a person point to as proof that his or her faith is
alive? How do the works of a person reveal the genuineness of his or
her faith?

K E Y DOC T RI N E: Salvation
Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby believers
become new creatures in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:17).

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WORKING FAITH (JAS. 2:18-19)
18
But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show
me your faith without works, and I will show you faith by my
works. 19 You believe that God is one. Good! Even the demons
believe—and they shudder.

VERSE 18
James next emphasized that faith was more than a creed or
statement of belief. An imaginary person represented James’s
hearers and claimed that a person could have faith without works.
In other words, faith was mere mental assent that may or may not
produce action in a person’s life.
James refuted his imaginary opponent with a command:
Show me your faith without works. This was an impossibility. If a
person could not produce works, neither could he claim to have
faith. James asserted that he could show them his faith through
the works that he did. Works do not save—faith in Jesus saves.
But works show that one has genuinely trusted in Christ. Having
faith without works was like telling a hungry person to go and
be well fed and a naked person to stay warm (v. 16). It is empty
and insincere.
Works do not save—faith in Jesus saves. But works show
that one has genuinely trusted in Christ.

VERSE 19
James’s opponents may have thought that faith was mental assent
to doctrinal truths. So he suggested one such doctrine in verse 19.
He stated a belief that all of his readers would have embraced—
God is one. All Jews embraced monotheism, the heart of Old
Testament theology in Deuteronomy 6:4-5. Certainly one cannot
embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ while serving many gods. A
person must believe in God to be a Christian, but not everyone
who acknowledges the existence of God has experienced salvation
through Jesus Christ. Believing in our head is not enough. It is
merely a step in the process toward salvation.
James reminded his readers that even the demons believe.
Demons know that only one God exists, yet their belief does not
save them. Demons had to submit to the authority of Jesus and

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obey His commands. They believed mentally but that alone was not
sufficient for saving faith.
James emphasized that the demons believe, and he added that
they shudder. This was an act of fear. Their belief in God did not
bring them peace with God. Instead, their belief in God multiplied
their fear of Him. Saving faith, unlike that of the demons, involves
trusting Jesus as Savior, which leads to authentic change.
How might a person confuse acceptance of a belief with acceptance of
Christ as Savior and Lord? How are the two related? How are they different?

SAVING FAITH (JAS. 2:20-26)

20
Senseless person! Are you willing to learn that faith without
works is useless? 21 Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by works
in offering Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was
active together with his works, and by works, faith was made
complete, 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
works and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, wasn’t Rahab
the prostitute also justified by works in receiving the messengers
and sending them out by a different route? 26 For just as the body
without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

VERSE 20
James called the one promoting faith without works a senseless
person. The Greek word means “empty.” In other contexts in secular
Greek it was used to describe an empty jar. In 1 Corinthians 15:14,
Paul used it to describe empty preaching and faith. His opponents
emphasized learning above action, so James asked, Are you willing
to learn an important truth—faith without works is useless. He
previously had mentioned that faith without works was dead
(v. 17), and now he called that kind of faith useless. This Greek word
described something that was idle, lazy, useless, or unproductive.

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VERSES 21-24
James selected two Old Testament people known for their faith to
demonstrate how faith and works went hand-in-hand. Abraham
was the father of the Jews, and God clearly commended him
for his faith (Gen. 15:6). Abraham believed God, and that faith
saved him. But Abraham was not without the resulting works
that demonstrated his faith. James asked, Wasn’t Abraham our
father justified by works in offering Isaac his son on the altar? (See
Gen. 22:1-19.) Technically, Abraham did not offer Isaac but was
only willing to offer him. God stopped him short of the sacrifice.
Abraham’s faith was active together with his works. His obedience
demonstrated the integrity of his faith.
James quoted a verse his opponents might have used to try to
separate faith and works—Genesis 15:6. Jews were familiar with
this verse, and it stated clearly that righteousness was credited to
Abraham when he believed God. By grace, God declared Abraham
righteous, and Abraham showed the reality of this righteousness
by his willingness to offer his son in obedience to God’s command.
Thirty years passed between Genesis 15 and Genesis 22, but
Abraham still believed and that belief was proven as he and
Isaac ascended the mountain to offer a sacrifice. Abraham did
not do works to secure his salvation. He had believed God thirty
years earlier. Rather, he did works as a result of his salvation. To
demonstrate the power of genuine faith, James called Abraham
God’s friend, a sign of a right relationship with God.
Why is it important to see faith and works as partners instead of
competitors?

VERSE 25
In addition to Abraham, James called upon Rahab the prostitute
to describe how faith and works go together. Her story is found
in Joshua 2:1-21. Rahab could have easily said to the spies who
had infiltrated Jericho that she believed in their God. She could
have quoted the Shema and pledged her allegiance to the nation
of Israel. However, what convinced others that she had genuine
faith was receiving the messengers and sending them out by a

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different route. At some point Rahab came to believe in the God
of Israel, and that belief resulted in actions that helped spare
people’s lives and even put her in the lineage of the Lord Jesus (see
Matt. 1:5). She provided an example of how saving faith results in
works of righteousness.

VERSE 26
In addition to Abraham and Rahab, James used the human body
as an analogy of how faith and works go together. In Genesis 2:7,
God formed the first human body and breathed His own life into it
so that it came alive. With body and spirit intact, Adam became a
living being. However, at death the spirit leaves the body. The body
begins to decay at that point and returns to the earth because it
has no hope of sustaining itself. Like a body without the spirit is
dead, so also faith without works is dead. It has no life. Salvation is
in Jesus alone, but it must be saving faith, not merely intellectual
belief. Saving faith results in works of righteousness, giving praise
to the One who rescued that person from death, hell, and the grave.

Why is the body without the spirit like faith without works? What other
illustrations might a person use to explain James’s point?

BIB LE SK I L L : Notice repeated words or phrases in a Bible passage.

Biblical writers sometimes used repetition of key words to emphasize a
theme or message. James used word repetition in this week’s passage.
Identify the word used three times in James 2:20-26. (Hint: See vv. 21,24,25.)
Think about what this word’s repetition helps communicate in the overall
passage. Look also for the writer’s use of similar, related words in the
passage. (Hint: See v. 23.) What meaning does the repeated word have for
Bible readers today?

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IN MY CONTEXT
• A person’s failure to obediently act on his or her professed faith
reveals a false faith.
• True faith is more than intellectual adherence; it is the placing of
one’s full trust in Jesus for salvation.
• True faith moves a person to godly action.

How can you help professing Christians who are beginning to doubt their
salvation? What insights can you use from today’s study to help them
work through their doubts?

Identify people who claim to believe in Christ intellectually but have no

fruit of His presence in their lives. How can you use the truths from this
study to help take a fresh look at their lives?

Discuss as a group actions the group can take as a way of demonstrating

faith in Christ. How can you make sure that the group is acting based on
their faith as opposed to as an effort to secure it?

Prayer Needs

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