“You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. … For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” James, brother of Jesus

Boasting in Good Works Bereft of Good Works  It doesn’t matter what I believe as long as I try to be a good person and keep the 10 Commandments.  I know I’m going to heaven because my good deeds will outweigh the bad.  I may not be living like I should, and I may not have a lot of “good works” to my credit, BUT I pray & believe in God/Jesus and know I’m going to heaven.  When I was young I asked Jesus to come into my heart.

 Knowledge – being familiar with facts about Jesus or the contents of the gospel; E.g., Christ’s life, death, burial & resurrection.  Agreement – recognizing or admitting that the facts/gospel are true.  Trust & Reliance – Personal dependence on God (Father, Son & Holy Spirit) for salvation AND ceasing from self-righteousness and self-effort.

IS NOT…IS…  Just an optimistic mindset or positive mental attitude that everything’s going to work out in the end.  Believing the right things without commitment to God or letting the facts affect how one lives.  An object-oriented response based on God himself & his promises as recorded in the Bible.  A “whole-souled” response involving mind, heart, will and affections.

 Without trust and personal reliance on God, there is no real saving faith. (There is only knowledge and agreement.) James 2.  Without knowledge of the facts about Jesus Christ or the content of the gospel, and without agreement with those facts, there can be no trust or personal reliance. (See Romans 10:14.)  Therefore, knowledge + agreement + personal reliance = saving faith. **Many thanks to J.I. Packer in Concise Theology

“No man has a right to believe that Christ peculiarly and especially died for him until he has an evidence of it in casting himself upon Christ and trusting in Jesus and bringing forth suitable works to evince the reality of his faith. The faith that saves is not a historical faith, not a faith that simply believes a creed and certain facts. … It is a faith which produces works which saves us; the works do not save us, but a faith which does not produce works is a faith that will only deceive and cannot lead us into heaven.” (Charles H. Spurgeon, “Fruitless Faith”)

Paul wrote:James wrote:  “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight…. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” (Rom. 3:20, 28)  “…yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, … not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” (Gal. 2:16)  “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?” (James 2:21)  “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” (James 2:24)

Paul means…James means…  Justified = God declaring that a person is righteous through personal reliance on Jesus Christ.  Justification = salvation by grace through faith in Jesus.  This is the believer’s initiation into the Kingdom.  Justified = “proved genuine; vindicated from the suspicion of being a hypocrite and a fraud.” (Packer)  Same usage as in Mt. 11:19 & Luke 7:35: “Wisdom is justified [vindicated or proved genuine] by her works/children.”  This is the ongoing lifestyle of the believer in the Kingdom.

 Good works (“activities of serving God and others” or one’s prevailing lifestyle) are the evidence that one’s faith (confession) is real.  It’s legitimate to question the reality of one’s faith in the absence of such behaviors.  When opposite behaviors (i.e., bad or sinful works) are more dominant, one’s walk doesn’t match one’s talk, and God is not glorified.

 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does* the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Mt  “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Mt. 12:50  Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep* it!” Lk. 11:28  “You are my friends if you do* what I command you.” John 15:14 (Note: * indicates present tense, continuous action)

 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does* them will be like a wise man… And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do* them will be like a foolish man…” Matthew 7:24-27  “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do* them.” John 13:17  “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do* what I tell you?” Luke 6:46

 “But be doers* of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James 1:22  “For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.” Rom 2:13 [This may be Paul’s same usage of justified as James, meaning “vindicated” or “proved genuine.”]  “We know that we have come to know him if we obey * his commands. The man who says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do* what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” 1 John 2:3-4  “And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does* the will of God abides [remains] forever.” 1 John 2:17

 “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality … and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do* [practice] such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Gal. 5:19-21  “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers … will inherit the kingdom of God.” 1 Cor. 6:9-10  “For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” Ephesians 5:5ff.  See also the warning to the CHURCHES in Rev 21:8; 22:15.

 Mainly: This tells us that we can have NO assurance of salvation if we are practicing things contrary to God’s will.  “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”

 Do you have the kind of “full-orbed faith” (that includes knowledge, agreement & trust) that saves from sin & God’s wrath and gives eternal life? OR…  Are you missing personal commitment, object-based reliance on God & his promises?  Have you been deceived into thinking that you are safe?  If your faith is genuine, are you activating it? Is it working? Does it show? Is it evident to others?