James 2:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

NIV: As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

NASB: For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

CSB: For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

NLT: Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.

KJV: For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

NKJV: For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Here James completes his case for an often-misunderstood teaching. His point is that genuine faith in God naturally leads the believer to participate in good works. This isn't a particularly radical idea, even from a non-spiritual point of view. If we actually believe that God is truly God and that He has saved us through our faith in Christ, why would we not obey Him? Our deeds don't earn our salvation, but what we do proves whether or not we really have saving faith.

James drives the point home here with one last illustration. James makes a clever word-play here, similar to one Jesus uses in John chapter 3. James claims that a faith without works is just as dead as a body without pneumatos. This Greek term can mean "wind," which is a euphemism for breathing, or it can mean "spirit," or even capital-S-"Spirit," meaning the Holy Spirit. The wordplay is key to seeing how serious James is about the implications of this teaching. A body without breath is dead. A person without "the Spirit" is spiritually dead. James ties together a lack of breath, a lack of spirit, and the presence of death with the concept of a works-less faith.

Bodies which don't breathe are dead. In the same way a so-called-"faith"—whether in the form of religion, or family identity, or intellectual knowledge—that is not accompanied by good works is not a living thing. It's dead. The spiritual implications are clear; works-less faith is not saving faith.

Good works can take many forms. In this chapter, James emphasized the good works of Christians loving each other as we love ourselves. He specifically emphasized meeting each other's physical needs. He has also stressed obedience to God.

James's teaching, for all the debate it generates, can be summarized briefly: We are saved by faith, and saving faith produces good works. Those who lack works prove that they lack saving faith.

James 2:14–26 makes the case that how one acts—their ''works''—are a sign of the kind of ''faith'' they possess. So-called-''faith'' which doesn't lead a person to participate in good works is not a saving faith; it is a dead thing. It is pointless and meaningless to believe, or ''wish,'' a poverty-stricken person to be well, if such an opinion leads to no action. In exactly the same way, James insists that it is not enough to mentally agree about certain facts of God. If what a person believes about God does not lead them to act accordingly, then their ''faith'' is not saving faith. It is merely opinion. James never says that faith is not essential for salvation. He never claims works are required to obtain or keep salvation. He is, however, crystal clear that truly saving faith cannot be separated from the evidence of good works.

Genuine saving faith in God leads to good and loving actions: ''works.'' In chapter 1, James discussed the importance of acting on the words of God, not merely hearing them. Favoritism to the rich over the poor demonstrates a lack of faith. In fact, this is a sin. Following up on these ideas, James insists that ''faith'' which doesn't result in good works is dead. Such belief is merely intellectual agreement. It is not trust, or true, biblical saving faith. James doesn't deny that belief in God is essential to salvation, nor does he claim that works are necessary to obtain salvation. Rather, he makes the case that works are to faith what the breath is to the body: a sign of life. A ''faith'' without works is like a body without breath: dead.

In chapter 1, James taught that a saving belief in God changes how a Christian looks at trials in their lives. It affects where they turn for help, and who they credit for good. Believers hear the Word and do it. In this chapter, James insists that our faith in God should keep us from showing favoritism to the rich and powerful on earth and should provoke us to love our poor neighbors as ourselves. He also makes the case that so-called-''faith'' which does not result in works, is not saving faith, at all. Despite controversy, this does not clash with Paul's view of salvation by grace alone. James refers to good works as an expected outcome of salvation, not the source of it. In the following chapters, he will continue to show what a life of genuine faith looks like.

The book of James is about specifically understanding what saving faith looks like. How does faith in Christ reveal itself in a believer's life? What choices does real trust in God lead us to make? Those are the questions James answers. Most scholars believe the writer was Jesus' half-brother, a son born to Joseph and Mary after Jesus' birth. James may not have come to believe Jesus was the Messiah until after the resurrection. Eventually, though, he became one of the leaders of the Christian church in Jerusalem. This is possibly the earliest-written of all the New Testament books, around AD 40–50. James addresses his letter to Jewish Christians scattered around the known world.