Faith working with works

James 2:18-3 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” ¹⁹ You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. ²⁰ But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? ²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?²² You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; ²³ and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. ²⁴ You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵ In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? ²⁶ For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

3 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. ² For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. ³ Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. ⁴ Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. ⁵ So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things.

See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! ⁶ And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. ⁷ For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. ⁸ But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. ⁹ With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; ¹⁰ from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. ¹¹ Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? ¹² Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.

¹³ Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. ¹⁵ This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. ¹⁶ For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. ¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. ¹⁸ And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

In today’s text it says:  Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected;  and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.   This seems, in some ways, to contradict what we know and believe; what it says in Ephesians 2:8-9: It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.    The Bible though does not contradict itself and neither do the writers of these two passages. Ephesians 2:10 says:  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.    We are indeed saved wholly by grace, not by the works we do, but rather by the work Christ did, the finished work of the cross. John 3:16 says:  God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  Believing that Jesus died for our sins is all that we need to do for salvation. Our works are not the reason for our salvation, but rather our salvation is the reason for our good works. Because of grace, because of what Jesus did for us, we respond by doing what God prepared in advance for us to do.  Our faith, believing in Christ, stimulates us to follow God’s plan and to do His will. 1 John 4:19 says:  We love, because He first loved us. Verse 20 says:  If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.    So the love we show to others is a response to the love we have received from God. All that we say and do should be in response to His grace; to what Christ did for us.

Speaking of what we say, today’s text says:  See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.   Proverbs 18:21 says:  Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.    We should take care with our words. We should speak life and not death; grace and not judgment.    In Matthew 12:36 Jesus says:  I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.

The text says:  Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.   In John 14:12-14, Jesus says:   Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.   Doing the works that Jesus did and the works that God prepared for us and prepared us for, include the great works of miracles. We are to speak life where there is death and healing where there is sickness. We are to speak provision for lack and hope to the hopeless. All these things, whatever we ask, Jesus will do. But to do the works that Jesus did also includes:  showing it by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. It includes: first being pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.   These too are the works of Jesus that we are to do in His name.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit; thank You for the finished work of the cross; the grace by which I am saved. Because of what You did, I choose to do the good works You have prepared for me and prepared me for. May all that I do and all that I say be in response to and a reflection of Your love and grace.   Amen.