Transcript: Dead Faith Doesn’t Work

Dead Faith Doesn’t Work
By David Feddes

We continue our study of the book of James by considering the last part of chapter 2, and our theme is: dead faith doesn't work.

Some time ago, the Bible Society of the Congo noticed something strange. They noticed that Bible sales were way up, yet people’s lives in the Congo weren't much different. Those who went to church weren’t much different, and not that many people were coming to church beyond what had been before. But for some reason, Bibles were selling like crazy. After looking into it for a while, the Congo Bible Society found what was going on: people were buying Bibles because, when they built new church buildings, they would put a whole bunch of Bibles all around in the ground in the foundation. They believed that if you put a bunch of Bibles in the ground at the church building, it would keep the evil spirits away. But all those Bibles were not changing anybody’s lives; they were just buried and used superstitiously. It was a dead faith that viewed the Bible in that way. They had the Word in a sense but didn’t do anything about it. Dead faith doesn't work.

Let’s listen to what the apostle James writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit:

"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, 'Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well-fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, 'You have faith; I have deeds.' Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,' and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."

James says in chapter 1, “Be doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” It’s a major theme that we do the Word and not just listen to it. James has been emphasizing this all along, and now he asks the question: “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?”

James replies: dead faith doesn't work. It doesn't work in the sense that it doesn’t do any works—it doesn't produce godly deeds. And it doesn't work in the sense that it doesn't bring about salvation. Dead faith doesn't work. So, if you thought that doing is optional—that as long as you have some sort of belief you’re going to go to heaven, as long as you once raised your hand at a meeting or walked an aisle—that automatically means you have saving faith, James would say: not so fast. If you claim to have faith but no deeds that grow out of that faith, you need to realize that dead faith doesn't work.

Then James moves into some examples, as he always does. He never just stays in the abstract or talks about it as a doctrine or philosophy out there; he talks about life. “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, 'I wish you well; keep warm and well-fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” Literally, it says, "Go in peace"—the common way in Hebrew of saying goodbye, or, as another translation puts it, "Goodbye and good luck." That’s what you say to somebody who doesn’t have enough clothes and food? James says that is absolutely worthless. Nice talk doesn’t cut it.

The apostle John says the same thing: “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” Real faith in the love of God means that you’re going to love in truth, not just by saying, “I wish you well; keep warm and well-fed.”

Jesus himself says that on the final day, he will tell the wicked: “I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger, and you did not invite me in. I needed clothes, and you did not clothe me. I was sick and in prison, and you did not look after me.” And Jesus says this not to people with a few small difficulties he’s pointing out; these are the people to whom he says, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

Dead faith doesn't work. It doesn't help Jesus in his time of need when the poor are before you, and it doesn't work in saving you from the wrath of God. Just empty words, rather than helping somebody, is a sign of dead faith. But you can also have correct, accurate belief and yet have dead faith. Someone might say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” They are separating faith from deeds when they say that. James doesn't want to separate faith from deeds. “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.”

The demons have correct beliefs. When Jesus was ministering on earth, he met demons who said accurate things about him: “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” Another demon said: “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torture me!” These demons knew God is real. They knew Jesus is the Son of the Most High God. They knew they were headed for hell and that Jesus was the one who had destroyed them. They knew all that. They had accurate beliefs, and that shows us that it’s possible to believe true things and not have real, living faith at all.

You can believe in the existence of God. You can believe that Jesus is the Son of God. You can believe that Jesus came into the world, that he died on the cross, and that he rose again. You can believe that salvation comes through faith in him—and still be lost. You can believe heaven is real, believe hell is real, and still end up going to hell. Satan believes all those things. The demons believe all those things.

Satan, in some ways, is the greatest theologian in the universe aside from God and the holy angels. Satan knows more about God than any living human on earth. Satan lived in the very presence of God. He saw all of history. Satan knows more than any of us and yet doesn’t have real, living faith. So belief in one God—or belief in many other true things—is not the same as saving faith.

“You believe that God is one.” That was the central conviction, belief, and confession of God's chosen people, the Jews. Their greatest passage of the Bible was this: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” That’s the Shema. But what does the passage say right after that? “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” If you believe God is one, and you have a living faith in him, it leads you to trust and love him, and it leads you to obedience. “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children.”

A living faith loves, obeys, and trusts. It doesn’t just say, “There is one God. I checked that off my list, and now I'm headed for heaven.” The demons believe that—and shudder.

Dead faith doesn't work. Nice talk and warm words with no real help are no good at all. Hungry people can't eat a speech. Correct belief can be dead faith that doesn't work. You can have dead orthodoxy: accurate doctrine but no love for God, no loyalty to God, and no obedience to God. The demons have accurate beliefs, but they don’t love God—they hate him. They don't have loyalty to God—they rebel against him. They don't obey God—they do what they want. And their correct belief, their dead faith, doesn't work for God, and it doesn't bring salvation. Demons know many truths, and some religious people know many truths, but dead faith doesn't work. James makes that very clear.

Living faith works. It works in the sense that it goes into action, and it works in the sense that it brings salvation. Living faith is the way we become righteous before God.

 

We become right with God through active faith, and James speaks of two people—Abraham and Rahab—to make this point. Faith is not just believing; it’s trusting God, and that involves loving, obeying, and even sacrificing for him. We see that in the life of an important man, the lofty patriarch Abraham, the father of believers. Faith involves trusting God and entrusting yourself to God. That means faith is commitment. It's venturing, risking, and joining God's side rather than the side of evil. We also see this in the life of a lowly prostitute, Rahab.

James speaks of Abraham: “You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?” James refers to the greatest figure in Israel’s history—Abraham, the father of faith. God came to Abraham when he was seventy-five years old. At that time, Abraham and his wife had not been able to have a child. But God promised that they would have a child and that through their offspring, all nations on earth would be blessed. Abraham believed the Lord, and God credited it to him as righteousness.

Abraham grew up in an idolatrous culture, in a family of idol worshipers, but God called him out of the land of Ur to go to a different land. There, God gave him the great promise. Abraham didn’t earn God’s favor—he had been an idol worshiper, and he sinned in many ways—but he believed God. He believed God's promise, walked with God, and God credited that faith to him as righteousness.

However, as Abraham and Sarah grew older, they still did not receive the promised child. They became older and older, and eventually, when Abraham was one hundred years old, God gave them a baby named Isaac. He was the child of promise. As Isaac grew, they delighted in him. Then, one day, God said to Abraham, “Take your son Isaac and offer him to me as a sacrifice.” So, Abraham set off with Isaac up the mountain. When they reached the top, Abraham built an altar, laid his son Isaac on it, and was about to kill him. But before he could bring the knife down, God spoke from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham, do not harm the child. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld your own son from me.”

God told Abraham to take a ram caught in the thicket and to sacrifice it in place of his son. Then God said to Abraham, “I am going to bless you and make great nations from Isaac. All nations on earth will be blessed through you.” God renewed his promise, and Abraham's faith was shown to be stronger than ever through his willingness to sacrifice his son. Abraham believed that somehow God would fulfill his promise, even if it meant sacrificing Isaac. Never again would God require a human sacrifice—he gave Abraham his son back. The only human sacrifice God would accept was his own: offering his Son, Jesus, for the salvation of the world.

Abraham believed that God could raise his son from the dead, so he obeyed God with tremendous faith, doing whatever God asked of him. James says, “You see that Abraham's faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.” Faith and actions are inseparable—they always go together. In Abraham, his living faith matured into action. His faith was made complete, or perfect, as some translations say. The Greek word used here can mean completeness, maturity, or perfection. Abraham already had faith when God first made the promise, and God credited that faith to him as righteousness. But over time, his faith matured to the point where he could offer even his son to God if asked to do so. His faith was matured and made complete by his actions.

The scripture was fulfilled: “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” And he was called God's friend. James speaks often about what it means to be God's friend. One aspect of being God's friend is not being a friend of the world. God called Abraham out of the world, out of Ur, and out of living in the world’s way.

If you believe in faith without deeds, here's a question: What if Abraham said, “I believe God,” but didn’t obey? What if he didn’t leave Ur? What if he didn’t offer Isaac or didn’t live by faith in God's promises throughout his life? If Abraham only said, “I believe,” it wouldn’t be enough. The faith that Abraham had—the faith God credited as righteousness—was a faith that trusted and obeyed. James emphasizes, “You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.”

At this point, if you've been taught the doctrine of justification by faith, alarms might be going off. You might ask, “How can a person be justified by works and not by faith alone?” Paul says in other parts of the Bible that “a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” Does James contradict Paul?

We need to understand the different audiences and problems that Paul and James address. Paul, in Romans and Galatians, combats legalists who seek salvation through rituals and law-keeping, thinking they can earn their way to salvation. When Paul says “faith apart from works,” he is referring to a living faith that trusts in Jesus, not in one’s own merit. He teaches that salvation comes through faith, not through earning points with God. That’s what Paul means when he says a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

However, James addresses a different issue. He challenges careless believers who claim faith but have no corresponding actions. These believers show favoritism, neglect the poor, and give no evidence in their lives that they belong to God. To them, “faith alone” means mere head knowledge—they believe something and say something, but they have cold hearts without love for God or others, and idle hands doing nothing for the Lord or anyone else. James says, “That kind of faith alone is dead.” A person is justified by works, not by faith alone—because their actions demonstrate the living reality of their faith.

Just a reminder: Paul does not teach salvation without works. Paul teaches the importance of works. In Ephesians, he writes: “By grace you have been saved through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works.” Even in this well-known passage about salvation by grace through faith, Paul affirms that we are saved for good works. Elsewhere, Paul speaks of “the obedience of faith,” “faith working through love,” and “your work produced by faith.” Paul teaches that living faith goes into action and connects you with God, bringing eternal life through Jesus.

James also teaches grace. He reminds us: “God gives generously to all without finding fault.” “Every good and perfect gift is from above.” “God chose to give us new birth through the word of truth.” We didn’t earn it; God gave us new birth. “Have faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord of glory.” “Mercy triumphs over judgment.” “God gives grace to the humble.” “The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” James teaches grace just as Paul does.

We must recognize that errors about salvation can arise in more than one direction. To escape the error of salvation by works, as A.W. Tozer put it, “we have fallen into the error of salvation without obedience.” Let me repeat that: “To escape the error of salvation by works, we have fallen into the error of salvation without obedience.”

Paul emphasizes that works don’t save—you cannot earn your salvation. But James stresses that saved people obey. Paul and James are in agreement: Jesus saves by grace through faith, and that faith is active. As Douglas Moo explains, “It is absolutely vital to understand that the main point in James is not that works must be added to faith, but that genuine faith includes works.”

You don't say, "Well, I'm saved by faith plus some stuff I do." No. I'm saved by faith in Jesus Christ, and that's a faith that moves me to work for the Lord and for the well-being of others. Living faith works. You're right with God through active faith—you trust God, and that trust moves you to love, obey, and sacrifice.

We see this in the lofty patriarch Abraham, but we also see it in someone who wasn’t a man of importance, someone not widely respected—a lowly prostitute named Rahab. Her story shows us that faith works; it goes into action. James says, “In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?”

Maybe you already know the story of Rahab and the spies, but if not, here it is. Rahab was a prostitute in the city of Jericho. One day, two men came to her—spies sent by the Israelite leader Joshua to check out the land of Canaan, especially the strong city of Jericho. They asked to stay at her place while they were spying, and she accepted them.

The king of Jericho soon found out that these two men were in the city and had gone to Rahab's house. What did Rahab do? She lived in a house on the wall of Jericho, with a flat roof. So, she took the spies up to the roof and hid them under some flax plants drying there. When the king's soldiers came to question her, she told them, “They left. I’m not sure which direction they went, but if you hurry, you might catch them.” The soldiers left in pursuit, and Rahab went back to the roof to speak with the spies.

She told them, “We’ve heard about you Israelites. We’ve heard about your victories over powerful kings on the other side of the Jordan River. I know that the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. I’ve been kind to you. Can you spare me and my family when you conquer the land?”

The spies agreed: “If you don’t tell anyone what we’re doing, we’ll treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land. Just stay in your house when the city is surrounded, and hang a red cord from your window as a sign. Everyone in that house will be spared.”

Since Rahab's house was on the wall and the city gates were locked to prevent the spies from escaping, she let them down with a rope through the window. She also advised them: “Hide in the countryside for three days while the soldiers are searching for you. Once the coast is clear, you can return to Joshua.” The spies did as she instructed, and after three days, they returned to Joshua.

Joshua then led the armies and priests of Israel to march around the walls of Jericho for seven days. On the seventh day, the priests blew their trumpets, and the walls of Jericho collapsed—except for the part of the wall where Rahab's house stood, marked by the red cord. Rahab and her family were spared, rescued from the destruction of Jericho. The Bible says, “She lives in Israel to this day.” That phrase was written long after Rahab had died, meaning she became part of God's people. Rahab became the mother—or ancestor—of Boaz, who in turn became an ancestor of King David, leading eventually to the Lord Jesus Christ himself.

That’s why James says, “In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?” Now here’s the question: What if Rahab had said, “I believe God will win,” but refused to protect the spies? Would that have been faith? Just believing that God exists and that the Israelites would win with God's help is not enough. Of course, that belief was part of her faith—believing that God is real and powerful, the God of heaven and earth. But her faith meant she sided with God. She entrusted herself to him, risking her life for his sake, and joined God’s people. If she had just said, “I believe,” but refused to help, that would not have been faith at all. And she would not have been saved.

It wasn’t Abraham’s works that earned him salvation, nor was it Rahab’s deeds that earned her salvation. The Bible emphasizes again and again that their actions were rooted in faith. “By faith, Abraham obeyed.” “By faith, he went to live in the land of promise.” “By faith, Abraham, when tested, offered up Isaac.” He believed that God was able to raise Isaac from the dead. It was faith that moved Abraham, and it was faith that moved Rahab.

“By faith, the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.” “By faith, the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.” Rahab wasn’t saved by her good deeds or a good life—she was a prostitute. Abraham wasn’t saved by his good works—he had been an idol worshiper and committed major sins even after putting his faith in God. But he repented of his sins and continued believing in God, striving to obey him by faith. It was by faith that Abraham and Rahab became who they were and were saved.

So James asks, “Can dead faith save?” That’s the question he began with, and he answers it repeatedly: “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?” No. Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by deeds, is dead. Faith without deeds is useless. “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”

James wants us to reflect on this. If you have beliefs—mere head knowledge—and think that alone will save you, James says, “You might as well have a tag on your toe and be lying in a morgue, because your faith is deader than a doornail.” Do you have a living faith? Is your faith more than just an idea or an opinion about religious things? Dead faith doesn't work. It doesn’t work by producing godly deeds, and it doesn’t work in bringing salvation. As James asks, “Can such faith save?” No. Nice talk doesn’t cut it—hungry people can’t eat a speech.

Correct belief and accurate doctrine are important, but they’re not enough. True things must take hold of your heart, filling you with love. Correct beliefs without love, loyalty, or obedience are not real faith. Even demons have better theology than most of us, but that knowledge doesn’t create in them love, loyalty, or obedience to God.

Living faith works. You are made right with God through active faith. So, ask yourself: “Do I really trust God—not just have opinions or correct beliefs about him? Do I truly count on Jesus' blood and righteousness to save me? Do I believe God's promises and live by them? Do I love God and obey him? Am I willing to give up things for him, to sacrifice what is dear to me if he requires it? Do I trust him enough to do that?”

And not only that—“Do I entrust myself to God? Do I commit myself fully to him? Am I willing to risk my life for him?” Rahab took a risk. She didn’t side with the king of Jericho or with his troops, who could have easily killed her. She sided with the people of God. She joined God’s people.

Whether you are a man or a woman, whether you are lofty or lowly, a patriarch or a prostitute—the way of salvation is always by faith, by a living faith. Do you have that kind of living faith? If not, ask God to change your heart right now, so you won't just have a head full of facts but a heart full of trust and love. Then, live a life filled with obedience and commitment. Join God's people, if you haven’t already. Confess your faith among them, and live that faith. Be glad, because living faith really does work.