James 2:14-26, A verse by verse study

Interesting. Whether the man in verse 14 has real faith or not is not in question.

The Holy Spirit did not question it ; why should you.

The answer to the question of “can faith save him?”

Is still “no” according to what the rest of the verses are saying. You are “quibbling”. Because you cannot logically refute what the Holy Spirit says in these verses.

When I quote what the Holy Spirit says in verses 17, 20, and 26 and you say I got it wrong—I know you are rejecting the word of God and it really does not matter what I say , or how much scripture I quote, you have rejected God’s word and refuse to accept what it says.

James is not talking about our eternal life. He is talking about our daily walk.....Physical life.

I hope you catch the point here. Remember the joke about the pastor who saw the warning for local flooding and was warned to evacuate?

He prayed to God to keep him safe and stayed in his home. The flood reached street level and firefighters came in big fire trucks to save him. He told the fire fighters he was staying and he had faith God would save him. The flood overcame his first floor and rescuers came by boat to save him. He told the rescuers that he had faith God will save him. The flood overcame his second floor and he climbed to the roof . rescuers flew in by helicopter to save him. He again denied their help and told them He had faith God would save him.

Well the flood overtook his roof, swept him away and he perished. Once in heaven, the pastor asked God why He didn't save him! God said," I tried 3 times but you wouldn't go with the help I sent."

yes, I remember that joke; but I disagree that the works in James 2 are only about our physical life. How would that apply to demons? They don’t walk a “physical life.” How would “works” save our physical life? Did you think that because of the illustration about being filled and warmed? That was just an illustration to show how useless faith is without works. He also uses Abraham’s offering of Issac his son, how did that help Abrahams physical life? He uses the illustration of the body without the spirit—how does that help our physical life?

Verse 14: “If some one says he has faith but does not have works, can faith save him?” It’s a rhetorical question; and the answer is “no.” This is his premise and the rest of the verses in this chapter support and prove this premise.
Note: the “works” talked about here are works that “save” , works of salvation. “Can works SAVE him?” These are soul saving works, necessary for salvation.

Verses 15-16 - are used as an EXAMPLE. If someone is hungry and cold, you have not helped him if all you do is say be filled and warmed. That doesn’t accomplish anything. That will not suffice,, that is not enough. Thus, therefore, also, in the same way, (verse 17) just having faith alone, without works, will not accomplish salvation. He puts it this way “Faith by itself, if it does not have works , is dead.” Faith without works does not meet the requirements of salvation.

Verse 18: you cannot “see” faith without works; but you can see my faith by the works that accompany my faith.

Verse 19- now he shows the foolishness of having faith apart from works. “Even the DEVILS believe! Demons are BELIEVERS! If just believing “alone” will save you, then the demons will be saved!! They believe so strongly that they tremble! If you believe all you have to do to be saved is believe, how are you any better than the demons? This is his point. You can’t be saved by “faith alone.”

Verse 20- do you not know “oh, foolish man, that faith without works is dead?”

Verse 21- He uses another example—Abraham—to prove his point. Abraham had faith but was justified by his work of obedience when he offered his son as a sacrifice like God told him. That’s when he was saved—not before, when he only had faith and had not offered that sacrifice. “Abraham was justified (saved) by works when he offered Isaac. ..”

Verse 22- HERE IS THE ANSWER TO THIS DEBATE ABOUT FAITH AND WORKS—“ you see that faith was working TOGETHER with his works and by works his faith was made PERFECT!” The answer is it takes BOTH—faith and works Both are necessary for salvation. It’s not one or the other—it’s BOTH!

Verse 23 says Abraham’s faith was accounted to him for righteousness (BECAUSE it was accompanied by works).

Verse 24-He confirms that a man is saved (justified) by WORKS—not works alone—and NOT BY FAITH ALONE. Or faith only. The works he is talking about are ESSENTIAL FOR SALVATION; and while they are “proof” of salvation their purpose is not for “evidence” but for the saving of the soul.

Verse 25- another example: Rahab. Rehab did not just believe; she was saved ( justified) by her work when she helped the spies. Another example to show how salvation is NOT by faith alone.

Verse 26- the last example of body and spirit. “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” This is the message and premise of James 2:14-26. It teaches one thing: The only way to be saved is to have “faith and works together” but faith only will not save anyone.

The “works” that save are the works that God has commanded us to do—like “repentance”. Acts 17:30- it originated with God not man. It is commanded by God. It is a “work of God” John 6:28-29. But if you believe in “faith only” you have eliminated Repentance as being necessary to salvation. You can’t have it both ways! Faith only means only faith and nothing else. It means nothing but faith is necessary to be saved. And you have eliminated “repentance.” Same for “confession”. Romans 10:10 Confession is necessary for salvation but “the doctrine of “faith only “ removes confession as being necessary. Salvation by faith alone makes repentance and confession unnecessary. So you can just forget them because you are already saved by faith alone. The problem is that you are denying what God says and calling Him a liar. Because if we are saved by faith alone then we will NOT be lost if we don’t repent. And if faith alone saves us then we won’t be lost if we don’t confess Christ and God just lied when He said it was for salvation. Romans 10:10.

The only way to harmonize Acts 17:30, Roman’s 10:10 and James 2:14-26 is to reject salvation by faith alone and accept what James 2:22 says— it takes BOTH, faith and works, working together to produce salvation of our souls.

Hebrews 12:15- Be careful lest anyone FALL SHORT of the grace of God.

Yes, that is true. It’s just that some people disagree with James when he argues that “works” are “necessary” and actually part of the salvation process (saved by works, James 2:21, 24,25) Thus, making “faith only” , like the demon’s faith, not able to save anyone.

John 6:29 (best scripture when debating with a Catholic, leaves them puzzled and convicted..)
"This is the work of God,
that you believe in Him who He
sent"
Faithworks

If James 2:24 means that works are necessary for salvation, the verse contradicts Ephesians 2:8-9. How do you reconcile the verses?

Yes, and Paul calls it a “work of faith” in 1 Thess. 1:3 and also 2 Thess. 1:11.

Verse 14: “If some one says he has faith but does not have works, can faith save him?” It’s a rhetorical question; and the answer is “no.” This is his premise and the rest of the verses in this chapter support and prove this premise.
Note: the “works” talked about here are works that “save” , works of salvation. “Can works SAVE him?” These are soul saving works, necessary for salvation.

Verses 15-16 - are used as an EXAMPLE. If someone is hungry and cold, you have not helped him if all you do is say be filled and warmed. That doesn’t accomplish anything. That will not suffice,, that is not enough. Thus, therefore, also, in the same way, (verse 17) just having faith alone, without works, will not accomplish salvation. He puts it this way “Faith by itself, if it does not have works , is dead.” Faith without works does not meet the requirements of salvation.

Verse 18: you cannot “see” faith without works; but you can see my faith by the works that accompany my faith.

Verse 19- now he shows the foolishness of having faith apart from works. “Even the DEVILS believe! Demons are BELIEVERS! If just believing “alone” will save you, then the demons will be saved!! They believe so strongly that they tremble! If you believe all you have to do to be saved is believe, how are you any better than the demons? This is his point. You can’t be saved by “faith alone.”

Verse 20- do you not know “oh, foolish man, that faith without works is dead?”

Verse 21- He uses another example—Abraham—to prove his point. Abraham had faith but was justified by his work of obedience when he offered his son as a sacrifice like God told him. That’s when he was saved—not before, when he only had faith and had not offered that sacrifice. “Abraham was justified (saved) by works when he offered Isaac. ..”

Verse 22- HERE IS THE ANSWER TO THIS DEBATE ABOUT FAITH AND WORKS—“ you see that faith was working TOGETHER with his works and by works his faith was made PERFECT!” The answer is it takes BOTH—faith and works Both are necessary for salvation. It’s not one or the other—it’s BOTH!

Verse 23 says Abraham’s faith was accounted to him for righteousness (BECAUSE it was accompanied by works).

Verse 24-He confirms that a man is saved (justified) by WORKS—not works alone—and NOT BY FAITH ALONE. Or faith only. The works he is talking about are ESSENTIAL FOR SALVATION; and while they are “proof” of salvation their purpose is not for “evidence” but for the saving of the soul.

Verse 25- another example: Rahab. Rehab did not just believe; she was saved ( justified) by her work when she helped the spies. Another example to show how salvation is NOT by faith alone.

Verse 26- the last example of body and spirit. “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” This is the message and premise of James 2:14-26. It teaches one thing: The only way to be saved is to have “faith and works together” but faith only will not save anyone.

In James 2:14, we read of one who SAYS/CLAIMS he has faith but has no works (to evidence his claim). That is not genuine faith, but a bare profession of faith. So, when James asks, "Can that faith save him?" he is saying nothing against genuine faith, but only against an empty profession of faith/dead faith. So, James does not teach that we are saved "by" works. His concern is to show the reality of the faith professed by the individual (James 2:18) and demonstrate that the faith claimed (James 2:14) by the individual is genuine. Simple!

In regard to "faith being alone" (James 2:17) or "faith without works is dead," (James 2:20) James does not mean that faith is dead until it produces works and then it becomes a living faith or that works are the source of life in faith. That would be like saying that a tree is dead until it produces fruit and then it becomes a living tree, and the fruit is the source of life in the tree. James is simply saying faith that is not accompanied by evidential works demonstrates that it's dead. If someone merely says-claims they have faith, but lack resulting evidential works, then they demonstrate that they have an empty profession of faith/dead faith and not authentic faith. (James 2:14)

In James 2:19, we read that the demons believe "mental assent" that "there is one God," but they do not believe in/have faith in/trust in/reliance in Jesus Christ for salvation. In other words, they do not believe in/on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31) and are not saved. Their trust and reliance are in Satan as demonstrated by their rebellion in heaven and continuous evil works.

In James 2:22, faith made perfect or complete by works means bring to maturity, to complete like love in 1 John 4:18. It doesn't mean that Abraham was finally saved based on merits of his works after he offered up Isaac on the altar in Genesis 22. When Abraham performed the good work in Genesis 22; he fulfilled the expectations created by the pronouncement of his faith in Genesis 15:6.

In James 2:23, the scripture was fulfilled in vindicating or demonstrating that Abraham believed God and was accounted as righteous. Abraham was accounted as righteous based on his faith (Genesis 15:6) not his works (Romans 4:2-3) long before he offered up Isaac on the altar in Genesis 22.

In James 2:24, James is not using the word "justified" here to mean "accounted as righteous" but is shown to be righteous. James is discussing the evidence of faith (says-claims to have faith but has no works/I will show you my faith by my works - James 2:14-18) and not the initial act of being accounted as righteous with God. (Romans 4:2-3)

In the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, the Greek word for justified "dikaioo" #1344 is:

1. to render righteous or such he ought to be
2. to show, exhibit, evince, one to be righteous, such as he is and wishes himself to be considered - *fits the context.
3. to declare, pronounce, one to be just, righteous, or such as he ought to be

In Matthew 12:37, we read - "For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." This is because our words (and our works) reveal the condition of our hearts. Words/works are evidence for, or against a man being in a state of righteousness.

God is said to have been justified by those who were baptized by John the Baptist (Luke 7:29). This act pronounced or declared God to be righteous. It did not make him righteous. The basis or ground for the pronouncement was the fact that God IS righteous. Notice that the NIV reads, “acknowledged that God's way was right.." The ESV reads, “they declared God just.” This is the "sense" in which God was “justified.” He was shown to be righteous.

Matthew 11:19 "The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax-gatherers and sinners!' Yet wisdom is justified/vindicated/shown to be right by her deeds."

The harmony of Romans 4:2-3 and James 2:24 is seen in the differing ways that Paul and James use the term "justified." Paul, when he uses the term, refers to the legal (judicial) act of God by which He accounts the believer as righteous. James, however, is using the term to describe those who would show the genuineness of their faith by the works that they do.

In James 2:25, Rahab believed in the Lord with authentic faith (Joshua 2:9-13), requested "kindness" (2:12), received the promise of kindness (2:14), and hung out the "scarlet line" (2:21), as the demonstration of her authentic faith. She showed that her faith in God was not a dead faith by her works, just as all genuine believers show theirs.

In James 2:26, the comparison of the human spirit and faith converge around their modes of operation. The spirit (Greek pneuma) may also be translated "breath." As a breathless body exhibits no indication of life, so fruitless faith exhibits no indication of life. The source of the life in faith is not works; rather, life in faith is the source of works. (Ephesians 2:5-10)

Through bad semantics and flawed hermeneutics, you error by putting the cart before the horse and teaching salvation by works.

Typically, I hear works-salvationists (particularly Roman Catholics) try to reconcile this contradiction by saying that Paul is merely talking about works of the law in Ephesians 2:9 and James is talking about good works. The problem with that conclusion is that Paul does not merely limit works to works of the law (Titus 3:5; 2 Timothy 1:9 etc..) and when it comes to the moral aspect of the law, good works cannot be dissected from the law. (Matthew 22:37-40)

In regard to James 2:24, James is not using the word "justified" here to mean "accounted as righteous" but is shown to be righteous. James is discussing the evidence of faith (says-claims to have faith but has no works/I will show you my faith by my works - James 2:14-18) and not the initial act of being accounted as righteous with God. (Romans 4:2-3)

Greek word for justified "dikaioo" Strongs #1344 is:

1. to render righteous or such he ought to be
2. to show, exhibit, evince, one to be righteous, such as he is and wishes himself to be considered
3. to declare, pronounce, one to be just, righteous, or such as he ought to be

You see that a man is justified (shown to be righteous) by works and not by an empty profession of faith/dead faith that remains alone "barren of works." (James 2:14)

*Fits the context.

Romans 4:2 - For if Abraham was justified (accounted as righteous) by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it (faith, not works) was accounted to him for righteousness. *Hermeneutics.

Greek word for justified "dikaioo" Strongs #1344 is:

1. to render righteous or such he ought to be
2. to show, exhibit, evince, one to be righteous, such as he is and wishes himself to be considered
3. to declare, pronounce, one to be just, righteous, or such as he ought to be

*Fits the context.

1Co 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Gal 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

Charity, love in action, is greater than faith, and faith works by love.

If a person does not have love then their faith is no good.

A person has to have the right perspective of faith that God's kingdom is love and people are a priority above their wants.

Love is only valid if it is done in action.

1Co 13:2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

Paul said he could have all faith so that he could remove mountains, but if he did not have charity he is nothing.

But then there are the works talked about in John 6:28-29. The people asked Jesus, “what shall we do that we may WORK the WORKS OF GOD.? So God has HIS works also, and they are NOT the works of Ephesians 2 or Galations 2. Jesus tells us one of them by name. We don’t have to guess. Verse 29 says, “This is the work of God, that you BELIEVE…”. Faith is a work of God, so if “faith” is a work of God, so must be “repentance” Acts 17:30 it is commanded of God; Romans 10:10 is also a work of God associated with salvation. “Confession is unto salvation. One of God’s works. Notice that “works” in James 2 is plural—meaning not just one.
Ephesians 2:8-9 is not talking about the same kind of works that James 2 is talking about.
We need to understand the difference.

I have said it many times in previous posts

Faith is not apossed to works..

Faith is not against works

Faith results in works

True Faith will naturally result in works.

They are unseperable,
Faith without works is dead and works without faith is useless.

Together they gain the result God desires.

Fruits of the Spirit and trust in God.

Heb 11:6-8
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. 8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

By faith Noah prepared an ark. By faith Abraham obeyed

Notice how faith and works are connected.

In regard to 1 Corinthians 13:13, Paul uses hyperbole about understanding ALL mysteries and ALL knowledge and having faith that can move mountains yet having NO love, but Paul is not using hyperbole about the importance of love. Faith works through love (Galatians 5:6), but we are saved through faith, not faith "plus love/acts of charity."

Love is the greatest quality between faith, hope and love (1 Corinthians 13:13) because God is love and it outlasts faith and hope. Long after the "evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1) are now seen and we are no longer looking for the "blessed hope" - (expectation of what is sure) and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13) because we are now in His presence, love will still be the principle that governs all that God and his saints are and do throughout eternity in the new heaven and new earth.

Paul is not teaching that even if our faith is genuine that our faith cannot save us without producing "enough" love/acts of charity which culminates in salvation by works. Paul is stressing the importance of love, not teaching that faith in Christ is insufficient to save us without the merits of our best efforts to love.

All who are truly born again have love. Why? Because we (believers) have received the love of God in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Romans 5:5) when we believed the gospel (Ephesians 1:13). We love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). 1 John 4:7 - Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

The “works” that save are the works that God has commanded us to do—like “repentance”.