Faith and Deeds (James 2:14-26)

(Faith - hearing and believing the message. Deed - preaching it to others.)
romans10:17

Here is a passage from James. After the sermon on Sunday, I have been more interesting in the book of James, so I took a look, and I found many passages. This is just one of the many I would like to write about. Here it talks about how Faith and Deeds go in hand in hand and how important they are together. Without one, the other isn't much.

¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? ¹⁵Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

¹⁸But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

¹⁹You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

²⁰You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? ²¹Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²²You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. ²⁴You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

²⁵In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? ²⁶As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

james2:14-26

Like always, I'll break it down to the best of my abilities verse by verse.

14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?

In the first verse, James starts off the topic by stating, not wondering, but STATING that if brothers or sisters or anyone has faith and no deeds, what good is it? Faith cannot save you and give you salvation and eternal life If you accept it and do nothing. You must learn to ACT upon it.

15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

James then, in verse 15, gives us a clear and reasonable example for this statement. He says that if a friend comes to your door without food or clothes, is it okay to just say okay, God Bless You and close the door? No. You must act upon it. Invite him/her in, give them food/clothes, DO something. Through this, James shows and demonstrates how actions must go with faith for it to be good.

18But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

Moving on to verse 18, it also shows that you cannot have two people and have one element per person. You as ONE person needs to achieve BOTH components. FAITH and DEEDS.

Honestly, I do not really know the exact meaning of verse 19, but I can somehow relate it to the content. You need BOTH Faith and Deeds. So if you believe in God, you need to act upon it. And demons on the other hand believe in God, but their actions are bad and they shudder... if that makes any sense.


20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? ²¹Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²²You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. ²⁴You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

Anyways, in verses 20-24, James talks about past events that demonstrate how important this is. He refers to the Word of God to back up his point. His first example was the story of when God requested Abraham to sacrifice his son as an offering (Genesis 22:1-9). Abraham had Faith in his Lord and he obeyed God. And because of his faithfulness, God saved Issac.

FAITH - believing and trusting God
DEED - offering Issac

25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?
In the verse 25, James gives ANOTHER reference to the Word of God to provide proof for his point. His second example from the Scripture was Rahab (Joshua 2). In this story, spies for Joshua went to spy on Jericho and Rahab had accepted them and protected them if they promised to save her life from what they were going to do. Rahab had a strong faith in the spies and in God that they would save her and because of her trust and faith, she was saved.

FAITH - trusting, having faith in Christ and spies
DEED - offering protection and helping them escape

In the last verse, 26, James gives a conclusion and ends off his passage or preaching by stating...

26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

This verse is very powerful. It compares two things. A body without the spirit is DEAD. and faith without deeds is DEAD. I think I can interpret that a BODY (you and me) without the spirit (God) is DEAD. And Faith (you and I should have) without deeds (actions) is DEAD. Understandable?

If you are a believer, and you have faith and believe Christ died for you and that he can save you, learn to act upon it. How? You can help others, love others, encourage one another, evangelize, there are many things you can do. As long as it is what GOD wants.

SUB it,
Smij Nahc † [Faith and Deeds go in HAND in HAND.]
God Bless You ♥