Fruit of the Spirit: Faith

Published on 04/28/2024 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.

Does faith alone in Christ alone by divine grace alone save (justify) us?

Absolutely! But what is that kind of saving faith? What does it look like, or entail?

Let's turn to the authority of God's sacred Word. Since He is the one who justifies us (declares us righteous), then He alone knows what kind of faith saves us, so we do ourselves essential service to heed His Word for our eternal salvation (forgiveness and eternal life).

"What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can faith save him?" (James 2:14, WEB)

James, believed to be the earthly half-brother of Lord Jesus Christ, began his core teaching: faith without works is dead. When someone professes to have faith in God and yet does not do godly works that show whether their faith is genuine (such as to show mercy to the poor), then their faith will not save them.

"And if a brother or sister is naked and in lack of daily food, and one of you tells them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and filled'; and yet you didn't give them the things the body needs, what good is it? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself." (James 2:15-17)

Here, James gave an instance of dead faith. If someone you know is poor and in need of food and clothing and you merely send them away with a benediction or blessing when you could have provided them with what they needed, you are showing that you have useless faith. Your Christian faith is useless to those who need your love. Thus, your faith is as good as dead. It saves no one; it brings no physical deliverance.

"Yes, a man will say, 'You have faith, and I have works.' Show me your faith without works, and I by my works will show you my faith." (James 2:18)

The New Living Translation gives the best sense of this verse in my opinion: "Now someone may argue, 'Some people have faith; others have good deeds.' But I say, 'How can you show me your faith if you don't have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.'"

James challenged those who claim to have faith but do not show any good works (Christian conduct). He asked them to prove their faith if they could without any works. He said he himself would show them his faith by his works. His good works would testify to the fact that he had genuine faith in Yahweh and Jesus.

"You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and shudder. But do you want to know, vain man, that faith apart from works is dead?" (James 2:19-20)

James continued his challenge. To those who claim that they have genuine faith but have no works to prove it, James pointed out that even the demons believe that "God is one," and they shudder at this thought.

In regard to "God is one," James was referring to the core principle in Deuteronomy 6:4-5 where Moses said to Israel, "Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God; Yahweh is one: and you shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might."

"Yahweh is our God; Yahweh is one" encompasses several principles or truths about Yahweh. Yahweh is the one and only God. He has no match; no one is like Him. Yahweh is one in essence; He does not have multiple identities, unlike some ancient false gods who were worshipped as more than one god with more than one identity. Yahweh is whole, having perfection in Himself. His wholeness is His holiness with all virtues in their most perfect and purest forms.

This is what the demons (the evil angels) believe. Essentially, they believe in Yahweh and His powers, and are afraid of Him. How could they not when they had lived with God in heaven before? In light of this, we can correctly say that the demons know God more than we do! But will their faith in God save them (result in their salvation)?

The point that James made is strong. If we claim to have faith in God but do not show any good works by obeying God's Law and yet believe that our faith is acceptable to Him for salvation, then we can say that the faith that the demons have is also acceptable to God. In fact, we can call them Christians. Thus, the faith of evil-doers who believe in Yahweh and Jesus will not save them. To believe otherwise is merely to deceive oneself with vain, wishful thinking.

If we have "workless faith," then our faith is the faith of demons: dead. When something is dead, it is as good as non-existent. If your flashlight went out and you found some dead batteries, what good would those batteries do you? They would be good only for the garbage. Thus, when you have dead faith, then you might as well not have any faith at all.

Since genuine faith in God and Jesus is required for salvation (eternal life and fellowship with Yahweh), then a dead faith will not save you. If a dead faith could save you, then all the demons could be saved, too.

"Wasn't Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith worked with his works, and by works faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness'; and he was called the friend of God. You see then that by works, a man is justified, and not only by faith. In the same way, wasn't Rahab the prostitute also justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way?" (James 2:21-25)

In this passage, James gave two Biblical examples of active faith (faith that is proven genuine or perfected by godly works). First, he wrote about Abraham, a forefather of Israel (he was the grandfather of Jacob, whom God renamed "Israel" and who produced twelve sons and two grandsons whose tribes formed the nation of Israel). Abraham was a man of genuine faith because he was willing to sacrifice his son, Isaac, when God asked him to do so as a test of his faith. His action proved that his faith in God was real, not that of the demons. Due to his faith, he was privileged enough to be called "my friend" by Yahweh (Isaiah 41:8).

Likewise, Rahab a former prostitute also proved that her faith in Yahweh was genuine when she risked her life to preserve the two Israelite spies by lying to her king of their whereabouts. In other words, she allied with God's people rather than sticking with her people who were God's enemies.

Both Abraham's and Rahab's active faith justified them. To justify here means to be declared right with God. Justification is achieved only through genuine active faith in God and Christ, not through passive faith of the demons. Justification is required for one's salvation.

"For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead." (James 2:26)

James concluded his point by repeating the fact that faith without works is dead. Such faith is the passive faith that the demons have: a simple belief in the fact that Yahweh exists, without living according to God's will. Such a faith is as dead as a body that has no spirit.

The kind of faith that is required for justification and salvation is active faith: faith that is shown genuine by works that are done according to God's will. If we say we have faith in God, then we have to show it by obeying God's commandments and do things that please Him to the best of our ability. Simply put, if we say that we are Christians, then we have to act like Christians.

Many people wrongly believe that the required faith is simply a belief in the fact that God exists, and that His Son, Jesus Christ, died for us to give us eternal life. Therefore, they live a misguided life based on this erroneous belief in Biblical faith. With this erroneous belief, people live according to their sinful desires, not to the commandments of God. After all, only a simple belief without righteous works to support it is all that's required of us, they think. We now know how foolish and even dangerous this belief is, as this belief would give us a sense of false security, where we believe we will be saved when in fact we will be condemned.

Note what Lord Jesus said:

"Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’ Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’" (Matthew 7:21-23)

Yes, faith alone saves, but that faith is never alone, as Pastor Sam Storms put it. Saving faith is never absent of good works. A working, active faith proves you have the saving faith! Without works, any faith is counterfeit faith.

So what kind of faith do you have? Will it save you or condemn you?

Your lifestyle answers that question.