Introduction

“Lord, you’ve done it again and blown my socks right off!” That was one of the first thoughts that entered my mind a couple of weeks ago when my family was blessed by another member of the Body of Christ who graciously covered the cost of some unexpected vehicle repairs that we were facing. When I stop to think about it, it is overwhelming to consider how my family has been incredibly served over the years by so many spiritual family members that have seen a need and intentionally stepped in and met that need. Picking up the tab on a grocery run; moving our belongings into a new home; patching a leak in our cistern; helping cover our kids’ schooling costs; comfort and counsel in times of disappointment, failure and loss; tender prayer; a listening ear… countless varied gifts of loving service. These are just a few of the myriad ways that we have been on the receiving end of some much-needed, life-giving action over the years. These needs are very temporal, but also essential to life on this earth. As important as these benefits of service to one another would seem, the local church throughout its history has had its struggles to act on what it knows to do for each other. This kind of harmonious living among Christians is the result of faith that is active and not stagnant. Selfless instead of selfish. Helpful and not hurtful. Alive and not dead. For the believers that the Apostle James was writing to, this issue of living out their faith in the Body was not a foreign problem.  No, in fact, James dedicates some much-needed ink to confronting the Jewish churches of the diaspora about this very matter.    

Context Considered 

As we continue our search for the common thread of salvation in the epistle of James, our second stop is in 2:14. James writes, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can such faith save him?”  To understand this salvation, we need to look first at the context. As we discovered in Part 1 of this series (hyper-link to Saved from Missing Out?), James is writing to persecuted Jewish churches about viewing life’s pressures as God’s divine tool to teach and not defeat. Again, it is crucial to note that the apostle’s formula for experiencing such transformation through trials is outlined in 1:19-20, “My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, ²⁰ for human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness.”  Right here, in James’ first main point (1:21-2:26), we find him outlining the first ingredient for a believer’s healthy response to pain and discomfort: “be quick to hear”. In 1:21, we saw the first occurrence of “save” or sozo within the context of listening well. The second use of sozo in 2:14 still falls within this same context. James calls his readers to listen well in order for the soul or life of the believer to be saved through earthly tragedies and to divine transformation. As we build the surrounding context of 2:14, we should ask, “Do we see James give a clear definition of this kind of “quick listening”? The answer is yes. In fact, just two verses after James’ thematic outline in 1:19-20, he says this, “But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James could not be clearer about his understanding and God’s expectation for Christians to be “quick listeners”. According to James, good listening results in doing. So, what do we do with what we hear from God? What does this kind of “good listening” look like in real life? James takes the end of chapter one and all of chapter two to develop and answer this very question. Here is the picture that James paints concerning the various ways believers are called to be “quick hearers” within the local church: saying “no” to abusive words (1:26), caring for the vulnerable (1:27); serving the needy without prejudice (2:1-13), having faith that results in works (2:14-17) and choosing radical obedience as the intended goal of faith (2:20-26). Interestingly enough, according to James, each of these ways that hearing should result in doing is first intended to take place in the context of Christian community rather than throughout broader society. Living out God’s “implanted word” (1:18, 21) is to first take place among the church family so that this new-creation life can then outflow into a lost society. So, why does James introduce the idea of “save” in the middle of his explanation of radical listening? 

It’s all about Rhetoric

“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can such faith save him?”  As we continue our study on this focus verse, it is crucial to note the two verses that immediately precede it. These two preceding verses prepare the reader for a new unit of thought: “Speak and act as those who are to be judged by the law of freedom. ¹³ For judgment is without mercy to the one who has not shown mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”. 

In essence, James is summarizing his argument of the entire pericope (2:1-13) by stating that mercy is validated only when it is shown to the one in need and not simply spoken about. It is not enough to just talk about mercy. The church family needs to act on mercy. James then presents 2:14 in the form of a rhetorical question, introducing a new single unit of thought (2:14-26). In other words, James implies an answer to his own question for greater impact upon his readers. James actually implements this common literary device multiple times throughout his little letter (2:6-7, 14-16, 20-21, 25; 3:11-13; 4:4-5,12; 5:13-14). He utilizes this question as a linguistic road sign that warns his audience and elicits their personal response to a significant issue. The issue that is heavy on James’ heart in 2:14 is this: Christians are saying they are walking in the faith of Jesus (“…someone claims they have faith…”), and yet these same believers are failing to live it out among the church (“…but does not have works.”). This is the epitome of believing something without it actually affecting anything or anyone – being hearers and not doers. This is loss. This is waste. Remember, these local churches were guilty of being aware of the most vulnerable among their spiritual family, but were refusing to act in sacrificial love and instead were reacting in hateful prejudice (2:1-13). In this way, these believers’ faith was useless or meaningless. In fact, it was simply “no good” at a time when James was pleading for their faith to be as “profitable” (ophelos-2:14a) as possible in the midst of so much suffering (1:2-4). To be “profitable” would mean intentionally helping to meet the needs of the church body and not just watching from the sidelines. It is extremely important to note that earlier in this same section (1:21-2:26) James associates salvation with earthly life and opportunity (1:21), instead of eternal life and final destiny. So also, James’ critical question for these Jewish believers in 2:14 is to challenge the false assumption that the Christian who walks by faith had no need to produce good works among fellow Church-members. This workless faith was unable to save the believer from wasting God’s teaching in the midst of life’s trials. Thus, for James, this kind of salvation is all about the reward of suffering well and not about the fires of hell.       

By implementing this rhetorical question, James is proving just how much he desires his readers to experience a healthy walk of faith in the local church context. And just so they don’t miss it, James illustrates what this kind of life-giving faith looks like when he writes, “If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food¹⁶  and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it? ¹⁷ In the same way faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.” James uses the Greek noun, ophelos (“what good is it”), again in verse 16 just as he did in verse 14. This serves as a miniature literary inclusio (bracket) within the text, effectively tying the ideas of advantage, benefit and profit to his overarching point behind this very poignant illustration. Considering this, 2:14-17 are clearly not a litmus test for proving one has eternal life. Rather, it is a strong exhortation for believers to live out their faith in Jesus by sacrificially serving other believers in this life, especially in the midst of suffering. 

But isn’t James making too big a deal out of this kind of faith that isn’t living or helpful? I mean, come on, aren’t most Christians guilty of this little “white sin” most days of the week? The answer, “yes”! We most definitely are habitually guilty of this kind of selfishness within our local churches; and this is James’ very point. 

“Dead” or Living Faith, that is the Question? 

I believe that far too often pop-culture Christianity is quick to be intolerant of sin within a spiritually bankrupt society and ironically, very tolerant of sin within the sanctified community of the local church. Some issues don’t change much, do they? This seems to be the same problem for the churches that James was directly confronting here in chapter 2 of his letter. Not because he overreacted to a cultural preference they held,  but because they were underreacting to a subtle yet extremely serious sin-pattern that was infecting their spiritual community. I believe this is the very reason James chooses such a vivid concept like nekros or “dead” at the end of verse 17 to describe faith. To James, “dead” accurately describes a believer’s walk of faith that is devoid of the kind of works that serve others in the faith of Christ. This is not referring to being “dead” in terms of unbelief for eternal life, but rather refers to a faith that is unproductive among His people. This is not a non-existent faith but rather a faith that is inactive. Useless, not absent. What James is truly calling for is a walk of faith that shares life instead of being stingy with it. Helping others and not withholding it. Ultimately, James longs for his believing audience to experience a faith that is consistent with the truth they are believing, especially during life’s hardships when help is needed the most. And so, it is also true for us, the contemporary audience. We must honestly ask ourselves, “As a member of Christ’s Body, is my walk of faith characterized by life or death? Is it only about hearing the right truths concerning Jesus or is it also about doing those works within His Christian community that characterized Jesus’ life and ministry? Just a little bittersweet food for thought.     

Conclusion

As we saw in James 1:21, “save” should also be understood in 2:14 as referring to progressive sanctification for the believer instead of the proof of eternal salvation. When this is kept in mind, the believer can experience being saved from a “dead” and inconsistent faith and to a living faith that blesses Christ and His Church with its meaningful works. Understanding salvation from this vantage point not only removes the threat of eternal insecurity but it also becomes a sober reminder that how I live out my faith in Jesus among my spiritual family really does matter. Not just passively hearing God’s perspective on life’s struggles but actively believing Him enough that I put His perspective into practice for the benefit of the Church. What better way could there be to “bless the socks right off” of our spiritual family who are being weighed down with the burdens of life? Let’s allow our faith to live in such a way among our church communities that we are saved from passively hearing God’s word in the face of struggles and saved to actively doing something with it before others. God’s radical grace calls us to nothing less than to radically believe and act for the sake of one another in everyday kinds of ways!