Sermon Notes

2 14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Surely that faith cannot save, can it? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from works, and I by my works will show you faith. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder. 20 Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is worthless?[b] 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and by works faith was brought to completion. 23 Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,”[c] and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers[d] and sent them out by another road? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.
(New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition, NRSVue)
2 14-17 Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense? 18 I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, “Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I’ll handle the works department.” Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.19-20 Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That’s just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands? 21-24 Wasn’t our ancestor Abraham “made right with God by works” when he placed his son Isaac on the sacrificial altar? Isn’t it obvious that faith and works are yoked partners, that faith expresses itself in works? That the works are “works of faith”? The full meaning of “believe” in the Scripture sentence, “Abraham believed God and was set right with God,” includes his action. It’s that weave of believing and acting that got Abraham named “God’s friend.” Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works? 25-26 The same with Rahab, the Jericho harlot. Wasn’t her action in hiding God’s spies and helping them escape—that seamless unity of believing and doing—what counted with God? The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse. (The Message, MSG)

James is one of the most overlooked gemstones of New Testament literature. Because readers often engage it in comparison with Paul’s teaching on faith, James is routinely undervalued for its insightful pastoral teaching on “misbelief and misbehavior” within the early Church. When James is considered in its own right, and in its own voice, it is irreplaceable for its moral insights and emphasis on practical lived Christian social ethics. James vehemently asserts that authentic faith finds its theological footing only when it is grounded in action. The writer makes it clear that faith and works cannot be separated. True faith seeks not to save itself by action (works), but expresses itself through action. Faithful action is the expected outgrowth of the salvific work that God has already done in Jesus Christ. Because we have been saved and liberated by Jesus’ ministry, crucifixion and resurrection, Christians then act to ensure that others also have access to salvation as well. For James, faith without works is indeed dead because the gift of salvation has not been faithfully demonstrated so that others may witness its effects and benefit from its transformative power.

The Letter of James is categorized as the first of the “general” epistles—those non-occasional letters which were written to general audiences, not specific churches, within early Christianity. It was likely written between the late 1st century CE and middle of the 2nd century CE and is addressed to Christians scattered throughout the diaspora. The historical context of diaspora looms largely over this letter in that it provides wisdom to communities dislodged from their geographical locations of origin. Tradition attributes this letter to James the Just—the brother of Jesus and the leader of the Church in Jerusalem—who was martyred in 62 CE. However, James the Just is likely not the author.
The writer of James does not identity familial designations, a hometown, or a specific relationship to Jesus. Further, the writer also utilizes a highly developed form of the Greek language that would not have been common for a rural Galilean. Even scholars who attribute the letter to James the Just, agree that one of James’ students—who was highly skilled in Greek rhetoric—reworked James’ original teaching into this letter years after his death. Therefore, scholarly consensus is that a pseudonymous author, who was a student of James and living within the diaspora, wrote this letter in James’ name, after James’ death, to assume his pastoral authority for the purposes of sharing pastoral teaching. The authorial attribution to James the Just is honorific.
With regards to canonical and theological contexts, James is routinely pitted against Paul’s doctrine of faith which centers on the righteousness of God. According to Paul, salvation comes from God through grace and people are singularly justified by faith apart from works of the law (Romans 3:28; Galatians 2:16). Paul’s “justification by faith” appears to directly contradict James’ “faith without works is dead.” However, this theological juxtaposition mischaracterizes James’ theological argument, and ignores the theological truth that James posits. Genuine faith will always be supported by works. James writes this letter to confront the Christian witness of those who profess belief in Jesus Christ, but do not exhibit fruit as evidence of their belief. James does not dispute that all are saved by faith alone. Rather, he emphasizes that salvific faith produces a life of good works.

14-17 Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?
Before we can explore opening verses of the lesson text, it is crucial to understand the previous portion of the pericope, for verses 14 and following build on the first 13 verses. In verses 1-13 James warns against partiality—that is treating “important” people, better than those deemed “unimportant”. According to James, God’s “royal rule of love” (as translated by Eugene Peterson in verse 8) must always prevail, we must love our neighbor as ourself (Leviticus 19:18). If we seek to love like God loves, we can’t cherry pick who we love and how we love them. In verses 14-17 James says: faith that talks, but doesn’t walk is of no practical value to anyone. If faith does not serve, it does not save, and unused faith is useless. We have to demonstrate active faith and consistent love. The two go hand in hand.
James then provides a practical example of the royal rule of love as faith in action. He describes a person who is in great need—no proper clothing, and hungry. Instead of providing this individual with what they need, we speak words which sound compassionate and caring, but are not accompanied by compassionate and caring action. The naked and hungry person is turned away as we usher them out the door with fake sounding “Christian” sentiment: “be clothed in Jesus,” or “stay full on the Holy Spirit.” This is especially cruel and deeply hypocritical, because our selfishness and lack of empathy is couched in benevolent terms. Whether or not the lack of action and the hypocrisy is intended matters little to the one in need. The person still goes away with their needs unmet. Words don’t warm cold bodies, nor fill hungry bellies. The seemingly “holy” words are wasted breath!
James says the words that come out of our mouths provide a snapshot of our hearts. If our words are empty, so is our faith. James will not permit us to minimize the poisoning effect of vain words and empty promises. If our profession of faith is merely empty words—without corresponding works—then our profession can’t be trusted nor believed. God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense.
18 I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, “Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I’ll handle the works department.” Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.19-20 Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That’s just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands?
In verse 18, James places what sounds like an opposing argument—that works can live without faith—in the mouth of fictional conversation partner. The partner surmises that one can handle doing good works, while someone else keeps faith. This comment underscores the aberrant theological principle that one can do one without the other, and ultimately through the response, James reinforces the indivisibility of faith and works. “You claim to have faith, but you have no accompanying deeds to verify that you really possess true faith. I, on the other hand, have works. Is it not right to assume that my profession of faith carries much more weight if works accompany it?”
Professing to believe that there is one God is good; it’s orthodox. The Jews professed faith in one God. But their faith stopped there. Again, profession does not prove that one has salvific faith—which is faith that compels one to action. Even demons believe that God exists, but clearly we don’t affirm that they possess genuine faith.
21-24 Wasn’t our ancestor Abraham “made right with God by works” when he placed his son Isaac on the sacrificial altar? Isn’t it obvious that faith and works are yoked partners, that faith expresses itself in works? That the works are “works of faith”? The full meaning of “believe” in the Scripture sentence, “Abraham believed God and was set right with God,” includes his action. It’s that weave of believing and acting that got Abraham named “God’s friend.” Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works?
In this portion of the lesson, James invokes Abraham as a scriptural witness to underscore his theological doctrine that a profession of faith is evidenced by works. In Genesis 15:1-6, Abraham believes that God’s promise of a son will be fulfilled, despite evidence to the contrary. And God credits him with righteousness because of his faith. Then in Genesis 22 when Abraham’s faith is tested with the Adeka, (also called the Sacrifice of Isaac), the patriarch’s faith is demonstrated by faithful obedience to God’s command to sacrifice Isaac upon the altar. Abraham’s actions are an act of faith.
The justification that James speaks of here is not the “justification” of salvation by faith, as Paul teaches. Rather, it is the justification or validation of one’s profession of faith in the sight of others. Unlike God, people do not know the hearts of other men. Therefore, our works—as justification of true faith—provide a visual witness to that faith. As yoked partners, faith and works must work together, lest they both be ineffective.
25-26 The same with Rahab, the Jericho harlot. Wasn’t her action in hiding God’s spies and helping them escape—that seamless unity of believing and doing—what counted with God? The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse.
In the final verses of the lesson text, James again cites Hebrew Scripture to highlight how Rahab’s faith was justified by her works. As the tribes of Israel commenced with possessing the Promised Land, word of their intent filtered to the people of Jericho. Because the Israelites were the enemy, and anyone who aided or protected them would be considered a traitor. Rahab knew that God was with His people, and that the Israelites would defeat the people of Jericho. Therefore, when the two spies came to her house, and the king of Jericho sent word for Rahab to surrender the men, she resisted through subterfuge. Hiding the two spies under piles of flax on her roof, she saved their lives.
Confessing her faith in the power of Israel’s God, “For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below” (Joshua 2:11), Rahab insists the spies pledge to spare her and her family when Jericho fell. Her profession of faith was justified (demonstrated) when she followed through with her verbal promise by letting the men down the wall of the city with a rope, and sending Jericho soldiers in the wrong direction. Because Rahab is an outsider and a harlot, she should not have been accorded a second look from Israel, let alone a place within their community. Yet, her faith and works declare her acceptable to God.
James sums up his theological argument in verse 26. Words without works are worthless; a profession of faith is useless without putting faith into action. This reminds contemporary Christians that our “walk” must match our “talk.” Failure to exercise consistency compromises our confessions of faith. Further, James admonishes the faithful to reject pious forms of orthodoxy (“right thinking”) and ritual (“right action”) as dictated by convention. Rather, James says we should—like Abraham and Rahab—be open to radical action and unconventional partnerships as authentic demonstrations of true faith. According to the late Dr. Gay L. Byron, one can only truly understand James’ theological doctrine of faith and works within the context of a faith community seeking to become “mature and complete in their faith.” Abraham and Rahab remind us that Christians striving towards maturity are “perfected, or made mature, by their works.”

i. Eugene Peterson, “Introduction to James” in The Message, The Bible in Contemporary Language-Numbered Edition (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2005) 1669.
ii. Luke Timothy Johnson, The New Testament: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2010), 199-221.
iii. Gay L. Byron, “James” in Brian K. Blount, Gay L. Byron and Emerson B. Powery’s True To Our Native Land: An African American New Testament Commentary Second Edition (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2024), 461-475.
iv. See Luke Timothy Johnson, “The Letter of James: Introduction, Commentary and Reflections” in The New Interpreter Bible Commentary Volume X (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015) 635, and Gay L. Byron’s discussion in True to Our Native Land, 461.
v. Levine, Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler, The Jewish Annotated New Testament (Kindle Edition), 489.
vi. Byron, 467.