Surviving While Scattered: 3 Signs of Saving Faith (James 2:14-26 Bible Study)
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This passage of Scripture has been widely debated and often misused. Without overcomplicating it, I want to bring some much-needed clarity to the issue. The relationship between faith and works is important and must be taught with care and concern for people’s souls. We need to understand what this passage is saying so that we can better walk with God and counter those who misuse it to harm others.
James 2:14-26 presents three signs of true, saving faith that we should examine in ourselves—not only for our own benefit but also for the benefit of others.
Unfortunately, this passage has often been wielded like a weapon to harass and confuse people when, in reality, it should function more like an EpiPen for ourselves. As we remain here waiting for Christ’s return, we should take this passage to heart, examine our faith, and work toward bettering ourselves—not just for our sake, but for the advancement of God’s kingdom.
1. Saving Faith Benefits Others (James 2:14-16)
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
Notice that James presents a scenario: “If someone says he has faith...” (v.14). This is a hypothetical yet sadly common situation . However, the Bible does not explicitly state whether this person is truly saved—perhaps by design—so that we can focus primarily inward. The point is that this person claims to have faith, but there is no evidence to support that claim.
James then asks a profound question: If a person claims to have faith but produces no righteous works, what good is that faith? Furthermore, can a faith that never results in righteous works actually save anyone?
Before answering, we must understand what these "works" actually are. Ephesians 2:8-10 states:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
This passage makes it clear that we are saved by grace through faith, not by works. However, verse 10 reveals that God has a purpose for us after salvation—to accomplish the good works He has already prepared for us. These works could include raising a godly family, preaching the gospel, serving others, sharing our testimony, or any other task God calls us to for His glory.
So here’s the million-dollar question: Can a mere intellectual belief in the gospel save anyone? I would say no. But regardless, James seems to emphasize a different question: What good is it?
Verses 15-16 illustrate this point with a simple example: What good is it if someone claims to be a Christian but shows no evidence of that claim? The Bible exposes the absurdity of professing faith without action. It’s like telling a starving, cold person, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without actually helping them. Words mean nothing if we don’t back them up with action.
This aligns with James 4:17, which states: “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”
Saving faith does more than just pardon our sins—it impacts the world around us. God often uses ordinary people to accomplish His will. Good works are something we should rejoice in, not avoid.
2. Saving Faith Is Seen by Others (James 2:17-25)
17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
James shifts to a show vs. tell approach. Some might try to separate faith and works, treating them as two unrelated things—one person has faith, another has works. However, this is a false separation.
Let me be clear: We work from our faith and from our salvation, not for our salvation. Our works do not save us, but they reveal to others that our faith is real. They are a sign to others that we genuinely believe in all that Jesus taught. Our works prove that Christ has changed our lives.
Therefore, it is impossible to separate Christians into two categories—one group having faith and the other having works. Every believer will display some evidence of God working in their life, even if it looks different from person to person.
James presents an undeniable truth: I cannot prove my faith to others simply by claiming to have it. However, I can show my faith through the works I accomplish in my life through Christ. If I claim to have faith, yet there is no evidence, then others would be completely justified in questioning whether my faith is genuine.
James then provides two biblical examples: Abraham and Rahab. Hebrews 11:33 highlights that the heroes of faith accomplished their works as a result of their faith.
It appears to me that the "justification" mentioned in James 2 refers to a horizontal interaction—meaning it is about how others see our faith. It does not mean that God looks down and justifies us based on our works. Instead, our works put our faith on display before others, proving our faith is genuine.
Thus, saving faith:
Benefits others
Is seen by others
But there is one more crucial characteristic of saving faith.
3. Saving Faith Is Alive (James 2:26)
26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
What separates a true believer from a false convert or a mere professing Christian is the actual state of their soul. A true believer has been brought back from the dead spiritually (Ephesians 2:1-5).
A person may walk, talk, smile, and perform good deeds—but without the Holy Spirit, they are spiritually dead. At the moment of salvation, according to Ephesians 1:13, a believer receives the Holy Spirit.
In the same way, a person who claims to have faith but has no works possesses a dead faith. Faith without works is lifeless. Yet a believer who is truly saved has been the Holy Spirit, and is now spiritually alive.
Conclusion
Reader, I urge you to examine your heart and your faith in Jesus Christ.
Perhaps today is the day you call upon the Lord for salvation. Perhaps you already are saved and this study has awakened a desire in you to recommit yourself to Christ. Perhaps this will help even the most mature believer better teach others about the relationship between faith and works.
James 2:14-26 reveals three signs of saving faith:
Saving faith benefits others.
Saving faith is seen by others.
Saving faith is alive.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing
ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights
reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made
available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not
be translated in whole or in part into any other language
