James 2
McGeeCHAPTER 2THEME: God tests faith by attitude and action in respect of persons; God tests faith by good works
James 2:1
GOD TESTS FAITH BY ATTITUDE AND ACTION IN RESPECT OF PERSONSIn the first thirteen verses of this chapter, James is going to deal with how we are to treat people in the different strata of society. How do you treat the rich man? How do you treat the poor man? How do you treat the average man whom you meet today? This section deals with God’s war on poverty and, interestingly enough, also God’s war on riches. This is God’s war on poverty and riches. His war on poverty is a little different from that of our government; no matter which political party has been in office, neither the federal nor the state governments have been able to deal successfully with this problem. Both poverty and riches can be a curse. Part of the curse on the human race is poverty and riches. The writer in the Book of Proverbs says, “…give me neither poverty nor riches …” (Pro_30:8). The most difficult people to reach are those who are the most poverty-stricken and those who are the richest; it seems to be almost impossible to reach either class with the Word of God. The real problem is actually the imbalance of wealth in the world. The problem today is not between political parties, and it is not even between the races. The problem in the world is the imbalance of wealth. Take, for example, the nation of India where it is estimated there will soon be a population of one billion. There is great famine and starvation in that land; they starve by the thousands over there. Contrast that with the luxury and abundance which the wealthy have today.
God goes after this problem in this epistle. He is on the side of the poorI’m very delighted to say that. After all, when the Lord Jesus came into the world, He wasn’t a rich man’s boy; He wasn’t born with a silver spoon in His mouth. He was born in poverty. He was born in a borrowed stable. He had to borrow loaves and fishes from a little lad to feed the crowd.
He spoke from a borrowed boat. He said, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head” (see Mat_8:20). He had to borrow a coin to illustrate a truth. He borrowed a donkey to ride into Jerusalem. He borrowed a room to celebrate the Passover. He died on a borrowed crossit belonged to Barabbas, not to Him.
They put Him in a borrowed tombit belonged to Joseph of Arimathaea. When I was in college, we had a preacher who came and talked about “the blessings of poverty.” Now I was a poor boy, and I mean poor, my friend. I was going to school on borrowed money and was working full time. That man spoke every morning in chapel, and I was told that he got $15,000 a year (that was back in the days when a dollar was worth a dollar). It was a lot of money for a preacher in that day. You know, what he had to say just ran off my mind like water off a duck’s backhe had no message for me. The blessings of poverty? I just happen to know, since I was born that way and haven’t gotten too far from it yet, that there are no blessings in poverty. Poverty is a curse, and part of the curse which Christ bore was poverty. Riches can also be a curse, as James will show in this epistle. Paul said, “For the love of money is the root of all evil …” (1Ti_6:10). Paul and James certainly agree here. You can spend your money for the wrong items. You can deposit your money in the wrong bank. “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal” (Mat_6:19). All the banks are telling us where to put our money, but God says, in effect, “I’ve got a bank, and I will keep investments up there for you.” James will be harsh with the rich, as we will see in chapter 5. Pro_30:8 should be the philosophy of every Christian: “Give me neither poverty nor riches.” What is God’s solution to the problem of poverty? It is not to rob the rich in order to take care of the indigent, the lazy, the indolent, the drones, the loafers, the sluggards, and the laggards. On the other hand, God would never destroy the dignity and the self-respect and the integrity and the honor of the poor by placing them on charity. God’s war on poverty and riches does not march under the banner of the dollar where millions are appropriated for relief. And it is not aimed primarily at the head or at the stomach, but at the heart. It is a war against class. James is talking about distinctions and divisions among believers which have been brought about by money. “Have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ” should be “Hold not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Notice that James is His half brother according to the flesh, but he gives Him here the full name, “our Lord Jesus Christ.” And he calls Him “the Lord of glory.” Here is a strong assertion of the deity of Christ. I know of no one who was in a better position to determine the deity of Christ than a younger brother of the Lord Jesus who was brought up in the same home with Him. Frankly, I think James is in a better position to speak on the deity of Christ than some theologian sitting in a swivel chair in a musty library in New York City, removed from the reality of even his own day. Such a man is really far removed from the reality of the first century and the home in which Jesus was raised. Therefore, I go along with James, if you don’t mind. He is the “Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.” What James is telling us here is not to profess faith in Christ and at the same time be a spiritual snob. Don’t join some little clique in the church. All believers are brethren in the body of Christ, whatever their denomination. There is a fellowship of believers; friendship should be over them as a banner. James is addressing the total community of believersthe rich, the poor, the common people, the high, the low, the bond and free, the Jew and the Gentile, the Greek and the barbarian, male and female. They are all one when they are in the body of Christ. There is a brotherhood within the body of believers, and the Lord Jesus Christ is the common denominator. Friendship and fellowship are the legal tender among believers. James says, “Don’t hold your faith with respect of persons.” If you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ and another person belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ, he is your brother. Furthermore, if a sinner comes into your assembly or you otherwise come into contact with him, remember that he is a human being for whom Christ died. He stands at the foot of the cross, just as you stand at the foot of the cross. The Old Testament taught Israel not to regard the person of the rich or of the poor. God, in the Mosaic system, cautioned: “Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour” (Lev_19:15). Simon Peter learned this lesson at Joppa when God let down from heaven the sheet full of unclean animals and commanded him to eat of them. Peter concluded from that experience, “…Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons” (Act_10:34). James uses a stinging illustration to make his point:
James 2:2
The word assembly here means synagogue. Evidently the Jewish Christians were calling the place where they met a synagogue. They had erected no buildings and frequently met in private homes, but the chances are that in many places they rented a synagogue. They met on Sunday rather than on Saturday and therefore did not conflict with the meeting of the Jews. “A man with a gold ring” doesn’t mean he wore a single ring, but that he had his fingers loaded down with gold rings, which was in evidence of wealth. “Goodly apparel” means that he had on fine clothes, bright clothes. He was ostentatious, if you please. His clothing is contrasted with that of the poor man. Someone has said, “Some go to church to close their eyes, and others go to eye the clothes.” We have made Sunday a time when we Christians put on our Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes. A great many people come to church overdressed. There is a dash and a splash and a flash about them. There is a pomp and pomposity. It’s glitter and gaudy, and vulgar and vain, also. This rich man makes his entrance into church with flags flying and a fanfare of trumpets. There is parade and pageant. It is as if he drives up in his gold Cadillac, getting out as his chauffer opens the door for him. He walks in, strutting like a peacock. He is like the rich man the Lord Jesus spoke of in the true story of the rich man and Lazarus: “There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day” (Luk_16:19). He “fared sumptuously” means that life was one continual party for him. In contrast, the poor man, whom James mentions here, comes in with tattered and torn clothing. It may be clean, but there is evidence of patches and poverty. He may even be shabby and shoddy. He may be dilapidated and deteriorated. He may have seen better days, but he doesn’t have any Sunday clothes. James places these two men in contrasteach is at an extreme end of the social ladder. In our affluent society we use other occasions as an excuse to dress up, but certainly many people use church as an occasion to do that. Easter Sunday is a good example of this. In Southern California, ladies usually don’t wear hats to church, but on Easter Sunday we always have a parade of new hats in church. When I was a pastor I would sometimes look out over the congregation and say, “Well, they are as wild as ever!” and everybody knew I was talking about the hats. My wife told me the ladies didn’t like my wisecracks, so I had to quit doing that. Another example is that when I began in the ministry I wanted to look like a preacher, and I think I really overdid it.
I wore a Prince Albert coat and striped trousers. I had a wing collar and a black bow tie. I even wore a derby hat. You would have thought I was a barker in a circus or the maitre d’ at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. Then one day I looked down into the congregation at a couple who were people of means; in fact, they were very wealthy. I noticed how unostentatiously this man was dressed.
He had on a highpriced suit, but it was very modest. And his wife was well dressed, but not overdressed. I thought, My, here I am up here dressed as a person ought not to be dressed who is coming in to worship God. So the next Sunday I came to church in everyday clothes, and I have been wearing them ever since, just like the man who is sitting in the pew. My friend, there is a danger of putting an emphasis upon clothes.
James 2:3
In our day this would be like putting the poor man way back where the ushers sit or telling him to stand up in the rear. In that day there were a few seats down front where only the prominent people were allowed to sit. In the United States there was a day when we had paid pews in our churches. They had a little door to them, and only the family which paid for that pew could sit there on Sunday. You couldn’t sit with whomever you wanted to sit. Today we have our little cliques who take a certain section in a church, and woe to the stranger (especially if he is not well dressed) who comes in and sits next to that crowd! I can assure you he will get a cold shoulder.
James 2:4
After James has put these two men in contrast, he asks, “Aren’t you actually being partial in yourselves or aren’t you making distinctions among yourselves and becoming judges with evil motives?”
James 2:5
“Hearken, my beloved brethren"James is talking to believers, and he calls them “brethren.” A poor believer certainly is looked down upon in certain churches, and yet he may be the richest man spiritually in that church. The Word of God says a great deal about the poor. God has made it very clear from Genesis to Revelation that He has a concern and consideration for the poor. It is as true in Moscow, Russia, as it is in the cities of New York, Washington, or Los Angeles that the poor never get a fair deal, and they never have. As long as men are natural men who are not born-again Christians, the poor will never get a fair deal in this world. Their only hope is in Jesus Christ. Listen to the Word of God: “But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty” (Job_5:15). And in Job_36:15 we read, “He delivereth the poor in his affliction, and openeth their ears in oppression.” Psa_9:18 says, “For the needy shall not alway be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.” Again in Psalms we read, “Thy congregation hath dwelt therein: thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor” (Psa_68:10). “For the LORD heareth the poor …” says Psa_69:33. “For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy” (Psa_72:12-13). Then in Psa_102:17 we read, “He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.” There is Scripture after Scripture that speaks of the poor and of God’s concern for them. In marvelous Psalms 45 we read of the One who is coming who will reign on this earth in righteousness, and in Isaiah 11 we read, “But with righteousness shall he judge the poor …” (Isa_11:4). God has a great deal to say about the mistreatment of the poor on this earth by the rich and by those who are in power. Someday they will have to answer to Him for it. But the poor can be rich in spiritual things, and that is the important thing for the poor man to see.
James 2:6
Whether it is at the hands of a rich corporation or of a rich labor union, the powerful are not giving the poor an honest deal. Every year the politicians come out to us when they are running for office and say that they are going to work for and help all of us poor people. It does not make any difference what political party is in power, they wind up exploiting us. If I sound rather cynical, my friend, it is because I was born a poor boy and I have not gotten very far from that even to this day. From that viewpoint I am cynical because I have seen the way the poor are treated on this earth. Their only hope is in Jesus Christ. They have been despised by the world. The rich and powerful want their vote, but that ends their interest in them.
James 2:7
Worthy is better translated as “honorable.” My friend, when you mistreat the poor, you are blaspheming the name of Christ.
James 2:8
If you want to please God, to obey Him, and to discharge your responsibility, James makes it very clear what you are to do: “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” That is the summation of the whole manward aspect of the Mosaic Law.
James 2:9
The Law condemns discriminating between the rich and poor. Someone will say, “Well, I didn’t commit murder, and I haven’t committed adultery.” You haven’t? Listen to what James says
James 2:10
James is not saying that if you break one commandment, you have broken them all. He is saying you are guilty of breaking the commandments no matter which one it is that you broke. A man may be in prison as a murderer, look across the aisle and say to another fellow, “I’m not a rapist. I never broke that law"yes, but he is behind bars; he is a murderer. It is ironic when a prisoner actually murders another prisoner because he considers his crime a terrible thing! But, my friend, you do not have to go to the penitentiary to find that attitude; you will find people outside of prison who are looking down upon others in the same way. We all stand before God as lawbreakers.
James 2:11
To break one law makes a lawbreaker.
James 2:12
The “law of liberty” is the law of Christ. The Lord Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (Joh_14:15). What is His commandment? “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you” (Joh_15:12).
James 2:13
Many years ago in New York City there lived a wealthy couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Whitemore. They were entertaining guests one night and, in order to do something different, they went down to the Bowery to the mission of Jerry McAuley. These people went in and sat down in the back to take in the service that night. This wealthy couple belonged to a very fashionable church, but they had no more heard the gospel than a person living in the darkest heathenism in the world. As they heard Jerry McAuley preach, their hearts were touched, and they saw themselves as sinners.
They went forward, and that night the mink knelt with the rags as they accepted Christ. Mr. and Mrs. Whitemore became workers in that area, and she established a home for wayward girls. She became known as the Rose of Mulberry Bend and was instrumental in beginning the movement for a ministry to such troubled girls. How we need to recognize today that it is sinful to think that we are better than someone else and to look down upon others. It does not matter who the man is; before God that man is on the same plane as you are. We are sinners and need to come as that rich couple camewe need to come to the Cross and accept Christ as our Savior. Another story is told that took place in London when a great preacher, a very fine young man, by the name of Caesar Milan was invited one evening to a very large and prominent home where a choice musical was to be presented. On the program was a young lady who thrilled the audience with her singing and playing. When she finished, this young preacher threaded his way through the crowd which was gathered around her. When he finally came to her and had her attention, he said, “Young lady, when you were singing, I sat there and thought how tremendously the cause of Christ would be benefited if you would dedicate yourself and your talents to the Lord. But,” he added, “you are just as much a sinner as the worst drunkard in the street, or any harlot on Scarlet Street. But I am glad to tell you that the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, will cleanse you from all sin if you will come to Him.” In a very haughty manner, she turned her head aside and said to him, “You are very insulting, sir.” And she started to walk away. He said, “Lady, I did not mean any offense, but I pray that the Spirit of God will convict you.” Well, they all went home, and that night this young woman could not sleep. At two o’clock in the morning she knelt at the side of her bed and took Christ as her Savior. And then she, Charlotte Elliott, sat down and wrote the words of a favorite hymn, “Just As I Am”: Just as I am, without one plea, But that Thy blood was shed for me, And that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come! Just as I am, and waiting not To rid my soul of one dark blot, To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God, I come! And then the final stanza: Just as I amThou wilt receive, Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve; Because Thy promise I believe, O Lamb of God, I come! My friend, may I say to you, that this is the basis on which all of us must come to Christ.
James 2:14
GOD TESTS FAITH BY GOOD WORKSIn verses Jas_1:14-26 James shows that God tests faith by good works. There are those who say that we have in this section a contradiction to the writings of Paul, because Paul made it abundantly clear that faith alone could save you. We have his clear statement in Gal_2:16"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified” (italics mine). I have divided this section up as follows: (1) The interpretation of faith (v. Hab_1:14); (2) the identification of faith (vv. Jas_1:15-20); and (3) the illustration of faith (vv. Jas_1:21-26). First we have the interpretation of faith. When we understand the definition of faith as it is used by Paul and James in the context of their writings, we can see that Paul and James are in perfect agreement, that they are discussing the same subject from different viewpoints. Paul says that a man is not saved by the works or the deeds of the Law. In Rom_3:28 he writes, “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” In Galatians, as we have noted, Paul says that a man is justified not by works but by faith in Christ Jesus. How then are we going to reconcile Paul and James? As someone has said, “Paul and James do not stand face to face, fighting against each other, but they stand back to back, fighting opposite foes.” In that day there were those who were saying that you had to perform the works of the Law (the Mosaic Law), that you had to come by the Law, in order to be saved. Paul answered that by saying that the works of the Law will not save you and that only faith in Christ can save you. Both Paul and James, therefore, are defending the citadel of faith.
To see that, we need to understand the use of their terminology. Paul says that saving faitha faith which is genuine and realwill transform a person’s life. Paul said of himself, “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ” (Php_3:7). A real revolution took place in his life when he came to Christ. In 1Co_15:1-2 Paul wrote, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain;” that is, unless it was just an empty faith (italics mine). Now let us look at what James has to say James is not talking about the works of the Law. He simply says that the faith which saves you will produce works, works of faith. The faith that James is talking about here is professing faith, that which is phony and counterfeit. Paul refers to the same idea when he says in 1Co_15:2, “…unless ye have believed in vain.” Paul also wrote, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith …” (2Co_13:5). One of the greatest dangers for us preachers of the gospel is that we like to see people converted, and we are willing to accept a brazen and flippant yes from some individual who says, “Yes, I’ll trust Jesus.” However, it might be just an impertinent, impudent, and insolent nod of the head; it is so easy today to be as phony as a three-dollar bill. The story is told that the Devil had a meeting with his demons to decide how to persuade men that God was nonexistent. Since they themselves believed in His existence, they wondered just how to do it. One demon suggested that they tell people Jesus Christ never really existed and that men should not believe such fiction. Another demon suggested that they persuade men that death ends all and there is no need to worry about life after death. Finally, the most intelligent demon suggested that they tell everyone that there is a God, that there is Jesus Christ, and that believing in Him saves, but all you have to do is profess faith in Christ and then go on living in sin as you used to. They decided to use this tactic, and it is the tactic the Devil uses even today. Paul and James are in perfect harmony in their teaching. When Paul speaks of works, it is works of the Law. He says in Rom_3:20, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” He is saying in effect, “Yes, the Law is a mirrorit reveals you are a sinnerbut it cannot save you; the works of the Law cannot save you at all.” James also says that you have to have something more than just the works of the Law. He wrote, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (v. Hab_1:10). As someone has put it, “Man cannot be saved by perfect obedience, for he cannot render it. He cannot be saved by imperfect obedience because God will not accept it.” The only solution to this dilemma is the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, and both James and Paul emphasize that. In Gal_2:16 Paul made it clear that men are not saved by the Law, but later in that epistle he wrote, “And let us not be weary in well-doing …” (Gal_6:9). There is a lot of doing that goes with believing. “Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Gal_6:6-7). In this section of his epistle when James speaks of works, he is speaking of the works of faith. Paul also wrote about works of faith: “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love” (Gal_5:6). Both of these men taught that faith must be a working faith. As John Calvin put it, “Faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is not alone.” Saving faith, therefore, is alive; professing faith is dead. We have a lot of so-called professing Christians today who are members of churches. They are nothing in the world but zombies. They are walking around as if they are alive, but they are dead. A girl once asked her Sunday school teacher, “How can I be a Christian and still have my own way?” The teacher gave to her Rom_8:5 which says, “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.” If you are a child of God, you cannot have your own way. You are going to do His way. “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be…. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you …” (Rom_8:7, Rom_8:9). Paul says that now that you are indwelt by the Spirit of God, you can produce the fruit of the Spirit in your life; if you don’t, there is something radically wrong. A Christian doesn’t do as he pleases; he does as Christ pleases. During the depression there lived in Pittsburgh a tycoon who was having all kinds of problems in his life. He went to his pastor and, after talking over his problems, he said, “I love my Savior. I love my family. I love my church. I love my business. But there are times I feel like walking out on all four of them.” The pastor looked him straight in the eye and said, “Well, why don’t you?” The man replied, “The reason I don’t is that I am a Christian.” May I say to you, saving faith which makes one a Christian will lead to good works. However, we are so anxious to get church members that we accept them on the slightest profession. As a result, many churches are filled with professing Christians who are really unbelievers. When we understand how Paul and James use the words faith and works, we can see that they are in total agreement in their teaching. Now James deals with the identification of faith. Saving faith can be recognized and identified by certain spiritual fingerprints. There is a verification of genuine faith. James gives us this practical illustration
James 2:15
Pious cliches and Christian verbiage are not the evidence of saving faith. There must be a vocation to go along with the vocabulary. You can be very pious and say to an individual, “Brother I will pray for you, and I know the Lord will provide.” My friend, the Lord put you there as a child of God to do the providing. I get a little weary sometimes when wealthy Christian laymen pat me on the back and say, “Dr McGee, you are doing a fine thing. You are doing the right thing in giving out the Word of God,” but they do not have a part in supporting this ministry financially. I have a hard time believing they are sincere. You may piously say to someone, “Oh, brother, I’m for you.” Are you for him? Are you back of him? My friend, a living faith produces somethingyou can identify it. The Lord Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (Joh_13:35). Then in Rom_13:8, Paul says, “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.” The point is that you cannot say you are a child of God and live like a lawless individual. I do not mean that whenever a bum asks you for twenty-five cents in order to buy wine you should give it to him. And I do not think that you should believe every individual who professes to be a Christian. We need to test them out to see whether they are or not. My heart is warmed when I think of a certain man I know who is rendering financial assistance to someone in need and of a lady of means who is supporting a missionary abroad and telling no one about it. May I say to you, you are telling by your life whether your faith is genuine or not.
James 2:17
“Faith, if it hath not works, is dead.” The faith is dead? Why? Because living faith, saving faith, produces works. You have to draw that conclusion from James’ illustration. He is talking about the fruit of faith. Paul talks about the root of faith. Those are the separate emphases of each man, but both Paul and James say that faith alone saves. Paul also says that faith is going to produce fruit"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace …” (Gal_5:22). The Lord Jesus said, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit …” (Joh_15:5). A minister once talked to a man who professed conversion, and he asked, “Have you united with the church?” “No, I haven’t,” the man replied. “The dying thief never united with the church, and he went to heaven.” The minister asked, “Have you ever sat at the Lord’s table?” “No, the dying thief never did, and he was accepted” was the answer. The minister asked, “Have you been baptized?” “No,” he said, “the dying thief was never baptized, and he went to heaven.” “Have you given to missions?” “No, the dying thief did not give to missions, and he was not judged for it” was the reply. Then this disgusted minister said to the man, “Well, my friend, the difference between you two seems to be that he was a dying thief and you are a living thief.” My friend, we often sing, “O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer’s praise,” but we do not even use the one tongue we have. And we sing, “Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small,” and then we give nothing at all to Him. James says it is faith that saves, but saving faith produces something.
James 2:19
Lip service is not the evidence of saving faitheven the demons believe.
James 2:20
Faith without the fruit of faith is empty and futile as far as the world is concerned. Now James will give us the illustration of faithin fact, there will be two illustrations.
James 2:21
Paul said that Abraham was justified by faith (see Rom_4:3), and Genesis tells us that he was justified by faith (see Gen_15:6; Gen_22:1-14). Was Abraham justified when he offered his son Isaac? The question is: Did he offer his son Isaac? And the answer is: No, he didn’t. Then what was Abraham’s work of faith? How did works save him? His faith caused him to lift that knife to do a thing which he did not believe God would ever ask him to do. But since God had asked him, he was willing to do it. He believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead. Abraham never actually offered Isaac, because God provided a substitute, but he would have done it if God had not stopped him. This is a choice illustration of the fact that you demonstrate your faith by your actions. The action of this man was that he believed God. James uses a second illustration
James 2:25
How was Rahab justified by works? She received the Israelite spies, concealed them from her own people, then told them how to escape without being detected (see Josh. 2). That woman living there in the city of Jericho jeopardized her life by turning her back on her old life and on her own people. What was gain to her became loss. She did not say to the Israelite spies, “I’ll just stand on the sidelines when you enter the city and sing, ‘Praise God from whom all blessings flow.’” She did not just say, “Jesus saves and keeps and satisfies.” She did not say, “Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!” She said to them, “I’m going to do something.
I will hide you because I believe God is going to give the people of Israel this land. We have been hearing about you for forty years, and I believe God.” My friend, she believed God, and she became involved. She was justified before God by her faith: “By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace” (Heb_11:31). However, before her own people and before the Israelites, she was justified by works. Many years ago I went to a nursery and bought a bare root which was labeled “Santa Rosa plum.” It wasn’t even as big as a broom handle, and it looked no more alive than a broom handle. I was told to put it in the ground in a certain way, and I did that. I watched it, and the next spring it began to shoot out leaves. In three years there were blossoms on it, and then there was fruit. Do you know what kind of fruit was on that tree? Plums. The root of that tree was a plum root. Faith is the root, and the root produces the kind of fruit that the root itself is. If you have a living faith, there is going to be fruit in your life. Paul says, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves …” (2Co_13:5). And James continues
James 2:26
Faith without works is like a dead body in a morgue. James said that; Paul said that, and Vernon McGee believes both of them because they are giving us God’s Word for it.