Works Prove Your Faith

James 2:14-26

When talking with a friend one day well over 20 years ago, I tried to get the point across that our salvation is by faith alone. I did not do a good job. We were talking about Mother Teresa and how, as a faithful Roman Catholic, we didn’t know if she trusted in Christ or in her works for salvation. This was very disconcerting because my friend was a Roman Catholic and saw works as justification for her faith. We ended up arguing over the role of faith and works in justification, but I really disregarded the point of work as the evidence of faith. Consider Mother Teresa’s story as we read through this next section of James’ letter to the Israelite Christians on the run from Jewish persecution.

We are not talking about the theology of justification. Rom 4:3 is clear that Abraham’s belief was counted as his righteousness. Sola fide! By faith alone! Absolutely true. We are not talking about justification, which is a declaration of God upon us, but instead are talking about what people see when they look at you. Faith is believed in the heart, but lived in action, where other people can see. True Christian faith is lived outwardly in action and is therefore visible to others; that, in fact, is faith’s purpose! Consider Eph 2:8-10 and then what you see when you look at some real-world examples. These examples match up with what James gave us in the passage.

Homer Simpson is a Blowhard

I think it’s fair to say that everyone in here should know who Homer Simpson is. You certainly don’t have to like him, but his status as a pop culture icon is cemented by the fact that the Simpsons has currently aired over 780 episodes (Wikipedia). Homer’s antics as a father are well documented and displayed; he is a who’s who of what not to do. Don’t do what Donny Don’t does – in other words, he is the poster child of bad parenting and the perfect example who you don’t want to be. This is, in part, due to his reputation as a blowhard, or a talker. He is known for making outlandish promises, claims, and goals, but never wants to put in the effort to actually accomplish those boasts. Everything he does ends up being short-lived and done in the fastest way possible. The only thing Homer has every truly lived up to from is boasting is his love for food. I can almost hear v15-16 as if Homer were giving the empty words himself. It’s a useless gesture, like wanting to be thanked for winning a bowling match when your biggest contribution was only the idea of having a team. People who don’t back up their words with action are just like Homer. Don’t be Homer.

Benedict Arnold Betrayed What He Knew

Action is required, but the actual action chosen matters. Benedict Arnold was an American, born in Connecticut. He knew what we stood for as a group of people and counted himself as one of us. Yet, money and advancement pressures aside, the choices he made were completely opposite of the knowledge he had. He went against what he knew and chose to betray the colonials. Thus, he isn’t remembered as American, but as British. He is known by the side that he chose. Likewise, the demons given as the example in v19 know God, yet are clearly are against Him and are understood as evil, not because of what they believed, but because of what they did. Their actions displayed their loyalty. Benedict Arnold’s actions prove he was a traitor at heart. Don’t be Benedict Arnold.

Steve Jobs Invested in Himself

The right answer is having congruent action based on knowledge. If you believe in something, you act in its favor, just like Steve Jobs. While he certainly was not a saint, he believed in his vision and made many sacrifices to ensure its success. Some of those sacrifices were initially seen as very unpopular, such as laying off over 3000 employees so he could pear-down the product lines or making a deal with Microsoft to secure vital cashflow (Google). But he believed in his idea and did what it took to see it come to fruition. There is no question now of how much Steve trusted in his ideas, and while many debate him and the idea of Apple itself, there is no question the mark he left in the world of useable technology. Steve knew what was important (to him) and went after it, just like Abraham and Rahab in v21 and following knew and acted on its behalf. Belief is one thing, but it doesn’t become realized until action is added to it. Salvation is by faith alone, but faith isn’t real unless we act upon it.

Next Steps

Take the chair you are sitting in…there is a difference between trusting a chair to hold you up and actually sitting in it. One is theory and the other is reality. The purpose of our Christian faith is to be seen by others for God’s glory. Our goal here is to make our faith a reality by living it out in the real world:

1. Discuss with others the examples and what they see in your life. Are you living out your faith?
2. Get involved in an outreach ministry, preferably through your church.
3. Invest in the work of God through your finances. Tithe and see how God blesses that trust!

We don’t know if Mother Teresa was a true believer in Jesus; that’s only something God can determine, but it’s safe to say, based on the life she lived, her faith in Christ and the subsequent fruit was made evident. How evident is your faith?