James Chapter 2 — Commentary on Verse 14

    Whatgoodisit,mybrothers,ifamanclaimstohavefaithbuthasnodeeds?Cansuchfaithsave him?

    Here is the second exhortation against boasting about an idle faith. Some false hypocrites professed faith in Christ, and James proves the vanity of this conceit with several arguments.

    What good is it, my brothers …? That is, how will it further the purpose of religion? Similarly the apostle Paul, when he refutes other such presumptuous attacks, says, “I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2); that is, he is of no esteem with God.

    Ifamanclaimstohavefaith. That is, he boasts about it to others or is proud and conceited. The apostle does not say, “If anyone has faith,” but ifamanclaimstohavefaith. Faith, where it really exists, is profitable for salvation. He that has faith is certain of salvation, but this is not so with those who claim to have faith. In this whole discourse the apostle shows not whatjustifies but whoisjustified; not what faith does, but what faith is. The context does not show that faith without works does not justify, but that assent without works is not faith. The justification he speaks about has not so much to do with the person as with faith.

    Buthasnodeeds. That is, no fruit of holiness comes from it. The Roman Catholics foolishly restrict this to acts of charity. There are other products of faith, for it is a grace that has a universal influence in all the offices of the holy life.

    Cansuchfaithsavehim? That is, he is pretending to have faith; otherwise, faith saves. So Paul says in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith … not by works.” Certainly our apostle here means pretending to have faith; otherwise this would be a direct contradiction.

    Notes on Verse 14

    Note1. Fake graces are fruitless and unprofitable. Formal graces, as well as formal duties, do not help the spirit. It is a kind of blasphemy to disguise an impure life under a profession of faith. Less dishonor is brought to God by open opposition than by a Christian’s profession that is used as a cover and excuse for profanity.

    Note2. Faked faith is easy and common. People are prone to say they have faith. When they see the uselessness of works and cannot stand before God by that claim, they pretend to have faith.

    Note3. Buthasnodeeds. James shows that he means only saying that they have faith if there are no works and fruits derived from it. Where there is true faith, there will be deeds. There are three things that encourage the soul to carry out duty—a strong principle, a mighty aid, a high aim; all these exist where faith is. The strong principle is God’s love, the mighty aid is God’s Spirit, the high aim is God’s glory.

    (1)      For the principle, where there is faith there will be love. Affection follows persuasion, and where there is love there will be work; therefore we often read about “the love you have shown” (Hebrews 6:10) and “your labor prompted by love” (1 Thessalonians 1:3).

    (2)      There is mighty aid received from the life-giving Spirit. Man’s great excuse is lack of power. Faith plants us in Christ and so receives power from him. He lives in us by his Spirit, and we live in him by faith; and therefore we “bear much fruit” (John 15:5). It is noticeable that in verses 17 and 26 the apostle calls a faith without deeds a dead or lifeless faith, void of the life of the Spirit. Where there is life there will be action. Hypocrites are said to be “without fruit and uprooted—twice dead” (Jude 12). Twice dead—dead in their natural condition and dead in their profession of faith, and then uprooted; this is those who never had any vital influence from Christ.

    (3)      Where there is faith, there God will be glorified. Faith that receives grace gives back glory: “… glorify God on the day he visits us” (1 Peter 2:12). When God visits their souls in mercy, they will be thinking of how they may glorify him, for faith is ingenuous and cannot take without giving. Well, then, use your faith. This is not an inactive assent; there will be deeds that you know will be good if they are done in Christ. “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5); but “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13)—that is, by the influence of his grace and being done for Christ—that is, for his sake and glory: see Philippians 1:20. Paul’s whole life was consecrated to Christ for the purpose of his glory. In short, those who work in Christ are united to him by faith.

    Note4. Cansuchfaithsavehim? That is, will you come before God with these hopes of salvation? We should cherish no confidence that will not abide the day of the Lord. Will this be a sufficient plea, then, when all mankind is either to be damned or saved, to say you made profession (1 John 2:28)? The solemnity of Christ’s coming is often used to expose groundless hopes: “Be always on the watch, and pray … that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:36)—that is, without shame and remorse at his coming; “that we will have confidence on the day of judgment” (1 John 4:17). People consider what will serve the present, what will quiet the heart, that they may follow their business or pleasures with the least trouble. But consider what will serve you for salvation, what will serve on the day of death or the day of judgment. No plea is sufficient but that which may be urged before the throne of the Lamb. So then, urge this on your souls: will this faith save me, so that I may be bold on the day of judgment? As Christ asked Peter three times, “Do you truly love me?” (John 21:16), so put the question again and again to your own soul: can I look Christ in the face with these desires? Sincere graces are called “things that accompany salvation” (Hebrews 6:9). This is the end of all self-examination: is it a saving grace? Nothing should satisfy me but what can save me.

    Supposeabrotherorsisteriswithoutclothesanddailyfood.Ifoneofyousaystohim,“Go,Iwish youwell;keepwarmandwellfed,”butdoesnothingabouthisphysicalneeds,whatgoodisit?In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

    Supposeabrotherorsister. The apostle compares faith and good deeds and shows that phony faith avails no more than phony good deeds. By brotherorsister he means Christians, united together by the bond of the same profession.

    Iswithoutclothes [naked, KJV]. That is, badly clothed; “nakedness” is often used in this way: see 1 Corinthians 4:11 (KJV).

    Anddailyfood. They have not enough to sustain life for a day. Christ calls this “daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). Under these two headings of nakedness and hunger James includes all the necessities of the human life, for these are the things absolutely necessary. Therefore Christ says, “Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ … or ‘What shall we wear?’” (Matthew 6:31). “But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that” (1 Timothy 6:8). And Jacob promised to worship if God gave him “food to eat and clothes to wear” (Genesis 28:20).

    Ifoneofyousaystohim. That is, someone who does not do them good in any way; otherwise good wishes are not to be despised, and some can only give a small amount of money, prayers, and advice.

    “I wish you well.” A solemn form of greeting. See Mark 5:34; Luke 7:50 and 8:48.

    “Keepwarm.” That is, be clothed; this is in contrast with withoutclothes. Thus in Job 31:20 we read, “warming him with the fleece from my sheep.”

    “Andwellfed.” Some translate this, “Be filled”; that is, may you have food to sustain your hunger.

    Butdoesnothingabouthisphysicalneeds. That is, when you are able to; otherwise good wishes are acceptable. So “a cup of cold water” is welcome (Matthew 10:42). James’s chief aim was to shame the rich, who tried to do their duty with a few cheap words and charitable wishes. This was a common offense, as is clear from 1 John 3:18, “Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”

    Whatgoodisit? That is, for the poor. The stomach is not filled with words, or the back clothed with wishes. This is like the mad person who tried to pay his debts with the noise of money and instead of opening his purse shook it. The poor will not thank you for good wishes, and neither will God for saying you have faith.

    Notes on Verses 15-16

    Note1. An excellent way to discover our deceitful dealing with God is to compare it with our own dealings with one another. Christ made the Pharisees judge themselves (Matthew 21). Those who despised, abused, and persecuted the messengers killed the son; so Christ says to them, “What will he do to those tenants?” They reply, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end … and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants” (verses 40-41). So will God do to you, says Christ (verse 43). God appealed to the Jews with a parable: “Judge between me and my vineyard” (Isaiah 5:3). We shall soon see the irrationality of our inferences in divine matters when we apply the case to human affairs. It is like saying, “My master is good; therefore I will offend him and displease him.”

    Note 2. Suppose a brother or sister. God’s own people may be destitute of the necessities of life: “the world was not worthy of them” (Hebrews 11:38). It is true that David says, “I was young and now I am old; yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread” (Psalm 37:25); but either he is speaking about his own experience, or else he is referring to the shameful trade of begging, which among the Jews was a token of God’s curse (see Psalm 59:15). Certainly the Jews had more of the worldly and outward blessing of the covenant than believers did under the Gospel, as this was more appropriate for their dispensation.

    Note3. Mere words will not discharge duty. Good words are good in themselves and do become a Christian; but they are not enough. Words show that you know about your duty; mere words show that you lack a heart to carry out your duty.

    Note4. More particularly observe that a few charitable words are not enough. Words are cheap; compliments cost nothing. Will you serve God with what costs nothing? Words are but a cold kind of pity. The stomach is not filled with words but meat; nor is the back clothed with good wishes. Words are but a derision; you mock the poor when you bid them, “keepwarmandwellfed” and do not attend to their necessities. This is a kind of mocking of God. “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked” (Galatians 6:7). James is speaking about people who want to be thought charitable, but it was mere words.

    In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

    Here James shows that mere profession of faith is no better than verbal charity. God looks on it as dead, cold, and useless.

    Inthesameway,faith. James speaks according to their presumption: you call it faith; and it looks like faith, but it is dead in itself.

    Ifitisnotaccompaniedbyaction. He means not only good deeds but all other fruits of faith.

    Isdead. The apostle alludes to a corpse or a dead plant, which only appears to be alive. It is dead with respect to root, and dead with respect to fruit. It is void of the life of Christ, and it is void of good fruits. Operation or motion is an argument for and an effect of life.

    Notaccompanied. The Greek means it is dead in itself; that is, no matter how great it is, it is all dead. The KingJamesVersion translates this beingalone, denoting the emptiness, barrenness, and nakedness of such a profession; and so it ties in with that well known Protestant maxim, “faith alone justifies, but not faith that is alone.”

    Notes on Verse 17

    False faith is a dead faith. It cannot act any more than a dead body can stand up and walk; it is dead, because it is not united to Christ. True faith plants us in Christ, and so we receive virtue and life from him: “I live by faith in the Son of God” (Galatians 2:20). Faith is the life that animates the whole body of obedience. So, here is a test for your faith: does it receive life from Christ? Does it act? If Christ is in you, he wants to live in you. Never think of living with Christ unless you live in Christ; and no one lives in Christ unless he bears “much fruit” (John 15:5).

    Butsomeonewillsay,“Youhavefaith;Ihavedeeds.”Showmeyourfaithwithoutdeeds,andIwill show you my faith by what I do.

    The apostle amplifies this argument against an empty faith by imagining a dialogue between a believer and a boasting hypocrite. So the dispute does not lie so much between faith and deeds as between faith pretended and faith revealed by deeds. The apostle does not introduce them by saying, “You stand on your faith and I on my deeds,” but says, Showmeyourfaithwithoutdeeds,and I will.…” That is, show me a warrant for your faith, and I will soon prove my own.

    Butsomeonewillsay. That is, some true believer may come and argue like this with a boasting hypocrite.

    “Youhavefaith.” Whatever you say, that is all you have—a mere profession of faith, or at best just some historical assent; the apostle grants that not only to them but to the demons (verse 19).

    “Ihavedeeds.” He does not mean deeds without faith; that is contrary to what the text says: I will show you my faith by what I do. Deeds without faith are like a building without a foundation, mere acts of nature varnished with common grace. You boast with your tongue about faith; I shall not boast but will produce deeds that are a real commendation. Christ produces no other testimony but his deeds (Matthew 11:4-5).

    Showmeyourfaithwithoutdeeds. There are various readings of the original Greek. Some manuscripts read only, “Show me your faith”—and I will soon demonstrate mine. The best copies have withoutdeeds, and the meaning is: you lack the truest testimony and demonstration of faith. Now show me such a faith; that is, make it good by any warrant from the principles of our religion.

    AndIwillshowyoumyfaithbywhatIdo. That is, soon demonstrate it to the world, or soon show it to be true faith out of the Word.

    Notes on Verse 18

    Note 1. A good way to convict hypocrites is to show how grace works in true Christians. The apostle begins a dialogue between them; in the same way Christ compares the two builders (Matthew 7:24 ff.). Do we live as true Christians do—as those who through faith and patience inherit the promises?

    Note 2. Show me your faith without deeds. In all our hopes and conceits of grace we should always look to the warrant we have for them. Can I show or prove this to be faith or love by any rational grounds or arguments from Scripture? Presumption is a rash trust, without any actual or clear ground. It is good to believe “as the Scripture has said” (John 7:38), to cherish no persuasion without seeing a clear warrant.

    Note3. Deeds are evidence of true faith. Graces are not dead, useless habits; they will have some results when they are weakest and in their infancy. As soon as Paul was born again, God said of him, “he is praying” (Acts 9:11). Newborn children will cry before they are able to walk.

    (1)      This is the evidence by which we must judge. Many Scriptures lay down evidence taken from sanctification and the holy life; they were written for this very purpose: see especially Psalm 119; 1 John 3:14, 19; 5:13. In many places promises are given, with descriptions taken from the meekness, piety, and good deeds of the saints: see Psalm 1:1-2; 32:1-9. Good deeds are the most obvious sign; all causes are known by their effects. Apples, leaves, and blossoms are evident when the life and sap are not seen.

    (2)      This is also the evidence by which Christ must judge: “judged according to what they had done” (Revelation 20:12). “Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matthew 7:23). They claimed to believe, but they had no deeds. See also Matthew 25:41-43.

    Application. You must make use of this note to judge yourselves and to judge others.

    (1)      Yourselves. When the causes are hidden, the effects are obvious; therefore you can test graces by their results. Deeds are not the foundation of faith but evidence of it. Comfort may be increased by seeing good deeds, but it is not built upon them.

    (2)      Other people may be judged by their works. Where there is knowledge and a good life, it is not Christian to suspect the heart. Profession of faith may be counterfeited, but when it is honored with deeds you must leave the heart to God. To be faultless and look after orphans and widows is purereligion (1:27); that is what reveals it. Empty profession of faith may have more of fashion in it than power; but profession honored with deeds is love’s rule to judge by.

    You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

    This example shows what sort of faith he is arguing against—namely, the sort that consists in mere speculation—which can no more save anyone than looking at the sun can take you to the sun itself.

    You believe. That is, you assent to this truth; the lowest act of faith is called believing.

    ThereisoneGod. He gives this instance, without limiting the matter to this, partly because this was the first article of the creed, the fundamental truth in religion, and the critical difference between Christians and pagans. He means to include assent to other articles of faith.

    Good! He approves of this assent as being good, though not sufficient; it is not saving, but it is good as a preparation and is required: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4; see also 1 John 4:2).

    Eventhedemonsbelievethat. That is, they assent to this truth and to other truths revealed in the Word.

    Andshudder. This word signifies extreme fear and horror of spirit; it comes from a word that implies the noise that is caused by the sea. Now, this clause is added not to imply (as some people suppose) that the demons do more than assent, having an experience of some type in their feelings, but to disprove this kind of faith and to show that it is not saving. The demons have an assent that causes horror and torment, but they do not have a faith that causes confidence and peace, the proper fruit of justifying faith (see Romans 5:1; Ephesians 3:12).

    Notes on Verse 19

    Note 1. Mere assent to the articles of religion does not imply true faith. True faith unites us to Christ; it knows his person. It is not only an assent to a Gospel proposition; you are not justified by that, but by being one with Christ. It was the mistake of former ages to make the promise rather than the person of Christ the formal object of faith. The promise is the warrant, Christ is the object; therefore, the way Scripture talks of this, faith terminates in him. There is not only assent in faith, but consent; not only an assent to the truth of the Word, but a consent to take Christ. There must be an act that is directly and formally about the person of Christ. A person may be right in opinion and judgment but of vile affections; and an ungodly “Christian” is in as great a danger as a pagan, idolater, or heretic, for even if his judgment is sound, his manners are heretical. True believing is not an act of the understanding only but a work of “all your heart” (Acts 8:37).

    I admit that some expressions of Scripture seem to lay much weight on assent, such as 1 John 4:2 and 5:1, 1 Corinthians 12:3, and Matthew 16:16-17. But these passages either show that assent, where it is serious, comes from some special revelation, or else, if they give assent as evidence of grace, we must distinguish contexts. The wind that blows on our backs blew in their faces; and what draws many people to assent to the Gospel discouraged them. Therefore do not be satisfied with mere assent; this costs nothing and is worth nothing. There is an “embodiment of knowledge” (Romans 2:20) as well as “a form of godliness” (2 Timothy 3:5). An “embodiment of knowledge” is nothing but an idea of truth in the brain, when there is no power or goodness to change and transform the heart.

    Note2. Good! It is good to acknowledge the least appearance of good in people. So far so good, says the apostle. To commend what is good is the best way to mend the rest. This is a wonderful art of drawing people on further and further. So far as it is good, acknowledge it. “I praise you,” says Paul, and later on, “I have no praise for you” (1 Corinthians 11:2, 17). Jesus loved a young man for his moral excellence (Mark 10:21). It was a hopeful step. The infant working of grace should be embraced on the lap of commendation or, like weak things, fostered with much gentleness and care.

    Note3. The demons assent to the articles of Christian religion. This comes about partly through the subtlety of their natures—they are intellectual essences, and partly because they have seen miracles of providence. They are aware of the power of God in rescuing people from their paws; so they are forced to acknowledge that there is a God and to consent to many truths in the Scriptures. Many truths are acknowledged at the same time in Matthew 8:29, “Son of God … have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” Paul commanded a spirit “in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 16:18). And an evil spirit answered the sons of Sceva, “Jesus I know and Paul I know about, but who are you?” (Acts 19:15). The spirit acknowledged that Jesus as the Master and Paul as the servant and messenger had mightily shaken his power and kingdom. So then, never rest content with the demons’ faith. Can the demons be justified or saved? They believe there is a God, that there is a Christ, that Christ died for sinners. A Christian is to exceed and go beyond demons—indeed, beyond other people, beyond pagans, beyond hypocrites in the church.

    Note4. Horror is the effect of the demons’ knowledge; the more they know of God, the more they shudder. They were terrified at a miracle or any glorious revelation of Christ’s power on earth. So you may learn:

    (1)      Light that gives us no comfort is only darkness. The demons have knowledge but no comfort and so are said to be “kept in darkness” (Jude 6). The more they think about God, the more they shudder. It is miserable to have only enough light to awaken conscience and enough knowledge to be self-condemned, to know of God but not to enjoy him. The demons cannot choose but abominate their own thoughts of God. Do not rest until you have the sort of knowledge of God that gives comfort: “in your light we see light” (Psalm 36:9). There is light in this light; all other light is darkness.

    (2)      All knowledge of God apart from Christ is uncomfortable. That is the reason the demons shudder; they cannot know God as a Father but as a judge, not as a friend but as an enemy. Faith looking at God as Father and friend gives peace to the soul: see Romans 5:1. “Love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment” (1 John 4:18). This is the misery of demons and damned men and natural men, that they cannot think of God without horror; whereas this is the great solace and comfort of the saints, that there is a God: “your name is like perfume poured out,” full of fragrance and refreshing (Song of Songs 1:3). Salt waters strained through the earth become sweet. God’s attributes, which are in themselves terrible and dreadful to a sinner, bring us comfort and sweetness when they come to us through Christ.

    You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?

    Here James reinforces the argument against an ungodly profession of faith. The dispute is not about the cause of justification but about what we should think about an empty faith.

    Youfoolishman. He is an empty man, a metaphor taken from an empty container. It is the parallel word to “Raca,” “fool,” which is forbidden in Matthew 5:22. You will say, was it lawful for the apostle to use such words of contempt and disgrace? I answer:

    (1)      Christ does not forbid the word, but the word used in anger. We find “fool” used by Christ himself: “You blind fools!” (Matthew 23:17); “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe” (Luke 24:25). Paul, too, says, “You foolish Galatians!” (Galatians 3:1). There is a difference between necessary correction and contemptuous speech.

    (2)      The apostle does not direct this to any one person but to a particular kind of people. Such a way of speaking to individuals savors of private anger, but being directed to a particular kind of people merely expresses a justified public reproof.

    Doyouwantevidence…? That is, do you want to understand the matter properly or to listen to what can be said against your faith? A similar form of words is used in Romans 13:3—“Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority?”—that is, to be taught how not to fear him.

    Thatfaithwithoutdeedsisuseless. Note that he does not say, “faith is useless without deeds,” but faithwithoutdeedsisuseless. There is a difference. If he had said that faith is useless without deeds, it would have argued that deeds are the cause that give life to faith, whereas they are effects that show there is life in faith. For instance, “a man without motion is dead” is correct, but “a man is dead without motion” is quite different. Briefly, in this argument the apostle presupposes several things:

    (1)      The way to know graces is by their results.

    (2)      Deeds are an effect of faith: faithwithoutdeedsisuseless, and deeds are useless without faith. So deeds that are gracious are a proper, perpetual, and inseparable part of faith; they are effects that do not give life to faith but declare it, just as apples do not give life to the tree but demonstrate that life.

    Notes on Verse 20

    Note1. Doyouwantevidence…? False and mistaken faith usually means either that people do not understand what faith is, or that they are not thinking about what they are doing. Ignorance and lack of thought allow unwarrantable assumptions of faith to slip by without notice.

    Note2. Youfoolishman. People with shallow faith are vain, like empty containers, full of wind, and make the greatest sound; they are full of windy presumptions and boasting professions.

    (1)      Full of wind, they have a little airy knowledge, which puffs up: “ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:8). There is knowledge, but it is ineffective and unproductive—empty of any solid grace.

    (2)      They make a big noise; they can talk about grace, boast of knowledge, glory in their faith. Usually these presumptuous people are of a slight, frothy spirit and are all for tongue and an empty profession. A vain faith and a vain man often go together.

    Note3. Hypocrites must be roused with some sharpness. So the apostle says, Youfoolishman. John the Baptist called people, “You brood of vipers!” (Matthew 3:7). Hypocrites do not usually think and usually have a sleepy conscience, so that we must not whisper but cry out aloud. An open sinner has a constant torment and bondage on his spirit, which is soon felt and soon awakened; but a hypocrite is able to make defenses and replies. We must, by the warrant of these great examples, deal with him more roughly; mildness only soothes him in his error.

    Note 4. An empty, barren faith is a dead faith.

    (1)      It may go with a natural state in which we are dead in trespasses and sins.

    (2)      It does not receive the life-giving influence of the Spirit.

    (3)      It lacks the effect of life. All life is the beginning of operation, tends to operation, and is increased by operation; so faith is dead, like the root of a tree in the ground, when it cannot produce the ordinary effects and fruits of faith.

    (4)      It is not available to eternal life and of no more use and service to you than a dead thing. Pluck it off! Who wants a dead plant in the garden? “Why should it use up the soil?” (Luke 13:7).