Let us imagine that you are the president of a company. You need to travel abroad and stay there for an extended time. Before leaving, you instructed your employees, “I want you to take care of business. I will e-mail you regularly on what you should do from now until I return from this business trip.”
Imagine your dismay when you returned and discover that your office is in shambles, some employees are sleeping and the others horsing around. And instead of making a profit, the company lost a lot of money while you were away.
I imagine you would demand, “What’s going on? What did you do while I was away? Did you receive my e-mails?” Then one of your key employees approaches you. “Yes, we got all your e-mails. We have printed it and bound it all in a book. And some of us have even memorized them. In fact, we have ‘e-mail study’ every Sunday. You know, those were really great e-mails.” I think you would shout, “What else did you do with my instructions?” How would you respond if your employee gives this answer? “Do? Well, nothing. But we read every one!”[1]
The scenario is really unthinkable. But, sadly, it actually happens in another arena… among people who claims to be believers. We claim we are the only Christian nation in Southeast Asia. Yet, we are considered the most corrupt country in the region. Are the words “Christian” and “corrupt” becoming more and more synonymous here? Instead of blaming others, I think we all need to face a mirror and ask, “What was my part in the problem? How can I be a part of the solution?” I believe national transformation starts with personal transformation. It starts with you and me. Whenever I reflect on this sad situation, the book of James comes to my mind. I could summarize it in two words: “Faith Works.” We are to “Do Something” with our faith. Let us pray first…
Keep your Bibles open in James 2:14-17[2] as we got through it verse by verse. Let us first look at the big picture. James was one of the half-brothers of the Lord Jesus in the flesh. At first he did not believe but after Christ rose from the dead he became a follower. He later on became a leader in the church in Jerusalem. He wrote this book that bears his name. It was the first book written for the New Testament. As I have said, the message of James can be condensed into two words: “Faith Works.” I have always told you, the faith that saves is the faith that works. To TRUST is to OBEY. Faith is not just BELIEVING but also BEHAVING.
In James 1:1-18, he talked about the test of faith. We are commanded in verses 2 to 3, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” The purpose of the test is to prove that our faith is genuine. It is basically the preparation of faith. Then from 1:19 to 5:6, James talked about the traits of faith. He detailed the proofs of faith. We read in 2:17, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” So we see here that works are the proofs of faith. That’s the context of our Bible passage today. Then in 5:7-5:20, James wrote about the triumph of faith. He wants to showcase the power of faith.
Verse 14 tells us, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” Many people make a mistake in their understanding of this passage. They thought that this verse proves that we are saved not only by faith but also by works. But that interpretation would run counter to what Ephesians 2:8-9 told us: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. We are not saved by works.
I believe these are two sides of the same coin. Ephesians teaches us how to know we’re Christians. James teaches us how to show we’re Christians. Ephesians teaches us how to become a Christian. James teaches us how to behave as a Christian. That’s why I said that faith is not just believing but also behaving. Ephesians teaches us that faith, not works, is the root of salvation. James teaches us that works are the fruit of salvation.[3] In others words, works are not a requirement for salvation. It is the result of salvation. The faith that saves is the same faith that works. When we trust Jesus as our Savior, we will obey Him as Lord. I am not saying that we receive Jesus as Savior now and then as Lord later. What I am saying is that the call to faith is also the call to follow. We are called not just to believe but also to behave.
So what does James meant in verse 14? “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” Note the word “says” and the phrase “does not have” are both in the present tense. It appears that the person “keeps on saying he or she has faith but keeps on having no works.”[4] Here we have a person who says or claims that he has faith. But the problem is he does not have works. The question is, “Is there any good at all in that kind of faith?” The way the question is constructed in Greek implies a negative answer. Such kind of faith is not good at all, if we can even call that faith. What about your faith? Is it the right kind of faith?
Look at the second question. “Can that faith save him?” Note that James did not write, “Can faith save him?” What he said was, “Can THAT faith save him?” He was not asking if faith can save us. He was asking if we have the right kind of faith. Again, the way the question is constructed in Greek implies a negative answer. So, verse 14 was saying, “If that is your kind of faith, then it cannot save you.” It is one thing to claim, it is another to confirm. To say that you are a Christian is one thing, to show that you are a Christian is another. To confess that you are a believer and then contradict it with your behavior is simply not acceptable. So, if your faith does not work, your faith does not save. It is not a saving faith when it is not a working faith. Faith is not just believing but also behaving.
Please don’t be confused. This is not a “which-came-first-the-chicken-or-the-egg” argument. This time I am telling you, the egg came first before the chicken. Faith is the egg. Works is the chicken. Faith must hatch into works. We trust first. Then we obey next. Trusting leads to obeying. When an egg fails to hatch into a chicken, it’s already dead. We call that in Filipino “bugok na itlog” or “rotten egg.” Verse 17 tells us, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” The word “dead” here means “Useless, without any life at all. It brings no results, and cannot lead to salvation”.[5] How’s your faith? Is it alive or dead?
Trusting and obeying are connected. That’s why I said, to trust is to obey. Look at John 3:36. “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” Note the words “believe” and “obey” are connected in this verse. In a sense, to believe in Christ is to obey Him. When we put our trust on the Lord Jesus, it is our first step of obedience. Believing in Christ is not the end. It is the beginning. It is not just a ticket to heaven. It also leads to a transformation of life. In Romans 1:5, the apostle Paul wrote that “we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations”. Note the phrase “obedience of faith”. This is the way the Good News Bible translated the last portion of the verse: “in order to lead people of all nations to believe and obey.” In the God’s Word version, it is described as “the obedience that is associated with faith.” So, faith and obedience are in close association. To trust is to obey. In the New International Version, it shows its connection with each other: “the obedience that comes from faith.” So, trusting leads to obeying. Faith is the root. Works are the fruit. So, is your faith bearing fruit? Is it fruitful?
James gave a very timely, practical illustration in verses 15-16, “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?” The greeting, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled” actually “is a Jewish expression for good-by and as an address to beggars… It signals the end of the encounter.”[6] It is just a polite way of waving them off. It is much like saying, “God bless you! I pray that God would provide for you” to a needy person but without doing anything at all. “In itself the phrase ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled’ is a pious wish and prayer for the welfare of the poor, but in reality it is a cop-out, masking a refusal to help the person in need.”[7] Now, of course, we know that our government prohibits giving alms to beggars because it encourages mendicancy. But it is not limited to beggars. We know a lot of needy people. We have relatives who may have been affected by the back to back typhoons that we all suffered. I think James had in mind Proverbs 3:27-28. “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it’—when you have it with you.” Simply put, talk is cheap. We need to act. James asked, “What good is that?” What benefit, what profit, what good is a faith without action?
I remember the story of a Christian who gathered his family to pray for a neighbor whose house just got burned. While they were praying for the needs of their neighbor, his youngest son stood up and went to the kitchen. The father could hear a lot of noise. So, after saying “Amen!” he went to the kitchen and asked his son what he was doing. He saw his son putting canned goods in a plastic bag. He looked up and said, “Aren’t we going to be the answer to our prayers?”
I would like to take this time to praise God for all of you who became the answer to our prayers in our recent relief effort. I am so blessed to see our people sacrifice resources, time and effort to help the less fortunate. On behalf of our church leadership, thank you very much. While we were loading and unloading relief goods, I heard one of our drivers tell the janitors, “We may not have the money to give them, but we can help them through this relief work.” Then, I heard that one of our volunteers body ached. So, I called to thank him for all his hard labor. I knew that we need more volunteers. Yet I was not even thinking of inviting him again because I heard about his body condition. But he himself asked if we need more volunteers for the next day! I told him that I was actually worried about him. But he said, “Masarap po maglingkod.” ("It was so satisfying to serve.") Thank you for acting upon your faith. Thank you that faith led to your obedience. Thank you that your faith works.
Of course, if you did that because you think you will be saved, I will still thank you but I would have to tell you that you could not earn your way to heaven. But if you are a believer and you helped out sincerely, the Bible says that God will reward you.
To trust is to obey. Faith is not just believing but also behaving. So, how’s your claim to faith? Do you follow it through with commitment? Are just saying it? Or are you also doing it? May we truly show our faith through our works! Let us not just declare. Let us also do something. Let us pray…
[1]Adapted from the Sermon Illustrations database of Biblical Studies Foundation. http://bible.org/illustration/company-president
[2]Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[3]Based on Rick Warren’s “How to Have Real Faith” (“Developing a Faith that Works” series).
[4]Cleon Rogers, Jr. and Cleon Rogers III, “The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament.”
[5]ESV Study Bible.
[6]Rogers.
[7]ESV Study Bible
