James 2:18  Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
19  Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21  Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22  Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23  And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
24  Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
25  Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
26  For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

As we prepare these devotionals, it is the intent of the writer to speak the truth. I have no interest in building an empire. I have learned that I do not have what it takes to be popular among men. I have been told what I should do to be more popular. I was raised in New Evangelicalism and by God’s grace, He opened my eyes and ears and heart to see the wickedness of that philosophy.
When we study God’s Word honestly, we find that God is holy and just and righteous. He does not change His law for anyone. He is a very compassionate God. Jesus demonstrated this many times. I think of the time He was overlooking Jerusalem and had this to say:

Matthew 23:37  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

The simple solution to this problem, according to the Pharisees then, and the New Evangelical crowd today would be for Jesus to be more accepting of what people think. We need to remember that in the Old Testament God was referred to as the Rock. A Rock is firm. The Rock that God is described as, is unbreakable and erosion proof. Prophetically, Jesus is also referred to as a Rock in the Old Testament. Moses was to strike the Rock in order to get water. The next time he was to speak to the Rock in order to get water. Moses disobeyed God and the result was that Moses could not enter the land of Canaan. In the New Testament we are told that Jesus Christ is that Rock.
Biblical compassion does not bend God’s perfect law of liberty, in order to accommodate man’s sin. Biblical compassion reminds the sinner of the way to be forgiven and know God’s peace. As we put out these devotionals, I am not the authority. God is the authority. As we look at today’s text, we see that faith without works is not true faith. The charismatic movement is full of people who claim faith in God and in Jesus, but they prove no faith in God and Jesus. Of course they like to emphasize the name Jesus. They are heretics and deceivers.
As God directed James here, it is impossible to demonstrate true faith without works. We must keep in mind that the works that God is talking of here are true Biblical works. God is not leaving it up to man to define what a Biblical work is. We have already seen the honest care for those in need.
All of what James was told to write in this letter is based upon the inspiration of God’s Word. We must judge all things in the light of God’s Word. Personal experience means nothing. We do experience things. The modern, emergent church philosophy, which is just another branch of the charismatic movement, argues that ‘I had this experience and you did not and so you cannot judge me because the experience I had was real’. That philosophy is what has brought corrupt religion to where it is today.
James wrote that he would show others his faith by his works. That is genuine faith. We can take what a person says and we can look at God’s Word, that perfect law of liberty, and see if the two agree. The Authority is the perfect law of liberty, not the person’s actions. The works of the saved person must agree with God’s Word. We do not try to cram our actions into God’s Word and reinterpret that to fit our works.
In verse 19 we have another important warning. There are thousands of people who claim to believe there is one God. The Muslims believe in one god and they call him Allah. They also have one prophet and they call him Mohammed. The Charismatics believe in one god and they also have a Jesus, but they are not the God or Jesus of the Bible. That is extremely evident for anyone who is saved.
James reminded the saints that the devils also believe in one God, and they tremble. The devils are so hardened and so locked into their sin that they understand they are under God’s wrath, but they are stuck there. They cannot repent. They made the wrong choice and that was it. There is no hope for them. They serve Satan and all the while they know they will be cast into the lake of fire one day. Their mission is to kill and maim people and to keep people from believing the truth. Sadly, they are quite successful at their evil deeds.
In verse 20 we are reminded that faith without works is dead. Again, we are talking of Biblical works. False religion has rewritten the Word of God many times. They are still adding to and taking away from God’s Word. There have been people in the past who have taken God’s Word and scratched out parts they did not like and they have written in things they want there instead. There are still people doing that today.
It is interesting to observe how powerful our minds are. We can convince ourselves that black is white and white is black or grey. We can convince ourselves of many things. The deceived and deceivers dare not spend too much time in the Word of God. That would expose them and they are intent on having their way. They have convinced themselves that God will accept their heresies. Of course they do not call them heresies. They believe they are more enlightened.
In verse 21 God used the example of Abraham. Abraham was justified by works. He was not saved by works. He was justified by works. He proved his faith in God by obeying a very strange order. We know from the Old Testament record of this event, that Abraham believed that somehow he would bring Isaac back even though God told him to sacrifice him on that altar. Abraham believed God and he proved that he believed in God by obeying Him. God rewarded him for his faith. God did not reveal His entire plan to Abraham ahead of time. God does not need to reveal everything He plans. God revealed Himself to Abraham in many ways. Abraham knew he could trust God completely. He had doubted God in some important ways and he lied about his wife. He also encouraged her to lie about her relationship with Abraham. He doubted God in the promise of a son. God never justified any of those sins. Those sins caused grief for Abraham and Sarah. Abraham needed to grow in his walk of faith. The same is true for every saved person today. We need to grow in our faith in the Lord. Our sins will hurt us and others around us. We are never taught to copy the sins of Biblical characters. We are taught to learn from those examples.
Abraham was called “the Friend of God”. God knows there is no perfect man on this earth. A friend of God is one who does not look for license to sin, but rather one who seeks to draw nigh to God. In verse 24 we see that a man is justified by works. Faith alone is empty talk.
In verse 25 God pointed back to Rahab. Rahab was a harlot. She was not taught the truth and she did not know the truth. She had a conscience and she knew being a harlot was wrong. As a lost sinner, she proved that by being a harlot. Every lost sinner will prove their nature very soon after birth. It is obvious that Rahab was not happy with her choice of life. She took in the spies and she sent them out another way. She risked her life to save those men from her own people. We are not given all the details, but it is obvious from what we are given that she came to believe in the God of Israel. She knew her life was a mess and she became a believer in the true God while living in a pagan society. The result of that was that she hid the spies and then sent them out over the wall at great risk to her own life. God knew her heart and He saved her when the wall of Jericho came down. There is much more that could be said about Rahab. God chose not to include that here. He gave us enough for us to know that Rahab proved her new found faith in God by her actions.
In verse 26 we are reminded that the body without the spirit is dead. Adam was a pile of dust until God breathed into him the breath of life. For Adam, this breath of life was both physical and spiritual. Due to Adam’s sin, all of his descendants are given the breath of physical life. Each one must listen to the Holy Spirit and to the Word of God in order to be given Spiritual life.
The point that God was making here is that faith without works is dead. True Biblical faith will produce true Biblical works. Along the way those who are truly saved will sin. When we sin, we must confess that sin to God in order to be forgiven. God knows our hearts. He does not whitewash sin. Jesus Christ died on the cross and shed His blood there to pay for our sins. His blood must be applied to the repentant sinner’s heart in order to be saved. The saved person must confess his sin in order to be restored to right fellowship with the Lord. Confession includes forsaking the sin. Peter was reminded of the importance of a right heart in forgiveness in Matthew 18. The attitude of the saved person is not one of carelessness. It is not the argument that we all sin and God is good and He will forgive. God’s forgiveness is not automatic. His Word shows us the imperative of acknowledging our sin after we are saved and forsaking our sin. We can do this if we are saved. We have been given the power to become sons of God in salvation. That power is there to say no to sin and yes to God. It is not the fake charismatic power. They defy God all the time.
The wise person trusts in God and demonstrates that faith by obedience to God.
Pastor Bartel