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Faith Works
By Anika Sandy-Hanson
The book of James, though short, packs quite a punch. Throughout the book, faith is mentioned and expounded upon; leading a reader to believe faith is an important component of Christian life. Although many believers treat faith and “works” as opposed to one another, this is not the lesson taught by James. In fact, James 2:17 states, “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” Here, the NIV Bible uses the term “action” in place of works, but the meaning is still clear. Faith cannot exist on its own; a person with true faith would also act faithfully. What are some of the ways that we can act faithfully? The book of James answers this question as well.
First, James 2:14 asks, “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?” James questions whether a person can be saved with faith that is not substantiated by actions. The word save is translated from the Greek sozo, which means deliver or protect. Could James be asking if faith can gain us protection or deliverance from destruction? If that is the question, then verse 15-17 seems to answer the question. James 2:15-17, “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food, If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” Once again, James appears to hold faith without works in little regard. Imagine the hungry multitude coming to Jesus for food and rather than acting to miraculously feed them, Yashua instead sends them away stating that he hopes they find food. We could not imagine the Savior exhibiting such empty faith because that is not the behavior He modeled for us. Jesus had the greatest faith exhibited; however, He also had the greatest actions ever known.
In concluding the chapter, James highlights the examples of Abraham and Rahab to show the regard God has for faith complimented by action. In fact, if there was any doubt as to faith/works debate. James makes a conclusive statement in 2:24, “You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.” In making this statement James is first saying faith is necessary for justification. “Not by faith alone” means faith is one ingredient, but is not sufficient in itself. Second, “a person is justified by what he does”; therefore, action/works are the second necessary ingredient for justification. Now that we have the formula, the next question may be, what is justification. The Greek, dikaioo (pronounced dik-ah-yo’-o), means to be free, just, innocent, or righteous. Thus, could James be telling us that one way to show our righteousness is to act rightly and to have faithful actions? Let’s explore that possibility. (Delve into James 2: 1-13, the problem with believing justification by actions, the “law of freedom, and the importance of faith and how to grow our faith.)
James 2:18 says “But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.” Thus, in Matthew 15:19-20 Jesus explained to the disciples that we are only as good as our thoughts and our motivations. The Pharisees attempted to accuse the Messiah for eating with unclean hands, a practice that even today is known to allow impurities into our bodies. However, Jesus countered that these physical impurities would be removed through the natural cleansing process and would not remain to make us “defiled” or ceremonially unclean, preventing us from appearing before the Father. Rather, it is our heart, or in the Greek our kardia (thoughts or feelings) that need to be monitored. Yashua tells us that whatever we say is a manifestation of our mind and it is our mind that can make us unclean and keep us from the Father. Jesus places a value on our actions and by extension, our thoughts.
Later, in Matthew 15:22-28, a woman shows us what Jesus means about the speaking/thinking connection. When Jesus tests her faith by not immediately responding to her request for healing her daughter, the woman shows great humility, faith and wisdom in her answer. Clearly, her heart was in the right place. She followed up on her faith with actions, which led Jesus to commend her on her faith and to heal her daughter as she requested. In fact, we should note there was no one healed by Jesus who received a miracle by faith alone. Every recorded miracle came by the recipient acting through faith. In fact, contemporary Christians will rarely argue we are not required to abstain from lying, stealing, or committing adultery. Only one commandment, requiring us to keep a Sabbath rest, is ever questioned; yet, this commandment was set in place from the foundation of the world, Genesis 2:2-3. Rather than attempting to justify our human decision to break one commandment by misquoting James 2, we should praise God and ask him for greater levels of faith and greater constancy in our actions. i
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