By Brad Eggerton
The book of James, with it’s obliteration of the idea of fruitless faith – reiterating what Paul touched on earlier in the New Testament in Romans 6 – utters the shocking truth to many unregenerate professing Christians: “Even the demons believe, and shudder!” (2:19)
It really is a great tool to use in the lukewarm Bible belt, however, ever since I started doing a great deal of mission work in Utah outreaching to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it has prompted me to do a more in-depth study of certain passages in the book. Many Latter-day Saints fuse the doctrines of sanctification and justification together, thus confusing the true relationship between faith and works that both James and the Apostle Paul were getting at.
First, let me assert the general LDS understanding of this passage. James 2:14 says,
What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? (NASB)
A Latter-day Saint will look at this verse and say, “Bingo! The Protestants are wrong. You must have works and not just faith.” Why? Because this verse, very plainly, says that faith without works cannot save. One can then only pragmatically conclude that in order to have a saving faith, one must work. The LDS typically believe that Protestants generally just wish to say that they merely only believe in God, and then choose to ignore the ideas of having to strive to live a holy life of repentance and taking up one’s own cross, which the New Testament so adamantly demands. Point blank, my LDS friends, that is not what Protestants believe (or should believe, unfortunately). However, I do not believe the LDS interpretation of this text to be accurate. Allow me to explain:
Notice the key words, “If someone says…”. That is the key to this verse. James never indicates that the person in question did indeed have a true faith, but only that the person said that he had faith. This is very well documented in our culture today; one needn’t go any further than outside the Bible belt, where a majority of people will profess a merely academic faith in the existence and acknowledgement of Christ’s death on the cross and payment for sin, but still will hold to an ignorance of the true Gospel of reconciliation and imputation of righteousness.
The King James Version (the translation that the LDS Church uses), misses an important part of verse 14 as well. In the NASB (my favorite translation – so loyal to the Greek), it says “Can that faith save him?” whereas in the KJV it says, “Can faith save him?” The way this translates into modern English understanding does not communicate well enough what James was meaning. James never intended for his readers to think that this person genuinely had faith to begin with. James only wished to show that a true saving faith will always be accompanied by fruit.
Think of it like this: Imagine that Christ came down to earth and told you that all he wanted you to do to inherit eternal life is to plant and grow an apple tree. You do what he says – you go and plant the tree, and then, months (years? Don’t know…) later, Christ returns to see your tree. If you really planted an apple tree, there’s going to be apples on the tree. Both LDS and Christians alike will agree with this. Where the beliefs separate, however, is by what Christ looks at. What was Christ’s command? To plant an apple tree. Was it to grow apples? No… Christ does not care about apples. He has plenty of them already. He just wants an apple tree.
In the same manner, it is our FAITH that Christ wants. It is our FAITH that makes us whole. It is our FAITH that Christ uses as an agent to impute his righteousness unto us.
Take note of Romans 4:3-5 (NASB):
For what does the Scripture say? ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.4Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. 5But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.
“Abraham believed God…” God looked at Abraham’s faith after having told him that his elderly wife was going to bear a child. There was no work present here, and God credited righteousness unto Abraham. Later on,
“His wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due.” This is what many Latter-day Saints fail to realize. I like to ask many of them, “Why do you think I do good works but yet still think salvation is by faith alone?” Many of them are baffled by this. Why is it? Simply, because it is due and God ordained me to do them. Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” I belong to Christ, I have been found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own (Phil. 3), so now I can bear fruit for Him, even though that fruit is not a favor I am doing for God. My works do not contribute to my right standing with God! That was taken care of the moment I was born again, by grace through faith. (John 3:5, Eph. 2:8-10)
“To him that does not work…” There is the answer to the question. We need to stop working! Yes, we MUST stop working… for righteousness. Righteousness/right standing with God does NOT come through our works. The quest for righteousness by good deeds or by trying to be a good person is infinitely futile. Stop working, TRUST in God, get Christ’s righteousness, and start bearing fruit for God… TRUE fruit. The kind that does not think any favors are being done for God…. The kind that does not think any extra righteousness is being earned.
One last illustration, which brings me to the point of the title of this article: James 2:21:22 says,
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected;
In this example given by James, he is showing how Abraham’s faith was justified by his works. When Abraham, by faith, decided to trust God and take Isaac to be stabbed to death, dismembered, and burned on an altar on Mount Moriah, God credited righteousness unto him. Abraham trusted God, whether it was he thought God would bring Isaac back to life or simply just call it off before he went through with it, he trusted God’s plan. On the flip side, what if Abraham did the exact same thing externally, but yet internally, the only reason he did it was because he was afraid that God might strike him down along with his son if he disobeyed. He would care very little about pleasing God. Obviously, God would not be pleased with this at all. As you can see, the work is not what impresses God. God merely only looks at our heart to see if we love Him and trust Him… the works that follow are merely only a reflection of our heart condition.
I’ll state this once again: Stop working for “righteousness”. Stop repenting for “righteousness”. Trust in God. Get Christ’s real righteousness. Then start bearing fruit for God.
I like the apple tree analogy. However, if Heavenly Father told you to plant an apple tree, as opposed to telling you just to plant whatever type of tree you felt like, then it was because He wants apples. He knows that apple trees bear apples. So, He is NOT just looking for an apple tree, he is looking for apples. He does not want you to have faith with fruits as a fortunate byproduct. He is looking for fruits. So, you had better USE your faith to create fruits. Indeed, fath without works IS dead.
Murdock
It is interesting that you missed the scriptures that Brad used and keyed into his example. Examples always are limited in their use and you took his example out of it intended use.
The key question for this passage is simply, did James intend his phrase “Works without faith is Dead” to be “causative” or “indicative”. In other words – do “Works” cause or create our becoming justified and righteous before God OR do works simply indicate or demonstrate that we have a living faith and have been justified and declared righteous before God. This Scripture (James 2: 14-26) is very clear that works are “indicative”. If you keep this James passage in context one can clearly see that Abraham was already justified before God and his obedience was a result of a justified life of faith in the Lord. The “Works” simply confirmed a relationship of faith. When a child loves and trust it’s mother and the mother ask the child to do something like jump off the table into her arms. The child jump because OF the relationship not to create the relationship. Look closely at Romans 4:1-6 vrs. 3 and compare to James 2:23 Look at history – Gen 15:6. Abraham was around 80 years old when this passage declares that he believed and God gifted to him, righteousness. He was justified by faith alone (without works) but faith is never alone. A person changed by God’s gift of righteousness will have his heart and behavior changed. He bears fruit. The fruit indicates there is true faith. We see this in Abraham. Gen 22 Isaac, the promised child, is probably around 10 years old. Abraham is now 110 years old. Abraham has been living in “faith alone” for 30 -40 years and now he responds to God’s request, with “the work” James is talking about. James says scripture was “FULFILLED” (Key word) Abraham’s work was a fulfillment or an indication that he has been living a life of faith/ a genuine trust in the Father all those years. The work did not “Cause” him to be justified (he already had that) – it simply “Indicated” or demonstrated he had true faith and “was justified”. Let’s be clear, it is only by true faith that one is justified and saved, Eph 2:8-10. “Works” demonstrate that God has saved a person. Works do not cause a person to be saved.
This is what Brad was communicating! Trust in Jesus alone.
Blessings to you. In Christ. Pastor Rick