James 2:14-19

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?  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?  So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.  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!

Fake faith is not saving faith.  Works are incapable of saving us from sin.  These two statements represent two extremes that must always be kept in balance.  There is no question that salvation is by faith and not according to our works.  However, a faith that does not result in a change in life is not genuine faith.  James strives to show us the characteristics of fake faith.

USELESS FAITH: Faith that does not produce works in a person’s life is useless because it reveals that the faith is not genuine.  It is a type of “words only” faith.  There are those who say that they believe, or who might have repeated a prayer at some point in time.  The simple mouthing or repetition of words is not genuine saving faith.  Just like telling a shivering and starving person to be warmed and filled will do nothing to alleviate the cold or hunger; professing words of faith will do nothing to rescue from sin.  Genuine faith occurs in the heart and impacts a person in their entirety.  Simply saying that you believe something is not the same thing as actually believing it.

LIFELESS FAITH: When true faith occurs in the life of a person, the Holy Spirit indwells that person’s heart and imparts to them new life.  This new life delights in the Lord and longs to please Him.  This life that comes from the Holy Spirit will have a hatred for sin and love for the Lord.  That love will be demonstrated by a life that loves and helps others who are created in the image of God.  This is why James says that a faith that produces no works, or love of God that is demonstrated by a love for others is a dead faith.  This type of dead faith that demonstrates no fruit of the Spirit living in them will not save.

LOVELESS FAITH: Proverbs says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  Those who truly believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation from their sin will have a burning desire to please Him.  Simply believing truths about God, like that He is one or that Jesus died on the cross is not saving faith.  Satan and his demons believe those things to be true and even tremble in light of that truth.  Recognizing certain facts are true without a genuine desire to be rescued from our sin and love the Lord is not saving faith.

APPLICATION: Don’t trust in words that have been repeated or mouthed at some point in life as saving faith. Look for evidence that the Spirit of God is producing life that results in a love of God and others.  Live in a way that demonstrates a genuine desire to please the Lord.

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