5. (James 2:10-13) The serious matter of obeying all God's commands
For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. For He who said, "DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY," also said, "DO NOT COMMIT MURDER." Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all: James speaks to us here about selective obedience--the sort that will pick and choose which commands of God should be obeyed and which can be safely discarded. We cannot say, "I like God's command against murder. I will keep that one. But I do not like the one against adultery. Hence, I will discard that one." God cares about the entire law. God is not fragmentary. The entire law is the expression of His will for His people. It constitutes a complete unity.
It is like throwing a rock at a window. It does not matter if we throw a small pebble which causes just one small corner of the window to crack or if we throw a large boulder which shatters the entire window. In both situations, the window now has a defect. In both cases, we are guilty of breaking the whole window pane.
Henceforth, when a person decides not to keep one of God's commandments, he becomes a transgressor of all the commandments. However, James is not teaching that all offenses are equally bad or will result in the same consequences. God's law has always had a varying degree of punishments based on the different offenses. While it is worse to violate two laws than to violate just one, it is not better that we violate one law instead of two.
Referring back to verse 8, when we show partiality, James says we not only fail to love our neighbor as ourself, but we also fail to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. (When we fail to keep one commandment, we fail to keep them all.) In this sense, our faith and love for God is closely interconnected with our behavior (or our works). When we fail in our behaviors, we are working in opposition to our confessed faith. We weaken our confession and limit its usefulness to us and God.
So speak and act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty: James is not saying here that our salvation rests on our ability to keep the law. We know from Paul's epistle to the Romans that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Since we are unable to keep the law perfectly, we must rely on Christ who has kept the law perfectly. He alone can put His people into right standing with God. Nevertheless, we must be concerned with obedience to God's commands. For it is in our obedience that we show we possess true saving faith.
At the judgment, we will be judged according to our conformity to the law. ("For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad" 2 Corinthians 5:10.) Those who are in Christ will be accepted into God's presence because of Jesus' perfect conformity to the law. His righteousness is ours by faith alone. The authenticity of our faith is displayed in that we are concerned to live in a way that will be approved by the "law of liberty". This "law of liberty" or the law of God was fulfilled by Christ. God's law remains our guide to holy living. We must continue to obey all of its moral precepts lest we be revealed as lacking authentic faith.
Liberty: Liberty does mean we are free to sin. Liberty mean we are free to follow God in obedience to do His will knowing that our righteousness has already been attained through the Lord Jesus. As such, it becomes a test of our love for our Lord.
Through our trust in Christ alone, we have been given entrance into God's kingdom. Our eternal salvation is assured based upon the gift of faith. However, our rewards in heaven are based upon how we will serve the Lord. How will we obey His will. How will we obey His commandments. When we fail to live according to the law, we are grieving the Holy Spirit. We are no longer walking in the Spirit; we are walking in our own flesh. And that decision will bring consequences.
For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy: James mentions mercy here because he is speaking about the consequences of showing favoritism. When we favor one believer over another, we are the one who has failed to show mercy. We have made a judgment against the poor brother in favor of the rich brother. We failed to show mercy to the poor brother.
When we exhibit such judgment, we should not expect the Lord to show us mercy either. James is relating another principle Jesus taught from the Sermon on the Mount: "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you" (Matthew 7:2).
Of course, this same distinction will be made when we fail any such test of faith. There are consequences in how the Lord will judge us. Remember, judgment is for the purpose of rewards; it is not a judgment of salvation. However, the judgment is a strict one, and our behavior in following God is not one which should be taken lightly.
"For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded unclean the blood of the covenant by which He was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY." And again, "THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE." It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Hebrews 10:26-31)
The judgment fires the writer describes here are not the fires of hell but the judgment fire that tests the quality of our work. Paul also uses fire to describe the judgment moment for believers.
"For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. (1 Corinthians 3:11-15)
Keeping in mind that this is the judgment moment that James has in view, he begins to discuss the relationship between faith and works for the believer.
B. The demonstration of a living faith in loving action
1. (James 2:14) The principle established: true faith will be accompanied by action
What use is it, my brethren, if someone days he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?
He has faith but he has no works: James asks what use is it to have faith but no works. The word for "use" is ophelos which means profit or advantage. So James is asking how do we expect to profit from a faith that is absent from works. Remember there is no credit awarded at the judgment for simply having faith. For Paul says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).
So, we cannot expect to receive our Lord's congratulations and thanks for merely believing. That was a work He did in the first place. Moreover, it is nothing to boast about. So our faith must yield works if we expect to profit or receive eternal praise and reward.
Can that faith save him: James then asks if a believer has faith but no works, can that faith save him? This question has led countless Christians to two conclusions, both of which miss James's point. First, some have thought that James was teaching that works are a necessary component of salvation. They believe that we must have faith and works to achieve salvation. But as Paul explains concerning himself: "More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus as my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith" (Philippians 3:8-9).
The second misrepresentation is that James is describing a non-Christian or a person who has made a false confession. They believe that when someone confesses Christ, they will always have works. If they lack works, it must mean they lack true faith. Therefore, can that "faith" save him? But this second view is equally wrong, based on the context of James's letter. James has not been discussing true faith versus false faith. James has been discussing the failure of believers to live according to the royal law. In the preceding verses, James introduced the subject of the judgment fire that will test each believer's work. In that context, James is not asking if a faith that has no works will save a believer. He is not discussing non-believers facing the judgment fires of hell. That is the wrong context. James is talking about a believer facing the judgment fire of the Bema Seat, the Judgment Seat of Christ.
When James asks can that faith "save him", he is asking if a faith lived without works will save the believer when he stands at the fiery Judgment Seat of Christ. This is the judgment fire that tests our works and reveals our reward. A believer who enters that moment without works should not expect to be "saved" from that judgment. On the contrary, for that Christian the judgment seat of Christ will be a terrifying experience as the writer of Hebrews explains. Such a believer has lived a life of stubborn disobedience to God. He has transgressed the law of liberty. He will not be saved from the consequences of those choices. He will face a merciless judge.
2. (James 2:15-17) An example of dead faith
If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do no give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
If a brother or sister is without clothing: James offers a particular convicting example to consider. He asks if a Christian expresses concern for a fellow believer who is poor and in need, but then does nothing material to help address the believer's needs, of what use is that response?
Be warmed and be filled: To say this means you know that the person in front of you needs clothing and food. You know their need well, but you offer nothing to help them except a few religious words.
What use is that: The word "use" is again the Greek word for profit or advantage. So James asks how can that unhelpful response profit anyone? It certainly does not profit the needy believer, who is still without the food and clothing he needs. It does not profit the believer, who failed to perform a work of mercy and will not receive Christ's approval at the judgment.
Real faith, and the works that accompany it, are not made up of only spiritual things. But, they also are of a concern for the most basic needs such as the need for comfort, covering and food. When needs arise, we should sometimes pray less and simply do more to help the person in need. We often pray as a substitute for action.
Remember, meeting fellow believer's needs is an act of mercy. Our failure to act is a failure to show mercy in these circumstances. It will result in the Lord refraining from showing us mercy at the judgment. Thus, our failures will not profit us.
Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself: By "dead" James means it is lifeless without benefit to man or God or to even the believer. It is dead in the same way that a campfire can appear dead. It is not actually gone out, since there still may be some hot embers deep in the ashes, but with the flame having gone out, it appears lifeless. It offers little value to anyone until the coals are stoked to ignite a flame again.
We should examine ourselves in the light of these scriptures. Are we ready to meet the Lord right now? Do we have some work to do to show the Lord that our faith is not a dead faith, one that profits no one? Let us recommit to living our faith outwardly, intending to show the love of Christ, thereby having much from which to profit.
What are some marks of saving faith?
It is a faith that looks not to self but to Christ Jesus.
It is a faith that agrees with God's word, both inwardly and outwardly.
It is a faith that in itself is not a work that deserves a reward from God. It is the absence of sinful work.
It is faith grounded in what Jesus did on the cross and by the empty tomb.
It is faith that will naturally be expressed in repentance and good works.
It is faith that may sometimes doubt; however, the doubts are not bigger than the faith nor are they more permanent than the faith. This faith can say, "Lord I believe; help my unbelief."
It is faith that wants others to come to the same faith.
It is faith that not only hears the word of God but does the word of God (Matthew 7:24-27).
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