Bible Study on James 2:14-26 NIV
- As shared by Rev Don Schink, (C) 2005, 2008
"Faith and Action -
An Important Partnership"
Faith and Deeds 14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-and shudder.
20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,"[e] and he was called God's friend. 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
Thoughts For Reflection and Direction:
Some people are really pretty good at giving lip service. In other words, they can really talk that talk. Yepper. They can talk that talk but the question is can they walk that walk? If all that a person can do is talk, talk, talk but never back that up with responsible action, then they might as well never say a word.
What about you and me? Do we really know what it means to say what we mean and to mean what we say? Do we back up what we say with proper action? Are we guys and gals of our word that God, as well as others around us, can count on to do what we say that we will do? Today we are studying the value of the combination of faith and
works. We’re looking at heart motives. Why do we do what we do, or, not do? What motivates us? For in today’s Scripture passage, in verses 14 to 19, we read:14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-and shudder.
If believing were enough in itself, even the demons would be OK! Why? Well, Scripture shows us that even the demons believe. We already know that evil demons are condemned. So, common sensed says that we’d better know that mere belief isn’t enough. What is required is that type of faith that goes beyond human understanding. It is that type of faith that drives us to action!
In Ephesians 2:8-9, the Bible says,
"8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– 9not by works, so that no one can boast." Grace is precious. Grace is the glue that gives us direction for protection! Grace is God’s love in action, through His Son, our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit! So it is by grace that we come to assurance of salvation, through the atoning blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ! We know that He gave Himself as a willing sacrifice on Calvary’s Cross so that we can be saved. We don’t deserve it. Nor did He deserve what He got on the Cross! He took our sins upon Himself and graciously and lovingly made the supreme sacrifice of shedding His precious life’s blood on Calvary for you and me! So it is not of ourselves. He did it all for whosoever will come to Him.It involves what I call "an attitude of gratitude" that inspires us to go onward and upward with Him. In other words, if I am truly grateful for my salvation, I yearn to reach out to share my faith with others and to be an instrument of other’s needs being met. It is exciting and fulfilling. It is challenging. It inspires me to go on and on in serving the Lord through fruitful outreach to others around me, in a variety of ways. What prompts this type of action? What motivates any of us to do so? We do so gladly. We do not do so out of dreadful duty or obligation! If we operate out of a burden of works without that "attitude of gratitude," then it becomes a grind rather than glory. But as we are inspired by the Holy Spirit, we reach out, not of ourselves, as we have nothing good within ourselves to boast about. But we do so out of the realization of the love and grace of God at work in our own hearts and lives, knowing our own inadequacies when left to ourselves. It inspires us to service because of Who He is in our hearts and lives!
20
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,"[e] and he was called God's friend. 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
The Apostle Paul stressed the need of works as evidence of faith, just as James did, also. This was due to the fact that many were abusing the doctrine of faith. In Titus 212-14, the Bible says:
"12It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13while we wait for the blessed hope–the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good."To live victoriously is to say no to ungodliness of any kind, replacing unwholesomeness with wholesome living and action. We do that which is most meaningful to us. We love Him because He first loved us! And as we are gripped by the depths of such great love, we are inspired to do that which is right. We are inspired to reach out and share with others as to what they, too, can experience in yielding to Jesus as Savior and Lord! As Jesus gave Himself freely, we are to do the same, out of "an attitude of gratitude!"
As it has been said, "Believing and doing are blood relatives." So if we have the faith then we are to simply put feet to our faith, so to speak, and reach out in loving service for our Lord to those around us! Hallelujah! Of course, we participate in what we believe in. Before I came to the Lord, I used to like to take others out with me, sharing those things that used to be so important to me. After accepting Christ and having a drastic change in lifestyle and interests to a more wholesome level, then I began sharing with others as to how this became so important to me and how it could benefit others, as well. Why? Because we are eager to share those things with others which are so important to us.
James gives specific examples of such ones as Abraham and Rahab. On the surface, we might say, "James are you nuts? Abe I can understand… But Rahab? C’mon, give us a break!" Yet both are shown to be clearly to be noted as worthy individuals of faith. So, what do we have to say about this? One greater than all of us said, "
You without sin cast the first stone…" And one by one, those who had been guilty of judging the woman caught in adultery slipped out of the crowd one by one until they were all gone. And the Lord looked at her saying, "Woman, where are your accusers?" They were all gone. He went on to say, "Go and sin no more." And an obviously grateful woman went away clean, forgiven, and redeemed out of a horrible life of sin! So who are we to dismiss James’ comparison of Abraham and Rahab? Not me and hopefully, not you, either!James points out to us that
"Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God's friend. [23]" In 2 Chronicles, Abraham is called God’s "friend for ever." In Isaiah 41:8, God calls Israel "the seed of Abraham my friend." This expression, Friend of God, seems to mean that God was very open with Abraham as to what He intended to do [Genesis 27:17]. Abraham’s great faith was rewarded in his being privileged too catch glimpses of the great plan which God was working out in history. He rejoiced to see the day of Messiah [see John 8:56].Rahab the prostitute was chosen by James in his Old Testament proofs that faith does not function apart from works. The writer of Hebrews is supportive of James’s choices [Hebrews 11:17-19, 31]. James seems to be teaching that the principle he has been discussing is a universal one and that Rahab is a good example that there are no exceptions. So, whatever one’s background is, we should all take heart in this precious assurance. Rahab is described as a gentile, a woman and a prostitute.
In Hebrews, the author points out that Rahab’s actions were by faith. James certainly would not deny it, but he goes on to say that her faith was justified by her actions, - her works. He said,
"…Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction." She believed in God. This was evidenced by the faith that she displayed in taking the trouble to receive the scouts and assisting them to escape, risking her own life to do so." This was a true example of the importance of faith proven by works, or by her living example.In closing this section, James summarizes his case that he has been presenting in today’s Scripture study,
"26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." His last statement wraps it up simple and to the point. When the spirit leaves the body, we’re done, finished dead. We need both body and spirit to survive life as we know it today. Likewise, faith must be proven by action. Where one or the other is missing, faith is not true faith. So, even though we’re saved by faith in the love and the grace of God, it must be evidenced by works, - by action, - by a clear response revealed in what I like to call "an attitude of gratitude!" Hallelujah!
So, as you pray today:
Please note:
You are welcome to share this Bible study in your local churches, but I suggest that you personalize it. You do not have permission to publicize it or to make money from it in any form. May God richly bless you as you minister for Him with rich spiritual rewards of seeing many souls saved and sanctified for all eternity! Please let me know whatever helpful results you may get from this!
With Warm Sincerity in Jesus’ Love,
Rev. Don Schink, Pastor-Evangelist
Sonlight Ministries
Tijeras, NM
Pastor Don's Ministry & Evangelism Outreach Page