James 2:14–26

There is a little word in verse 14 which gives the key to the whole passage. The apostle asks, "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith?" Suppose he had said, "What good is it if a man has faith?" Then the difficulty would be impossible to get past, and the confusion hopeless. But the important word "say" removes all difficulty, and unfolds in the simplest possible way the point the apostle has in mind. We might ask, "What good is it if a man says he has ten thousand a year, when he does not have it?"

There is no use in a man merely saying he has faith. But if he really has it, it "profits" him for time and eternity. That is because it connects him with Christ. It puts him in full and permanent possession of all that Christ has done, and all that He is for us before God.

The Holy Spirit through James shows that true faith, which justifies before God, must be evidenced by works. What kind of faith does James mean? It is a faith that agrees with certain teachings. It is a mental, intellectual agreement, but it is not living faith. A living faith shows itself in works. In their synagogue were people who claimed to believe. But their actions did not show that they had the faith God gives. They only said they had faith.

It is plain that it is a hidden principle in the heart, a simple profession without any reality. Yet we need not always connect this with hypocrisy. That is because education, the influences around us, and outward evidence may produce belief in Christianity and its basic doctrines as a habit of mind. But in that kind of faith there is no link with Christ, no source of eternal life. A man may not be openly unbelieving, he honours the name of Christ, but such faith produces nothing in the heart: Christ cannot trust it.

It is clear that faith is a principle hidden in the heart, and no one can see it. In the same way, no one sees the root that makes the plant grow and bear fruit, though it draws nourishment from the soil, as faith draws from Christ. As the plant cannot bear fruit without the root, so without faith no one can produce good works. Much may be given, much may be done, without true love, without faith. But a life of love that follows Christ and does His will because it is His will, seeking nothing else, cannot exist without faith.

Paul is occupied with the justification of the ungodly, while James speaks of the justification of the godly. The one is before God and the other is before men. God justifies the ungodly on the principle of faith. It is of grace alone, and works are completely excluded. The godly justify themselves — that is, their confession — before men by their good works. A life full of good works is the natural result of a living faith. When the works are missing, we may well doubt the profession of the lips.

What is the profit for a man to profess faith and have no works as its witness? Can faith save him? Think of the heartlessness of sending a naked and hungry brother or sister away with the words, Be warmed and filled, and giving no gift to help them. Does Christ own a faith that does not work through love? The tongue may be active, the heart cold, the walk selfish as before.

The word, besides its ordinary meaning, was often used of a man who was without his outer cloak (1 Samuel 19:24; Isaiah 20:2; John 21:7). It also stands for natural destitution, as in James 2:15; for spiritual destitution (2 Corinthians 5:3; Revelation 3:17; Revelation 16:15); and for being stripped bare (Revelation 17:16).

The last half of chapter 2 shows us the kind of works that come out of faith. Works of mercy are only normal and indeed elementary, as verses 15 and 16 show. Even unbelievers often feel some duty to help those who suffer poverty and hunger. Should I then tell suffering believers that I have faith God will provide for them, while I myself give them nothing? In these very things my faith is to be proven.

Some people will give the poor good words, and that is all. Good words are only a cold kind of charity. Your words may be as smooth as oil, but they will not heal the wounded. They may drop like honey, but they will not feed the hungry.

There is a danger of being satisfied with words alone. The apostle John warns the whole family of God about this. "Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth" (1 John 3:18). Nor is he alone in this, for James asks the same question here. Such conduct is only a veiled form of apathy, so utterly distasteful to the Lord.

We may profess faith in God's care for His people in the things of this life. But that faith must make us ready to be the channel His care flows through. If it does not, our faith is of no profit to the needy brother or sister, nor indeed to ourselves. Our faith on that particular point is dead, and so it does nothing, as verse 17 tells us. We must not be surprised if others challenge it.

A faith that is unproductive has no living link with God. What good is a faith that is only agreement with a list of doctrines, and so shows it came from man? The faith that is given us of God saves; not that which is the fruit of man's nature.

Remember, James never says that works justify us before God; for God can see the faith without its works. He knows that life is there. That life is active towards Him. It trusts His word and Himself, and it receives His testimony despite everything inside him and around him. This God sees and knows. But when our fellow-creatures are in question, when it must be said "show me," then faith, life, shows itself in works.

The Scripture before us does not answer the question of how a sinner is cleansed before God. It answers what conduct suits those who have the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ.

No one would imagine it does the slightest good just to say to a needy person, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled", and yet do nothing to meet the need. However fair the words, they bring no profit unless deeds go with them.

Works of mercy are only normal, and indeed basic, as verses 15 and 16 show. Even unbelievers often admit some duty to help those who suffer poverty and hunger. Should I then tell suffering believers that I have faith that they will be provided for, while I give them nothing myself? These are the very things that must prove my faith. If good works do not accompany it, then such faith is dead. It bears no fruit. It is alone, solitary, cut off from reality.

There are some who perhaps will give the poor good words, and that is all. Good words are only a cold kind of charity. Let your words be as smooth as oil; they will not heal the wounded. Let them drop like honeycomb; they will not feed the hungry.

This is a real test of the heart. To say, Go in peace, be warmed and filled, and then not give them the things the body needs, is to cheat ourselves quite as much as them.

There is a danger of settling for what is only of the tongue... Such conduct is only a veiled form of apathy, or Laodiceanism, so utterly distasteful to the Lord.

The principle that love must show itself in deeds and not in words brings in the question of works. James is practical. He deals with the evil of professing Christianity without a practical life to match that profession... Faith is a powerful principle. It is the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart. It is a spring that moves all the wheels of the heart, a principle that lifts the heart above selfishness and all the low motives of the world.

Does Christ own a faith that does not work through love?... The tongue may be active, the heart cold, the walk selfish as before. But are these the ways of a nature brought to birth by the Father of lights through the word of truth?

Any difficulty the reader finds disappears as soon as he grasps this fact: Paul deals... with the justification of the ungodly, while James (in James 2) speaks of the justification of the godly. The one is before God and the other is before men. God justifies the ungodly on the principle of faith. It is by grace alone, and works have no part at all... A life full of good works flows from a living faith. When the works are missing, we may well doubt what the lips profess.

He did not say to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," where you can. In the fullness of His love as of His power, He provided the fire and the food, "needed for the body," and refreshing to the soul.

The principle is stated concisely in verse 17: "So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." If it were divinely given, it would show its mighty and gracious effects. Such faith is dead in itself, and any works done that way are just as dead in themselves.

We may profess faith in God's care for His people in everyday things. But our faith in that care must make us ready to be the channel through which it flows. If it does not, our faith is of no profit to the needy brother or sister — nor indeed to ourselves. Our faith on that point is dead, and so it does nothing, as verse 17 tells us. We must not be surprised if others challenge it.

The demons also believe that God is one, and their belief makes them tremble, but it does not put them in relationship with God. So a man may believe what is true about God and yet have no faith in God. Faith is the outcome of a new nature that trusts in God and proves its existence by its works. The man who says he has faith and yet has no works is a vain man, and his faith is merely a dead profession.

Verse 19 shows that a person may be genuinely certain the thing is true. But the life that the word gives is entirely missing — the life that forms a relationship between the soul and God. Because this comes through the word, it is faith; being born of God, we have a new life. This life acts — that is, faith acts — in keeping with that relationship with God. Its works flow from it and bear witness to the faith that produced them.

I could not have apples without an apple tree, for apples do not grow on thorn bushes. If there are apples, everybody knows there must be apple trees somewhere. The tree is the faith, the apples are the works. Living faith brings forth living works. But the faith must be there before the works can appear. The works are the outward and visible evidence of the inward and unseen faith.

The works James is talking about are works of faith. They are not always the ones people call good works. Abraham offered up his own son, and Rahab hid the spies in her home. Normally no one would call either action a good work. One would count as murder and the other as treason. But these works revealed their faith in God.

Whatever difficulty the reader finds disappears as soon as he grasps one thing. Paul is occupied with the justification of the ungodly, while James speaks of the justification of the godly. The one is before God and the other is before men. God justifies the ungodly on the principle of faith. It is by grace alone, and works are shut out completely. The godly justify their confession before men by their good works.

He does not aim this severe language at a troubled soul. The Spirit would not describe such a person as a "vain man"; the word means an empty, hollow, foolish person. He is just someone who says he believes, as thousands do when reciting a creed, and yet nothing at all follows in his conduct.

"But someone will say, You have faith and I have works" — an idea that separates what God has joined together. It plainly fights against His word, His nature and His will… Those who cut works off from faith have no living link with God. They are only deceiving themselves.

One person may casually say that he has faith, and another that he has works, as though these were just different gifts given by God. But that idea is false and sinful. God can certainly see whether a man's faith is real. But men can see it only in his works.

A man says he has faith. It is not a thing that we can see. So I have good reason to say, "Show it to me." This is the proof of faith that man needs. We make faith clear to others only by its fruits, because faith itself cannot be seen. But if I produce that fruit, then I certainly have the root. Without the root there could be no fruit.

Faith is like the soul. It needs works as its body before anyone can see it. So showing faith apart from works is impossible.

"Show me your faith without works" — which is impossible. How can I show my faith to somebody without works of faith? "…and I from my works will show you my faith," because that is the way to show faith before men.

Any difficulty the reader finds disappears as soon as he grasps one fact. Paul is dealing… with the justification of the ungodly, while James… speaks of the justification of the godly. The one is before God, the other before men. God justifies the ungodly on the principle of faith. It is by grace alone, and works are shut out completely. The godly justify themselves — that is, their confession — before men by their good works. So James says what he says in this verse.

The one (in Rom. 4) is justification before God, the root of all; the other is the resulting fruit "shown" before man. Each is indispensable in its place; both united in their season in every true believer. Practical righteousness is the effect, in no way the cause, of justification by faith.

Faith alone justifies, but justifying faith is not alone. Good works are not the causes of salvation, but they are the evidence of it. Do not build faith on works; build works on faith.

We believe a thing only as far as it affects how we act… A man shows me a Bank of England note and asks me if I believe it is genuine. I say, "Yes." He then offers it to me to pay a debt, and I refuse it. Did I believe the note was genuine? No. My action proved that I did not… It is easy to agree with doctrines. But the test of faith is our readiness to act on the truths we profess as though they were real.

Christians in these days ought to give a more distinct witness to whom they belong — I mean practically, as devoted to Him — by their profession, and the fruits which make it good. "Show us your faith" (James 2:18) has all its force now.

But the refutation goes further. "You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe — and shudder!" It was right to own that God is one. It was wicked to hold many gods, which were no better than demons. Even these were not so insensible as those who boasted of their faith but had no works to show for it.

What follows shows that he is speaking of a professed doctrine, perhaps true in itself — of certain truths being confessed. The faith in view is real: the devils have certain knowledge and conviction that God is one. They do not doubt it; but there is no link at all between their heart and God by means of a new nature — far from it.

In verse 19 the very foundational point of faith in the existence of the one true God is raised. "Oh, yes," we each exclaim, "I believe in Him!" That is good; but such faith, if real, is bound to affect us. We shall at least tremble, for even demons, who know perfectly well that He exists and hate Him, go that far. The crowds accept the idea of His existence in a lazy way and stay completely unmoved by it. Their faith is dead.

"What!" someone may say, "Is such a thing as trembling counted as a work?" It certainly is. And this leads us to note that James speaks simply of works, and not of good works. The point is not that every true believer must do a number of kind and charitable actions — though it is of course good and right for him to do so — but that his works must display his faith in action, if men are to see that his faith is real.

Satan knows his doom, he has read the Bible better than men, he is no unbeliever. The demons "believe — and shudder!"

None believe more decidedly than they; none anticipate their doom more surely or more keenly. But such faith has no link with a new nature from God, and it does not result in works that please Him.

The Jew believed that God is one. This is right. The devils also believe it, and their belief makes them tremble. But it does not put them in relationship with God. So a man may believe what is true about God and yet have no faith in God. Faith is the outcome of a new nature that trusts God and proves it exists by its works. So the man who says he has faith and yet is "without works" is an empty man, and his faith is merely a dead profession.

Does it need to be pointed out that Romans 3 and 4 explain how the ungodly is justified before God? Here it is the fruitless confessor condemned before man. The point here is, Show me. The demons believe; but there is no life, only ruin.

What do you suppose was the scripture used by God for my conversion? It was this: "You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe — and shudder!" Someone quoted that scripture to me thirty-five years ago. I saw the truth: I had no more real faith than a damned devil in hell. I am not ashamed to say that I saw my company, and fled.

The severe language James uses is not addressed to an anxious soul. The Spirit would not describe such a person as a "vain man" (James 2:20); the word means, as has been said, an empty, hollow, foolish person. He is just someone who says he believes. Thousands do the same when they recite the creed, "I believe." Yet there are absolutely no results in his conduct.

The Jew believed that God is one. This is right. The demons also believe it, and their belief makes them tremble. But it does not put them in relationship with God. So a man may believe what is true about God, and yet have no faith in God. Faith is the outcome of a new nature that trusts God and proves its existence by its works. The man who says he has faith and yet is "without works" is a vain man, and his faith merely a dead profession.

Faith without works is only a hidden principle in the heart, a profession with no reality behind it. Yet we need not always call this hypocrisy. Education, the influences around us, and outward evidence can produce belief in Christianity and its basic doctrines as a habit of mind. But in such faith there is no link with Christ, no source of eternal life. A man may not be openly unbelieving; he honours the name of Christ, but such faith produces nothing in the heart. Christ cannot trust it.

Most manuscripts read "dead" here, but the witness for "idle" is ancient and excellent. The difference is slight, and the substantial sense stays the same. Only here, as elsewhere, there was a danger that copyists would make the wording match. The chapter ends by concluding that faith apart from works is "dead." If "idle" were the true text in verse 20, then verse 26 would not be a repetition but a striking and effective climax.

The difficulty vanishes as soon as the reader grasps one thing. Paul deals with the justification of the ungodly, while James speaks of the justification of the godly. The one is before God and the other is before men. God justifies the ungodly on the principle of faith. It is of grace alone, and works are shut out completely. The godly justify themselves — that is, their confession — before men by their good works. A life full of good works flows from living faith. When the works are missing, we may well doubt what the lips profess.

"What!" someone may remark, "is such a thing as trembling counted as a work?" It certainly is. And this leads us to note that James speaks simply of works, and not of good works. The point is not that every true believer must do many kind and charitable actions, though of course that is good and right for him. The point is that his works must display his faith in action, if men are to see that his faith is real.

I could not have apples without an apple tree, since apples do not grow on thorn bushes. And if there are apples, everybody knows there must be apple trees somewhere. The tree is the faith, the apples are the works. Living faith brings forth living works. But the faith must be there before the works can appear. The works are the outward and visible evidence of the inward and unseen faith.

Here, then, we see not only works but that "faith was active along with his works." So it is clear that when the Apostle speaks of works proving our faith, he does not mean simply good works such as a kind nature can produce. He means only the works that faith can produce. They are faith's works, and such works bring faith to completion. On one side, the Apostle insists on works as the test of faith before men. On the other, he insists on faith as the test of the works.

Abraham offered up his son. Rahab welcomed the messengers of Israel, joining herself to the people of God when everything was against them... The one looked to God and believed Him in the fullest way, against all that is in nature or that nature can count on. The other stood with God's people when everything was against them. Neither act grew out of a pleasant nature or natural goodness, the kind of thing people call good works. One was a father about to put his son to death; the other was a bad woman betraying her country... Works put a seal on his faith. Faith without works is like a body without the soul — an outward form with none of the life that makes it move.

Clearly that act was a work that itself needed the faith behind it to justify it. That work put his faith beyond dispute. Anyone could see how faith was active along with his works, and how works completed the faith; that is, it came to full fruit. Paul argues about the justification of the ungodly. James argues about the justification of someone already accepted as a believer.

Abraham knew that he believed in the Lord, but he was called to prove it. So the man who stands out for justification by faith, and who is therefore the father of all who believe (Rom. 4:11), stands out just as much for justification by works... Justification by faith comes before justification by works... Was he justified twice over, then, first by faith and then by works? No... He was justified by faith in Genesis 15; he was justified by works, as James points out, in Genesis 22. Giving up his son to death showed how real his faith was.

Notice that James never says works justify us before God, because God can see faith without its works. He knows the life is there. That life is at work toward Him: trusting His word, trusting Himself, taking His testimony as true despite everything inside us and around us. God sees this and knows it. But when other people come into it, when someone has to say "show me," then faith — that life — shows itself in works.

Does James stress her works to push the soul into anxious self-examination, to find out whether it is justified or not? Far from it. His severe words are not aimed at a troubled soul. The Spirit would never call such a person a "vain man" (James 2:20), for the word means an empty, hollow, foolish person. It means someone who says he believes... and yet nothing at all shows in his conduct.

The believer is justified by works (James 2:21). The believer's works are the fruit, or evidence, of faith. James does not contradict Paul. He says that the Scripture, which states that Abraham was justified by faith, was fulfilled when he offered up Isaac. Yet God had reckoned Abraham righteous on the ground of believing Him — that is, on the ground of faith — long years before those works showed that his faith was real faith.

Read that chapter carefully and you will notice the words counted, imputed and reckoned several times. All three have the same force. They translate the same word, and reckoned comes nearest to it. "Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness." That is, God reckoned Abraham righteous, or held him to be righteous, because of his faith. The little word "for" can mislead. It may suggest that faith is a kind of substitute for righteousness, something that can be turned into righteousness. "Reckoned to him as righteousness" gives the sense better.

The works had nothing in common with those acts of kindness that fill the horizon of man and are the boast of those who make the creature everything and God nothing. Here was a man who looked death in the face. His trial was far harder than being asked to die for his son. At God's word he had to raise the knife against his only, well-beloved son — the son on whose life hung the promises of blessing for all mankind. He had to trust God with his own reputation, since he would look like the worst of murderers. He also had to trust Him to raise from the dead the son who must live again to make good the promised blessings.

Paul gives us the inward principle, James the outward working of that principle. Paul presents the hidden life, James the life made visible. Paul looks at man in relation to God, James looks at him in his relation to man. Now we want both. "Abraham was justified" when "he believed God"; and "Abraham was justified" when "he offered up his son Isaac." In the first case we have his secret standing. In the second, we have his public acknowledgement by heaven and earth. There was no voice from heaven when "Abraham believed God," though in God's view he was counted righteous there and then. But when he had offered his son on the altar, God could say, "now I know."

By means of this faith we have fellowship with God, with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord. He is not ashamed to call us His friends (John 15:15), as Abraham was called the friend of God. In business with the world, we say what the matter needs, as politely as we can. Once that is said, it is over. With a friend, we open our minds. We speak of things that have nothing to do with business, of all that is in our hearts. At the time Abraham was called the friend of God, God was not talking with him about the promises made to Abraham himself. He was telling him all His plans for the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah.

The title must have had its origin in connection with Genesis 22 and not Genesis 15. Had it been otherwise, what confusion there would have been for our souls! The earlier scripture shows us that our God can accept and justify a sinner who believes. The later one shows us what God can make of a justified man under His own special training.

One writer deals with the root, with what is "before God" (Rom. 4:2); the other with the fruit, and so says "show me" before men. Both agree that, where God gives faith and gives souls new life by the word of truth, good works are the fruit and the outward witness of faith. In fact there is nothing to reconcile, because there is no real disagreement. … In the one, the question is how a sinner can be justified by grace; in the other, what God looks for from someone who professes faith.

The two passages do not need reconciling. Sometimes people imagine that they have discovered contradictory statements in Scripture, but the flaw is in their own brains, not in the Word of God.

Scripture teaches that such a person is justified on the ground of merit by blood (Rom. 5:9), by means of faith (Rom. 5:1), and by open proof through works (James 2:24). Without the shedding of Christ's blood, and God's acceptance of it, no ungodly person could be justified. Without faith in God's testimony, set before a person to rest on, no one could be justified. And without works, which are the evidence of real faith, no one could show their justification.

A man can be justified in the sight of his fellow men only by works, for no one can see into another person's heart. So people can judge whether his faith is real only by his works.

Clearly such faith is a hidden principle in the heart, a bare profession with nothing real behind it. Yet we need not always call this hypocrisy. Education, the influences around us, and outside evidence can produce a settled belief in Christianity and its basic doctrines, as a habit of mind. But in such faith there is no link with Christ, and no source of eternal life.

Justification by faith precedes justification by works. So Abraham was justified by faith in Gen. 15; he was justified by works, as James points out, in Gen. 22… Was he, then, justified twice over, first by faith, and then by works? No — he was justified by faith in Gen. 15, and the Scripture which had declared that was fulfilled. It was seen to be true in Gen. 22. Giving up his son to death showed how real his faith was.

Abraham offered up his own son and Rahab hid the spies in her home. Ordinarily, neither action would be regarded as a good work. On the contrary, one would be considered murder and the other treason. But these works revealed their faith in God, giving testimony to their love of God (Abraham) and their love of the people of God (Rahab).

A national faith was of no avail, but one which wrought livingly; and then a man was justified, accounted righteous before God.

Verses 21 to 25 cite two cases — Abraham and Rahab. They are opposites in almost every respect. One is the father of the Jews, an honoured servant of God. The other is a Gentile, a poor woman with a shameful trade. Yet both illustrate this matter. Both had faith, and both had works. The works fitted the faith each of them had, and so showed that faith to others.

The Holy Spirit, speaking through the apostle, had four thousand years of history before Him. It is well worth noting that He fixed on two works like these: Abraham's in Genesis 22 and Rahab's in Joshua 2. He does not bring forward acts of charity or kindness, though He could easily have chosen many, with such a mass of material before Him. But it is as if He knows the use the enemy would make of this passage. So He takes care to pick two examples that prove one thing beyond all question: He is insisting on life-works, not law-works.

Apart from faith, Rahab's work was no better than Abraham's trial. Done without God as the object, the source and the authority, both acts were not only worthless but detestable. Seen with human eyes, one man was willing to kill his own son and heir, and one woman to betray her king and country to their destroyers. Faith completely changed the character of what each of them did. And what they did proved the divine principle and the living power of their faith.

I want to point out the difference between good works and what we might better call works of faith — that is, acts which in themselves prove that the doer has faith. James means deeds of this sort. Feeding the hungry would not by itself show I had faith… Here is a woman (Rahab) who sides with the destroyers of her city. By it she saves herself — nothing noble in that — and at the same time she takes her place among the great examples of faith.

The rest of the people had heard as much as Rahab. But the report did them no good, because those who heard it did not mix it with faith. It reached Rahab's conscience, and she bowed to God against every natural reason and feeling. She judged rightly: it was folly, sin and ruin to fight against the God who had delivered His people from the power of Egypt.

There is interest here, and instruction for us as well. In Hebrews the men are called "spies," so to nature they were enemies. Yet knowing this, the scripture says "she received them in peace." Faith had made her change sides before she got any assurance. In James they are called "messengers" — angeloi in Greek — and the Spirit notes her self-sacrificing care of them, for James had to teach that faith worked together with works.

Her works justify her as a believer. Their character shows that she has faith, and this is what James speaks of. They do not justify her as righteousness before God; that is what Paul flatly denies in the case of Abraham. Rahab the prostitute has no righteousness to trust in, no moral character to commend her to God. But she has the faith of a poor sinner who clings to Him. That faith, as all true faith will, shows itself living and real, despite her lying to the king of Jericho's messengers. In that lie we see at once her faith and its weakness.

Rahab was justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way. She took God's side at the risk of personal danger. She was no doubt very ignorant of truth, and she knew nothing of a written revelation. But she acted on what she believed… Her example is remarkable for this: great intelligence is not needed for someone to be justified by works. Simplicity and reality are the qualifications.

Verse 26 declares what death is. The body apart from the spirit is dead. It is left helpless, useless, repulsive. It has not ceased to exist, but it is stripped of the power that once animated it. It is left alone. That is exactly the case with so-called faith that has no works to accompany it.

In verse 17 James said that faith, if it has no works, is "dead by itself." In verse 20 faith without works is "barren" [ESV: "useless"]. Here at the end of the discussion faith without works is called absolutely "dead" — and so it surely is. Where you are looking for the sign of living reality, what can be more offensive than a dead body? This is emphatically true under the gospel, where the Lord Himself declares that whoever believes has eternal life. To lack holy vitality is fatal. It means not having the Son of God, Who is the sole spring of all that glorifies God.

The works James is talking about are works of faith. They are not always what people count as good works. Abraham offered up his own son, and Rahab hid the spies in her home. Normally no one would call either action a good work. Most people would call one murder and the other treason. But these works revealed their faith in God.

There is a very real difference between law-works and life-works. Paul carefully shuts out the first; James just as carefully insists on the second. … The acts of Abraham and Rahab were not law-works, but life-works. They were the genuine fruits of faith, and apart from faith they would have had no justifying value at all.

The one is occupied with the root, with what is "before God" (Romans 4:2); the other with the fruit, and so says "show me" — before men. Both agree on this. Where God gives faith, and souls are born through the word of truth, good works are the fruit and the outward witness of that faith. There is nothing in fact to reconcile, because there is no real disagreement. The one insists that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law. The other insists that anyone who claims to have faith must show it by his works. In the one, the question is how a sinner is justified by grace. In the other, it is what God looks for from anyone who professes faith.

Paul speaks of justification before God, which indeed is through faith without works. James speaks of justification before men. My fellow-men can only see my faith in my works.

Intellectual conviction is an essential ingredient of living faith. On its own, though, it has no life. It does not bear fruit in works, but is "as the body without spirit" (James 2:26). Living faith brings the soul to God through Christ. … The same test applies today. Anyone who truly believes in his heart that God raised Christ from the dead will confess Him as Lord with his mouth. If men do not confess, they do not really believe.

We may talk of our faith in Christ, or of our faith in this or that detail of Christian truth. But unless our faith shows itself in fitting works, it is DEAD! That is a sledge-hammer blow. Let us allow it to do its full work in our consciences.