Faith or works?

What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. – James 2.14-17

This is one of the most hotly debated passages of scripture. We know the truth of ‘sola fide’ (by faith alone) but when we get to James we find out what appears to be a contradiction. ‘For by grace are you saved through faith’ and ‘Abraham believed God and was counted righteous’ is faced with ‘faith if it does not have works, is dead.’

The conflict was so great that for a time many folks believed that James should not be a part of the canon of scripture. Of course. We don’t have the space here to give this a full study – but I think even a quick view will clear things up.

The Bible makes it clear that works cannot save us. If they could Jesus would not have had to die on the cross. So could it be that we have to add works to what Jesus has already done?

Of course that would mean that Christ did not do enough – He needs our help to secure our salvation, But He said ‘it is finished’ so how could we have to do more.

We don’t – but we will. In Ephesians 2 we read that we are ‘ordained to do good works.’ Faith changes our lives. Faith produces works. In fact we can make it even simpler – true faith works.

Where there are no works we know that the supposed faith that is there is nothing more than dead faith. And dead faith is not worth anything. There is no confusion here – true faith always produces works and if there are no works than there never was any living faith. Living faith always produces the fruit of good works