James 2:8-26: Part One

A true believer in Christ knows that in order to be saved from hell, from the penalty of our sins, one must believe in Jesus Christ, whose death paid for our sins and made salvation possible for us. There are no good works that we can do to earn salvation; it is a free gift to those who believe. Jesus promised that those who believe in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life. Faith alone is all it takes for us to receive salvation from hell, and eternal life in heaven! What is faith?

Faith is the same thing as believing. In Greek, the word “believe” is “pisteuo” and the word “faith” is “pistis.” They have the same meaning: to know that something is true. The only difference is that believe is a verb and faith is a noun. Faith is not some mystical thing that includes our obedience to God; it simply means to be sure that something is true. Faith and works are separate things; keep this in mind as we look at this passage.

James agrees 100% with Paul about how a person is saved from hell. He agrees that there is nothing we need to do to be saved other than believe in Jesus Christ and in what He did for us on the cross. Faith alone, apart from any works we could do, is enough for us to receive eternal life and salvation from hell. But as James wants to teach us in James 2:8-26, faith is not enough for other aspects of the Christian life.

Many people claim that if a person’s life is not “good enough,” they do not truly have faith and therefore are not saved. They use James 2 to teach this idea. I believe that James is teaching something entirely different. He is not asking us to question our salvation. He is not saying that works will always follow faith. In a separate article I included a section on why I believe it is important not to question our salvation based on our works.

Before we look at the verses in this passage, let me explain something from verse 2:14. James asks about a person who has faith but not works, “Can faith save him?” The implied answer that James is going for is “no.” Faith alone will not save. But what kind of salvation is James talking about? Is he referring to our salvation from hell, or something else? It is common for Christians to see the word “save” or “salvation” in the Bible and immediately assume that this means “salvation from hell.” Yet there are many times that this word is used in the Bible without any reference at all to our salvation from hell through Jesus Christ. Let me give two examples of this. In Matthew 8:25, the disciples were in a boat during a violent storm. They cried out to Jesus, “Lord, save us!” In this verse, were the disciples asking for Jesus to grant them forgiveness of sins, and a home in heaven? No; in fact, they wanted to avoid going to heaven at this point in their lives. They were asking Jesus to save their present, physical lives from dying in the storm. “Save” does not always mean salvation from hell. Another example of this is in Jude 5. This verse says that God saved the people out of the land of Egypt, and afterward destroyed those who did not believe. When God saved them, he was not offering them salvation from hell and a home in heaven. “Save” means to rescue, to deliver. God delivered, or saved, the people of Israel out of Egypt, but those who did not believe did not receive eternal life.

Please note that in the passage of James 2:8-26, salvation from hell is not mentioned even once. There is no way to be saved from hell without Jesus Christ, and the name of Jesus Christ is not mentioned even once in this passage. The death and resurrection of Jesus are never mentioned here. Neither are the words heaven, hell, or eternal life. This passage is written to Christians, who already know that they have received salvation from hell through Christ. If these people were not true believers, James would not call them “my brethren” over a dozen times in the epistle. In James 2:1, James talks about how his listeners are to “hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ.” These people had faith in Jesus; James is not questioning that faith. This passage is not meant to be a test of whether or not a person is a Christian. It is not trying to say, “If you don’t have good works in your life, you are not really a Christian.” It is not meant to teach that true faith always results in good works. It is meant to give motivations for believers to put their faith into action.

In the first seven verses of James 2, James teaches that it is wrong for believers to show partiality to rich people and ignore the poor. In many cultures, such as in West Africa, there is still a form of “caste system” where people judge others based on their wealth and status. James is disgusted with this attitude, and teaches that this is not the way Christians ought to behave. We are all equal in Christ, and we should treat every other person we meet with love and respect. In verses 2:8-11, James reminds the Christians that even one sin in a person’s life is serious. This is an important point for non-Christians to understand, as they need to accept their need for a Savior. People often point out all the good things they do and sins they avoid, and think that this is good enough. But God wants us to obey in every area of our lives. Unsaved people need to understand that they have not kept all of God’s law, and therefore are deserving of punishment. The only way for them to be saved from hell is to accept Christ’s righteousness. However, James wants Christians to apply this principle of “keeping the whole law” to their own lives. If a Christian obeys God in one area yet sins in another, he is still guilty. Is he in danger of hell because of his sin? No; Christ has paid for our sins and we are forgiven. Does this mean that a Christian should allow sin in his life, since his eternal destiny is secure? No! In the next verses, James explains that there is a reason for Christians to watch out for sin in their lives, and to be involved instead in good works.

In verses 2:12-13, James speaks of judgment. He is not talking here of the judgment for unbelievers, where those who have not trusted in Christ will be judged for their sins and cast into hell. He is talking about a judgment for believers; the same judgment that Paul speaks of several times, including in 2 Corinthians 5:10. Who does Paul say will appear before the judgment seat of Christ? “We all.” What is determined at this judgment? The good and bad deeds that Christians have done.  As Christians, we will appear before God one day, and He will look at the good and bad things that we have done in our lives. This is not a judgment to see if we will go to heaven or hell. For Christians, that question has been answered, regardless of our works, because Christ’s works are placed on our account. But God still cares how we live our lives. He offers rewards for Christians who obey Him, and someday we will have to give an account before God of all the good and bad that we have done. We will not be sent to hell for the bad that we have done, but we will lose rewards. Paul speaks in 2 Corinthians 5:11 of the “terror of the Lord,” that Christians will have to face. Would you like to stand before God with a guilty conscience, and show Him a wasted life of sin? God will not reject believers from being His children, but I picture this “terror” being similar to that of a child standing before a loving yet firm parent who is questioning a particular act of disobedience. As a child I always knew that my place with my parents was secure, but when I did something really wrong, standing before my parents to explain it was a terrible experience. Yet James offers hope in verse 2:13, even as he warns us to live rightly in light of the judgment for Christians. In this verse, he reminds us that if we don’t show mercy to others, God will not show mercy to us at the judgment. But the reverse is also true. If we do show mercy to others, if we forgive them and not give them what they deserve for hurting us, if we are gentle and kind with others, God will show mercy to us at the judgment. He won’t hold things as strictly against us, if our lives were full of mercy. This is meant to be a motivation to us to show mercy to our neighbors! Mercy is the opposite of self-righteousness and a judgmental attitude.

Now we have reached James 2:14, the verse that teaches that faith, by itself, cannot save you. Yes, faith in Christ can save you from hell, because Christ did all the work that was necessary. There is nothing else we can do to save ourselves; He paid it all. But this verse is talking about a different kind of salvation, where faith in Christ will not help you. What were we talking about in verse 2:13? Judgment for believers, a judgment of our good and bad works. Will it help to tell God at that judgment day, “But I believe in Christ, who died for my sins. Isn’t that enough?” God will say, “I know that you believe, and that’s why I gave you eternal life, a home in heaven, forgiveness, adoption into my family, a new glorified body and countless other benefits. But we’re talking about your works now. You’re not getting rewards when you haven’t lived for me. I’m not going to tell you, ‘Well done!’ when you haven’t done a good job of following me. I’m not going to entrust you with authority status in my new kingdom” (which, by the way, is one of the rewards that God mentions for those who are faithful.) Faith is not enough to save you at the judgment. For that, you need to live a good life that pleases God, and as James mentioned in 2:13, you need to show mercy to others.

I believe that this kind of “saving” is the main point that James is making in 2:14, based on the context as we look at verse 2:13. However, looking back in the book to chapter one, we can see that at times, faith alone is not enough to save us from physical consequences of sin, such as death. James 1:15 shows us that sin can lead to death. This is not referring only to hell (although sin does lead there as well), but to physical death that is brought on directly or indirectly by our sin. Even Christians have to face natural consequences for their actions, and faith will not be enough to rescue them out of the situation.

In James 2:15-16, James gives us another example of when faith is not enough. When a brother or sister in Christ is in need of food and clothing, and you simply preach to them, did you help them? What good is faith in this situation? Will your belief in Christ put food into someone’s belly? Faith is a very good and important thing. God is very pleased with our faith in Him. But He also wants us to do what is right, to help people. When Jesus was on this earth, He had compassion on people and changed their lives—not just with the gospel, but in physical ways as well. God doesn’t want us to sit around just believing good things about Him. He wants us to show others what He is like, and to demonstrate His love in the world. This takes action on our part. Give that brother some food! Faith is not enough to make a difference in the lives of the needy.