“But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” (James 2:20)
Imagine a body lying before you, and you’re unsure if it’s alive or dead. What’s the first thing you’d check? A pulse. You’d feel their wrist or neck, and if there’s a pulse, they’re alive. But if no pulse is discernible, the only conclusion is that they’re dead.
In his epistle, James lays the spiritual man before us and challenges us to check its pulse. Is there any pulse to your profession of faith? If no works are evident, James pronounces your faith dead—and rightly so. Faith without works is dead. But let’s not misunderstand James. He isn’t teaching that works produce saving faith; rather, saving faith produces works. If it doesn’t, your profession is meaningless. Without a pulse, you are dead in trespasses and sins.
James views saving faith from man’s perspective, not God’s. “I will shew thee my faith by my works” (James 2:18). Man cannot see another’s heart as God can. God knows when vital faith is present in a believer, even before it produces much evidence.
Consider David: no kingly traits were visible to his family, yet God called him “a man after His own heart.” David’s faith was in its infancy, but God knew it would grow into what He had already declared it to be. Or take Paul: the brethren initially rejected him because they judged him by his past works, which included persecuting the church. Without a special revelation to Ananias, no one would have trusted Paul’s profession. Yet God knew Paul’s faith was genuine before there were any works to prove it.
This is why James looks at faith from our perspective. While God knows genuine faith instantly, man can only see it through the works it produces. James emphasizes this point in James 2:21-23, referencing Abraham. Specifically, he notes, “The scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness” (James 2:23). If you’re familiar with Abraham’s life, God declared him righteous in Genesis 15—seven chapters before he offered Isaac on Mount Moriah. James points to the moment Abraham’s righteousness was pronounced and later to the evidence of that faith when he trusted God’s promises, even to the point of offering his son.
An Application for Us
Is there a pulse to your profession? If we measured your life, would there be evidence of the faith you claim? Are the Scriptures fulfilled in your life, as they were in Abraham’s, or are they just fancied?
God knows your heart. If you are a new Christian, you may be permitted some days of uncertainty. But if years have passed since your profession, and there’s been no movement, no discernible pulse, or breath of life, then we must honestly pronounce your faith dead. Knowing that man can make mistakes, and ultimatley it is God alone that knows the condition of your soul.
Perhaps a dead man is reading this today. What can be done about such a condition? You might think the answer is to work harder, but it’s not. Dead men can only produce dead works, and these must be repented of (Hebrews 6:1). If you long for life, the answer is this:
“Lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21).
Repent of your dead works and believe the gospel. Then, the Scriptures will be fulfilled in your life, just as they were in Abraham’s: “And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God” (James 2:23).
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