Faith & Works

Ephesians 2:10 NKJV “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

There has been a long, ongoing debate over the meaning of James 2:26: “Faith without works is dead.”

We know, Biblically, that we are saved by grace through faith, and not by works: 
Eph. 2:8–9 NIV “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”
But, if we are honest, there is a small part of us that says, “But just in case…”

So what does James mean when he says, “Faith without works is dead”?

I think it becomes clearer when we stop looking at faith as a performance metric and instead look at it as the lifeblood of our relationship with God.

When something is alive, there are things that naturally happen because it is alive. Life produces activity. We don't do those things in order to become alive; we do them because we are alive.

You are not alive because you are breathing; you are breathing because you are alive.

You are not alive because you have intelligent thought; you have intelligent thought because you are alive.

Breathing, thinking, walking, talking, developing talents and skills—these are all workings of a living body. We don't perform these things in order to become alive. Rather, because we are alive, these things naturally flow from the life within us.

And I think this is what James is getting at.

James says, “I will shew thee my faith by my works” (James 2:18).
Notice what he doesn't say: “I will make my faith alive by my works.”
He says, “I will show you my faith by my works.”

Works don't give faith life. Works reveal that faith is alive.

Faith is the lifeblood of our relationship with God. We receive grace through faith. And this faith is not something we can manufacture on our own—it is given to us by God (Rom. 12:3 KJV “…God hath dealth to every man the measure of faith.”).

Just like we cannot create physical life for ourselves, spiritual life comes from God. And just as physical life produces physical activity, spiritual life produces spiritual activity.

So…

You are not saved because you do good works; you do good works because you have been saved.

You are not saved because you are righteous (our righteousness is as filthy rags); rather, the righteousness of Christ produces righteousness in you.

You are not saved because you are holy; you pursue holiness because God has saved you and made you holy.

You are not saved because you speak in tongues; rather, tongues are evidence of the Spirit's work in you.

These aren't works that we perform to purchase, earn, or maintain our salvation. They are the “workings” of a living faith in a living God.

These “works” are produced as our living faith interacts with the living God.

This is the distinction James is making.

Works are not the cause of our salvation; they are the evidence of a living faith.

Life without breath is dead. A dead body doesn't need to be told to stop breathing. It doesn't stop breathing because someone commanded it to stop. It doesn't have to perform the act of breathing in order to prove that it is alive. We would not expect that work from a corpse.

It only breathes because it is alive.

And living faith works the same way. A dead spiritual life does not produce good works, nor would we expect good works from a spiritual corpse.

It only produces good works because it is alive.

And just as physical life produces the evidence of life, living faith produces the evidence of faith.

So, no, we are not saved by works. We are saved by grace through faith. But if that faith is alive, it will work in us and through us.

That is why James says, “Faith without works is dead.”

So what do we do with this?

Go and do good.

Obey the Word of God. Make Him Lord over your life—not merely in what you believe, but in how you live.

Don't wait until you understand everything. Don't wait until you feel ready. Don't wait until you have mastered every area of your life.

Start where you are.

Take the faith you have and put it into action. Obey the next thing God has asked of you. Love somebody. Serve somebody. Forgive somebody. Obey and experience Acts 2:38. Give. Pray. Witness. Pursue holiness. Do the good that is in front of you.

You don't work to become alive.

You work because you are alive.

So faith yourself forward.

Let your faith move you toward obedience. Let your obedience deepen your faith. Let your faith produce works, and let those works show the world that there is life in you.

Because living faith doesn't sit still.

Faith works.