James 2:17–18

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.