James 2:26 in Context

Faith Without Works

James 2:14–26

L. A. Mott (lamottjax@comcast.net

or www.thinkingthrough.com

Through most of 2011 I have been reading and refining a manuscript on James. It took me a while to realize that James 2:26 does not just repeat verse 14. I will return to this point at the end.

James is not answering or even complementing Paul. He wrote earlier, when the church was mostly if not altogether Jewish, and before the influx of Gentiles became the occasion of Paul’s controversy with Judaizers over justification by works of law. James deals with the same problem addressed by Jesus, the failure to apply profession to life (e. g. Matt. 7:21–23, 23:1–4, and Luke 6:46). James first addressed the problem in Chapter One. He returns to it in James 2:14–26.

Consider the power that is felt when we study verses in context rather than treating them as isolated statements.

Issue Raised (14)

The question raised is:  What is the use of a faith that does not have the works that faith would seem to call for? In particular:  Can that faith save him? Faith in the question is preceded by the definite article. So the question is not whether there is a faith that can save him, but whether the particular faith described here can save.

Faith Without Works Powerless to Save (15–17)

James’ first response is a hypothetical illustration of something that is entirely useless, wishing a needy person well, but without doing anything to supply his need. Such behavior is useless. And so it is with faith that is not matched by appropriate behavior. It cannot save. It is dead, and so entirely without power. Verse 26 returns to the thought and illuminates the meaning of “dead,” as if to say: I meant what I said.

The Existence of Faith Not Demonstrable Without Works (18)

Commentaries have introduced unnecessary difficulty by debating the identity of the two persons. James’ point is: The man who claims to have faith, but who does not manifest the behavior consistent with what he believes cannot even prove he has faith. He is vulnerable to a challenge from anyone who demands that he prove his claim.  He cannot. He appears like someone who makes empty claims without substance.

The Faith of Demons (19)

James is willing to credit the man’s claim.  You have faith. Great! But if faith does not affect the way one lives his life, it is no more than the faith of demons. It certainly has no power to save.

Works Necessary to Justification as Proved by the Case of Abraham (20–24)

“But wilt thou know?” James asks. Are you willing to learn that faith without works is useless? If so, James can help him, and does so by pointing to the example of Abraham. He clearly was justified by works, as Genesis 22 proves (esp. vv. 12 and 15–18). His was a faith that cooperated with works, and so was rendered complete by works, “lacking in nothing” (1:4). Without the obedience faith  would have been missing something, incomplete. The conclusion is plain to see:  “You see that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith” (24). 

In fact, even without Genesis 22, the context of Genesis 15:6 proves that Abraham’s faith required action. Abraham certainly would not have descendants like the stars, or even one, without taking action.

Rahab Also Justified by Works (25–26)

After adding the confirming example of Rahab, James concludes the argument the way it began (v. 17), but with an additional clause that leaves no room for doubt about the meaning of “dead.” Faith without works is like a body without the spirit. Dead means dead!

James' Conclusion (5:19–20)

I recently completed my latest book Thinking Through James. The final word (James 5:19–20) sets forth the great accomplishment of one who succeeds in turning a straying brother back to the truth. I am always excited about gaining an insight that had previously escaped me, and I was delighted finally to realize that the end of this epistle had not been merely "chopped off" without an appropriate conclusion. In fact it does have a conclusion that could hardly be improved. The following excerpt from Thinking Through James provides my thought about James' conclusion.  (LAM)

I think I have tended to see James as sort of “chopped off” at the end without any concern for a suitable conclusion; the letter presenting one exhortation after another, and when the last one has been given a period is simply put at the end without rounding off the letter with an appropriate conclusion or application. Suffice it to say, however, that all the reading and reflection on the letter I have done in the last few months is bringing me to a change of view. Perhaps all the elements are beginning to stick together in my mind. I think I had not previously perceived the significance of the last passage, and the way it relates to the whole.

In fact time and again throughout the epistle we see how anxious James has been either to prevent his beloved brothers from being misled by false reasoning or, in case some may already have been victimized, to turn them back to the truth of the gospel. The wise man started out wanting them to understand their troubles in the light of divine wisdom rather than misinterpreting them (1:2–4). He did not want them to think that a person of divided mind, without wholehearted faith, could expect to receive anything from the Lord (1:5–8). He did not want them to be deceived about the sources of temptation (1:13–18, esp. 16). Nor did he want them to delude themselves about the value of hearing the word without the appropriate response (1:19–25); or deceived about the sort of religion that has value (1:26–27).

James did not want them to think the faith of the Lord of glory could be coupled with favoritism toward the rich (2:1–7), deceiving themselves into thinking they were keeping the law by their treatment of the rich (2:8–13). He did not want them to imagine that faith without the behavior that completes it is of any value at all (2:14–26). He did not want them to think the talkers among them were necessarily the “wise and understanding” (3:1–18). He wanted to disabuse their minds if they did not understand “that the friendship of the world is enmity with God” (4:1–10). He did not want them to think more of themselves than they ought to, and thus usurp the role of God by judging their brothers (4:11–12); or by means of an independent spirit that did not consider God and divine providence with regard to business plans (4:13–17). He did not want them to make too much of earthly wealth, but rather to behave appropriately in view of the judgment soon to fall upon the ungodly rich (ch. 5).

In every single one of these units we see James either trying to prevent incorrect thinking or to rescue those who may already have fallen victim to it. How could James have concluded an epistle in which he has been out to turn people from self-deception and incorrect thinking any better than to try to persuade his readers to join him in this great work? And how could he have offered greater motivation to them than simply to point out just how great that work is, what a great accomplishment they will have if they succeed in turning an erring brother back to the way of truth? 

So I am changing my mind about James’ conclusion. I do not see how he could have written a more effective conclusion than he did.

The Eight Cow Wife (1 Pet. 3:7)

The Eight Cow Wife

I first saw this story, a longer version, in the Reader’s Digest many years ago. I was impressed by it and would have used it many times in lessons on family life, but I misplaced my copy and did not see it again till this condensed version was seen in a church bulletin.  It seems to have been copied from one bulletin to another many times and and attributed to no special author.  As I recall, the principals in the Reader’s Digest version were Korean.    LAM

The custom on an isolated Pacific island was for a young man to announce his intention of marriage to the entire village.  After the announcement the young man and the whole community went to the young woman’s home.  Her father would come outside and then the father and the suitor would barter, the whole community acting as witnesses.  

The main item of value on the island was the cow. Therefore a suitor would offer the father a certain number of cows for his daughter. The average bride was worth two cows, perhaps three if she was unusually bright or attractive. The all-time record was four cows. 

The most eligible bachelor on the island was Johnny Lingo, who was both handsome and wealthy. The women of the island were extremely excited when Johnny announced that he had selected a wife. But everyone was shocked when he announced that his choice was a girl named Lisa. Not even in the top ten of young women who might have been selected, Lisa was regarded as plain and frightfully shy. Jokers in the crowd suggested that Lisa’s father might offer Johnny a cow or two to take her.

But when the community gathered at Lisa’s house for the bartering an even greater shock came over the crowd when they heard Johnny’s opening bid for Lisa. Eight cows! Her father almost fainted, but managed to accept. That evening Johnny and Lisa were married, and then departed for their home on an adjacent island.

No one saw the couple for a full year. On their first anniversary Johnny and Lisa returned to visit their parents. From the moment they arrived at the dock, the news spread. “Come and see Johnny and Lisa!” someone exclaimed. “You won’t believe it!”

Everyone came, but no one noticed Johnny. All eyes were on Lisa. She had been transformed! She was poised, warm, friendly, and confident. When someone inquired of Johnny with regard to the amazing transformation in Lisa, Johnny had a ready answer: “I will explain it. From the time Lisa was born she had been treated as though she was not worth much. She had begun to believe it about herself. But I announced to the community that she was an eight cow wife, and I have treated her that way ever since. She has become that vision of herself that she sees in my eyes every day.”

The moral of the story is:  If you want an eight cow wife, treat your wife like one. Give it a year and see what happens.

“Husbands, ... giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being joint heirs of he grace of life ...” (First Peter 3:7).

Book of Job, Issues and Analysis

Thinking Through Job

Will a person serve Jehovah without reward? when afflicted so severely that nothing worse could be done and even death to be preferred? That is the issue raised in the first three chapters of Job. Is Jehovah that great?

This book provides the answer. Not that of “everyman,” but that of the best man on earth according to Jehovah’s own testimony.

The patience of Job did not preserve him from all sin, but Job did hold on to God through all his trials. His friends and their ignorant attempts at comfort are dismissed, but God never is.

In the debate, however, which concludes with an evaluation, judging man a failure in the search for wisdom (ch. 28), Job committed terrible sins, accusing God of injustice. Job defended his own integrity, but felt God was treating him as a sinner, manifesting hostility toward him. Thus the trial did not lead Job to abandon God, but it did uncover defects of character that needed to be dealt with in order that Job might be even better.

Job had to be humbled and put in his place. But more was required than a show of superior power to bully him into silence, perhaps with resentment at not having a fair chance to make his case. The resolution has two essential parts. Elihu, a man of clay like Job himself, answers Job’s charges against God, particularly presenting a different view of the suffering in which God is seen not as an enemy, but as a friend. The reasoning of an equal satisfies Job’s mind and prepares him to be put in his place by God, howbeit without the resentment he might have felt had he merely been forced into silence by superior power.

Thinking Through Job guides a student through the complexities of Job’s case to a final resolution which makes us shout Hallelujah! to a God worthy to be worshipped even without reward and despite undeserved suffering. Satan is exposed as a slanderer and the magnificence of Jehovah declared. The suffering of Job provided him with his best opportunity to bring glory to God; and so with many another sufferer whose faithfulness manifests just how great Jehovah is.

The Great Debate

The Great Debate

Job 3–28

The release date of Thinking Through Job is now set for January, 2011.  The following is a brief summary of the debate between Job and his friends.  Get the book for the detailed exposition.

The First Round of Speeches (Job 4–14)

The friends came to comfort Job in his affliction (2:11).  They sat there for a week without saying a word (2:13), perhaps thinking any words from them would only make matters worse.  But when Job cried out that he had better never been born, wishing for a speedy death, and questioning why his life was being prolonged (ch. 3), the challenge to divine providence was too much for Eliphaz.  He could not let it pass (chs. 4–5).  At first he was gentle in his comfort, considering Job a pious man who was simply being chastised by God.  But he needed to be careful about speech that seemed to imply that man was more righteous than God.  He warned against “vexation,” complaint against what one regarded as unfair treatment.  He counseled Job to yield to divine correction and he would soon be restored to a state of blessedness.  God is the subject of the first round of speeches (chs. 4–14).  The friends saw Job’s complaint as an indication that he needed to be taught respect for God.

Job felt he had good reason for vexation (6:1–7), and refuses to be silenced (6:8–13); he expresses disappointment in his friends, who had failed to provide any real comfort (6:14–23); he challenges them to point out the sins for which he was being chastised (6:24–30).  He renews his complaint in Chapter 7, first with regard to the sad plight of man in general and then with special regard to his own situation.  So he was determined to continue to complain of treatment that made no sense at all.

Bildad’s first speech (ch. 8) is in the same vein, contending that God will never be unjust, as Job seemed to suggest, and so would always punish the godless and reward the pious.  Job replies:  Of course, but suppose one has a complaint against God; how could he argue his case and get a just verdict.  He complains that there is no umpire to mediate the case (ch. 9).  So Job was determined to continue his complaint (ch. 10).

Zophar’s first speech (ch. 11) was harshest of all.  If the whole truth were known, says he, it would be plain that you deserve worse than you deserve.  Zophar is not just being mean.  His words are a conclusion from what he has heard from Job.  But Job is outraged and answers sarcastically:  No doubt you three have cornered the market on wisdom; when you die wisdom will die with you (12:2).  But the fact is, I know as much as you do, and in fact you are just speaking commonplaces that even the lower animals could teach (7–12).  He has no use for these “friends,” who are “physicians of no value” (13:4) whose best chance to show wisdom would be to shut their mouths (5).  He threatens the friends (6–12).  They have shown partiality toward God in this case, and God will not let them get away with it (8–11).  That is an important expression of faith.  Job has no use for these foolish friends, but has confidence in divine justice.  God would not take partiality lightly, even if shown toward himself.

So Job brushes the friends aside, but not God!  In fact he wanted to take his case before God, confident that he would get justice if he could (13–19).  Ch. 14 is a low point in Job’s trial.  He complains about man’s sad lot in life.  He does not even have the hope of a tree, which might sprout again after being chopped down.  But not man.  He dies and that is all there is to it.  But he has no more reached that depth of despair than he begins to climb out of it, expressing the wish that it might be otherwise:  If only God would keep a man in Sheol till his wrath was past and then at some future time remember him and set things right (13–15).  At verse 14a it is as though Job suddenly realized what he was saying:  “If a man die, shall he live?”  If only!

Second Round (Job 15–21)

If God was the subject of Round One, man is the subject of the second round, and especially the sinful man and what is known about the end he faces.  All of these speeches about the destiny of the wicked man are intended as a warning against Job.  After Job’s answers in Round One, the friends thought this is what he needed to hear, and each of them does his best.  See Thinking Through Job for the details, and also for Job’s answers.

“Miserable comforters are ye all,” Job answers (16:2).  I could do better, were our positions reversed.  There seemed to be no way to shut them up, so he challenges them:  Come on again with these stupid speeches “and I shall not find a wise man among you” (17:10).  Job continues to complain at the treatment he is receiving from God.  It was not fair.  He knew himself to be a good man, but was being treated as one would expect a sinful man to be treated.  So it gave the friends plausible reason for treating him as a sinful man.

Job continues to express some hopelessness in this round, but he tries desperately to hold on to his faith in God.  See 16:18–17:5; 19:23–29 for good illustrations of the latter.  Job finally tells the friends:  I know what you are doing.  You speak of the destiny of the wicked man, but you are really talking about me (21:27–34).  His answer to their points about the bad end of a wicked man is a challenge:  It is not always true that they end up as you contend (21:17–34).  So how are these speeches supposed to provide any comfort?  They are full of lies (21:34).  

Third Round of Speeches (Job 22–28)

The friends are left with only one option, and that was to directly accuse Job of being guilty of great sins.  Eliphaz starts it (ch. 22).  He thinks he can even enumerate the sins of which Job was guilty (1–11).  But he is only guessing.  He has no knowledge of any real guilt on Job’s part.  But the points enumerated are common sins of a rich and powerful man.  He has not been able to wring a confession out of Job, but only expressions of outrage.  So he thinks Job must be guilty of great sins, and that the ones listed are probably the sins he is guilty of.

Have you ever been treated like that?  Have you ever had someone make accusations against you without evidence, but simply on the ground of assumption and guesswork, perhaps hearsay?  If you have, then you will understand Job’s outrage, and you will also be able to draw some comfort from this part of the book of Job.

Job continues to protest his innocence, to complain of unfair treatment, and to wish for an opportunity to go before God and make his case (chs. 23–24).  In ch. 24 he sets forth the need for a day in which cases could be heard and decided, for the wicked often seem to escape any justice.  Thus he deplores the absence of moral government in the world.  It is a low point for Job’s faith.

Bildad’s last speech (ch. 25) is short, with nothing new added.  Zophar does not even come forth for a last speech.  Plainly, there is nothing more to say.  The friends have done their best, but have not been able to convict Job.  So Job answers Bildad (ch. 26), but when Zophar does not come forth, Job simply continues (ch. 27).  Job’s words in Ch. 27 sound like something the friends might have said about a wicked man.  But the fact is, Job held the same view they did, but was puzzled that the destiny one might expect to see for a wicked man was not always realized.  So that brings us to Chapter 28.

Job’s Evaluation of the Debate (Job 28)

I think that is the way Job 28 should be explained.  It is Job’s assessment of the debate.  Man has been able to dig into the depths of the earth and to bring forth every kind of precious metal and stone (1–11).  But he has not been able to attain to wisdom (12–22).  Only God, who planned and created the universe, knows the way to wisdom; but as for man, the only wisdom accessible to him is a moral wisdom, the right way to live (23–23).  He will have to be content with that.

Good students of Job will realize that my analysis of the speeches is incomplete.  You will have to buy my book to get the rest.  I wanted only in this blog to indicate something about the structure of the book, and perhaps to create an appetite for the full meal.  Another blog or two will discuss the twofold resolution of the problem of Job.

Job: The Great Experiment

A historical prologue (chs. 1–3) raises the key issues of the book, especially in the challenge issued by Satan. The book begins with a description of Job. He was not only a very wealthy man, “the greatest of all the children of the east” (1:3), but a very pious man to boot. According to Jehovah’s own testimony he was the best man on earth; “there is none like him in the earth” (1:8). But Satan challenged Jehovah’s description. He only serves you because you pay him to do it. Take away his possessions and he will turn on you (1:9–12). It is a challenge to Job’s piety. Job only serves God for the reward, says Satan; so it is not genuine piety, but actually a serving of self. Even the best man on earth only serves God for the reward. So Satan seems to doubt that genuine piety exists on earth.

But it was not only a challenge of Job’s piety; it was an insult to God. Even the best man on earth will not serve you unless you pay him to do it. “So the experiment will test whether God is worthy of service for his own sake. Is God so great that a person ought to worship and serve him even though it may not be profitable to himself. This book does not deal with the answer ‘everyman’ might give to this question, but it does disclose the answer that comes from the best man on earth” (from Thinking Through Job).

So the test is permitted and the accumulation of a lifetime is stripped away all in one day and Job learns about it all in a single hour. But Job does not turn on God, and to this point he would certainly hold that Jehovah is worthy of worship without regard to any advantage or profit to himself. But the trial was not over.

“A man might serve God for the reward. When the reward is taken away, will he then serve God? Job has met this test. One might assume that the genuineness of his piety has been established beyond question. But another reason a man might serve God is out of fear of what God might do to him if he does not. But let him be struck such a blow that he feels nothing more could be done—i. e., that even death or hell could be no worse. Will he then serve God? In that case piety is stripped down to its bare essence, with no possibility of ulterior motives left to becloud the issue. If man then serves God it will be simply and solely because God is God, i. e., out of a genuine reverence for God, an acknowledgment of who God is” (Thinking Through Job).

That is the point that is tested in the second stage of this great experiment. When the reward was taken away and now when such a blow has been struck that nothing worse could be done, Job still holds on to God.

But the patience of Job which James puts before us as a model (5:11) does not consist of total sinlessness. In fact Job committed some terrible sins against God as the debate with the friends goes on. The trial has exposed some weaknesses or defects in the piety of Job, and once these things had been exposed they could be dealt with and Job would end up an even better man at the end than he had been at the beginning. That explains why Jehovah permitted Satan to bring this terrible trial upon Job. It was not that he could not take Satan’s taunts and had to prove that he was right. Satan had an evil purpose, but Jehovah had a purpose of his own in allowing the trials, a merciful purpose that would work for Job’s good.

But what about the other point, the insult to Jehovah that was involved in Satan’s challenge? Job would commit some grievous sins against Jehovah, and would have to be humbled and to repent at the end, but he would never abandon God. He would lose confidence in the friends, but not in God. Through it all his faith would grow and he would continue to trust God finally to do right. God being who he is, Job knew that he could trust God finally to do the right thing by him.

At the end, and even before his restoration, Job continued to hold to this trust in Jehovah. In the event he proved Satan to be a liar and a slanderer, and the best man on earth gave his testimony to the glory of God; his testimony was that Jehovah God was worthy to be worshipped and served without regard to any reward, and even if he were afflicted so much that he felt it could not be worse. So this book will finally show us that we may have our greatest opportunity to give glory to God when we suffer, for we give testimony that God is worthy of trust and worship, regardless of any consideration of rewards and punishments.

Get Thinking Through Job for the full elaboration of these themes, and much more besides.

1/2 Price Sale on Thinking Through the Bible Series!

I have been writing expositions of Scripture for so long some people tell me they used to read the writings of my father. Nope! It’s just me. I’m getting that old, I’m afraid. My latest publications have been an attempt at fuller expositions of books of the Bible, hoping to encourage more accuracy in the reading of Scripture. All my work is based on two fundamental principles found in Second Timothy 3:16–17: the sufficiency of Scripture and the value of all Scripture. The series of books I have been working on for some years now is a Thinking Through the Bible Series, e. g. Thinking Through John, Thinking Through Acts, etc. (See all the titles below.) These have all been published by my son Rick and me. DeWard Publishing Company now has undertaken the task of bringing the series to completion. DeWard has done a nice reprint of my Thinking Through Jeremiah, and expects to release Thinking Through Job, one of my favorites, in the fall.

Samples from the Series
If you have not read any of the books you can find a fair sampling in my exposition of Ephesians 1:3–14, the great passage about all that God has done in Christ for the salvation of mankind. Or you can read my comments on Acts 15, the chapter that deals with the conference in Jerusalem, when the unity of the fledgling church was in peril; or preview Lesson 1 of Thinking Through Revelation, which includes a common sense scaffolding for understanding the whole book. But I don’t know where to stop. I especially wish you would take a look at my work on the Epistles of John, in which I have tried very hard over the years to trace the course of thought.

Regular Prices Reduced + Half Price Sale to Boot!
In urgent need of capital in order to continue working, I have decided to reduce the regular prices of most of the Thinking Through the Bible Series. In addition, a half-price inventory reduction sale is in effect from now until October 31. Every book (except Thinking Through Jeremiah) can be purchased for $6.47 or $4.47! It is a great time to buy class sets for Bible classes or to complete the set for your personal library. Follow this link to see all the prices.

Your purchases will be a major contribution toward my ministry. (Other than Social Security, book sales are my only “pension” after a lifetime of gospel preaching.) But I am also in hope my books will be an important help for many students in the direction of greater accuracy in the reading and study of Scripture. I teach the various books, but at the same time try to illustrate proper methodology in the study of Scripture. You can learn more about my books at the Thinking Through the Bible website.

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Books in the Thinking Through the Bible Series

New! Thinking Through Jeremiah

Thinking Through John

Thinking Through Acts

Thinking Through Romans

Thinking Through Second Corinthians

Thinking Through Ephesians & Colossians

Thinking Through Philippians

Thinking Through John’s Epistles

Thinking Through Revelation

Coming Soon! Thinking Through Job

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What’s New?
Thinking Through Jeremiah is my latest book (put out by a new publisher DeWard Publishing – www.dewardpublishing.com). The manuscript for Thinking Through Job is in the hands of DeWard and should be coming out this fall. Watch the website for more information.


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L. A. Mott
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