Soteriology Lesson 53 - Faith Without Works is Dead Part 1

Thinking on Scripture with Dr. Steven R. Cook

Introduction (Full Notes Here)

The debate over James 2:14-26 revolves around how to reconcile faith and works in the context of salvation.[1] Catholics and Arminians traditionally see faith and works as both essential for eternal salvation. Reformed theologians see James as setting forth a litmus test for authentic faith, contending that true saving faith is evidenced by a life of obedience and good works. In other words, while salvation is by grace through faith, genuine faith results in a transformed life marked by obedience to Christ as Lord. According to John Frame, “James 2:24, which speaks of justification by works, tells us that a faith without works is not saving faith, not true faith. So, works are evidence of a true, saving faith.”[2] John MacArthur adds, “Good works are inevitable in the life of one who truly believes. These works have no part in bringing about salvation (Eph 2:9; Rom 3:20, 24; 4:5; Tit 3:5), but they show that salvation is indeed present (Eph 2:10; 5:9; 1 John 2:5).”[3] R. C. Sproul states, “every true believer bears some fruit. If he does not, he’s not a believer.”[4] Even some of my favorite Bible teachers hold this view. For example, Arnold Fruchtenbaum says, “Is a faith that produces no work whatsoever really a saving faith? The obvious answer is, ‘No.’ The issue here is saving faith.”[5] And Charles Ryrie states, “Can a nonworking, dead, spurious faith save a person? James is not saying that we are saved by works but that a faith that does not produce good works is a dead faith…Genuine faith cannot be ‘dead’ to morality or barren to works.”[6] According to Warren Wiersbe, “Any declaration of faith that does not result in a changed life and good works is a false declaration. That kind of faith is dead faith…Dead faith is not saving faith. Dead faith is counterfeit faith and lulls the person into a false confidence of eternal life.”[7] William MacDonald states, “works are not the root of salvation but the fruit; they are not the cause but the effect. Calvin put it tersely: ‘We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone.’”[8]

Many proponents of this view assert that merely professing faith without a corresponding life of obedience can lead to self-deception and a false sense of security regarding one’s salvation. One of the flaws of this view is that Christians spend much of their time looking at themselves and wondering if their works are genuine, or if they’ve done enough to prove their eternal salvation. Because sin continues in the lives of all Christians, and this to varying degrees, it leaves the believer in a state of uncertainty about their eternal destiny because they never know if their works represent a genuine saving faith.

In James 2:14-26; James is not distinguishing genuine from false faith; but rather, a useful faith that works to bless others, versus a useless faith that cannot save the Christian from divine discipline and loss of reward at the bema seat of Christ. For James, a dead faith is a useless faith that benefits no one, and his reference to salvation is from divine discipline, not the lake of fire. It’s noteworthy that James 2:14-26 is sandwiched between two sections concerning divine judgement (Jam 2:12-13; 3:1). Biblically, disobedient Christians face God’s judgment in this life as they are subject to divine discipline (Heb 12:6), which can eventuate in physical death (1 Cor 11:30; Jam 1:15, 21; 5:19-20; 1 John 5:16), as well as future judgment before the bema seat of Christ in heaven (Rom 14:10-12; 2 Cor 5:10). At the judgment seat of Christ, all Christians will stand before the Lord Jesus, not to determine if they have eternal life, for that is already secure for them (John 5:24; 10:28; 1 John 5:13), but to be evaluated on how they lived and rewards given for obedience to Him (1 Cor 3:10-15). This is important to understand, for when James poses the question, “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?” (Jam 2:14), he’s talking about a useful faith that benefits others and saves the Christian from divine discipline in this life, which can eventuate in physical death, and loss of reward at the bema seat of Christ.

The Usefulness of Faith

For James, faith must be put into use to be beneficial to others. In one sentence, James said, “faith, if it has no works, is dead” (Jam 2:17), and in another sentence, said, “faith without works is useless” (Jam 2:20). A dead faith is a useless faith. It is useless to God and others, being of no benefit to the needy. We use similar language when we talk about a “dead battery,” we’re talking about a battery that is useless. And when we talk about Latin being a “dead language,” we mean it’s no longer in use. Likewise, a dead faith is a useless faith. However, unlike a dead battery or a dead language, we have volition and the ability to put our faith into practice, making it useful to others. Which is why James previously wrote, “prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves” (Jam 1:22).

The teaching of Scripture is that sinners are saved totally apart from works. Paul wrote, “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (Rom 3:28), and salvation comes “to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly” (Rom 4:5). We are “not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified” (Gal 2:16), for “by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9). God “has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works” (2 Tim 1:9a), and “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness” (Tit 3:5a). Good works do not save us eternally. They never have and never will.

James is not contradicting Paul. They are addressing two different matters. Paul addresses justification before God, which is based entirely on the work of Christ at the cross and the imputed righteousness that comes to the one who trusts in Christ alone for salvation (Rom 5:17; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9). James addresses justification in the sight of others, what we might call vindication. God does not need to see our faith. He knows it’s there. But others cannot see our faith, so good works help them to see what we claim to be true. Once saved, we are called to “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7). God said, “My righteous one shall live by faith” (Heb 10:38), for “without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Heb 11:6). And we know that “whatever is not from faith is sin” (Rom 14:23). Furthermore, Christians are commanded to love others (John 13:34; Gal 5:13; 1 Th 4:9). This love is to be actionable and tangible (Jam 2:15-16; 1 John 3:17-18). Also, we are directed to do good works, which glorify God and edify others. Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matt 5:16; cf. Eph 2:10). God’s Word directs us to “do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (Gal 6:10), “to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share” (1 Tim 6:18), to be “zealous for good deeds” (Tit 2:14b), to “learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs” (Tit 3:14a), “to stimulate one another to love and good deeds” (Heb 10:24). Failure of Christians to put their faith into action means they are disobedient to the Lord and subject to divine discipline. Scripture reveals, “those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and chastises every son whom He receives” (Heb 12:6). Jesus said, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline” (Rev 3:19a). Paul wrote, “But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world” (1 Cor 11:32).[9] With these doctrines in mind, let’s look at James 2:14-26.

Dr. Steven R. Cook

[1] James clearly wrote to saved persons, Jewish believers, whom he called “brethren” (Jam 1:2, 16, 19; 2:1, 5, 14; 3:1, 10, 12; 4:11; 5:7, 9-10, 12, 19), confirmed they were born from above (Jam 1:17-18), and said they had “faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ” (Jam 2:1). He said the Holy Spirit dwelled in them (Jam 4:5), which proved they were Christians, for “if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him” (Rom 8:9). The main purpose of James’ letter was to exhort Christians to spiritual maturity (Jam 1:4), which manifests itself in practical righteousness. James in no way contradicts Paul. Paul wrote about justification in the sight of God (Rom 3:28; 4:1-5; Gal 2:16), whereas James wrote about being justified in the sight of others (Jam 2:18, 24).

[2] John M. Frame, Salvation Belongs to the Lord: An Introduction to Systematic Theology (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2006), 205.

[3] John F. Macarthur, Jr., “Faith According To The Apostle James” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Vol 33/1: March 1990, 18.

[4] R. C. Sproul, Can I Be Sure I’m Saved?, vol. 7, The Crucial Questions Series (Lake Mary, FL: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2010), 15.

[5] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Messianic Jewish Epistles: Hebrews, James, First Peter, Second Peter, Jude, 1st ed., (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 2005), 253

[6] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, Expanded ed. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1995, 1970), 1970.

[7] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 354.

[8] William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 2229.

[9] He gave to us It is never the will of God that we sin (1 John 2:1), but all saints commit sin, and there is no such thing as a sinless saint. David wrote, “my sins have overtaken me…they are more numerous than the hairs of my head” (Psa 40:12), and “I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me” (Psa 51:3). Paul said of himself, “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want…I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good” (Rom 7:19, 21). And the John wrote, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us…If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:8, 10). James said, “we all stumble in many ways” (Jam 3:2a). Though forgiven all our sins (Acts 10:43; Eph 1:7), and saved (Eph 2:8), Christians continue to possess a sin nature (Rom 6:6; 7:14-25; 13:14; Col 3:9; Gal 5:16-17, 19-22; 1 John 1:8), and commit personal acts of sin (Eccl 7:20; 1 John 1:10; 2:1). Though the power of the sin nature is broken (Rom 6:11-14), the presence of the sin nature is never removed from us until God takes us from this world and gives us a new body like the body of Jesus (Phil 3:20-21; 1 John 3:2, 5). It is possible for saints to commit any sin an unbeliever can commit, to the same degree, and for the same duration of time. That’s not what God wants from us. He wants righteousness. It’s possible for Christians to live sinfully, though not without consequences. Living sinfully does not mean loss of eternal salvation, for that is not possible. Jesus said, the one who believes in Him “has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (John 5:24), and “I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28). Paul wrote, “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). But if Christians choose to operate by the sinful flesh (1 Cor 3:1-3), love the world (1 John 2:15-16), and live sinfully, like the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-24), they open the door to divine discipline and great suffering (Heb 12:5-11), which can eventuate in physical death (1 Cor 11:30; Jam 1:15, 21; 5:19-20; 1 John 5:16), and the loss of eternal rewards (1 Cor 3:10-15; 2 John 1:8).