Faith Without Works Is Dead

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Faith Without Works is Dead: James 2:26
Belief in Christ, knowledge of the holy, and appreciation of His mercy and grace beckon
the transformed heart of the believer. The regenerate is not able to stand by idly as the world
around him is perishing, God never intended him to. Jesus satisfied the wrath of God for us and
if we have a changed mind about who He is and what He has done for us this will lead to a
changed life. 1 Peter 2:9-10 tells us:
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special
possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into
his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of
God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
So, what are the responsibilities of the church and her believers now that we have come to an
accurate understanding of who God is? What does life after belief look like and what does God
want from us?
According to McGrath (2015) “the doctrine of the church continues to be an area of
discussion today, with particular emphasis being placed upon the role and tasks of local
churches” (p.396). As a firm believer that “reformed theology” is the only theology that preaches
a gospel that saves, and that Catholic’s preach “another Gospel” as stated by John Macarthur
(2020). I will steer clear of any Catholic doctrine contained within the text for the purposes of
not offending anyone. What I will say is that James 2:26 has caused a whole lot of contention
within the historic “church.”
So, what does it mean that “Faith without works is dead” and how does that pertain to our
responsibilities as Christians and the responsibility of the “church” as a whole? “Ecclesiology is
the section of Christian theology that deals with the nature and tasks of the church (Greek:
ekklesia)” (McGrath, 2016, p. 396). Vos (2016) says of believers that they “were all reckoned in
Christ, regenerated by the Spirit of Christ; they were all implanted into Christ in order to form
one body” (p.10). The Spirit of God is responsible for the sanctification and regeneration of the
believer, “justification “is not only a remission of sins but also the sanctification and renewal of
the inner person through the voluntary reception of the grace and gifts by which an unrighteous
person becomes a righteous person” (McGrath, 2016, p. 372). The Spirit of God empowers the
believer to become more and more “Christlike” during his life. Vos (2016) tells us the purpose of
this sanctifying work saying:
But the individual believer cannot remain by himself. The work of the application of the
merits of the Mediator also has a communal side. A root of unity is latent among those
individuals. This unity originates not only in retrospect but existed beforehand. Believers
were all reckoned in Christ, regenerated by the Spirit of Christ; they were all implanted
into Christ in order to form one body. (p.10)
This “body” of believers is what we commonly in Christianity refer to as “the church.”

If we look at James 2:26 and garner a “works” based salvation from these words, then we
have well and truly missed everything else the Bible has to say regarding salvation. If we look at
James 2:26 and see something that God has prepared for the life of the believer then we have a
truly right understanding of salvation. “This takes place in the doctrine of the church” (Vos,
2016, p. 10). By means of being crucified, buried and resurrected with Christ we are baptized
into a living, active body of believers all headed by the same Spirit. “By baptism a relationship to
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the Church is represented and established. One is not baptized as a solitary individual but in
connection with the Church of Christ. Likewise, no one can hold the Lord’s Supper by himself
and for himself; the Supper refers to the communion of the saints” (Vos, 2016, p. 10).
If “we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10, NIV). Herein lies the
walking out of our Christian faith. These “good works are works done, not in our own strength
and for our own benefit but because of the renewed strength we find in God. James 2:14-26
defines what a “body” in motion looks like. If we have faith it creates motion. We are not meant
to become stagnant in our faith, we are meant to be soldiers in the army of the Most-High God.
We are to carry out the Great Commandment, it is what we were born (gennaó) to do.
References
McGrath. (2016). The christian theology reader, 5th edition (5th ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.
Vos, G. (2016). Reformed Dogmatics: Ecclesiology, The Means of Grace, Eschatology (R.
Gaffin, Ed.). Lexham Press.
Exposit the Word (2020, July 3). Is Roman Catholicism a cult? Is Roman Catholicism a cult? -
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Faith Without Works is Dead: James 2:26

This “body” of believers is what we commonly in Christianity refer to as “the church.”

Gaffin, Ed.). Lexham Press.

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