Commentary - James 2:14-26

Bird's-eye view

In this latter portion of James chapter two, we are brought face to face with one of the most practical questions in the Christian life: what is the relationship between what we say we believe and what we actually do? James is not setting up some kind of theological prize fight between faith and works, as though they were two competing gladiators. Rather, he is distinguishing between two kinds of faith, one that is living and one that is dead. He is a pastor, and he is concerned that some in the flock have a faith that is no more alive than a stuffed cougar in a taxidermist's shop. It might look remarkably life-like, but it is not living.

The argument is straightforward and relentlessly logical. James begins with a blunt question about the profitability of a faith that produces no works (v. 14). He illustrates this with a common sense example of offering empty words to someone in desperate need (vv. 15-16). He then states his thesis plainly: faith without works is dead (v. 17). He anticipates the objector who would try to separate faith and works into two distinct categories (v. 18) and proceeds to dismantle that objection by showing that even demons have a kind of "faith" that is nothing more than correct theological information (v. 19). He drives his point home with two premier Old Testament examples, Abraham the patriarch and Rahab the harlot (vv. 21-25), showing how their works justified, or vindicated, the reality of their faith. The conclusion is as clear as it is inescapable: a body without a spirit is a corpse, and faith without works is just as dead (v. 26).

Outline

Context In James

This section flows directly from the preceding verses (Jas 2:1-13) where James condemned the sin of showing partiality. That sin was a clear example of failing to live out the "royal law" of loving your neighbor. It was a practical failure, a sin of omission and commission. Now, James broadens his focus from that specific work (treating the poor and rich equally) to the entire principle of works as the necessary evidence of genuine faith. He is not changing the subject; he is driving the same point home at a foundational level. If your faith doesn't result in you treating a poor brother with dignity, then what good is that faith? He is moving from the symptom (favoritism) to the diagnosis (dead faith).

It is crucial to understand that James is not contradicting the apostle Paul. This is a popular but lazy reading of the text. Paul says we are justified by faith apart from works of the law (Rom. 3:28). James says a man is justified by works and not by faith alone (Jas 2:24). There is no conflict. Paul is answering the question, "How is a sinner declared righteous before God?" His answer is "by faith alone." James is answering the question, "How can you tell a living faith from a dead one?" His answer is "by its works." Paul is dealing with the root of justification, while James is dealing with the fruit of justification. A living tree has both roots and fruit. To praise the fruit is not to deny the root.

Key Issues

Verse by Verse Commentary

v. 14 What use is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?

James begins with a direct and practical question. He is not interested in abstract theology for its own sake. The question is one of utility, of profit. What good is it? Notice the setup: "if someone says he has faith." James is immediately casting doubt on the mere profession. The problem is not with faith, but with a particular kind of faith, a faith that is claimed but not demonstrated. The second question drives the point home with a sharp stick: "Can that faith save him?" The Greek is emphatic, pointing back to the specific kind of faith just described, the one unaccompanied by works. The implied answer is a resounding "No." A faith that does nothing is a faith that saves no one. It is a counterfeit.

v. 15-16 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?

Here is the first exhibit. The illustration is painfully simple and clear. You have a fellow Christian in genuine, basic need. They are naked and hungry. And the response from the one who "has faith" is a pious-sounding blessing. "Go in peace." This is a mockery. The words are good, but the hands are idle. The blessing is a dismissal. It is the cheapest form of charity there is, costing nothing but a few puffs of air. James again asks the question of profit: "what use is that?" The answer is obvious. It is of no use to the one in need, and it reveals the uselessness of the faith of the one offering the empty words. This is not compassion; it is contempt dressed up in religious language.

v. 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead by itself.

This is the central thesis of the entire passage. James draws the direct parallel. Just as your empty words are useless to the hungry man, so also your empty faith is useless for your salvation. He describes this faith as "dead." It is not merely sick or weak; it is a corpse. And it is dead "by itself." It doesn't need anything to kill it; its lack of works is the proof that it was never alive in the first place. A living thing acts. A living faith works. If there are no works, there is no life.

v. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; and I have works. Show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

James anticipates a clever objection. Someone tries to bifurcate faith and works, to assign them to different people as if they were different spiritual gifts. "You specialize in faith, and I'll specialize in works." This is a fool's errand. James's response is a challenge. "Show me." Go ahead, try to demonstrate your faith apart from any corresponding action. You cannot. Faith is invisible. It is an internal reality of the heart. The only way to make it visible, to show it to another person, is through the works it produces. James, on the other hand, can readily demonstrate his faith. How? By his works. The works are the evidence, the public display of the internal reality.

v. 19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.

Now James takes on the nature of this so-called "faith." He grants the objector his central creedal statement, the Shema from Deuteronomy 6:4. "You believe that God is one." This is the bedrock of Jewish monotheism. And James says, "You do well." Your theology is correct. Your doctrine is orthodox. But this is not enough. To prove his point, he brings in the demons. They also believe this truth. Their theology on the unity of God is impeccable. But does this "faith" save them? Not at all. In fact, their correct belief produces not love and obedience, but terror. They "shudder." Theirs is a faith of correct information without submission, of intellectual assent without heart transformation. If your faith is no better than that of a demon, you are in deep trouble.

v. 20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?

James's tone is sharp here. "You foolish fellow" or "O vain man." He is not mincing words. The person who insists on separating faith from works is not just mistaken; he is a fool. He is blind to the obvious. James is calling him to wake up and recognize the truth: a barren faith is a useless faith. The word for useless here can also mean idle or barren. It produces nothing.

v. 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?

Here is the prime exhibit for the prosecution, the father of the faithful himself. James asks a rhetorical question, expecting a "yes." Abraham was justified by works. What work? The climactic act of obedience in his life: offering Isaac on Mount Moriah. Now, this is where people get tangled up, thinking James contradicts Paul. But look closely. When was Abraham declared righteous by faith? In Genesis 15, many years before the binding of Isaac in Genesis 22. Paul quotes Genesis 15:6 to show that justification is by faith. James quotes the same verse in a moment (v. 23) to show what that faith looks like when it is put to the test. The "justification" James speaks of here in verse 21 is not the initial declaration of righteousness, but the public vindication of that righteousness. His work on the altar was the proof, the demonstration, that his faith from decades earlier was the real thing.

v. 22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected.

James explains the dynamic. Faith and works are not enemies; they are partners. Faith was the engine, and it was "working with his works." The works were the outworking of the faith. And through this process, faith was "perfected." This doesn't mean his faith was sinful and then became sinless. It means it was brought to its intended goal, its maturity. A faith that is tested and proven is a mature faith. An apple blossom is perfected when it becomes an apple. Abraham's faith reached its full expression in his radical act of obedience.

v. 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS COUNTED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God.

This is the brilliant stroke. James shows that the event of Genesis 22 did not contradict Genesis 15 but rather fulfilled it. It filled it up with meaning. The offering of Isaac was the living commentary on what it meant that "Abraham believed God." His action showed the world what God already knew in Genesis 15. And as a result of this life of demonstrated faith, he received the highest possible commendation: he was called the friend of God. Friendship with God is not for those who merely agree with His doctrinal statements. It is for those who walk with Him in obedience.

v. 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.

This is James's conclusion from the life of Abraham. And again, we must be careful. By "justified," James means vindicated, proven, shown to be righteous. And by "faith alone," he means the kind of dead, demonic, useless "faith" he has been describing throughout the chapter. He is saying that a man is shown to be righteous by what he does, and not by a mere profession of faith that stands alone, barren and dead.

v. 25 And in the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?

Lest anyone think this principle only applies to great patriarchs, James brings in Rahab. She was a Gentile, a woman, and a prostitute. Her resume was not impressive. Yet she too was "justified by works." What was her work? She hid the spies and sent the authorities on a wild goose chase. Her actions were a tangible expression of her faith in the God of Israel (Josh. 2:9-11). She staked her life on that faith. Her works proved her faith was real, and she was incorporated into the people of God.

v. 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

James concludes with a final, powerful analogy. Everyone knows what a body without a spirit is. It's a corpse. It may have all the component parts, but without the animating spirit, it is lifeless. The application is direct and unavoidable. Faith is the body; works are the evidence of the spirit. If there are no works, there is no animating life. The faith is dead. It is not a question of which is more important, the body or the spirit. You need both for a living person. And you need both faith and works for a living Christian.

Application

The message of this passage is a bracing tonic for a church that is often tempted to value right words over right actions. It forces us to look in the mirror and ask hard questions. Does my profession of faith in Jesus Christ have any tangible evidence in my life? When I see a brother or sister in need, do my hands move as quickly as my mouth?

This is not a call to earn our salvation through works. That would be to misunderstand both James and Paul. The ground of our justification is the finished work of Christ alone, received by faith alone. But the faith that receives this great salvation is a living faith, a faith that breathes and moves and acts. It is a faith that produces good works as naturally as a living apple tree produces apples.

Therefore, we should not be afraid of the word "works." We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Eph. 2:10). The works do not save us, but they are the evidence that we have been saved. They are the proof that the Spirit is alive in us. If we look at our lives and see no fruit, no works of love and obedience, we should not comfort ourselves with the thought that we have a "correct" faith. We should be alarmed, as one would be alarmed by a body that has no pulse. The remedy is not to try to staple fruit onto dead branches, but to cry out to God for the gift of true, living faith that only He can give.