James 2:14-26
Please turn to James Chapter 2 in your King James Bible. This is very popular chapter for the works based salvation preachers.
The exact phrase “faith without works” is seen in the Bible just two times. Both of those times are in the Book of James. James is the 59th book of the Bible out of 66 total books so it’s towards the end of the Bible.
There are 58 books of the Bible before the Book of James that clearly teach that the salvation of your soul comes through faith in Jesus Christ. James teaches salvation comes through faith alone. And the 7 books after James teach salvation is through Jesus Christ only.
There is Not One Scripture That Says We Are Saved by Works
There is not one Scripture in the Bible that says we must be saved from hell by doing good works. There is not one. There is not one even close to saying that. Acts 2:38 doesn’t say that. James Chapter 2 doesn’t say that. No where does God say we are saved by our works.
But many people will go to faith without works is dead, in James Chapter 2, and attempt to say that the entire rest of the Bible is voided because of the phrase: “Faith without works is dead.” Look at verse 14 in James Chapter 2 please.
James 2:14-17
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
Look closely at verse 14. “What doth it PROFIT, my brethren.” We’re talking about profiting someone. A man says he has faith. Do you have faith? Would you tell me that you have faith? And you have faith. But let’s say you don’t have any works.
Did that first tiny little drop of faith you had in Jesus Christ save your soul forever? You were born again in the moment you put your trust in Jesus Christ. When you realized you were a sinner in need of a Savior and that Jesus Christ is the only one that could save you, you put it all on Jesus and nothing of yourself and no good works at all to save you. You were saved. Forever.
Faith In Jesus Christ Saves You In a Moment
Can faith in Jesus Christ save you? Yeah, it already did, “MY BRETHREN.” James is writing to saved people already. Saved people already know salvation has nothing to do with works. Unsaved people don’t so they take James Chapter 2, they see works, and they say salvation is of works. Wrong.
But this Scripture speaks of a brother or sister being naked and destitute of daily food. Let’s say there’s one outside in the cold right outside that door when you walk out after this service. Naked and no food. Physical death is coming to them soon. You’re telling me you have faith in Jesus. Jesus commanded you to help that person.
But instead, you walk out that door, that naked and hungry person is there. They ask for help. You tell them to get a job. “Go get a job, bum.” Watch who you’re calling a bum because Jesus told you to help that person. And you didn’t do that work. You passed on by.
Hey, this isn’t helping them. This isn’t profiting them. You said you have faith. You told me you have faith. What are you going to do with that faith?
These People Show Me Their Works
We talk to homeless people all the time in West Louisville. We were on West Broadway in between church services on Sunday. Right beside South 20th St. Many people are walking by.
And this is what I love to see. You should see Nathan out there soul winning now. He’ll tell you that he was nervous and afraid in the past. He drove all the way to Detroit, with his family, with Milana, with Rachel, with the kids. He went soul winning with me there. He was nervous. But he did it. He fought through it.
He showed me his faith. After that, he drove all the way across the country to go soul winning with me. He drove to Seattle, Washington to go soul winning with me. He did it. He does it.
I’ll tell you I was nervous when I first started years ago. But you should see Nathan now. God is smiling when Nathan is soul winning. Now Nathan beats me to the people. He’s faster than me. And I love to see that.
We were walking down West Broadway around South 20th Street. People come walking down the sidewalks. This is what we love to see. It’s soul winning paradise. Nathan catches one of them. Chris catches another one. My Mom catches another one. And I catch one. Four people giving the Gospel at once. Three people get saved. The man I spoke with, his name is William Jarrell.
This Homeless Man Received the Gospel
He listened to the Gospel. He thought he had to repent of sin every time he sinned to keep his salvation. I said, “Well what if you did something bad, didn’t have time to repent, and died right after? Where would you go?” He told me hell. I said, “Well that’s not good news. The Gospel means Good News. And when God says Good News, God means Good News!”
He received the Gospel. I went back over things with him a few times. He finally believed the Gospel. And we prayed there together calling upon the name of the Lord. And when we were finished praying, I said: “Hey, can I put your name in my phone to pray for you as a church?” He said, “Sure.” We ask their first name, their last name, their address, phone number, and email address.
When I got to his address, he said: “I don’t have one.” He said, “I’m hungry.” I looked up and right behind his head, I see a KFC sign a short distance away. That’s a sign, literally. So we went over and got him a meal. He was very thankful for that meal.
I’m telling you right now that when we go soul winning, almost every day, your eyes change when you’re out there. I’ve learned that when I see and hear things, I better pay attention. I saw the sign, the KFC sign.
“Sorry Sir, I Have to Go. Depart in Peace.”
William got the everlasting bread, which is the best bread of all, BY FAR, but what if I just said: “Sorry Sir, I’ve got to go now. Be ye warmed and filled. Depart in peace.” Do you think God would be pleased with me?
Matthew 25:35-40
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat. That’s our job too. We preach the Gospel, but we feed and we clothe. And we help. “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
Nathan and I went out preaching the Gospel in January when it was around 10 degrees outside. It was cold. There was a lady standing there where drug dealers usually happen to be. She had no socks. She had no hat. She was shivering. Nathan gave her the Gospel. She got saved. A sister in Christ. Praise Jesus Christ.
We gave her a nice warm hat that covered her ears, and we gave her some warm gloves. Brand new. She was very thankful. “Naked and ye clothed me.”
Jesus Tells Us That We Do The Same to Him
“Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” When we see these people, we see Jesus. Would you pass by Jesus? They are the body of Christ.
Look at verse 17 in James Chapter 2. “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” So let’s go back in time to that day and let’s say we’re walking down West Broadway. It’s Caleb (a new soul winner), Nathan, Chris, Callie, my Mom, and me. As we’re walking, these 3 men walk by us at different times and we say absolutely nothing.
We don’t stop them. We don’t help them. We don’t think of them. We say that we have faith. We’ve got the faith. We’re saved. We have everlasting life. But our faith is alone that day. Verse 17 says, “BEING ALONE.” We don’t have the works that day. We aren’t ready to preach the Gospel. We don’t preach the Gospel. We walk on by and say nothing.
Maybe William dies that night in West Louisville. It’s tough out there. He told me he got robbed the night before. We walk on by, he dies that night, and ends up in hell forever. We end up in heaven forever. Is God happy with us? That man died and went to hell because we walked on by. We let a false preacher teaching a works based salvation win and take that man to hell. We will not let that man pass by.
Don’t Let Them Pass on By
We didn’t let them pass. We didn’t walk on by. We stopped William. We stopped Kelvin. We stopped Terry. We stopped Aletia. We stopped Michael. We stopped Chuck. We stopped Cory. We preached the Gospel to 7 people that day who received it between church services this past Sunday.
Just a few of us out there on the streets. 7 people now going to heaven forever. 23 people on the Saturday before. We could have skipped Sunday. 23 people got saved Saturday. All day long soul winning. Let’s take a break. Let’s skip Sunday. But we didn’t take that break. And 7 people are going to heaven now.
Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. You can have faith without works. Faith can be alone. When I’m sleeping, I’m not doing good works. I’m not preaching the Gospel. Sometimes I walk right by people during a normal day. Sometimes I don’t preach the Gospel.
Sometimes I don’t have works to go with my faith. My faith is alone during those times. Am I still going to heaven? Yes. Jesus Christ saved me. Works don’t get us to heaven, but our good works profit others. Our good works, such as preaching the Gospel, helps get others to heaven.
Me preaching the Gospel doesn’t get me to heaven. Someone else preaching the Gospel helped me get to heaven. Jesus saves. But Jesus gave us the job to preach the Gospel. Faith without works. Is that good? Faith is good. Faith is great. On its own, faith the size of a mustard seed is powerful. But, faith without works, is dead. It’s not growing.
Faith Without Works is Dead
Faith without works is dead doesn’t equal you’re dead and going to hell. James is simply teaching that you’re saved and now it’s time to get to work. Why? For others. To love others.
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.
A man, let’s say me. I say to you, “Thou hast faith, and I have works.” You’re sitting there. You tell me you have faith. But I can’t see it. Faith is invisible. You can’t pull it out of your pocket and physically show it to me. Hey, show me thy faith without thy works. Please show me your faith. How would you do that? You would have to do something to show me that you have faith.
You would have to do a good work. “I will shew thee my faith by my works.” If you don’t believe I have faith, stick with me for a week. Let’s go soul winning. I’ll take you with me. You can go see what we do. Let’s go down and walk along West Broadway in West Louisville. It’s a busy street with many people walking. I’ll show you my faith. I’ll preach the Gospel. I’ll give it all I’ve got.
How will you show me your faith? Let’s say a friend of yours was saved, but she never preached the Gospel. Does she know the Gospel? I don’t know. Let’s say she never reads her Bible. Does she have faith? I might even start to question. Let’s say she never prays. Does she even believe in God? It’s not good for your faith to be alone. This doesn’t help anyone. Faith saved you but now?
How Do You Show You Have Faith?
Show your faith. How? By doing good works. James isn’t teaching a works based salvation. James isn’t adding works to salvation after you’re saved. James isn’t saying that you will have good works “IF” you’re saved. James isn’t saying that only a special type of faith with works is saving faith.
There is a saving faith and that saving faith is putting all your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Saving faith has nothing to do with works. NOTHING TO DO WITH WORKS. Reformed Baptists like to say you aren’t saved if you don’t do good works. The Bible doesn’t say that. Jesus doesn’t say that.
Jesus says, “He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” Look at verse 20 in James Chapter 2.
James 2:20
But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
Faith without works is dead. You can have faith without works. You’re saved. But you aren’t helping anyone else. You can have faith with works. You’re saved. You’re helping others. God is pleased. You can have no faith and works. Many unsaved people feed and clothe people.
This man, in that Scripture, has faith but he has no works. You don’t want to be that man. The Bible calls this man, “O vain man.” Vain equals empty, worthless, no substance, no importance, fruitless.
Let me be clear. You’ve heard the Gospel. You believed the Gospel. You’re saved forever. You have everlasting life. You have salvation. Now, get out there and use it to glorify your Father in heaven. He commanded you to get to work for him. It’s time to do it. It’s time to get that set straight in your head. It’s time now. Now is the time. Not later. Now. I will do the work of God.
Make the Commitment Today to Do the Works
Say, “I will come up here and meet Pastor Tim at all the soul winning times.” I will go out there and preach the Gospel.
I love my little Emma Jo. She’ll get embarrassed right now. But that’s okay. She went to my wife earlier this week and said I want to go soul winning today. Don’t let Dad leave without me. She’s been studying the Gospel. She wants to be ready to preach the Gospel. And she went with me. She stuck with me.
And you know what? When she’s with me, we get people saved. When a beautiful little girl is with me, people are a little easier on me. They give me a chance. They smile at Emma. She helps win more souls to Jesus Christ.
Hey, if these little ones like Emma can stand out in the cold rain for an hour while I try to convince two grown men to believe the Gospel, you can get out there too. Milana, being great with child, went on the soul winning marathon most of the day Saturday. She did it. The kids did it. Bill did it. He stuck with us all day. My feet were killing me. My lower back was hurting.
But we kept going. We didn’t quit. We were tired. And most of the salvations we got were right at the end of the day. God did that. We kept going. We showed God we love him. And he sent us more people AT THE END. Even with a loose pit bull, we kept preaching the Gospel.
Motivate Others to Show Their Faith
And when we show our faith, this motivates others to show their faith. And as you do good works, your faith in God increases. He does that for you as you do what he asks you to do.
You can have faith without works. You’re saved. You’re going to heaven. But faith without works is dead. Your faith, if it hath not works, is dead. You aren’t dead. Faith is dead.
James 2:26
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
The spirit is the life within you. When your spirit leaves your body, your body dies. Your body is not moving. Your body isn’t doing anything good. Your body is dead. You aren’t helping anyone. You aren’t profiting anyone. Your body is still there. But your body is alone without the spirit. Your body isn’t gone. It’s there. It’s just dead and not doing anything.
You have life within you. I can see you have life because your body is moving. Your eyes are blinking. I can’t see the actual life but I see the result. Use that life that God gave you for good. This is what James is teaching. He isn’t teaching to do good works to be saved from hell.
Think of every moment of your life. You aren’t always doing good works. When you aren’t doing good works, your faith is dead. It’s not growing. It’s not profiting anyone. Faith without works is dead. You don’t want that. So, use your life that God gave you to do the good works as much as possible.
A Dead Car = A Dead Battery = Charge it Up!
For example, let’s say you have a car. The life within your car is the battery. That battery keeps your car going. Without a charged battery, your car is dead. Your battery dies one day when you need to drive to work. Since the battery is dead, your car doesn’t profit anyone. You can’t go to work for your employer. You can’t be there for your co-workers. You aren’t profiting anyone. The car isn’t profiting you because the battery is dead.
The battery is there. You can see it. It’s just dead. You can charge it back up. It starts working. And it profits everyone once again.
When your cell phone dies, it doesn’t profit you. You can’t make the call you need to make. Charge it back up. It starts WORKING again, and it PROFITS you. Faith saves you. Faith without works saves you. If you believe faith with works saves your soul from hell, you aren’t saved. Faith alone IN JESUS CHRIST saves. Then do the good works to profit others.
I love to study the Bible in different ways. Studying the Bible is one of my joys. Watching Kentucky Basketball was one of my joys a long time ago. I would get excited to watch a Kentucky basketball game. I remember exactly where I was when Christian Laettner hit the game winning shot against Kentucky in the 1992 Elite Eight game. It broke my heart. My Dad was there. My Mom was there. I remember exactly where I was.
Now, I don’t pay much attention to Kentucky Basketball. I still pay some attention, but I don’t get so excited about watching a game. Now, I get excited to study the Bible. So, here’s an example of how I study the Bible.
Study Faith and Works in the Bible
The title of this sermon is “Faith Without Works.” We know there’s only 2 instances of the exact phrase and they are in James Chapter 2. We just looked at those. So, let’s see how many Bible verses there are with the word faith and the word works in the same verse. I also included all variations of the word faith and the word works.
There are 21 verses in the Bible that have the word faith and the word works in the same verse. Study to show thyself approved. What does the Bible teach? Please listen to the first Scripture in the Bible that has the word faith and works.
Romans 3:26-28
To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. 27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
Faith in Jesus saves. Trusting in Jesus completely for salvation is what saves. Believing Jesus is the Son of God and God in the flesh with the power to save. Jesus is “THE” only way. There is no other way to be saved. Jesus is “THE WAY.”
If Jesus is the way, that means we aren’t the way. That means our good works aren’t the way. If our good works were the way, we would be boasting about our works. We don’t boast of our works. We do the works to show our faith and this showing of our faith helps others. This showing of our faith by doing good works motivates others to do the good works.
We show our faith by our works. Faith in Jesus is first. Good works should follow. SHOULD. But we don’t boast in our goodness to get to heaven. The law of faith excludes boasting. The conclusion: “A man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” Deeds equals works. Remember, this is the first verse in the Bible with the word works and faith.
The Bible Explains Faith and Works Over and Over Again
If you study through the entire Bible from cover to cover, you’ll find the same thing. The second verse in all the Bible with the word faith and works. Listen to this one.
Romans 4:4-5
Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
If you want to work for salvation, you’ll be earning it. There’s a problem, though. You’re in debt, and you aren’t getting out of that debt. The payment for your debt is hell. It’s not money. It’s not good works. It’s hell. Working for salvation is not possible. You’re in debt. You owe that debt.
Instead, God says to him that worketh not, his FAITH is counted for righteousness. Not his works. His faith only. This same thing is taught in every way possible throughout the entire Bible. Abraham believed and it was accounted unto him for righteousness. Not his works. Boasting is excluded by the LAW OF FAITH. Faith alone in Christ saves you.
So, once you’re saved, you’re always saved. Now, take that faith and use it for good to glorify God. When you do the works, such as the first works, such as preaching the Gospel, you walk in the footsteps of Jesus. See and feel what he did.
Join the Workforce for God
There’s a lot of people out there working hard for God. You have a lot of people in this church working hard for God. Join them. Show them your faith.
When you walk in the footsteps of Jesus, as he wants us to do, you’ll learn more about him. You’ll love him more and more. You’ll see just a little bit of what this world was like for him. I want to know Jesus better. How do we do that? We do his work. We experience what he did.
If you have faith in Jesus, in that moment, you’re saved. If you never do anything good, you’re saved. But don’t be that person who does nothing good.
Imagine that. Jesus died for you. Suffered for you. And then you never do anything good the rest of your life? That would actually be difficult to do. Never preaching the Gospel. Never reading the Bible. Never going to church. Never helping anyone. That’s tough to do. Grow your faith through your works.
Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Get more faith. Do the works. Work hard. Study to show thyself approved. Search the Scriptures. Find out more about Jesus. Show Jesus you love him greatly.
Do the work. Follow the commandments. Walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. Put away sin. Put away things that waste your time. Get rid of those things out of your life. We don’t have long. I won’t be here much longer. I’ve got a chance, thank God, to live this life for Jesus. FOR JESUS. Not for me. You don’t have much longer. Live your life FOR JESUS. Do the works.
Have Faith That Leads to Others Being Saved
Have a faith that saves others. Have a faith that profits others. Perfect that faith. Do it. And don’t quit. If you have faith, show me. If you have faith, show Pastor Tim. Show your brother or sister. Encourage, exhort. Get others to do the work. Have a thriving life that produces good fruit.
Imagine getting to heaven one day, Jesus looking you in the eye, and asking you: “Why didn’t you go out and preach the Gospel? Did you not love me? Why didn’t you do what I asked you to do?” Imagine that. Self love. Caring only for yourself. Worrying only about yourself. Worrying that you might lose some money here and there. “That homeless man is taking my money.”
Proverbs 19:17
He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
God pays you back. Trust me. Depart from me. Be ye warmed and filled. Don’t do that. If someone needs some help, find them. Take the Gospel to them. THEY LISTEN. Take food and clothing to them. Help them. Do the good works. Know that they don’t earn you heaven. But Jesus is watching. You can’t hide what you do.
Ecclesiastes 12:14
For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
There’s a lot of hungry people out there. There’s a lot of thirsty people out there. They listen to the Gospel. We go out there, and we find them. We don’t wait for them to come to us. We go find them. We use our feet to go.
Do It For Jesus Christ
For we shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ. So then every one of us shall give an account to God. Don’t wait. Get to work now. Don’t wait until the end. Don’t think you have more time. “I’ll just do it later.” Do it now.
You will give an account of God. What did you do with your life? Jesus will look at you and look at what you did. Faith without works is not good. Faith saves. But God wants you to now work. Please get involved and active in this church. Do more and more every week. Give it all you’ve got. Give and give and give. God pays.
Make Jesus smile. Well done. Be faithful to do his work. Be a good and faithful servant.
Let’s pray.
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