James 2:14-26 Explained: Is Faith Without Works Dead? (Session 8)

What does James 2 really teach about faith and works? Are we justified by faith alone, or do works play a role in salvation?

In this episode of Reasoning Through the Bible, the study continues through James 2:14–26, one of the most discussed doctrinal passages in Scripture. This section addresses the relationship between faith and works, the meaning of dead faith, and how James fits with Paul’s teaching on justification by faith.

This verse-by-verse study explains why James is not teaching salvation by works, but instead showing how genuine faith is seen, expressed, and lived out after salvation. The discussion explores key examples from Abraham and Rahab, the meaning of “faith without works is dead,” and why context is essential when reading James.

Topics include:

• James 2:14–26 explained
•  Faith and works in the book of James 
•  Is faith without works dead? 
•  Justified by works or faith alone? 
•  Abraham, Rahab, and visible faith 
•  How James and Paul fit together 
•  Practical Christian living after salvation 

A clear and doctrinally important Bible study on faith, works, justification, and Christian obedience.

Transcript

Glenn 0:15

How we are made right with God is one of the questions that has plagued mankind for many centuries, probably since man was created. Today, we are going to get into a section of the Word of God that has much discussion over the centuries, and it centers around the relationship between faith and works. Are we justified before God by works? What do we have to do in order to be pleasing to God? What do we have to do to be pleasing to mankind? What does God expect of us as we go through this life of faith? Hi, my name is Glenn and this is Steve. Today we are going to be talking about one of the most controversial passages perhaps in the entire Word of God, steve. We are going to be talking about James, chapter 2, and it talks about faith and works and what it means to have a dead faith.

Steve 1:07

Well, I think this passage has been turned into a controversial passage when it is really not as controversial as people say, and I think, as we go through this, we are going to talk about this. One of the things I think we should keep in mind is that James's whole subject of discussion in this part is talking about faith. That's what he's talking about. Let's keep that in mind as we go through this.

Glenn 1:29

So, if you have your copy of the Word of God, turn to James, chapter 2. We're going to be starting in verse 14. But before we get there, we have to understand where we were and what James has done up to this point. If you remember, chapter 1 opened up talking to Jewish Christians, jewish followers of Jesus Christ. He talks about his brethren and talks about the people in the synagogue that were following Jesus Christ. He also talked in chapter 1 about trials and temptations and he talked about wisdom. In chapter 2 we were introduced to some concepts where he talked about we as Christians being judged by the royal law, the law of liberty, and not by being obedient to the Mosaic law. In that context we get introduced to this next section.

Glenn 2:22

There's been a lot of arm wrestling over the years amongst Christians on exactly what this means and, steve, as you have alluded to, this really isn't all that complex once we understand the context of the book of James. We have to remember that when we read these next sections, we're talking to people that grew up Jewish and, to the Jewish mind, obeying the law of Moses was just ingrained. Jewish people viewed themselves as being right with God because of two things. One was just birth. If you were born a Jew, then you viewed yourself as being God's chosen people and obeying the Mosaic law. If you did those things, then you were considered right with God.

Glenn 3:06

Now they've been introduced to Jesus Christ and this idea of faith in Christ James is dealing with Jewish people and how works now relate to faith in this Jewish culture. That's what we get when we are introduced to this next section. As we read this, we have to remember that he just got through talking about rewards for Christians and what we're going to be judged for our behavior on earth according to the rewards that we're going to get in the afterlife. With that we get into, starting at verse 14. Any thoughts about that, steve, before we get into this next section, because it has been quite controversial?

Steve 3:48

This is a reason why it's imperative, in my opinion, to do verse by verse Bible study you come across and that you can understand the book itself and the chapter, what the author is talking about and what they're trying to convey, so that whenever you're listening to a sermon and the pastor makes a cross reference, you have some foundation of where that cross reference comes from. We use cross references all the time in order to bolster the support for whatever it is we're talking about, but we also go verse by verse. To me, it's important to do that here is a case for that of knowing and having the background of what James is talking about here, so that when this verse that we're going to talk about that's been kind of turned on its head, you have a firm foundation of exactly what James is talking about. You can reference that and lean back on that whenever you come into conversations about this or hear this referenced in other passages.

Glenn 4:50

There's different ways of doing theology and Bible study. One of the ways is called systematic theology and I've gotten a great benefit from systematic theology and I would encourage our listeners to study systematic theology. But the way systematic is done is you'll pick a topic, say God's nature, and then you'll go through all these verses throughout the entire Bible, pick them out and say this is what is taught across the entire Bible about God's nature. Then you'll pick another topic, say salvation, and you'll go through all the Bible and pick out a bunch of individual verses that deal with salvation. That's how systematic theology is done. So a lot of benefit from systematic theology. I've gotten a lot of benefit out of it. But the systematic theologians have to be very careful to study the context of each of these verses because you can take a system and make it say virtually anything, and a lot of people do. That's why we get into a lot of error. Steve, you just said we do more of a biblical approach in the sense that we go verse by verse through the passages and talk about the context in each of these. That's what's important here. If you're just doing systematic theology, if you're not very, very careful, you'll end up in a quagmire and a mess of contradictions. That's why we have to do this. What I'm going to do is then read this next section in James.

Glenn 6:11

Chapter two, starting in verse 14, says this what use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food and one of you says to them go in peace, be warmed and be filled, and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so, faith if it has no works is dead being by itself. But if someone may well say you have faith and I have works, show me your faith without the works and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one you do. Well, the demons also believe and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?

Glenn 7:00

Was not Abraham, our father, justified by works when he offered up Isaac, his son, on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works and, as a result of the works, faith was perfected and the scripture was fulfilled, which says and Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? Or just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. With this again, there's quite a bit of controversy over these passages. Steve, give us an outline. What's the basic controversy that comes about with this?

Faith and Works Relationship

Steve 7:52

passage. The basic controversy that comes about with this passage is people take this and they use it as a proof text of how to be saved. James is not talking how to salvation. He's talking about what is faith. That's a major difference. James is giving illustrations of what faith is. He's just come off from the first chapter talking about considerate joy, the trials you go through and the things that you're going to do and endure with they bolster your faith even more.

Steve 8:27

Well, now he's going into the section of describing and giving some things of what type of faith that it is, so that these people that have repented, they've changed their mind about Jesus as being the Messiah and they place their faith in him. He's now given illustrations of what that faith should be producing. As we go through these verses here, we'll see that Keep in mind and this is what makes it supposedly controversial people want to turn these verses into this is how you have salvation is through works. James is not talking about how to be saved. He's talking about, after the fact, the faith that you express. Well, what that faith should be. So it's an after salvation discussion. Even on his illustrations that he uses here about Abraham, it's all after salvation discussions related around to the faith that the people profess.

Glenn 9:27

A little bit of context for our listeners that may not be aware of this. I'm sure many of our listeners are aware of the issues that have arisen over this, but just to lay some context, protestant systematic theology has taught for hundreds of years we're saved by faith alone. For example, the entire book of Galatians was written to emphasize that we're saved by faith alone and not by works, and the passages that get quoted are this one that Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Paul uses that exact quote in Romans, chapter four, and in Galatians, chapter three. It's here in James, chapter two, back in Genesis. Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness Genesis, chapter 15. Paul uses it in Romans. Paul uses it in Galatians, james uses it here. Paul is dealing with an issue with how people are saved. He makes this point that Abraham was justified by faith and not by works. Here in James, 2.24,. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. If we are reading Paul and then turn over here to James, we end up scratching our head saying wait a minute. One of them says you're justified by faith alone and the other one says not. At least the systematic theologies end up saying that. But again we have to realize Paul was dealing later.

Glenn 11:03

We made a big deal out of when we started James. James is early and it's exclusively Jewish. Paul is writing later in time, when these controversies and questions had arisen over how Gentiles are saved. There was this mixture in the churches of Jews and Gentiles. There was a big council in Acts, chapter 15, saying we can't take the law and impose it on Gentiles. Paul was emphasizing salvation by faith alone in his teachings. Ephesians, chapter two, verses eight and nine talk about we're not saved through works. But the very next verse, ephesians 2.10, says we're saved on two good works. In that sense Paul and James teach the same thing in that we're saved, but we're saved on two good works. That part they agree. There's no controversy there. But we still have this phrase here.

Glenn 11:55

James 2.24,. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. We have to wrestle with this question. What does he mean? They're justified and things like that.

Glenn 12:06

Let's go back and go through these passages one by one and we'll see the context. First of all, we started reading in James 2.14. James 2.14 starts off with what use is it if someone says he has faith. But no works. The context there again, a text out of its context is a pretext. The context of this passage that we're dealing with comes right after chapter two, verses 12 and 13.

Glenn 12:36

What did he just get through talking about? He just got through talking about James 2.12. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty, for judgment will be merciless to the one who has shown no mercy, for mercy triumphs over judgment. The context for the passages that have all this arm wrestling around them was what he just got through talking about in the chapter. What he just got through mentioning is to people that are already Christians, saying that you have to do good works because in the end times, when Christ returns, we're going to be judged by this royal law of liberty. We're not lawless. We have a royal law. We're not held to the mosaic law. We're held to this royal law of liberty. We have liberty in Christ, but the liberty is to be able to do things in love and not out of a legal obligation. We're to obey the royal law. Treat other people the way you want to be treated and love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. That's the royal law. As long as we're working within that, our works will be judged by that in the end times, when Christ returns. That's how we should live today.

Glenn 13:53

Then he gets into this passage. The key here and, steve, I think you would agree nowhere in this chapter, and indeed nowhere in the book, are they talking about how to be saved. That's what you just mentioned. It's not anywhere Nowhere in the book does he talk about repentance. He doesn't talk about the cross. He doesn't talk about Jesus' death. He doesn't talk about the resurrection. None of that's an issue here. It's not even in the topic of conversation. What has he just gotten through talking about is how we live today according to this royal law of liberty. That's the context. Nowhere in here is he talking about how to be saved.

Steve 14:38

Let's put it a different way At the beginning. In the introduction you mentioned that the Jewish people two ways, by birth and then also by keeping the Mosaic law. And then by keeping that law they were righteous. Well, they were righteous in their own sight. They weren't righteous in front of God. When Jesus came, he upset that apple cart and he expanded upon it to show them.

Steve 15:03

Paul in Romans talks about the law being a tutor. To show that we are going to fall short. James is coming in here Now. These people have expressed their faith in Jesus Christ. Well, what does that mean? If not keeping the Mosaic law, we're not righteous before God anymore. Do we have to do anything or not? James is not talking about salvation. He's giving them instructions about this faith that they have expressed in Jesus Christ. What should it produce? What comes out of it? He's giving them descriptions through illustrations and we're fixing to get into one here through rhetorical questions to the person that they should ask themselves regarding the faith that they say, that they express. It's not talking about salvation as a how-to. It's talking about the faith that they express and he expands on it and he explains it so that they can understand and go okay, now I understand what this faith is and what it's about and what it should be producing, so that they have a better understanding and, through it, we have a better understanding as well.

Glenn 16:20

Let's look at some specifics in verse 14.

Glenn 16:22

What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but has no works? Can that faith save him? Now, if we are to say, as many Christians do, that that verse is talking about how to be saved from your sins? That's the controversy here. Steve and I have just said we don't think it's talking about that. But if we were to hold that, then what you're doing is dragging in a concept in the midst of a passage that, just before it and just after it, are talking about something entirely, completely, thoroughly different. The verses just prior to that we're talking about how to live amongst people that are already saved, what we have to do on a daily basis after we're saved, and the verses just after it are talking about the same thing. How do you go feed people, clothe people? If we're to say, when it says that faith, can that faith save him? That that's talking about saving your soul from sin, then we're just dragging a concept into the passage that, again, just before it and just after it, are talking about something entirely completely different. So he must be talking about something else. The word save is used in more than one context. For example, james 5.15,. The same book, the same author, the same word the prayer offered in faith will save the sick. They use save there, but they're not talking about saving your soul. They're talking about saving from the sickness. Over in 2.14,. Can that faith save him? It's just not talking about saving your soul, because the context isn't talking about saving your soul. No, we're in here. We can't drag in a concept, same thing, down the list when it talks about justification. What we can't do is read Paul in Romans 4 and read Paul in the book of Galatians it's talking about how we are saved and the means of which we're saved and then bring those ideas over here and interpret James based on those ideas. Because, again, james is not talking about that. It's before all of those Pauline questions even arose. He's talking here about what use is it? Again, look at verse 14. What use is it At the end of the verse can that faith save him? The next verse talks about feeding and clothing people. So he's talking about what use is it? And a particular faith. Can that faith, that faith without works, that kind of faith, can that save somebody? No, it can't help anybody get well. It can't feed anybody. What use is it. That's the context for what he's talking about here.

Glenn 19:10

The passage is focusing on this particular kind of faith, this faith without works that has no practical use on a daily basis. That's the context. Now let's look at verse 17. Even so, faith that has no works is dead, being by itself. We can't look at just one verse and try to make it say something that it's not saying. It's not saying that a faith without works is not a saved person. It doesn't say that. It doesn't mean that. Again, look at the passage. Faith of it has no works is dead, being by itself. What does it just say? Just prior to that was feeding and clothing people. This faith without works is by itself. It's a dead faith in the sense that it has no use. Verse 14,. It's not going to feed anybody, it's not going to clothe anybody. That's the dead faith. Not talking about salvation, it's talking about being useful in a practical world. Am I right?

Steve 20:11

Steve, you're absolutely right, and I think looking at verses 15 and 16 is a key to this, because right after he says that, can that faith save him? In 14? I want to paraphrase James. Let me give you an illustration. If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food and you go and say to them, go in peace and be warmed and filled, but yet you don't do anything that actually is necessary for their body, what use is that?

Steve 20:41

The illustration that he's giving here is talking about faith. He's not talking about salvation. It's talking about the faith that the person professes, meaning that this faith should show compassion. His illustration is you're looking at somebody that is poor. If you just tell them, well, good luck, I hope that things work out better for you, but you don't have any compassion on them to actually help them in some shape, form or fashion, then his illustration is talking about the faith that one professes. At this point in the illustration, he's not talking about how to be saved. He's giving a description of the faith a person has professed, what impact it should be having on that person themselves and the world around them. This is what he's getting at. Then he sums up that particular illustration in 17. Even so, that faith, if it has no works, it's dead by being by itself, not in relation to salvation, but in relation to helping the poor person that he just gave an illustration to. It all goes together as we work our way through these verses.

Glenn 21:54

I don't know how many times, steve, over the decades I've heard people will have a conversation about how people are saved and they'll pull out that exact verse. Well, james says faith without works is dead. Well, you can't take a phrase, a sentence and wrench it from its context. The context is talking about something different. It's dead in the sense of feeding and clothing people. Again, nowhere in here is it talking about how to be saved. It's not talking about saving your souls, talking about putting clothes on your back and food in your stomach.

Glenn 22:26

One of the key places and don't take my word for it, look at the passage again was pull up verse 18. Verse 18 is one of the keys to this entire chapter. Once you grasp that, it makes all the pieces just fall right into place. He generates this hypothetical someone that's making a statement, and 2 18 says someone may well say you have faith and I have works. Show me your faith without works and I will show you my faith by my works.

Glenn 22:56

The context here of what he's about to say and in this passage is show me, show me your faith. How do I see it? Later he's going to say in verse 24, you see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. How do you see it? You see it by the works. How do I see the faith? Show it to me. How am I supposed to see it? Well, you see it by the works.

The Relationship Between Faith and Works

Glenn 23:22

When he says in verse 24, you see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. We are so used to reading Paul and we come over here and we immediately start looking at the relationship of the faith and the works. And that's not the question he's answering. The question is how do I see it? Show it to me. How do you see it? We skip over those first phrase. You see that we mentally think therefore, when it's the beginning of the verse says you see that he's not saying therefore, he's saying it literally. How do I see it? You see it by the works and not by the faith alone.

Steve 23:57

How did these Jewish people prior to Jesus coming, how did they show that they were a Jew and follow Judaism? They were circumcised as a sign of the covenant and they kept the mosaic law. While they could say, yes, I'm a Jew, the question was, and even to this day, oh well, do you follow the mosaic law? Do you eat kosher foods? Are you circumcised? Those were ways to show that they follow Judaism. Now you have something that's called faith, and faith in Jesus Christ, that he's the Messiah and that you had the promises, one of them being eternal life. How do you show that faith?

Steve 24:42

James is writing to a group of people that are used to showing who they are. Now he's describing to them faith is something that somebody can profess. You don't know whether or not they have that faith or not. So, while James is giving them illustrations as to this is the faith and how it's shown, it's not talking about how to, and it's also not for something for the reader to go out and say well, glenn, you're not doing X, y, z, therefore you're not saved. James isn't giving instructions for people to go and determine and determine whether someone is saved, someone is lost. He's giving, again, illustrations to help these people regarding this faith that they have. He says here show me the faith that you have, because the faith that you have, if it's valid faith, should be producing acts, acts of compassion, acts of being Christ-like, all of those things. It's in conjunction with faith and the faith that the person says that they have and they're professing. This is not a how-to lesson on how to be saved. Look at verse 19 and I'll read it.

Glenn 25:59

It says you believe that God is one you do. Well, the demons also believe in shutter From that. The way we traditionally have explained that is that while the demons believe in God but they don't have saving faith, they believe that God exists but they don't put their trust in God. Here's a question, steve how do we know that a demon doesn't put their trust in God? How can we see and know that a demon doesn't put their faith and trust in God?

Steve 26:30

It's in verse 20. He says but are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? What type of works are the demons producing? They're not producing compassionate works. They're doing the exact opposite. Their works that they're producing are to pull people away from God and to make as much mayhem and destruction as possible. His point here is, as he's telling them well, you profess that you have faith in God. What good is that? Because the demons say that too, but you can tell by the works that they produce that their faith is not a salvific faith. It's not a faith that God is the one creator and that they're expressing it for salvation through his illustrations that he's talking about here. And regards to the faith that the people are professing, what should it be producing? He's saying it should be producing the works of compassion and other things.

Glenn 27:33

Let's hit this phrase faith without works is dead right between the eyes. If we look at verse 17, faith of it has no works is dead, being by itself, and then down. If you look at verse 20, faith without works is useless. What does it mean? When it says faith without works is dead, it means it's useless. It's the same thing he says in verse 20, faith without works is useless. Go back to the beginning of the passage we just read.

Glenn 28:03

What use is it if a person says he's talking about use? The example he gave was feeding and clothing someone Is it useful for somebody? So when it says faith without works is dead, it's in a context of just before and just after it, talking about practical, every day, applying it to people. I think because Paul's writings are so three-dimensional and so profound and so doctrinal that we try to apply that here. He's not saying any of those things that Paul's saying. All he's saying is what use is it? This guy's hungry, he needs food. What use is your faith, your faith is dead. He's not saying you're not saved. He's saying your faith isn't of practical use to this hungry guy over here.

Glenn 28:53

Now he also talks in verses 21 to 23. He brings up Abraham. Was not Abraham, our father, justified by works, when he offered up Isaac, his son, on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works and, as a result of works, his faith was perfected and the scripture was fulfilled, which says Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. What is he saying there?

Glenn 29:18

We have to understand the timeline back in Genesis, genesis, chapter 12 and chapter 15,. God makes this promise to Abraham. Time goes by, okay, when he makes the promise. Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness Genesis 15-6,. Time goes by Genesis 22,. Seven chapters later, abraham obeys God by bringing the sacrifice of Isaac. That was commanded by God. The righteousness was counted at the point of faith way back in chapter 15. It was fulfilled seven chapters later, in Genesis 22, when he actually obeyed and did the righteous act. That's why, here in James, again read what it says in verses 23,.

Glenn 30:15

The scripture was fulfilled, which says Abraham believed God. What's he talking about when he did the work of sacrificing Isaac? That was the work that fulfilled the righteousness. That was the righteous act of obedience to a holy God. That fulfilled the righteousness. It was the fruit of the belief, but God had already credited it to him years before, or at least seven chapters before, back in chapter 15. What's not saying here that doing the work caused the righteousness. It's saying that the work was the righteousness. That was the fulfillment of the promise that had already been credited to him seven chapters earlier.

Steve 31:01

Verses 21 through 23 are one thought. People will just pull 21 out. This is another example where people will just pull 21 out and say see, abraham, wasn't he justified by works? But what James just talked about. He's using the illustration of his offering up Isaac, and he says, in verse 22, you see that faith was working with his works. As a result of the works, faith was perfected, or another word for that is completed. It came to completion, being that concept of it was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness.

Steve 31:39

How was it, though, that Abraham was showing this faith that he had in God? It was through his offering up Isaac. We see over in Hebrews that Hebrew gives the further story that said and Abraham somehow knew that, even if Isaac's life was taken, that God was going to raise him from the dead, because the promise that had been given to him of his offspring and be a blessing to all the nations was going to come through Isaac. It's the faith shown through Abraham willing to offer up Isaac. That's what James is talking about here.

Steve 32:23

Now I can see and hear people making comments and saying well, these guys are just jumping through all types of hoops, glenn, in order to make these things say what they don't actually say. We're not jumping through any hoops. We're going through this verse by verse and we're keeping things in context as to what James is talking about. And why it might seem that we're jumping through hoops is because people have taken one verse here, one verse there and used it in separate context and people have gotten used to that. We're putting it back into the whole context of what James is talking about.

Glenn 33:02

People that are wrenching things from its context are the people that are reading salvation into a chapter that doesn't talk about salvation and saving from sins. It's talking about practical application. That's why we're trying to be so careful here. Look at verse 22. You see that faith was working with his works and, as a result of the work, faith was perfected. How do we see that faith was perfected or completed? We see it when they did the work. The faith was completed or perfected.

Glenn 33:34

The righteousness was credited at the point of belief. How do we see that? We see it when he did the work Repeated down in verse 24, you see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. How do we see it? We see it when they do the work. The question prior to this was show me. How do I see it? Show it to me. I want to see it. How do I see it when I see the work? It's not talking about what caused God to credit Abraham with righteousness. He's talking about I want to see the fruit. That's the context of what he's saying and no more nor less than that. We can't read into it Paul's arguments with the Gentiles over how people are saved. It's not the context.

Steve 34:22

He's not also not saying that the salvation was sealed at the time that Abraham did his work. He's saying that the faith was revealed at the time that Abraham did his work. James is not saying anything about salvation. He has just given an illustration that Abraham was reckoning him as righteousness, back in verse 23, by the faith that he expressed. But the faith was then revealed or shown, completed, perfected, when he was willing to offer up his son Isaac. If Abraham had not been willing to do that doesn't have anything to do with or not he had been reckoned with righteousness or not, or had the saving faith. It just would have meant that you wouldn't have seen this faith that he claimed that he had.

Steve 35:14

These are all again the illustration that James is talking about, and they go with the ones right before that. What did he talk about before this? You say that you have this faith. Let me give you an illustration. You have a poor person and that they're in need and you say, well, good luck, I hope things work out for you. What use is that? Because you haven't expressed this faith that you claim that you have. Now he's down here giving another illustration that the Jewish people obviously would understand in regards to Abraham. This is all things that James is talking about in helping these new Jewish believers in a new way, the way of salvation through Jesus Christ as the Messiah, and that, the eternal life that they're expressed there. These are the things that James is talking about. He's giving them an illustration of the faith that they express. How should it be shown? This is what James is talking about.

Glenn 36:14

Another one of these verses that theologians, or want to be theologians, will turn to and just read one verse, is Verse 24. Let's read it again. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. And one of the reasons we brought up Systematic theology early on is because systematic theology one of the foundations of that, is faith alone. What does he really mean here when he says I mean it, says it flat out. You see, that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. The reason it's important is because this word Justification justification is a technical, legal word that Paul uses to explain how we are made right before God.

Glenn 36:58

I submit one of the reasons why we spent so much time to get to this point in the conversation Was because we wanted to point out that the word Justification here James is not using it in the same context that Paul is using it in Arguing about how Gentiles become right with God with their sins. That's not how James is using this. Nowhere in chapter 2, no where in chapter 1. No, where in James is he talking about how we are made right With our sins being cleansed away? He's talking about whether this accounting of righteousness is made right, is it true? Did God truly do the correct decision in counting him righteous at the point of belief? Well, how is this faith justified? It's justified in the works.

Glenn 37:56

And what does it say here in 24? You see that? How do we see it? We see it not by faith alone. I can't see faith alone. I want to see it. Show me how do I see it. I see it when he did the works. Now the faith is complete. Now God's righteousness being applied to Abraham was indeed justified because his work showed that he was. It has nothing to do with Causing a human being to have their sins washed away and legally Proclaimed right before God. That's not what he's talking about. He's saying is the proclamation of Abraham being righteous in Genesis 15. Was that correct? Yes, I see in chapter 22. It's justified because he actually did the work.

Faith and Works in Rahab Story

Steve 38:47

How do we know, glenn, that what you're talking about is true and accurate is because James, immediately in the next two verses, 25 and 26, gives another illustration. He gives the illustration of Rahab. The story of Rahab. Joshua was bringing them into the promised land and he sent two spies out in the Jericho, the very first fortress that they were going to have to take and they found their way To Rahab the harlot. She brought them in and she expressed her faith in In their God Yahweh, and she said everybody in the city is shaken to their core Because they've heard about what your God Yahweh has done. She said I believe in your, your God Yahweh. She didn't say it directly, but she protected them and she gave them another way out of the city. She gave them the information and she said go out the window. And she lived on the walls of the city, which gave them an escape. She committed treason to her country and to her city when the soldiers came looking for them because they said we know that they came in here she gave them a false story as to where they went. She didn't tell them the truth. James is using that as an illustration of Okay, that's how she showed that she had the faith in Yahweh. She made the deal with them when you come to the city, spare me and my family. And they said when we come, you and your family all need to be in the, in the, your house, here, and you will be spared. Put a red cord out your window so that everybody will know.

Steve 40:27

James is using the illustration here. That's how Rahab showed her faith was what she did with the spies. She gave them another way to go out and she lied to the soldiers when they came in. That goes with verse 24. You see that a man is justified why works, and not faith alone. Here Let me give you another illustration. Look at what Rahab did. This all is in conjunction with what James is talking about, related to faith, not related to salvation and how to be saved. It's related to the faith that's expressed and what should be produced from it, and Showing that you have this faith. Like you said, glenn, how does one see faith? People can walk around professing that they have faith in Jesus Christ all day long, but how do you see that faith? That's what James is talking about, because you can't see an inward faith, but you can see outward workings of the inward faith. That's what James is talking about here and trying to get through to these brand new.

Glenn 41:40

Christians. He's really only talking about that. He's talking about that first level of how do we see the faith work out? Is it of any use to anybody here on earth? Is it something that I can see? Show it to me. Just to summarize, and I'll wrap up with this, what Paul Is talking about is what is the cause of how we are made right before God? What James is talking about is After we are made right before God. How does our faith play out into the world? James is talking about what we do after salvation. Paul is talking about things we do before salvation. They just happen to both quote Abraham believed God and it was accounted him for righteousness. Paul was talking about okay, that accounting for righteousness is what's important, because now you're righteous before God. James is saying how do I see it? Was that an accurate claim? Did God rightly do that? Well, yeah, because now I can see it.

Expressing Faith in Everyday Life

Steve 42:40

Let me wrap up this way. This is also a rhetorical question for our audience. What is the faith that you're expressing? Is it the faith that is producing something that is fruitful? That's something for you to answer to yourself. It's not something for us or other people to look at and say you're saved or no, you're not saved. That's not what James is trying to get across and that's not what we're trying to get across. But James is asking a rhetorical question. So, for our audience, ask yourself You're expressing faith.

Steve 43:14

Is the faith that you have and the faith that you're expressing, is it Showing out to other people? Again, not as a way of salvation. It's not ticking off things in order to achieve salvation. It's an after the fact of expressing the faith that you have, or that you say that you have, that produces salvation. It's an afterwards rhetorical question. Think of it yourself, ponder it yourself and continue with us as we go through this book of James, because there's more things that he's Going to talk about now, steve, we went a little long here simply because that was such an important doctrinal Point that we really needed to cover that in some detail.

Glenn 43:58

What we haven't done yet is really talk about how we apply this on an everyday basis, which is really James main point is how do Christians live this out? What do we do when we see somebody around us that's hungry or in need? How should our faith live out on a daily basis?

Steve 44:16

Thank you so much for watching and listening. May God bless you.