Faith without works is dead!

James 2:26

What does it mean to be dead? According to James 2:26, what constitutes death is the absence of the spirit in the body! Life no longer exist!James is using this illustration of the spirit being absent from the body to describe physical death but he is also trying to make another parallel as well!James is wanting us to understand that....

I. Faith without works is dead! V. 26

a. What is faith? Faith in this instance is referring to our salvation, our relationship to God, based on the fact that we have accepted what was provided to us through Jesus Christ! Faith is salvation! Faith is believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God!

So...when James says "Faith w/o works is dead he is saying that it is not acceptable to claim to be a Christian and not have works!

God our Father has made all things depend on faith so that whoever has faith will have everything, and whoever does not have faith will have nothing.

Martin Luther.

Martin Luther is correct but we must not stop there! While salvation is everything, James goes on to say that without works following salvation (faith) then our relationship to God is dead!

Now, what constitutes being dead? The spirit has departed from the body!

So...our conclusion can be that if we do not have works to accompany our salvation (faith) then we can safely say that the spirit has gone out from us!

Are you saved? Is there evidence that you are saved because of the works you perform?

Faith and works should travel side by side, step answering to step, like the legs of men walking. First faith, and then works. William Booth in The Founder's Messages to Soldiers, Christianity Today, October 5, 1992, p. 48.