Faith is completed by works

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? 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? ²⁶ For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

James 2:14–26

James offers two dramatic examples of people acting on their faith in God. Abraham trusted God enough to put his only son on an altar. Rahab believed Israel’s God was the God of heaven and earth, and she proved it by hiding the Israelite spies. Other examples include Hannah, who gave her son, Samuel, to the temple for training; David, who fought Goliath; and Daniel’s friends, who were thrown into the furnace for their faith. These acts did not save them, but they displayed their saving faith. Our faith is demonstrated primarily by loving our neighbors as God directs.

Questions

• How would you say loving God is tied to loving our neighbors? How does loving others demonstrate our faith in God?
• What is most difficult about loving others as we love ourselves?
• Can we love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind, but still have 
trouble loving our neighbors?
• How can we help each other obey this command?

Prayer

Dear Lord, you have loved us with an everlasting love, but we find it challenging to pass on that love to those around us. Please forgive us our selfish habits, the way we guard our emotions and tend our fears. Give us the wisdom to see you as you really are, to see ourselves as we really are, and to love you above all. Help us love you with abandon. Help us lose ourselves in you, because we are your people, made for your purposes. 

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