But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?  You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. James 2:18-26

Today we reflect on James 2:18–26. The second part of verse 18 says, “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works”.

In the previous section James made the point that real faith always shows itself in works. A faith that saves an individual is a faith that is alive, producing fruit. If someone says that they have faith, but it doesn’t result in a life of service to others then the so-called faith is in fact, dead.

It is vital that we understand, James is not saying that good works earn salvation for us. That is not what James or anyone in Scripture teaches.

I heard this line in a movie recently, I have been thinking over it the last few days, “Its not who we are underneath that counts, it’s our actions that define us”. People often believe they are their intentions. I would care for the poor in the right circumstances, I would clothe a cold person who was going without.  I would sacrifice the most important thing in my life for God. Somehow, those intentions never become a reality, those ideals never meet life. You believe you are something underneath but that is not what defines you, what defines you are your actions. V21-22 of our passage says, “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works”

Immediately we want to say, but its Christ that defines me. Yes, it is, but James’ point is that action demonstrates the work of Christ in our life, it shows the presence of faith. Works don’t add to faith or earn favour from God. This is clear in v18, where he says he will show his faith by his works.

The truth of this passage is that merely saying, “I believe” is not enough for salvation, because even the demons do that (v19). Saving faith that trusts in the great work of Jesus on the cross changes a person in a way that is visible to others; it makes them people who obey the Lord and want to do good.

Just so we don’t miss the point, James uses Abraham as an example to show that faith apart from works is no faith at all. In v21 James says that Abraham was justified by his works when he offered up Isaac. James is not using the word “justify” in the same way the Paul uses it in Romans, or the way we normally speak about “justification”. By justify James means “demonstrate” (Jesus used it this way in Matthew 11:19).

When James says Abraham was justified by offering up Isaac, he is saying that Abraham’s faith is demonstrated, it’s seen, by his obedience. His actions defined him as a man of faith. Abraham’s work didn’t make him stand justified in God’s eyes, but it does justify his claim to faith to us.

Good works do not always mean there is true faith, but true faith always produces good works. We can see unbelievers doing fantastic works, excellent works of good apart from faith. How do we know then if our good works are coming from a place of true faith? It is only if we preform them not to earn salvation, or placate our guilty conscience, but as an act of gratitude for what God has already accomplished for you.

Ask the Lord to help you today to live a life that overflows with thankfulness for the once-for-all rescue on Golgotha. And look to live in the freedom that is yours now, free from sin and freed unto righteousness.