I want to make one thing crystal clear this morning. Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Period! With that being said, I want to continue our discussion of faith that we have been having over the last several weeks. Remember, faith is the actual possession of things hoped for, and the reality of things not seen. But to really understand faith and see proof in our lives that we have genuine faith, there are two basic questions that every believer in Christ needs to ask themself.

1. Can a person have faith and not do good works?
2. Can faith without good works save a person?

(James 2:14-26) CSB

¹⁴What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can such faith save him?¹⁵If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food¹⁶and 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? ¹⁷In the same way faith, if it doesn’t have works, is dead by itself.¹⁸But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith by my works.¹⁹You believe that God is one. Good! Even the demons believe — and they shudder.²⁰Senseless person! Are you willing to learn that faith without works is useless?²¹Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by works in offering Isaac his son on the altar?²²You see that faith was active together with his works, and by works, faith was made complete, 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 works and not by faith alone.²⁵In the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works in receiving the messengers and sending them out by a different route? ²⁶For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

So, is faith without good works genuine faith? To answer that question, we must understand the nature of salvation in the first place. 

1. Christians are Justified by Faith Alone

The word justified shows up several times in the passage we have read this morning. I believe the best explanation of this word comes from a lecture given by my Bible College theology professor Carlisle Sanford “Justification is based on the death of Christ and is the instantaneous judicial act of God, whereby those who put their faith in Christ are justly declared as righteous and free from guilt and punishment.” (Sanford; Fruitland Bible College-2009). 

There is nothing you have ever done to deserve salvation and nothing you can ever do to deserve salvation. It is all by the grace of God through His Son Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul says in (Romans 3:28) “For we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.” 

So how in the world do we reconcile what James has said in the passage we have looked at today and what Paul said in Romans? You must understand who each of these men were writing to and their purpose. Paul was writing to a group of people who taught that we must add works to faith in Christ in order to be justified. But James was writing to a group of people who claimed they had saving faith, but their lives didn’t show it. Their faith was just words. There was no evidence of a changed life. 

Can genuine faith be proven? Yes!  

2. Genuine Faith Produces Proof of Salvation 

James gives the example of Abraham in this passage (James 2:21-23). Hopefully you know the story of Abraham who was willing to sacrifice his son Issac on the altar. But Abraham was not saved by his obedience to sacrifice Issac. His obedience here proved his previous saving faith when he was obedient in leaving his homeland and going to the promised land (Hebrews 11:8). 

All throughout chapter 11 we have seen the results of the great heroes of faith. By faith Noah built. By faith Moses endured. We could go on and on. This is the point that James is making. Faith is not just words. It is action. Genuine faith works. The proof that Abraham believed God by leaving his homeland years earlier is seen in his actions of offering up Isaac. Genuine faith and works are inseparable, because genuine faith results in good works. 

It would be pretty impressive if you told me that the president was your friend. But you know what would be more impressive. If I heard the president call you his friend. In verse 23 James says that Abraham was called the friend of God. This expression is used twice in the Old Testament to describe Abraham (2 Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8). How awesome is it that God calls us His friends (John 15:14) Jesus said “You are My friends if you do what I command you.” 

The obedient genuine faith that James has described here is not checking off a checklist of commandments. It is not grudgingly obeying a ruler. It is obedience that involves a personal relationship and friendship with the holy God of the universe! When you believe in Christ as the One who died for your sins, God not only declares you righteous. He calls you “into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:9).