Works or no works? James 2:14-18

James

Lessons for Life

James little letter is a great one to help us as we try to live our lives as Christians. Many people will ask, “Now that I am a Christian, how do I go about living my life?” James answers many of those questions by giving us guidance on how to live out that faith that we have been given. It is for that reason that this series of studies is entitled “Lessons for Life.”

Come along and join us as we learn some of these lessons. Do you have questions? Do you have comments? Be sure to post them so that we can discuss them. This is by no means the end to all the questions that we have in our lives of faith.

James 2:14 “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15: If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16: and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17: So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

1.      Who is James writing to in this letter? What difference does this make in how we interpret his writing?

2.      Social ministry is considered to be taking care of the needs of those less fortunate while also sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (Examples: homeless shelters, food pantries, etc.) How does what James writes help us to understand how to go about social ministry?

3.      James tells us in vs. 17, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” How would you apply this in to your daily life? What does this help you understand about your walk of faith in Christ Jesus?

James 2:18 “But someone wills say, ‘I have faith and I have works. Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

4.      This really gets to what James is saying to the Christian. What is he saying to the Christian here? What is he saying to you?

1A. James is writing to fellow Christians. He says, “My brothers.” These are people who have already been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. This is important to understand because of what he is about to write. If you understand that he is writing to Christians, then you can avoid the false teaching of works righteousness. If you feel that he is writing to non-Christians, then you will begin to think that one must do works in order to be saved. James is firmly teaching the proper distinction between justification and sanctification. He wrote, “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.” (James 1:18) We are already made new, brought to life by the Word, living as His sons and daughters. What he is addressing here is our life of sanctification, how we live as children of God.

2A. While we are called to assist in the needs of those less fortunate, we are also called to share the message of the crucified and risen Jesus Christ. All too often, we feel that we are to be content with one or the other. We tell people, “Jesus loves you,” but don’t do anything to help them out in their lives. James tells us, “That is wrong! You haven’t helped them at all.” But at the same time, James would tell us, “If you give them food for the body but no food for the soul, what good have you done?” Jesus would say to us, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and yet forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36) James would have us do both – take care of the body and the soul.

3A. This is really a personal question. For too many Christians, they feel that it is enough to believe in Jesus Christ. They don’t have to live the faith. What I mean, is that they do not feel that their faith actually affects the way they go through their daily life. Their faith in Christ is compartmentalized into one little section of their lives. It is only used when necessary.

4A. Faith is a matter of the heart. Paul writes, “With the heart one believes and is justified…” (Romans 10:10a) We cannot see into the heart. Only the Lord sees the heart of the person and knows that he/she is a Christian. For us, the way that we show our faith is not by what we say, which is easy, but by what we do. This is seen also in Matthew 25 with the judgment between the sheep and the goats. Works is brought forward not to show that one is justified by works by to show that faith shows itself in works. When I did prison ministry, we would often use the phrase, “Anyone can talk the talk. The Christian walks the walk.” This is to say that a person can say they believe but it is really shown by how the person lives. This is not to say that a Christian is perfect. Paul talks about the two natures of the Christian, saint and sinner, in Romans. We are saints in Christ through the righteousness of Christ. We are sinners through our continued sinful actions. The sinful actions do not invalidate our faith in Christ. That is why we continually return to the waters of our Baptism.

            Here, James is telling us to live the faith we profess. How? By what we do. Our works show the faith that resides in our hearts. The life of sanctification, live of faith, is shown each day by what we do, our works.