“You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.” James 2:24

Thursday night, 7 PM.  The weekly Bible study at our home.  We’re making our way through Genesis, one verse at a time.  We read the passage where God establishes the covenant with Abram.  We followed the reference as it is used Romans and James.  One of the women looks frustrated.  “I know that it says justification by faith.  All my life my church talked about “imputed” – whatever that means.  But what about James?  He says it takes works too.  How can both of these be right?”

Sometimes we have to look across many different passages to make sense of just one.  That’s the case here.

James says, “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone”.  What a confusing and difficult passage!  Paul’s central focus is justification by faith alone.  It is the theme of Romans.  It is the argument of Galatians and Corinthians.  Now it looks like James is saying that we need faith, but we also need something else.  How do we resolve this dilemma?

The Greek word for “works” here is ergon.  We get the word “energy” from this root.  There are other words that James could have used.  That gives us a clue to the meaning behind James’ assertion.   He uses a word for active zeal.  This is the word that John uses over and over to describe the miracles (signs) that Jesus performs.  In the New Testament, it is action that follows submission to God.

With that in mind, let’s look at the context.  James is writing about a real issue in the church.  He tells his readers, “Suppose someone says that they have faith.  Then they meet a person who is in great need.  The person is destitute.  He needs clothes and food.  But the one who claims to have faith tells him – “Oh, don’t worry.  Let peace warm you and fill you.  Let me show you the door.”  Now James says, “Is that faith any good?”

The first point that James is making is this:  faith means nothing if it does not result in actions.

I have hundreds of theology books.  They sit on shelves in my library.  They are the documentation of my faith.  But if my life shows no active zeal for God’s purposes, what good is my claim to believe?  I have had some of those books for decades.  The content of those books hasn’t changed.  Not a single word has been altered since I bought them.  But for many years my life did not reflect what was written about my faith on those pages.  God and I fought for control.  I did many things I now regret and am ashamed of.  The content of the beliefs did not change, but it was not being practiced.  James wants me to know that unless my faith is demonstrating itself in active zeal, I am giving up God’s attempt to restore me (justify me).

Recently disaster struck my family.  Everyone who knows about it says to me, “Oh, I’m so sorry”.  Their emotion is genuine.  Many are encouraging.  “Don’t worry.  Soon you’ll be back on top.”  Then the conversation turns toward less uncomfortable things.  Only a few people have come quietly and said, “I want you to know that you can count on me.  I want to help you.  Do you need anything now?  Just ask.  What’s mine is yours”.

We all know this story.  It is the “not my problem, man” theology.  James is giving us a little spiritual evaluation test – which group are you in, the ones who say, “Oh, what a tragedy.  If there’s anything I can do, just call” or are you in the group that says, “You don’t even have to ask.  Here, take this.  I know you can use it”.

Once I was in the “in-between” camp.  I had money, lots of it.  So, when the situation seemed right, when I was feeling generous, I gave.  But there were plenty of times when my first thought was, “Why should I always be the one to take care of this?  It’s my money.  I can do what I want with it.”  I was so wrong.  God saw my mishandling of the fortune he entrusted to me and He called in my loan.  “I want you to learn about mercy and debt”, He said.  “So, I going to put you on the other side of the coin.  You need an experience in dependence”.   He is right.  He always is.  I am learning to be a much better waiter because I am now a busboy.

I used to be the one who said, “I’m so sorry”.  Now I need to be the one who doesn’t wait to help.  James doesn’t say, “Wait in comfort until God directs you to do something”.  He says, “When you see someone in trouble, get your faith going.  Do something to help”.  James’ command comes from his understanding that God spreads His treasures around so that we can have the privilege of sharing them.  When I took care of only myself, God realized that I needed an attitude adjustment.  I needed to be the one who was in trouble so that I could experience the design of divine sharing.  A lesson like mine is never forgotten.

But James is also fighting another problem.

James is concerned about the idea that I can earn my way to God.  The flip side of “justification by works” is not “justification by faith alone”.  It is “justification through works”.  The Jewish community was greatly influenced by their Rabbis.  These men taught that God dealt with us on the Principle of Right Action.  If you did the right thing, God would bless you.  If you did the wrong thing, God would punish you (either now or later).  They believed that doing the right thing obligated God to reward you.  Therefore, they sought justification with God through (because of) their efforts.  In other words, they put works before justification.  They kept a celestial scorecard.  Do the good deeds, reap the rewards.

But this is not what James is saying.  James tells us that faith should produce good works.  He uses the example of Abraham’s willing sacrifice of Isaac.  He says Abraham was justified in the active zeal of this sacrifice (verse 21).  But then he goes on to say, “And the Scripture was fulfilled saying, “Abram believed God and it was counted righteousness to him” (verse 23).  This is a direct quote of Genesis 15:6.  But verse 21 comes from Genesis 22:9.  Which event came first?  Genesis 15:6 or 22:9?  Of course, the statement that Abram’s belief was counted as righteousness came before the sacrifice.  What James is saying is that the active zeal found in the sacrifice put the behavior stamp of commitment on the previous internal belief.  Unless Abraham believed, he would never have gone through with the sacrifice.  But unless he went through with the sacrifice, there was no behavioral evidence of his belief.  Faith spills into action.  Action confirms faith.  The proof of justification is that life is changed.

Abraham was counted righteous (justified) the moment his heart validated God’s promise in the covenant.  But Abraham behaved in accordance with his belief when he put Isaac on the altar.  Works justified his commitment.

In order to fight the theology of the Principle of Right Action, James shows that the sacrifice is tied to the covenant belief.  They are inseparable.  Abram did not earn the covenant promise.  He wasn’t even a party to it.  He was the recipient of its benefit.  But it changed everything in his life.  And he demonstrated that change in his behavior.

The Principle of Right Action is motivated by control.  It seduces us into believing that right action produces right standing.  Both James and Paul agree that this is wrong.  Right standing before God is evidenced in right action.  There is no manipulation.

So James says, “If we claim to be believers but we don’t act out that belief in our actions, does our claimed-faith make any difference?”   Real faith automatically produces real energy toward the needs of others.  Faith without energy is dead.

I worked in a church in Chicago.  This church was once in a very upscale neighborhood, but over the years, the rich moved to the suburbs and now it was surrounded by a ghetto.  The white consistency was very uncomfortable with the black population.  When I started a tutoring program and a basketball team, some church members wanted it stopped.  There was no room in their church for kids from the street.  Believing all the right things without putting them in action “profits nothing”, James would say.

What James is fighting is the idea that once I adopt the right set of beliefs, no further effort on my part is needed. “I know that Jesus is the Christ.  I know that he died for me.  I’ve got the right “theology”.  So, my salvation is assured”.  This reasoning is no different than the Pharisees.  It basically says, “If I do this, then God has to do that”.  It’s an “earn my way to God through right thinking” theology.

James calls it on the carpet.  The test of real faith is that it produces active zeal – things happen.  Don’t tell me that you have faith and then ignore those in need!

How many times today we will cross paths with someone in need?   Do you have a faith that spills out in action?  Or do you walk by?  Why not read the story of the crippled man at the pool of Siloam?  It’s in John chapter 5.  Ask yourself what motivated Jesus to heal this man?  If you can’t figure it out, you don’t understand the aimlessness of compassion.