James 2:14-26

Introduction

James 2:14-26 has long been a focal point of theological discussion, particularly concerning the relationship between faith and works. James 2:18 is of particular interest for interpreting the passage correctly. I believe that the verse is best understood as an indirect quote rather than a direct quote. This resolves the apparent tensions in the argument and makes the meaning very clear through the passage. I’m using the ESV except James 2:18 is translated as an indirect quote rather than a direct quotation.

Passage

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.

¹⁸ But someone will say that you have faith and I have works. Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. ¹⁹ You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! ²⁰ Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? ²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; ²³ and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. ²⁴ You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵ And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? ²⁶ For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

Commentary

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? — James is challenging the view that somebody can have faith without works with two rhetorical questions. The first objection is that it doesn’t do any good. The second objection is that the kind of faith that doesn’t produce good works is not the kind of faith that saves. It presupposes justification by faith alone, but clarifies that saving faith produces good works.

If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 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? — He supports the first objection that the kind of faith he described is useless with an example. If you merely profess faith, it does no good. If you merely profess helping people without helping them, it does no good.

So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. — His conclusion is this: if your faith remains alone, it is a dead thing. It is not life producing or life giving. It produces death and leads to death. There is a living and active faith that leads to life and there is a dead and inactive faith that leads to death.

But someone will say that you [hypothetical objector] have faith and I [James] have works. — James introduces a hypothetical objector. The objector says in effect, “But James, you told me that I am saved by faith alone. It is true that my faith isn’t producing good works and that your faith is, but that is fine because I am still saved.” James refutes this objector in the following verses by proving that saving faith necessarily produces good works. One knows that they have saving faith based on the good works that follow in their life. Likewise, one knows they have a dead faith based on the lack of good works in their life. A good tree produces good fruit, while a bad tree produces bad fruit.

Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. — Now the focus shifts to the perspective of knowing that a person has saving faith. How do I even know that you have faith in the first place if you don’t have works hypothetical objector? Can they literally show me their invisible faith? The obvious answer is no. But James says he has a way to show his faith, and that is by his works. Your faith will be evident to others by the way that you live.

You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! — This objection applies to people who would think that faith could mean merely believing certain truths or that true faith could exist without producing fruit. Obviously the demons believe in God in a certain sense. They know that God exists and know certain things about Him. One could believe that Jesus rose from the dead and other various Christian doctrines but not have saving faith.

What makes saving faith different than the kind of faith demons possess? Saving faith includes not just believing intellectually but trusting from the heart and results in a transformed life which produces good works. Saving faith cannot be confused with good works as if we do anything to earn our salvation, but it cannot be separated from good works either as if the Holy Spirit is not continuing to sanctify us.

Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? — Dead faith, a faith without works, is completely useless in that it produces dead works and leads to death.

Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? — Leading up to this we see that the hypothetical objector has no works which is evidence of his dead faith while James has works which is evidence of his living faith. Now he provides the example of Abraham. How do we know that Abraham had saving faith? How is Abraham shown to be saved, vindicated, and justified? Well, he obeyed and trusted God to the point that he was willing to give up his beloved son Isaac.

The word justification simply means vindication. As a theological term, it is usually used the way Paul uses it: a legal declaration of righteousness before God by grace through faith apart from works. James uses the word in reference to outward vindication or proof of righteousness: one is justified, that is shown to have genuine saving faith and salvation, by works. Paul answers the question of how one is able to be made right with God, that is by faith, while James answers the question of how one is shown to be right before God, that is by works which are evidence of faith. Both uses of the word justification are complementary, not contradictory, and James’ explanation of justification before men presupposes Paul’s explanation of justification before God.

You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. — Abraham was counted righteous by faith before he was circumcised, before he offered up Isaac, and before the giving of the law. It was by faith that he was made righteous before God. But that is not the end of the story. His faith led him to good works, the key example being the offering up Isaac, which demonstrated his faith and salvation.

You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. — It is only by works, the tangible result of faith, that one can demonstrate the intangible faith that led to those works.

And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? — The example of Rahab follows the same pattern as Abraham. She had faith and her faith led to works which demonstrated her faith.

Rahab’s faith led to her helping the spies: “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath” (Joshua 2:9-11).

For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. — Just as a body without a spirit is just a dead body, so faith without any works is just a dead faith. “Can that faith save him?” No! Saving faith produces good works, and good works demonstrate saving faith.