Living Faith or Lip Service? Part 1
James 2:14
James 2:14
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?”
Our third project in God’s blueprint for building a mature believer is the testing your faith. But what is faith? We talk about faith, we are familiar with the word, but do we really understand what it means to have faith. The words faith, faithful, and faithfulness are used 393 times in the bible (NIV Translation). You have probably read many of these “faith” verses over the years, but have you ever stopped to consider the deep truths behind the word? I remember reading the definition of faith in Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” and walking away saying to myself, “What in the world does that mean?”
Without limiting or reducing the deep meanings of God’s word let’s go to a more simple, and understandable, definition of the word faith. Modern dictionaries define faith as: 1) an allegiance to another person; and more specifically 2) a belief, and trust, and loyalty to God. These are the three key words I want to focus on in this chapter...belief, trust, and loyalty. They are three key ingredients to a sound relationship with God. If you don’t believe in God how can you have faith? If you don’t trust God with your life, especially when we consider the book of James and trials, how can you have faith? And if you are not loyal to God, again...how can you have faith?
Let’s look at the positive side of this conversation. God wants to build on your basic belief in Him so you can have a deeper understanding of who He is. God also wants to build your trust in Him, using trials, so you can become a stronger and mature Christian whose trust in God is unwavering. Thirdly He wants to build up your loyalty in Him so nothing can come between the two of you. God wants your faith to be stronger and stronger with each passing day. This is the test James will be discussing in the text.
James opens up this third test with a bold statement. “What good is it. (by the way this is a rhetorical question where the answer is obviously telling us the man’s claim of faith is worthless) ...if a man claims to have faith. Let’s stop right there. We have a man who is claiming, meaning he is verbally expressing, faith in God. A man who is claiming to believe in God, trust in God, and have loyalty to God. You with me so far?
So we have a claim… or a statement by a man, saying he is a believer. A man claiming to have put his “faith” in God. Let’s go back to James’ bold statement: “...but has no deeds?” We must be careful in how we interpret James’ rhetorical question. We have a man who claims to have faith in God, but has no good deeds to express, or demonstrate, his faith in God. James finishes up his rhetorical question by saying, “Can such faith save him?” Remember that because this is a rhetorical question James has already saying, “No!” In this third test… the test of faith, James is saying that a man who only claims to have faith and has no demonstration of faith is NOT saved.
You may be asking yourself, “What?!...I thought we were saved by grace and not by works?!!”.. and you are absolutely right. The apostle Paul, in Ephesians 2:8-9 said, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith (in Jesus Christ) and this is not from yourselves (meaning you didn’t do it), it is the gift of God, not by (your own) works, so that no one can boast (that they attained salvation on their own).” This may seem like a contradiction on the surface, but a deeper look into the Scriptures shows us that Paul and James were in complete agreement with one another in their teachings.
First we need to understand who were Paul and James speaking to ...who are they talking to and what is the context of their teaching. In Ephesians Paul is writing to believers in the church of Ephesus. He is reminding them of their unsaved and sinful condition before they came to have faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:1-7). So Paul makes the statement that when a person is unsaved and then puts their faith in the Lord for the purpose of becoming saved, there are no good deeds...no works of the person involved. The process of salvation is God’s gift and God’s doing. You didn’t add anything to the salvation process. You didn’t do anything to earn it...didn’t do anything to deserve it. Salvation was totally and completely God’s doing. This is the substance of Paul’s teaching here in Ephesians. Paul was teaching how unsaved people become saved and enter the family and kingdom of God.
James’ audience is completely different. He is also writing to believers, but he is taking the view point of a person who is already saved. See the difference? Paul was speaking about people who were lost and how they came to the position of being saved. James is speaking about people who are already in the position of being saved and are taking the next step after being save. James is saying now that you are saved...you should be living for God. All believers, once saved, should be living a lifestyle that demonstrates their salvation. God calls this demonstration of salvation good works or good deeds.
Let’s look at it another way. Say you met someone who “claimed” to be a runner. They claimed to run 10 miles a day, claimed to run in events such as 5K runs, marathons, and the like. They claim to have all the best gear and expensive running shoes. They claim to stay fit and eat all the right foods in keeping with their sport. As you listen to all these claims what would you expect from this person? Would you expect them to demonstrate their ‘faith”...their “claims” of running by actually going out and doing it? Do you expect them to actually run and workout? How about someone who claims to be a basketball player… do you expect them to actually play basketball? Do you expect a fireman to actually go and put out fires? Do you expect a pilot to actually fly a plane? I could go on with such examples forever, but the point is this. If you claim to be something...then your lifestyle should line up with your claims. You must live a lifestyle of activity that supports your claim...otherwise you are lying...you are not really what you claim to be.
Is the same true for the Christian? Should a person who “claims” to be a believer actually live their life in such a way that others can see (by good deeds) they are a Christian? If someone “claims” to be a believer and never demonstrates the qualities of a believer...never demonstrates the lifestyle God asks for in His Word, but instead shows a lifestyle of improper language and activity that would contradict the things the Bible asks us to do...is that person really saved, are they really a believer? Or are they just “claiming” to be one? Now do you see where James is going with his opening statement? He is challenging some of the people in his church who are claiming to be saved but are not demonstrating the activity of the believer.
James asks the question...a rhetorical question...a question that should seems absurd...a question with an obvious answer: What good is it if someone claims to be a Christian, a believer, a person changed by God himself through rebirth, a person who has been given the Holy Spirit to dwell within them...what good is it if they never show a changed life by the good deeds that come from a changed life?
