Faith without Good Deeds Is Dead

What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but
dont show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save
anyone? 15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or
clothing, 16 and you say, Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and
eat wellbut then you dont give that person any food or clothing. What
good does that do?
14

So you see, faith by itself isnt enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it
is dead and useless.
17

Now someone may argue, Some people have faith; others have good
deeds. But I say, How can you show me your faith if you dont have
good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.
18

You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for
you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. 20 How
foolish! Cant you see that faith without good deeds is useless?
19

[f]

Dont you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right
with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You
see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith
complete. 23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: Abraham
believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his
faith. He was even called the friend of God. 24 So you see, we are shown
to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.
21

[g]

[h]

Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with
God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely
away by a different road.26 Just as the body is dead without breath, so also
faith is dead without good works.
25

[i]

QUESTIONS
What things about this passage make you uncertain? What does it seem
to conflict with?
When the bible gives us things that dont make sense, its always good to
go to what we are certain is true. Its not that the Bible is wrong, its that
we arent understanding it in the way we should be. What do we know is
certain about what saves us?

If it is faith in Jesus alone, what could James be getting at when he is

saying that faith itself isnt enough?
Faith is enough to save us. Works does nothing to change whether youre
in or out of Gods kingdom.
What does it mean Faith by itself isnt enough then? What do you think
James is talking about when he says faith? difference between faith as
we use it (your faith in Jesus that directs your life) and faith as in belief
real faith isnt just something you have in your head. Difference
between a belief as an idea, and a faith that directs how you act.
What role does works have then?
Works are important because they prove that your faith is real. They dont
save you, but theyre a sign that its alive. Its God who gives your body
breath, and theres nothing you can do to make yourself breathe, but
breathing is an indicator that you are alive.
What kind of works are a sign that people have faith? Not good works so
much as works that point to God.
You believe in a God? Good, even the demons do that and tremble lots
of people believe in God. What distinguishes them is their opinion on
Jesus believing that He is God, and trusting him to deal with their sins.
Not even enough to say I pray to God all about your faith in Jesus.
Rahab: shown to be right with God rather than made her right with God.
Your faith isnt a private faith. What you believe and how you live are
one thing, not two separate ideas. Video going around Im a Christian
but this list:

Im Christian but Im not homophobic;

Im Christian and Im definitely not perfect;

Im Christian but Im not close-minded;

but Im not unaccepting;

but Im not uneducated;

but I am not judgmental;

but Im not conservative;

Im not ignorant;

but I dont place myself on a pedestal;

Im Christian but I dont have all the answers.

Text: What are you?

but I am accepting;

but I am queer;

I am gay;

but I am a feminist;

Im a feminist;

definitely am a feminist;

but I do believe in science, in fact I think science makes God

look really cool;

Im not afraid to talk about sex;

I love me some Beyonce;

but I love wine;

I do believe in monogamy before sex but I will give you sex

advice if you need it;

but I do go to church on Sundays;

I was a YoungLife camp counselor;

I do listen to Christian music, Christian rock, Christian rap, TMac, all the cool kids;

I have friends from all walks of life and different religions,

and I love them all.
Text: What do you want people to know about Christianity?

I guess what Id like people to know about Christianity today

is that were all kind of not crazy;

We shouldnt be judged on just the people that you see in

the media, or just the people that youve met in everyday life.
every Christian is different, and we deserve a chance to explain
ourselves;

A lot of people think Christianity ruins people, but to me I

think its people that are ruining Christianity, you never really see
the good that happens, you only see the hypocrites, and the
people who put themselves on a higher pedestal;

But at its core its really about love and acceptance and
being a good neighbor;

Just because we prescribe [sic] to a faith that has some

really terrible people in it doesnt make all of us terrible;

I dont think that Christians should judge people for who they
are or what they do, I think everybody is in different part of life on
their own path to wherever theyre trying to go. were all people
and love is the most important thing.
No mention of Jesus. These arent works that prove a Christian (not saying
these people dont have faith!). Being a Christian is all about Jesus.
If you feel like your actions arent matching up with your faith, because
your actions dont save you its not about going through the actions to
force your belief alive. Thats like trying to do CPR on a corpse and
thinking that because the chest is moving up and down its alive. It needs
to come from the heart. So instead of focusing on your actions, focus on
your heart.
Whats stopping you from having actions that line up with your faith? If its
fear of what people think, do you really believe that what Jesus says is
true? Because if you believe its true, then it doesnt matter what people
think, why would you want to live in a way that you know isnt the right
way to live?
If its because you dont know if you can trust Jesus, then identify why that
is. What is it about Jesus that you cant trust?
Get to the heart of it.