Living Faith

August 16, 2020 Background Scripture: James 2:14 – 26 Lesson Passage: James 2:14 – 26 I have expounded on this passage of scripture many times. Yet, I have not felt a sense of sufficiency after I was finished. It’s difficult to talk about this passage without going back and forth between it and Paul’s dissertation in Romans. The difficulty is that Paul and James used the same words, but they were speaking from two very different perspectives. Paul, in his defense of the doctrine of grace, wrote about the sufficiency of faith alone for salvation. James, on the other hand, wrote about the need for works as proof of sincere faith—which, at least on the surface, appears to violate the doctrine of grace. Both writers used the same incident to illustrate their position: Abraham’s encounter with God when Abraham believed what God told him and was considered righteous by God because of it. Paul saw that justification of Abraham at the time he believed God as justification without works. James saw Abraham’s action with Isaac about thirty years later as the works that proved the genuineness of Abraham’s initial faith. Based on this example, James seems to have implied that genuine faith will eventually produce works of righteousness—provided the opportunity to do so will exist. Both Paul and James conclude that God is the one who justifies believers because of their faith in Him. I know that Paul and James are both right because of the absolute integrity of the Bible. Now, let’s consider the opportunity to do works of righteousness. The thief on the cross next to Jesus did not have an opportunity to do anything after his confession of faith. However, Jesus’ response to him makes it clear that he was justified because of his faith. I believe James is right in that if this thief could have survived his crucifixion, those around him would have seen a very different person. That’s the point of living faith. As we live, our confession of faith should be repeatedly demonstrated through our actions. A person cannot make a confession of faith and continue to live contrary to that confession with a clear conscience. Genuine faith produces an internal change in people. That internal change will manifest itself through actions that would have been peculiar for that person prior to faith. An example of this can be seen in what a person believes about the local church. If one believes (has faith) that the Bible teaches that a saved person should be connected to a local church (by membership in today’s lingo), then that person will not avoid local churches and say, “God understands.” That person’s faith in the word of God will not allow him to continue to live as though he were an island, separated from others. That’s what living faith does. James gives other examples of it in his letter. There are many more that could be considered. James’ conclusion is that faith without actions that follow, based on it, is a dead faith. This is the same as saying that what was called faith by the person was never faith. People can make confessions that are not based on something they sincerely believe about the word of God. Faith begins with the knowledge of God’s word. The person who comes into this knowledge must decide if they choose to believe it or not. If one believes the word of God and confesses it as the truth, then their faith in the word of God will come alive within them. Their actions after their confession will be the manifestation of living faith. Robert C. Hudson July 25, 2020