God has given us a great gift through Christ Jesus. He has forgiven us and declared us righteous and holy. He now blesses us by calling us to serve Him in the lives of those around us.
Preaching James 2 can be worrisome for a preacher who imagines James needs to be corrected or ignored, because of the seeming contradiction between Paul’s clarion call of justification by faith and James’ assertion that Abraham was, in fact, justified by works. In reality, faith works together (συνήργει!) with works (James 2:22) in these verses, even employing the same proof text Paul uses (James 2:23; Romans 4:3; Genesis 15:6) to punctuate the argument our pericope introduces.
For the anxious preacher, there is good news, and serendipitous tidings at that: Faith drives out fear (Psalm 118:6, among others), and “faith” is exactly what James is playing with in chapter two. His nuanced argument aims to correct the foolish notion of his immediate hearers; that faith is equivalent to knowledge or intellectual assent (see James 2:19). Instead, they may live out their faith as wise believers (James 1:6, 21-22, 26) whose actions, behaviors, habits, and attitudes reveal true faith, which is a gift given by the giver, God (James 1:17; the keynote of the entire epistle).
Given the predominance in the minds of many of the faith-works duality (or faith-works polarity), it may be tempting for the preacher to offer a doctrinal lecture from the pulpit. This ought to be avoided just as much as the temptation to exploit the opportunity of a Law-heavy text as an excuse to waste precious pulpit time haranguing their hearers about their own behavior. Let not a pericope with no explicit Jesus obscure the One whom your hearers need to hear, see, and have delivered to them! Rather, take care to ensure that “faith talk” is always Jesus talk, and “works talk” is similarly always Jesus talk as well. The best way to do that is to let Jesus do the talking. Therefore, a sermon on this epistle (as with most!) will do well to “import the Gospel” at strategic points, rather than rely on Reader’s Digest illustrations or other analogies to make James’ argument (James does plenty of that himself anyhow!). The best advice for delivering Jesus in a faith/works sermon is to deliver Him as the object of faith and the One who works (giving this primacy over the one “for whom” work is done!).
Take care to ensure that “faith talk” is always Jesus talk, and “works talk” is similarly always Jesus talk as well.
The following is one way forward with a “faith/works” sermon that strives to deliver the Jesus who is the object of both our faith and our works:
“Deeds, not creeds!” We hear this from people of certain Christian faith traditions, usually as an attack against practices or traditions which seem at odds with our Lord’s call to serve the neighbor. This is sometimes an unwarranted attack against historic Catholic ritual or occasionally as appropriately leveled criticism of Pharisaical sorts whose anxieties about purity, identity, and allegiance to tradition blind them to the intersection of faith and practical life. Do not think, though, that this word from James is saying this, nor that the opposite mistake (“creeds, not deeds!”) would be a salutary corrective.
James equally condemns both the attitude that says, “So long as one’s teaching, one’s doctrine, the object of one’s confidence is pure and in the right place, there is no need for charity,” and on the other hand the attitude that says something just as ridiculous: “So long as I do good, moral things, then it does not matter what I believe.” James argues one cannot have right faith without the response of right works, nor can one do good works without faith. These are two great tastes that taste great together, like peanut butter in my chocolate and chocolate in my peanut butter. The thing is, when you pull that apart, you end up with a mess. It is the same with faith and works, creeds and deeds, but they are more organically linked than peanut butter and chocolate ever were. Pull apart your peanut butter cup, and you will have to mop up the mess. Pull apart faith and works, and you have a mess on your hands of hellish proportions. It will damn you, make no mistake, this resting easy on stinginess, being miserly, feeling self-justified in not lifting the finger you ought, and all because you surmise you will get away with it because of what you think you know about Jesus. Relying on all the work you do, all the chips you have stacked up, all the favor you have saved because your mouth is so careful with what it says, your eyes so careful with what they look at, and your hand so careful to pat yourself on the back with the easy comfort that God will not zap you if you resist temptation just a little bit more and put on some more holiness today is dangerous, make no mistake about it. This is because our God is not a God of the transaction. He is the God of the Universe and will not stoop to a bargain invented by your brain.
No, no haggling with this God, no bartering on our good works and deeds, because He is clear, deeds spring from faith to the point that the one who does good works is, in fact, entirely unaware she is doing them. If you do not believe me, then perhaps the words of Jesus might lay this out a little more plainly. Blessed are you, beloved of my father, enter the Kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world, I was hungry, and you fed me, and the rest (refer to Matthew 25:34ff). When did we do these things, Lord? Completely ignorant of the fact, as oblivious as the garden that grew my tomatoes and peppers this year, as unconscious as the infant who grows without trying to, as automatic as the involuntary work of the nerves and muscles that govern your respiration. You do not have to think about breathing. In fact, the only time you do think about it is when there is something wrong with it. Saints do not think about their works, because they come naturally, and are credited to them by the Lord who works in them and through them as moms and sons and daughters and dads and princes and priests and friends and students and plumbers and farmers and every other vocation He calls you to. And if you do have to think about these things, like James’ congregation, it is a good clue that it is a symptom of something going wonky with one or the other, and Doctor James is putting his surgical knife on his hearers’ faith.
Note how “authenticity” or “genuineness” is not at issue here in James chapter two. As God delivers His Word to your ears today, He is not cutting and killing and raising to life again via some definition of “real Christian” or “genuine brother” or “authentic follower,” as if pitting one kind of Christian against another. In fact, James is aiming precisely at prejudice and discrimination in his congregation! Rather, He is after a definition of faith which is comprehensive and distinct from the nuance of heretics on both sides of the truth. He wants them to be saved, not successful; to be saved, not comfortable; to be saved, not polite; to be saved.
Ever notice that doing the opposite of a mistake does not necessarily land you on the side of doing right? It might mean making the same mistake in the opposite way.
That is how it is here. Faith. No, works! No, creeds! No, deeds! As if there is a better side to fall down on. What is the Church then? Is it to be a soup kitchen, filling the bellies and fulfilling the material needs of the broken world in which we live? Christ’s arms, feet, and hands of mercy healing, helping, and reaching out to the least, the last, and the lost? Or is it to be a bastion of truth, a bulwark of right teaching, a fortress unshakeable, built on the rock of orthodox faith?
We will make a mess if we pull these apart, not just of peanut butter and chocolate, but of Heaven and Hell. And James called his rich congregation to task for doing just that. It is human nature to brag, boast, and even employ the humble-brag, the virtue-signal, hoping people will see things you are proud of and hoping it will stroke your ego, hoping that will justify you and glorify you, especially in front of others! And it is also human nature to want to justify yourself when you do not think you can measure up to others around you. James dealt with just these kinds of sinners. I know what it is like because I look in the mirror. And I know what it is like because I am also called to preach God’s Word to a sinner like you who has the same problem.
Are you aware of your good deeds? Comfortable with your mercy? Feeling satisfied with the level of commitment in your service to your neighbor? Can you say honestly that you gave at the office? Are you justified before men? Generally held to be an honest, upright, righteous citizen? Whether you are a self-satisfied sinner who says her deeds no longer matter in light of her faith, or a self-satisfied sinner who says God is pleased with her deeds, whichever ditch you end up on in this, to this kind of hubris and self-justification the Lord has one answer: “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41).
This is the goal to which James drives in the following verse as he brings up the intellectual assent and confidence of demons, which is like saying I believe in butterflies because I see butterflies exist but is certainly not saving faith. The difference between a living faith and a dead faith is not the believing subject, but the object of faith, and the deliverer of the gift of faith: God who implants the Word of truth (1:21) which bears fruit in action (refer to 1:22–27).
The difference between a living faith and a dead faith is not the believing subject, but the object of faith, and the deliverer of the gift of faith: God who implants the Word of truth which bears fruit in action.
In other words, the difference between a living faith and a dead one is not YOU, and how much YOU can bring to the table. The difference between a living faith and a dead one is JESUS. He is the one to trust. He is the one who gives the gifts. He is the one who bears the fruit. He is the one who works. And He knows a thing or two about living and dying, about life and death.
How does Jesus work? This is the opportunity to see gospel in action historically. In other words, salvation history from incarnation to crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and return, as well as practically with a great occasion to talk Sacraments and mutual consolation. Particular attention should be paid to James 2:5-7; a “Theology of the Cross” rant that Martin Luther approaches being worthy of at the “Heidelberg Disputation.”
Jesus is the One who knows a thing or two about death and life. James says faith without works is dead and compares it to a breathless body. A body that is not breathing is simply a corpse, and deed-less faith is the same. It is interesting how the parallelism of the analogy would argue for “body is to faith, as breath is to deeds.” But you can see a body, while we think of faith as invisible. On the other hand, we assume we can see deeds, but not breath. One would think James has the analogy backwards. But the point about faith and deeds is much more than just the difference between visible and invisible, much different even than the distinction between material and spiritual.
In the end, James demands his reader to look at the evidence of Scripture, of history, of experience, and realize faith is no mere acceptance of certain facts, but, rather, reception of gifts. It is a reception which changes everything about how they think, speak, and act. Faith is not a theology lesson. Faith is a gospel “for-you!” and the “for-you” blesses you primarily by taking the spotlight off yourself and putting it on the giver of the gift instead, our giver-God in Christ. It shifts the focus away from our faith and puts it on faith’s object: Jesus Christ. It moves the interest and scrutiny away from your works and invites trust in the works of Christ on your behalf. It is Jesus’ work in death and resurrection for you. Christ is the object of faith. Christ is the One who gives. Christ is the giver-God. How can His gifts not inspire true faith and its response, an inseparable life of receiving and giving in turn, serving God and neighbor in reply to what has been received? God has given us a great gift through Christ Jesus. He has forgiven us and declared us righteous and holy. He now blesses us by calling us to serve Him in the lives of those around us. A living faith leads us gladly to share with others what we have freely received in Christ.
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out 1517’s resources on James 2:1-10, 14-18.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you preaching James 2:1-10, 14-18.
Text Week-A treasury of resources from various traditions to help you preach James 2:1-10, 14-18.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
