Faith without Works is James’s name for a confession that never becomes obedience.
He said that faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
The demons believe that God is one, and they shudder.
Living faith receives Christ and then moves the hands, the tongue, and the purse. Empty talk does not save.
James wrote to believers scattered among the nations and asked what good it is if someone says he has faith but does not have works. Can that faith save him? A brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking daily food, and the speaker says, Go in peace, be warmed and filled, and does not give what is needed. That faith is dead. Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness; and the Scripture was fulfilled when he offered Isaac. Rahab received the messengers and sent them out another way. In both cases, faith was completed by works. Paul preached the same gospel from the other side of the door: a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law, and that justifying faith works through love. There is no war between the apostles. Paul slays boasting in the law as a ladder to God. James slays a mouth that claims Christ and will not feed the hungry. Jesus had already said that not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom, but the one who does the will of the Father. The tree is known by its fruit. Dead faith has words. Living faith has fruit.
- Saying “I have faith” is not the same as having the faith that saves.
- Works do not buy righteousness. They show that faith is alive.
- Demonic belief is orthodox in content and empty of trust and love.
- Abraham and Rahab stand as witnesses that real faith acts.
- Paul and James address two different lies: earning salvation, and claiming salvation without a new life.
- Mercy to the needy is one of the first places dead faith is exposed.
- The tongue that blesses God and curses a brother cannot pretend to be whole.
- Words without Help – “Be warmed and filled” while the hands stay closed.
- Dead Faith – A body without the spirit; a name without life.
- Demonic Faith – Right facts about God, no obedience, no love.
- Faith Completed – Works bring faith to its intended end, as fruit completes a tree.
- Abraham – Counted righteous by faith; shown righteous when he offered Isaac.
- Rahab – Received the spies and aligned herself with the people of God.
- Doers of the Word – Hearing alone is self-deception.
- James 2:14-17 – “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.”
- James 2:18-20 – “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?”
- James 2:21-24 – “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.”
- James 2:25-26 – “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 1:22 – “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
- Romans 3:28 – “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.”
- Romans 4:3-5 – “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness… And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.”
- Galatians 5:6 – “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”
- Ephesians 2:8-10 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
- Matthew 7:16-21 – “You will recognize them by their fruits… Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
- Matthew 25:35-40 – “I was hungry and you gave me food… as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”
- 1 John 3:17-18 – “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”
- Titus 1:16 – “They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works.”
- Titus 3:8 – “I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works.”
- Hebrews 11:17, 31 – “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac… By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.”
- Luke 6:46 – “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?”
- John 15:8 – “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”
- Habakkuk 2:4 – “The righteous shall live by his faith.”
- Genesis 15:6 – “And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”
Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
That faith cannot save. Demons believe and shudder.
Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. That same faith offered Isaac.
You are not justified by climbing the law. You are not saved by a sentence you will not live.
By grace through faith—the gift of God. Created in Christ Jesus for good works.
Show your faith by your works. Feed the brother. Welcome the stranger. Be a doer of the word.
Faith working through love is the faith that lives.
Entry compiled for the JESUSaves.com Bible Glossary. Optimized for wiki.js Visual Editor.