“Even so faith, if it has not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” (James 2:17-18)
What are the fruits of redemption and sanctification? In other words, what characterizes a Christian’s life that, according to Scripture, deems them worthy of the profession they bear?
The biblical answer is rather simple – good works (James 2:18). James says, show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. Further, Paul instructs us in Galatians 5:6, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision, nor uncircumcision profits anything, but faith which works by love.” In other words, true faith works.
If the evidence of faith is good works, then how do you differentiate between works that are good and those that are not?
Firstly, discern what is fueling those good works. Is it a godly faith, or are your good works fueled by a desire to please others or meet others’ expectations? Or maybe your good works are driven by your need to uphold a certain reputation that puts the spotlight squarely on you.
If true faith is not fueling your good works, then they are worthless in the eyes of God. For Hebrews 11:6 states, “without faith it is impossible to please him.”
Another way to know what works God considers good is to determine if they are carried out in accordance with the Law of God. Faith exercises itself in alignment with the Law of God, and true believers live, act, walk, talk, etc., according to that Law.
Some may say in response to that, “Christians are not under the law but under grace, so this does not apply to Christians!”
Those believers who mistakenly think God’s Law does not apply to them have confused the tenants of salvation (by grace alone and not of works) with the evidence of a new nature after salvation that is characterized and validated by good works. To be sure, Christians are not under the Law for condemnation, but true believers are to follow God’s Law for their sanctification.
Besides, would it make sense that as a believer, they can now lie? Shall they now kill? Shall they now commit adultery? Or set up lesser gods in the throne of their heart that replaces the one true God… simply because they are “under grace?”
Absolutely not! Rather, we are to live and walk and talk and act according to Christ’s commands that are spelled out plainly in his divine Law.
The third qualifier for “good works” is whether or not they are carried out for the glory of Christ. “Let your light so shine before Men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven,” (Matthew 5:16).
As you look over this past year, do your good works, your outward testimony, consistently demonstrate your profession of faith in the Lord?
What better time than the winding down of the old year to give serious consideration to the kind of fruit that you bear in life… to honestly answer this question, “does my faith work?”
Contemplations:
- Lord, help me guard against resting in a mere doctrinal soundness without a renewed and sanctified heart. Some people satisfy themselves with expecting to be justified by faith alone. And yet that which they call faith is nothing but opinion – a dead faith that bears no living fruit. This is what James warns against (James 2:17). Help me see to it that my faith is a living, working faith.
- Lord, I also need reminding that I cannot rely or trust in my own duties and graces of holiness. I know that without holiness I can never see God (Heb. 12:14), and yet I must make certain I look to Christ alone for my holiness and righteousness.
- Help me, Jesus, be aware of confusing faith with obedience, as so many do. Our justification consists in receiving from God, not giving anything to him. Christ is offered to us in the New Covenant, and faith is the hand by which we receive him.[1] Works are simply the evidence that I have truly put my faith in him.
Further References for James 2:17-18:
Gal. 5:6; Matthew 7:16-17; Romans 4:6; 1 Tim. 1:5.
[1] See the work by Michael Harrison, Christ’s Righteousness Imputed, the Saint’s Surest Plea for Eternal Life (Crossville, TN: Puritan Publications, 2016), 22ff.
