My God and My Country

The General Epistle of James the Apostle Chapter 2:14-26

14 What availeth it my brethren, though a man saith, he hath faith, when he hath no works? can that faith save him?

15 For if a brother or a sister be naked and destitute of daily food,

16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace: warm yourselves, and fill your bellies, notwithstanding ye give them not those things, which are needful to the body, what helpeth it?

17 Even so the faith, if it have no works, is dead in itself.

18 But some man might say, Thou hast the faith, and I have works: show me thy faith out of thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.

19 Thou believest that there is one God: thou doest well: the devils also believe it, and tremble.

20 But wilt thou understand, O thou vain man, that the faith which is without works, is dead?

21 Was not Abraham our father justified through works, when he offered Isaac his son upon the altar?

22 Seest thou not that the faith wrought with his works? and through the works was the faith made perfect.

23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the friend of God.

24 Ye see then how that of works a man is justified, and not of faith only.

25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified through works, when she had received the messengers, and sent them out another way?

26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, even so the faith without works is dead.

Cross references:

James 2:21 : Genesis22:10

James 2:23 : Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6

James 2:25 : Joshua 2:1

Editor’s thoughts:

In summation, what is being said in the entirety of these verses is that faith MUST be accompanied by works. To do the former, without the latter makes us practitioners of religiosity. We show nothing but a false confession of Christ if we do not act as His proxies upon this earth.

“Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can." -John Wesley

“Such a faith as this, a faith without works, an historical one, a mere profession of faith, which lies only in words, and has no deeds, to show the truth and genuineness of it. True faith indeed has no causal influence on salvation, or has any virtue and efficacy in itself to save; Christ, object of faith, is the only cause and author of salvation; faith is only that grace which receives a justifying righteousness, the pardon of sin, adoption, and a right to the heavenly inheritance; but it does not justify, nor pardon, nor adopt, nor give the right to the inheritance, but lays hold on, and claims these, by virtue of the gift of grace; and it has spiritual and eternal salvation inseparably connected with it; but as for the other faith, a man may have it, and be in the gall of bitterness, and bond of iniquity; he may have all faith in that sense, and be nothing; it is no other than the devils themselves have; and so he may have it, and be damned.

This simile is made use of to illustrate what the apostle had asserted, that as a body, when the spirit or soul is departed from it, or the breath is gone out of it, is dead, and without motion, and useless So faith without works is dead also a vain thing, useless and unprofitable, can neither justify, nor save, nor prove that a man is justified, or will be saved.” - John Gill