James: A Letter from Jesus’ Brother
How Works Justify – James 2:20-26
Let’s turn to James 2. If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand and we’ll bring one to you. James 2 is on page 1012 in the Bibles we are passing out. This morning we’re going to focus on James 2:20-26.
But before we read the passage, I want to tell you about Martin Luther. Martin Luther was a monk in Germany in the early 1500’s. Luther knew that he was not trusting and loving God as God deserved, he knew he had rebelled against God, he knew he faced God’s judgment. And he was deeply concerned about how he could avoid God’s judgment and come into God’s love and favor.
So he fasted and prayed and confessed and went to church and tried to be good – but he had no sense that he had been forgiven by God and that he had come into God’s love and favor.
But God loved Martin Luther. And so God worked it out so Martin Luther ended up teaching the book of Romans to seminary students. So Luther started studying Romans, and was blown away by verses like Romans 3:28—
For we hold that one is justified [counted as perfectly righteous] by faith apart from works of the law.
This blew him away, because it meant that it was by faith in Jesus alone that he would be justified – that he would be forgiven by God and come into God’s love and favor.
So Luther stopped trusting his religious activity, and trusted Jesus – and he felt God’s forgiveness, he felt God’s love and favor – he knew he was saved from God’s judgment. And as a result, Martin Luther ended up writing the 95 Theses, posting them on the door of the church in Wittenberg, and the Protestant Reformation began.
But when Luther read the book of James, especially verses like James 2:24 – he was troubled. Look at James 2:24 --
You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
This troubled Luther. It sounded to him like James 2 contradicted what Paul wrote in Romans 3. So here’s what he concluded:
“James’ epistle is really an epistle of straw compared to them [Romans and other New Testament books], for it lacks this evangelical character."
But this morning I want to show you that what Paul says in Romans 3 does not contradict what James says in James 2. Let’s read the whole section from James, and then we’ll dig in --
20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?
22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works;
23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness" -- and he was called a friend of God.
24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
So James says we are justified by works. Now when James talks about works, he’s talking about love for Jesus, obedience to Jesus, love for others. And James says we are justified by these works. But in Rom 3:28 Paul says that we are not justified by works – but by faith. So what’s going on?
To figure this out we have to understand that the word “justify” has two very different meanings in the New Testament. The same word can have very different meanings. Take the word “bark,” for instance. How many think “bark” is the sound a dog makes? How many think it’s the outside of a tree? So the same word can have very different meanings.
In the same way, the word “justify” has two very different meanings. Sometimes “justify” means “to count someone as perfectly righteous.” But at other times it means “to show that someone is already counted as perfectly righteous.”
And it’s crucial that we see the difference. See, the crucial question we all have to answer is – how can I as a sinner come to be on good terms with God? God is perfect – flawless in His goodness to us and overflowing in His love to us. And because He is perfect I can only be welcomed by Him if I have perfect trust in Him and passionate love for Him. But none of us does, and so all of us face God’s judgment. So how can any of us to be welcomed by Him, loved by Him, and avoid his judgment?
It’s not by trying to be good enough, going to church, doing religious activity – for two reasons. One is that I’ve already rebelled against God – so even if I could perfectly love God the rest of my life, my past rebellion still calls for God’s judgment. And the second reason is that no matter how hard I try, because of my sinfulness I can’t perfectly love and obey God. So how can we be welcomed by God, loved by God, and avoid His judgment?
There’s only one way. Through Jesus. Jesus came and lived a life of perfect trust in the Father, passionate love for the Father. So Jesus’ life was a life of perfect moral righteousness, and Jesus’ death was a sufficient punishment for all the sins of the world.
And when we turn and trust ourselves to Jesus as Lord, Savior, and Treasure – all our sins are punished in Jesus’ death, and God gives us Jesus’ perfect righteousness as a gift. We are “justified” – counted as perfectly righteous. At that point, for the first time, we feel God’s love for us, our hearts are fully satisfied in knowing Him, we are saved from God’s judgment.
And this happens by faith alone in Christ alone. Not by works. We can never obey enough to be perfectly righteous.
But how can I tell if my faith is genuine? It’s crucial that my faith be genuine, or I won’t avoid God’s judgment and be welcomed and loved by God. So how can I tell if my faith is genuine?
That’s the question James is dealing with in this passage. When James uses the word “justify” he’s not talking about how we are counted as perfectly righteous. He’s talking about how we show that our faith is genuine, which shows that we have already been counted as perfectly righteous. So – how do we show that? By works. By our love for Jesus and obedience to Jesus. Not perfect love and obedience. But growing love for Jesus – so mostly we love Him more than anything. And growing obedience – so that mostly we obey Him – and when we don’t – we repent and fight against the sin.
So what James is focusing on in this passage is how our faith is shown as genuine – by works. But James also tells us how we can be counted as perfectly righteous.
James teaches that, like Abraham, we are counted as perfectly righteous by faith alone. Abraham had turned his back on God, and rebelled against God. Abraham faced God’s judgment. So how could he become perfectly righteous before God?
James tells us in v.23, where James quotes Genesis 15:6 –
… and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness" -- and he was called a friend of God.
So the moment Abraham turned and trusted God as His Savior, Lord, and Treasure – God looked ahead to see what Jesus would do on the Cross, to see Jesus’ perfect righteousness, and God counted Abraham’s faith as Jesus’ perfect righteousness.
It was not Abraham’s works that God counted as perfect righteousness, but Abraham’s faith. And through this, James wants to teach us that like Abraham, we are counted as perfectly righteous by faith alone.
Now this is a crucial truth that we need to learn how to use, both with ourselves, and with our brothers and sisters and people we are trying to help come to know Jesus.
Have you ever said something like – “I’m just too sinful to ever be accepted by God”? If it wasn’t for Jesus – that would be true. But because of Jesus, it’s not true. And no matter how sinful you have been, if you will turn to Jesus and trust yourself entirely to Him, you are immediately counted as perfectly righteous before God.
Or have you ever sinned, and then thought – “I need to make up for that sin before I can turn to God”? The truth is – you can never make up for your sin. Only Jesus can make up for your sin. So, if you have sinned, don’t try to make up for it before you turn to Jesus – turn to Jesus and trust Him. And when you do that, you are immediately restored.
So James teaches that, like Abraham, we are counted as perfectly righteous by faith alone.
And James also teaches that like Abraham and Rahab, our works show that our faith is genuine, which shows that we have already been counted as perfectly righteous.
James mentions Abraham in v.21 –
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?
Now remember, here “justified” does not mean how we counted as perfectly righteous. Here, “justified” means how we show that our faith is genuine, which would mean we already have been counted as perfectly righteous. So how are we counted as perfectly righteous? By faith alone in Christ alone. How do we show that we have the faith which has already been counted as perfectly righteous? By works.
Here’s what happened: God had poured His love upon Abraham. Again and again and again God provided for Abraham, led Abraham, protected Abraham, forgiven Abraham, satisfied Abraham. God had never failed Abraham. And God had promised Abraham a son by Sarah, and Sarah had given birth to Isaac.
But then one day God said to Abraham: “Abraham, I’ve told you that through Isaac all the people groups of the earth would come to know Me. But now I am calling you to do something very difficult; I’m calling you to kill Isaac. Take him up to the mountain, and kill him and offer him as a burnt offering.”
And at this point Abraham’s response will show whether he is really trusting God or not. If he really trusts God, what will he do? He’ll move ahead with the plan. If he decided not to move ahead with the plan – what will that show? That’s he’s not really trusting God. And what did Abraham do? He obeyed. And showed that his faith was genuine.
But as he lifted the knife to kill Isaac, God stopped him. And God provided a goat for a burn offering. And Isaac and Abraham came back down the mountain.
But can you see how Abraham’s works – his obedience to God – shows that He was trusting God? And because they showed that he was trusting God – they show that he has already been counted as perfectly righteous before God.
And James also uses the example of Rahab, in v.25 –
And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
Rahab lived in Jericho. She heard what God had done in freeing Israel from Egypt, in parting the Red Sea, and in providing for them through the wilderness. She had heard about God, and she turned from her idols and trusted God. And the moment she turned and trusted God as her Savior, and Lord, and Treasure – because of what Jesus would do thousands of years in the future -- Rahab the prostitute was counted as perfectly righteous before God.
But how do we know her faith was genuine? How would she know her faith was genuine? By works. Rahab lived in the city of Jericho, and because of Jericho’s sinfulness, God had condemned the city to destruction, and God sent spies to check out the city. They came and stayed in Rahab’s house while they did their reconnaissance. And when the king found out, he commanded Rahab to turn the spies over to him.
So at this point Rahab’s response will show if her trust in God is genuine. If she obeys God and frees the spies, that would show that her trust in God is genuine. If she disobeys God and turns over the spies, that would show that her trust in God is not genuine. What did she do? She obeyed God.
So James is teaching us that like Abraham and Rahab, our works show that our faith is genuine, and that because of this faith, we have already been counted as perfectly righteous before God.
Now don’t misunderstand. It’s not perfect works – perfect obedience -- that’s required to show this. None of us has perfect works or obedience. But what shows genuine faith is growing obedience; and when we stumble, it’s repentant obedience. Growing and repentant obedience shows that our faith is genuine.
So let’s apply this to our lives. What do we do when we see an area of disobedience in our lives? We can’t just blow it off: “I’m saved. I’m fine.” NO. We need to understand that disobedience shows there’s a problem with my faith – and that’s serious. So alarm bells should start going off.
But what should we do? Not grit our teeth and try to use will-power to produce works. Remember – where do works come from? From faith. So we need to turn to fully trust Jesus. And as we will do that, Jesus will change our hearts and the works, the obedience, will flow.
So, for example, Friday afternoon I was very worried about something. And Jesus commands us not to worry. And I know that this worry was a lack of the works, a lack of the obedience, that Jesus commands. So I could tell that my faith in Jesus was lacking.
So I didn’t grit my teeth to change my heart. I didn’t just turn on the television to distract myself. I realized that my lack of works showed that I was not fully trusting Jesus.
So as soon as I could, I turned my heart to trust Jesus. I opened by Bible to Psa 86:4-5 and asked Jesus to meet me in His word. And as I did that He started to change my heart. I started seeing Him more clearly. I saw my problems from the perspective of who He is. And my heart started changing. He gave me peace. He gave me comfort.
So if you have a friend you’re trying to help come to know Jesus, and they say – but there’s contradictions in the Bible. Paul says we’re justified by faith, James says we’re justified by works – explain that Paul and James use the word justify to mean two different things – and then go ahead and share the gospel.
And when you come to the place where you feel you are too sinful to be loved by God, or that you have sinned too much to come back to God – remember that it’s by faith alone in Christ alone that we are counted as perfectly righteous. So don’t try to earn your way back to God by works. Turn and trust Jesus – you will immediately be assured of His gift of righteousness, you will feel His love, and He will start to change your heart and free you from sin.
And when you find that you are without works, you are sinning, this shows there’s a problem in your faith. So don’t grit your teeth and try to obey on your own. Remember that works come from faith. So turn to Jesus, set your heart on Him, trust Him, ask Him for help. He will strengthen your faith, He will change your heart, and you will find your obedience growing.
Questions?