Does Your Faith Work?

What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?  (James 2:14, BSB)

Many people who read the Bible for the first time notice what feels like a tension between Ephesians 2:8–10 and James 2:14–19. At first glance, they can seem to say opposite things about faith and works. Paul says we are saved by grace through faith, not by works. James says that faith without works is dead. Some readers wonder, “Is Paul saying works don’t matter, while James says they do?” This perceived conflict has confused Christians for centuries, but when we slow down and read carefully, we see that Paul and James are not arguing with each other at all. In fact, they are addressing different problems and making complementary points.

In Ephesians 2:8–10, Paul explains how a person is saved. He writes For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8).  Paul is saying that the only thing you need to have to receive salvation is faith, but even saving faith is not something you can do, it is gift of God.  The reason for this is in Ephesians 2:1, And you were dead in your trespasses and sins.  Dead people cannot do anything to help themselves.  Since we were spiritually dead, we couldn’t even have faith to receive Christ, so Christ enabled to do that too. 

However, Paul does not stop at verse 9. Verse 10 is just as important. He says that we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. In other words, while good works do not save us, they are the result of salvation. Paul is not against good works. He simply puts them in the right place. Works are not the root of salvation, but they are the fruit. A changed life is meant to follow saving faith.

James, on the other hand, is dealing with a different issue. In James 2:14–19, he challenges people who claim to have faith but show no evidence of it in their lives. James asks a sharp question: What good is it if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? He is not talking about how to be saved, but about what real faith looks like. James is addressing a shallow, empty kind of faith that is all talk and no action.

It is unfortunate, but many people claim to be Christians who have never been saved by Jesus Christ.  The people that James is speaking of say they have faith, but there is no outward evidence that Jesus has done anything for them.  If the God of salvation transforms you from death into life there must be a noticeable different in the way that person lives.

James says that faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. He even points out that demons believe in God and know the truth about Him, but that belief does not save them. Real faith changes how a person lives.

When we compare Paul and James, the key difference is the question each one is answering. Paul is answering the question, “How is a sinner made right with God?” His answer is clear: by grace through faith, apart from works. James is answering a different question: “How can we tell if someone’s faith is real?” His answer is also clear: real faith shows itself through works. Paul focuses on the beginning of the Christian life, while James focuses on the evidence that follows.

When read together, Ephesians 2 and James 2 give us a balanced picture of the Christian life. We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone. It produces good works, not to earn God’s favor, but because we already have it. Grace changes us from the inside out. If there are no signs of change, James says we should honestly question whether faith is real. If we try to earn salvation by our efforts, Paul reminds us that we have misunderstood grace.

The most important question is “Have you ever received Christ as savior.”  You may have prayed a prayer, but if there was no change in your life, then it p

robably means that nothing happened.  I invite you to put your faith in Christ and give him your whole life.  Tell him that you want him to be your savior and that you accept his direction in your life.  If you do this, he will change you from the inside out and your life will not be the same. 

Received Christ for the first time or you want to talk more about this, email me directly at chris@chrishepner.com