“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
James 2:26 KJV
This bible verse has troubled me for quite a while. If I take James 2:26 by itself the message is straight forward. Just as one's body is dead without spirit, our faith is dead without works. So does this mean professing your faith in God, accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior and asking for forgiveness of all your sins on your death bed, even though you are truly repentant and have been touched by the Holy Spirit, does not guarantee your passage into Heaven....because you lack one key element...."works", after attaining "faith"?
I've read several bible study lessons that cover James 2: 1-26 and each interpretation helps but none really brought me comfort. Recently, our Pastor's sermon was on Luke 24: 13-35. These verses tell the story of two men traveling from Jerusalem to Emmaus three days after Jesus was crucified. They were overtaken by the resurrected Jesus who they did not recognize. He asked them what they were talking about and they tell him the story of Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. Although they hoped he would be the one to redeem Israel, the chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death and crucified. They tell this stranger (Jesus), that three days have passed since all these things happened and this morning, some women went to his tomb and found his body was missing. An angel appeared to them and said he was alive. They went on to say that they and others went to the tomb and found it just as the women described but Jesus they did not see.
The stranger (Jesus) responds to them: "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!" The stranger (Jesus) spends the rest of their trip to Emmaus, interpreting in all the Scriptures the things concerning Jesus. Once in Emmaus, the men invite him to spend the night and he agrees. At the evening meal the stranger (Jesus) breaks bread and blesses it and the men can now see that he is Jesus and he vanishes. The men say to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?" They immediately return to Jerusalem to find the 11 where they share their story of breaking bread with Jesus.
How does this help me with James 2:26? In this story, we have two men who are obviously close to Jesus and even closer to him when he returns to Jerusalem. They know Jesus was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. They saw him condemned to death and crucified. This very morning, they heard the women who went his tomb report that it was empty and that they saw an angel that said he was alive. They went with others to the tomb and saw what the women saw, the tomb was open and the body was gone. Given the knowledge they possessed and events they witnessed, they now return to their home in Emmaus. They tell the stranger that joins them on their journey home that they "hoped" Jesus of Nazareth would be the one to redeem Israel, implying a disbelief that Jesus has risen and all is lost. Jesus' response to them is: "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!"
During this period of time we see two men of "faith" show that their faith is without spirit. They are obviously filled with enough doubt that they are on their way home on the very morning Jesus' body disappeared from the tomb and an angel appeared to the women visiting the tomb reporting that he is alive. Based on this I'd describe their faith as dead.
So have I found the true meaning of James 2:26? Could James have meant that faith inspired by the Holy Spirit will stand tests such as that of the two men described in Luke 24:13-25? Will someone with Holy Spirit inspired faith do good works (deeds) because they have been touched by the Holy Spirit? I believe the answer is yes.
I close with this reminder. When Jesus broke bread and blessed it, the two men were able to see him as Jesus and he then vanished. They then speak to each other recounting how their hearts burned when Jesus spoke to them on the road and opened to them the Scriptures. They did not go to bed and sleep through the night. They left immediately for Jerusalem and sought out the eleven, telling them what they had seen. Their works began immediately, after being touched by the Holy Spirit! Wind was put in the sail of their spirits! Thanks be to God.
This bible verse has troubled me for quite a while. If I take James 2:26 by itself the message is straight forward. Just as one's body is dead without spirit, our faith is dead without works. So does this mean professing your faith in God, accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior and asking for forgiveness of all your sins on your death bed, even though you are truly repentant and have been touched by the Holy Spirit, does not guarantee your passage into Heaven....because you lack one key element...."works", after attaining "faith"?
I've read several bible study lessons that cover James 2: 1-26 and each interpretation helps but none really brought me comfort. Recently, our Pastor's sermon was on Luke 24: 13-35. These verses tell the story of two men traveling from Jerusalem to Emmaus three days after Jesus was crucified. They were overtaken by the resurrected Jesus who they did not recognize. He asked them what they were talking about and they tell him the story of Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. Although they hoped he would be the one to redeem Israel, the chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death and crucified. They tell this stranger (Jesus), that three days have passed since all these things happened and this morning, some women went to his tomb and found his body was missing. An angel appeared to them and said he was alive. They went on to say that they and others went to the tomb and found it just as the women described but Jesus they did not see.
The stranger (Jesus) responds to them: "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!" The stranger (Jesus) spends the rest of their trip to Emmaus, interpreting in all the Scriptures the things concerning Jesus. Once in Emmaus, the men invite him to spend the night and he agrees. At the evening meal the stranger (Jesus) breaks bread and blesses it and the men can now see that he is Jesus and he vanishes. The men say to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?" They immediately return to Jerusalem to find the 11 where they share their story of breaking bread with Jesus.
How does this help me with James 2:26? In this story, we have two men who are obviously close to Jesus and even closer to him when he returns to Jerusalem. They know Jesus was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. They saw him condemned to death and crucified. This very morning, they heard the women who went his tomb report that it was empty and that they saw an angel that said he was alive. They went with others to the tomb and saw what the women saw, the tomb was open and the body was gone. Given the knowledge they possessed and events they witnessed, they now return to their home in Emmaus. They tell the stranger that joins them on their journey home that they "hoped" Jesus of Nazareth would be the one to redeem Israel, implying a disbelief that Jesus has risen and all is lost. Jesus' response to them is: "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!"
During this period of time we see two men of "faith" show that their faith is without spirit. They are obviously filled with enough doubt that they are on their way home on the very morning Jesus' body disappeared from the tomb and an angel appeared to the women visiting the tomb reporting that he is alive. Based on this I'd describe their faith as dead.
So have I found the true meaning of James 2:26? Could James have meant that faith inspired by the Holy Spirit will stand tests such as that of the two men described in Luke 24:13-25? Will someone with Holy Spirit inspired faith do good works (deeds) because they have been touched by the Holy Spirit? I believe the answer is yes.
I close with this reminder. When Jesus broke bread and blessed it, the two men were able to see him as Jesus and he then vanished. They then speak to each other recounting how their hearts burned when Jesus spoke to them on the road and opened to them the Scriptures. They did not go to bed and sleep through the night. They left immediately for Jerusalem and sought out the eleven, telling them what they had seen. Their works began immediately, after being touched by the Holy Spirit! Wind was put in the sail of their spirits! Thanks be to God.
