James 2:17–18

The principle is stated concisely in verse 17: "So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." If it were divinely given, it would show its mighty and gracious effects. Such faith is dead in itself, and any works done that way are just as dead in themselves.

We may profess faith in God's care for His people in everyday things. But our faith in that care must make us ready to be the channel through which it flows. If it does not, our faith is of no profit to the needy brother or sister — nor indeed to ourselves. Our faith on that point is dead, and so it does nothing, as verse 17 tells us. We must not be surprised if others challenge it.

The demons also believe that God is one, and their belief makes them tremble, but it does not put them in relationship with God. So a man may believe what is true about God and yet have no faith in God. Faith is the outcome of a new nature that trusts in God and proves its existence by its works. The man who says he has faith and yet has no works is a vain man, and his faith is merely a dead profession.

Verse 19 shows that a person may be genuinely certain the thing is true. But the life that the word gives is entirely missing — the life that forms a relationship between the soul and God. Because this comes through the word, it is faith; being born of God, we have a new life. This life acts — that is, faith acts — in keeping with that relationship with God. Its works flow from it and bear witness to the faith that produced them.

I could not have apples without an apple tree, for apples do not grow on thorn bushes. If there are apples, everybody knows there must be apple trees somewhere. The tree is the faith, the apples are the works. Living faith brings forth living works. But the faith must be there before the works can appear. The works are the outward and visible evidence of the inward and unseen faith.

The works James is talking about are works of faith. They are not always the ones people call good works. Abraham offered up his own son, and Rahab hid the spies in her home. Normally no one would call either action a good work. One would count as murder and the other as treason. But these works revealed their faith in God.

Whatever difficulty the reader finds disappears as soon as he grasps one thing. Paul is occupied with the justification of the ungodly, while James speaks of the justification of the godly. The one is before God and the other is before men. God justifies the ungodly on the principle of faith. It is by grace alone, and works are shut out completely. The godly justify their confession before men by their good works.

He does not aim this severe language at a troubled soul. The Spirit would not describe such a person as a "vain man"; the word means an empty, hollow, foolish person. He is just someone who says he believes, as thousands do when reciting a creed, and yet nothing at all follows in his conduct.