Sermon & Translation by Nate Wilson for Christ the Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 7 May 2023
In the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul argued that “...a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.” (Rom. 3:28, NKJV, cf. Rom. 4:6)
But in the passage we’re going to look at today, the Apostle James argues that we are justified by works and not by faith alone.
This has produced many debates among Christians.
Which apostle is correct? Was the 16th century reformer Martin Luther justified in denouncing the book of James as “an epistle of straw”?
Or was the 20th century Anglican bishop N.T. Wright justified in claiming that Romans isn’t against earning salvation with good works, but is merely a diatribe against Pharisaism?
I hope you have seen already that the apostles – James as well as Paul – preached salvation by faith in Jesus, and, while they (as well as Jesus) taught that God’s requirement for being right was to obey every law of God perfectly, none of them suggested that it was possible for a human – other than Jesus – to actually do it. That’s why they all call us to repent and believe in Jesus so that Jesus, who was perfect in His good works, can make us right with God. And that is Paul’s point in Romans.
But James offers a further application: that faith in Jesus and good works of obedience to Him always go hand-in-hand, such that anyone who doesn’t have both needs to be instructed in what true Christianity is. That’s James’ point.
Read my translation of the passage, starting at v.17:
Even
so the faith, if it doesn’t happen to have works, is dead by
itself. However, someone is going to say, “As for you, you have
faith, but as for me, I have works; show me your faith apart from
your works, and as for me, I will show you my faith from my works.”
You yourself believe that God is one; You do well. The demons also
believe and shudder. But, you want to know something, O empty man?
The faith without the works is dead! Wasn’t it from works that
Abraham our forefather was justified after offering up Isaac his son
upon the altar? You see that the faith was working together with his
works, and from the works the faith was matured,
and the scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed
in God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was
called a friend of God. Y’all see that it is from works that a man
is being justified and not from faith alone. And, in a similar way,
wasn’t it also from works that Rahab the prostitute was justified
after showing hospitality to the messengers and dispatching them by
a different way? For just as the body without a spirit is dead, so
also the faith without the works is dead.
In the previous section of chapter 2, James played out a situation in which a person claimed to have faith but had no actions consistent with an understanding of the mercy of Jesus in the Gospel, and he concluded in v.17, “Even so, the faith, if it doesn’t happen to have works, is dead by itself.”
Next, he flips it the other way around. What if they are nice person who does nice things? Do they need the whole faith-in-Jesus bit? The “you” and the “me” in the Greek of v.18 are emphatic, drawing a strong contrast: “As for you, you have faith, but as for me, I have works…” Is that good enough? Can the works of Christianity and the faith of Christianity be separated?
This is still a live debate. Here in our town, there are currently two church pastor associations, one which focuses on doing good works, and one which focuses on prayers of faith. I’ve checked both of them out.
The one that focuses on good works is mostly composed of pastors of older mainline denominations (as well as some cult groups) which do not see the Bible as their sole authority, nor do they see sin as the main problem with mankind, and some of them don’t even believe that Jesus is God or that He died to pay for our sin, but they are doing great works for the poor and needy in our town – they really are.
The other group is mostly composed of evangelical, Bible-believing pastors, and they mostly talk about reaching the city with the good news of faith in Jesus and salvation from sin, but they seldom speak of practically meeting the needs of the poor.
(Of course, I am painting in broad, general strokes, and many of our churches are not actually on either extreme, but I still think it is fair to characterize the two pastor associations in our town in a general way by saying that one emphasizes true faith while the other emphasizes good works.)
So, is God o.k. with that? James says, No...
I guess James had an opinion on this!
James indicates that his audience, like all good Jews, believes in the existence of only one true God. Deut. 6:4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!
And that is “well” and good. That’s a step in the right direction. But simply being monotheistic isn’t Christianity.
James points out that even the demons have that level of belief.
In Matt. 8:29 , demons acknowledged Jesus to be the Son of God, saying, “What is there between us and you, Son of God? Did you come here before appointed time to make us suffer?” (NAW) They “shudder” at this!
In Mark 1:24 they said "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are the Holy One of God!" (NKJV)
And in Acts 16:17, a girl, under the inspiration of a demon proclaimed of Paul and Silas, "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation."
So, yes, demons know who Jesus is and what He did to save us, but that is not enough to make them right with God. Jesus said that demons will not end up in heaven, but rather “in the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41, NAW, cf. 2 Pet. 2:4) - Revelation 20:10 calls it “the lake of fire.”
John Owen commented, “Obedient faith is that which saves, and not merely that which makes us tremble.”
And Matthew Henry, “To rehearse that article of our creed, therefore, ‘I believe in God the Father Almighty,’ will not distinguish us from devils at last, unless we now give up ourselves to God as the gospel directs, and love him, and delight ourselves in him, and serve him, which the devils do not, cannot do.”
By the way, James takes for granted that these supernatural creatures exist and that they are in rebellion to the one true God. Demons have a kind of faith, or at least a knowledge of God, but they do not have a lifestyle of trust in God or obedience to Him.
Note that James is not saying that knowledge about Jesus is not important; he says that’s actually a good thing. He is just making the point that there is more to Christianity than knowing things about Jesus. Christianity pairs the knowledge of the truth with a lifestyle that flows out of that knowledge.
In fact, James says in...
James’ immediate audience was Jewish, descended from Abraham and Isaac, and what good Jew wouldn’t want to be like Abraham? So James picks up on two passages in Genesis which explicitly tell us that Abraham was right with God, and he traces what it was in Abraham that made him right with God.
First James summarizes the story in Gen. 22:1-18 “Now it came to pass... that God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then He said, ‘Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.’ ... Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son... But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham! ... Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.... because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son-- blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." (NKJV)
“God... put to the test of demonstration the reality of his faith, not for the satisfaction of God, who already knew it well, but to demonstrate it before men… he was justified previously on his simply believing in the promise of spiritual heirs, that is, believers, numerous as the stars... that justification was showed or manifested by his offering Isaac forty years after.” ~A.R. Faussett
James notes that is was AFTER Abraham obeyed God by setting up to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice to God that God said, “I know you are a god-fearer.”
Also note God’s words in Genesis 22:16, “because you have done this thing,” I will fulfill my promises to give you many descendants and the promised land.
Are there any things that God might be waiting for you to do before you see the fulfillment of His promises?
The second passage about Abraham which James cites1 is in Genesis 15:6, where the scriptures authoritatively inform us that back before Abraham had had a child, when God promised Abraham that he would have as many descendants as there were stars in the sky, “He [Abraham] believed in the LORD, and He [God] accounted it to him for righteousness.” (NKJV)
The Greek word ἐλογίσθη translated “accounted/reckoned/imputed/credited” is the root from which we get the English word “logic;” it implies a reasoned process of thought by which God made the determination that Abraham was righteous.
It was this scripture which was “fulfilled,” says James, 40 years later in Genesis 22 when God’s promise was fulfilled in the birth of Isaac and Abraham’s faith was fulfilled in his act of obedience to God to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice, believing (as Hebrews 11:19 informs us later) that God would raise Isaac from the dead.
Abraham had already grown in faith to believe that God would give him a natural-born child when Sarah was 90 and Abraham was even older than that. Abraham saw God’s word come to pass, and his faith had grown from that.
But that faith wasn’t much better than the Prosperity Gospel. God wanted to take Abraham’s faith a step further to understand the substitute sacrifice of the Son of God for the sons of men, and the resurrection of the dead, so God stretched Abraham’s faith some more in this exercise on Mt. Moriah, and Abraham’s faith grew even more as he cooperated in obedience to God.
v.22 says that “his faith was working together with his works, and from the works the faith was perfected…” It is when we step out in obedience to God in ways that require us to trust God in new ways that we’ve never had to trust Him before, that our faith becomes more mature – more complete.
When I was in my early 20’s, I embarked on a ministry that was faith-supported. I believed in the sovereignty of God, and I had read George Mueller’s biography, so I could give intellectual assent to the prospect that God would provide all my needs if I would trust Him for it, but it wasn’t until I started that ministry and began to live on whatever donations came in each month that I experienced it for myself, and God grew my faith in Him through that. But God didn’t stop there. When I was in my 30’s, He put me in a position where, in order to remain in this faith-supported ministry, I and my family would have to endure homelessness and hunger and abandonment by friends. It truly seemed impossible, and yet, God provided breakthoughs and greater understanding of His ways.
It seems that God often works that way (and maybe moreso with those of us who are more hardheaded and foolish?) but, are you willing to go there and obey God if He calls you to do something that seems utterly impossible?
Notice what James has done: he has drawn from two instances in Abraham’s life, one where his faith was commended by God and one where his actions were commended by God. The point is that Abraham had both faith and works working together in relationship with God, and so he stands as an example to us to integrate our faith and our actions.
What if Abraham had responded to God by saying, “Hey God, I believe You exist and all. I have even talked with You, so I know You are real. And you have miraculously given me this son, just as You promised, even though it was physically impossible for me and Sarah to have a baby. But, I am not going to offer Isaac to You as a sacrifice. I’m just going to stay here and keep believing in You and receiving Your blessings, but don’t ask me to do anything.”
Do you think God would have kept blessing Abraham?
Would that even be a real relationship with God? He might could be called a “fan” of Yahweh, but not a “friend.”
Friends invest in each other, and that means more than lip service; it means actually doing things for each other.
Abraham was “Called a Friend of God”
It was stated in Exodus 33:11 that “...the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend…” and now we see that God counted Abraham a friend as well.
The only cross-reference2 I could come up with for the phrase “friend of God” was in the Apocryphal Book of the Wisdom of Solomon, which states that the wisdom of God “maketh all things new: and in all ages entering into holy souls, she maketh them friends of God, and prophets.” (Wisdom 7:27b, Brenton) James seems to have been familiar with Jewish wisdom literature, and here is a nugget which the Holy Spirit seems to affirm.
Although this exact phrase “friend of God” is not found elsewhere in canonical scripture, the idea is nevertheless implied in other parts of God’s word:
I suspect James got the idea from Genesis 22, since the next thing that happened after Abraham offered his son to God on the altar, was that God “called” to him by name, (“Abraham”) and affirmed that Abraham “feared God” and would be blessed in a covenant relationship with God, all of which would be along the lines of friendship.
Alternately, James could be referring to Isaiah 41:8 where a synonym to the word for “friend” occurs in reference to Abraham, "But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham, my loved one3.” (NAW) (That synonymous phrase is also in 2 Chron. 20:7.)
Later on in chapter 4, James picks back up on the “friend of God” idea by flipping it around and stating the converse: James 4:4 “... Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (NKJV)
Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:13-15, NKJV)
Are you a friend or an enemy of God?
In v.24, James re-states his thesis from v.17 that we have spiritual life and are made right, not by faith “alone/by itself” but by a faith that has actions in-keeping with that faith.
Once again, it is not “faith” that James is preaching against,
nor is it “salvation by faith alone instead of by works” that James is preaching against,
rather it is the kind of faith which has no works to accompany it, that James is preaching against.
If you were accused in court of being a Christian, how much evidence would the prosecuting attorney be able to gather to prove that you are a Christian?
“On the other hand, there may be [situations] ... where there is not an opportunity of showing [faith] by a series of good works... as in elect infants dying in infancy, and in those who are converted in their last moments, as the thief upon the cross; wherefore works are not infallible ... evidences of faith, yet they are the best we are capable of giving of it to men, or they of receiving.” ~John Gill
As kind-of a P.S. in v.25, James brings up the example of Rahab as a gentile woman approved by God who had both faith and works operating together.
Ladies, your faith and works are every bit as important to God as the faith and works of men. You can be just as much a “friend of God” as Abraham was!
And if you think your past is too checkered to be a “friend of God,” think again, because the Bible makes no bones about the fact that she was a prostitute – she committed adultery every day during that season of her life, and yet, when she placed her faith in the God of the Hebrews and acted on it, God redeemed her, and she repented of that lifestyle and God gave her a good husband and a godly son, and she became King David’s great-great grandmother! (Matt. 1:5)4
It is interesting that Rahab and Abraham also made it into the “hall of faith” in Hebrews 11, along with the other great Biblical men and women of faith. Now, here they are in James as outstanding examples of works! Once again, we should see that the Bible doesn’t pit faith and works against each other, Abraham and Rahab had both faith and works, and so should we, and that’s the point James is making.
Rahab’s story is in Joshua 2-6, “Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, ‘Go, view the land, especially Jericho.’ So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there. And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, ‘Behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country.’ So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, ‘Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country.’ Then the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, ‘Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them.’ (But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.) Then the men pursued them by the road to the Jordan, to the fords. And as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate. Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, and said to the men: ‘I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the LORD, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father's house, and give me a true token, and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.’ So the men answered her, ‘Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the LORD has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.’ Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall; she dwelt on the wall. And she said to them, ‘Get to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward you may go your way.’ (Joshua 2:1-16, NKJV)
James notes that it was only AFTER Rahab had taken these actions of allegiance to Israel’s God (instead of to the people and gods of Jericho) that God “justified” her. She was already convinced before the spies showed up at her house that, as she put it, “the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.” She had true faith, but it wasn’t until she acted in keeping with that faith to facilitate God’s will with God’s people that Joshua said in Joshua 6:17 "...Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent…”
So we read in Heb. 11:31 “With faith, Rahab the prostitute did not perish together with those [in Jericho] who were unpersuaded, since she received the spies with peace.” (NAW) Faith working together with her works resulting in life!
In v.26, James reiterates his thesis once again that faith without works is dead, illustrating it with an analogy to zoology: it’s like the body without the spirit is dead.
Now, if we were to say that James is pitting salvation by faith against salvation by works, we would have to say that James is also saying that he prefers ghosts over zombies, because ghosts have a spirit but not a body, whereas zombies have a body but no spirit. But obviously that’s not what he’s saying! He’s saying you aren’t really alive unless you have both a body and a spirit working together!
Eccl. 12:7 indicates that when you die, that is when the body and spirit separate, “Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it.”
And in the New Testament, martyrs died after dismissing their spirit to be with God:
Stephen said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” (Acts 7:59)
and Jesus said, "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit." (Luke 23:46) at which point they died.
James is saying that, in a similar way, you aren’t really right with God unless you have both faith in Jesus and a lifestyle of acting in accordance with faith in obedience to Christ. Neither can exist without the other.
“Faith is the root, good works are the fruits, and we must see to it that we have both. We must not think that either, without the other, will justify and save us. This is the grace of God wherein we stand, and we should stand to it.” ~Matthew Henry
Application questions:
Are you trusting Jesus to save you? If you aren’t, this is where you need to start.
If you are, then can the people around you tell that you are a Christian?
Are there any ways that your lifestyle contradicts your profession of Christian faith?
Finally, are there any things God has brought to your attention that you believe you need to do as a Christian but that you have been hesitant to do? Let me encourage you to step out in faith and do it!
Martin Luther, in the preface to his commentary on Romans, wrote, “O it is a living, busy, active, mighty thing, this faith. It is impossible for it not to be doing good things incessantly. It does not ask whether good works are to be done, but before the question is asked, it has already done – and is constantly doing them… an unbeliever gropes and looks around for faith and good works, but knows neither what faith is nor what good works are. Yet he talks and talks, with many words, about faith, and good works.” (as quoted in the Pillar Commentary by Douglass Moo on James)
“...let us neither love in word nor in talk, but rather in work and in truth.” (1 John 3:18, NAW)
“Thou fain wouldst know who is within this light
That here beside me thus is scintillating,
Even as a sunbeam in the limpid water.
Then know thou, that within there is at rest
Rahab, and being to our order joined,
With her in its supremest grade 'tis sealed.
· · · · · ·
First of Christ's Triumph was she taken up.
Full meet it was to leave her in some heaven,
Even as a palm of the high victory
Which he acquired with one palm and the other,
Because she favored the first glorious deed
Of Joshua upon the Holy Land.”
Using the King James Version With Strong’s Numbers by Rick Meyers. Greek prepositions in the New Testament text are in superscript next to their English counterpart, and noun forms of πιστος are asterisked. English prepositions related to “faith” which do not have a Greek superscript are interpreted from the Greek word for “faith” being in the dative case.
Habakkuk 2:4 ...the just shall live byεκ his faith.
Acts 3:16 And his name throughεπι faith* in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith* which is byδια him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
Acts 15:9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.*
Acts 26:18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan untoεπι God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance amongιν them which are sanctified by faith* that is in me.
Romans 1:12 That is, that I may be comforted together withιν you byδια the mutualιν faith* both of you and me.
Romans 1:17 For thereinιν is the righteousness of God revealed fromεκ faith* to faith:* as it is written, The just shall live byεκ faith.*
Romans 3:22 the righteousness of God which is byδια faith* of Jesus Christ ...
Romans 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith* without the deeds of the law.
Romans 3:30 ...one God, which shall justify the circumcision byεκ faith,* and uncircumcision throughδια faith.*
Romans 4:16 Thereforeδια it is ofεκ faith,* that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is ofεκ the law, but to that also which is ofεκ the faith* of Abraham..
Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified byεκ faith,* we have peace with God throughδια our Lord Jesus Christ:
Romans 5:2 ...we have access by faith* into this grace...
Romans 9:32 ...not byεκ faith,* but as it were byεκ the works of the law...
Romans 11:20 ...because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith.*...
2 Corinthians 1:24 Not for that we have dominion over your faith,* but are helpers of your joy: for by faith* ye stand.
2 Corinthians 5:7 (For we walk byδια faith,* not byδια sight:)
Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified byεκ the works of the law, but byδια the faith* of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified byεκ the faith* of Christ, and not byεκ the works of the law: for byεκ the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth inιν me: and the life which I now live inιν the flesh I live byιν the faith* of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Galatians 3:2 ...Received ye the Spirit byεκ the works of the law, or byεκ the hearing of faith?*
Galatians 3:11 ...no man is justified byιν the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live byεκ faith.*
Galatians 3:22 ...all under sin, that the promise byεκ faith* of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
Galatians 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified byεκ faith.*
Galatians 3:26 For ye are all the children of God byδια faith* inιν Christ Jesus.
Galatians 5:5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness byεκ faith.*
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved throughδια faith;* and that not ofεκ yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Ephesians 3:12 Inιν whom we have boldness and access withιν confidence byδια the faith* of him.
Ephesians 3:17 That Christ may dwell inιν your hearts byδια faith;* ...
Philippians 3:9 And be found inιν him, not having mine own righteousness, which is ofεκ the law, but that which is throughδια the faith* of Christ, the righteousness which is ofεκ God byεπι faith:*
Hebrews 10:38 Now the just shall live byεκ faith:* but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure inιν him.
Hebrews 11:3 Through faith* we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God...
Hebrews 11:4 By faith* Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain...
Hebrews 11:5 By faith* Enoch was translated that he should not see death...
Hebrews 11:7 By faith* Noah...prepared an ark to the saving of his house; byδια the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.*
Hebrews 11:8 By faith* Abraham...obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9 By faith* he sojourned...
Hebrews 11:17 By faith* Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac...
Hebrews 11:20 By faith* Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
Hebrews 11:21 By faith* Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph...
Hebrews 11:22 By faith* Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.
Hebrews 11:23 By faith* Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents… 24 By faith* Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; 27 By faith* he forsook Egypt...
Hebrews 11:29 By faith* they passed through the Red sea...
Hebrews 11:30 By faith* the walls of Jericho fell down...
Hebrews 11:31 By faith* the harlot Rahab perished not...
James 2:18 shew me thy faith* withoutεκ/χορις thy works, and I will shew thee my faith* byεκ my works.
James 2:22 Seest thou how faith* wrought with his works, and byεκ works was faith* made perfect?
James 2:24 Ye see then how that byεκ works a man is justified, and not byεκ faith* only.
1 Peter 1:5 Who are kept byιν the power of God throughδια faith* unto salvation ready to be revealed inιν the last time.
ByzantineB |
NAW |
KJVC |
Vulgate |
PeshittaD |
17 οὕτω καὶ ἡ πίστις, ἐὰν μὴ ἔργα ἔχῃ νεκράE ἐστι καθ᾿ ἑαυτήνF. |
17 Even so the faith, if it doesn’t happen to have works, is dead by itself. |
17
Even
so faith, if it hath not works,
is dead, |
17 sic et fides si non habeat opera mortua est in semet ipsam |
17
So
also
faith X
|
18 ᾿Αλλ᾿ ἐρεῖ τις· σὺ πίστιν ἔχεις, κἀγὼ ἔργα ἔχω· δεῖξόν μοι τὴν πίστιν σου ἐκG τῶν ἔργων σουH, κἀγώ δείξω σοι ἐκ τῶν ἔργων μου τὴν πίστινI μουJ. |
18 However, someone is going to say, “As for you, you have faith, but as for me, I have works; show me your faith apart from your works, and as for me, I will show you my faith from my works.” |
18
|
18 sed dicet quis tu fidem habes et ego opera habeo ostende mihi fidem tuam sine operibus X et ego ostendam tibi ex operibus X fidem meam |
18
|
19 σὺ πιστεύεις ὅτι ὁ Θεός εἷς ἐστιK· καλῶς ποιεῖς· καὶ τὰ δαιμόνιαL πιστεύουσι καὶ φρίσσουσιM. |
19 You yourself believe that God is one; You do well. The demons also believe and shudder. |
19
Thou believest that |
19 tu credis quoniam unus est Deus bene facis et daemones credunt et contremescunt |
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou dost well; the demons also believe, and tremble. |
20 θέλεις δὲ γνῶναιN, ὦ ἄνθρωπε κενέO, ὅτι ἡ πίστις χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων νεκράP ἐστιν; |
20 But, you want to know something, O empty man? The faith without the works is dead! |
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? |
20 vis autem scire o homo inanis quoniam fides sine operibus otiosaQ est |
20 X Wouldst thou know, O frail man, that faith without works is dead ? |
21 ᾿Αβραὰμ ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν οὐκR ἐξ ἔργων ἐδικαιώθηS, ἀνενέγκαςT ᾿Ισαὰκ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον; |
21 Wasn’t it from works that Abraham our forefather was justified after offering up Isaac his son upon the altar? |
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? |
21 Abraham pater noster nonne ex operibus iustificatus est offerens Isaac filium suum super altare |
21 Abraham our father, was not he justified by works, in offering his son Isaac upon the altar? |
22 βλέπεις ὅτι ἡ πίστις Uσυνήργει τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἔργων ἡ πίστις ἐτελειώθηV, |
22 You see that the faith was working together with his works, and from the works the faith was matured, |
22
Seest thou |
22 vides quoniam fides cooperabatur operibus illius et ex operibus fides consummata est |
22
Seest
thou, that his faith |
23 καὶ ἐπληρώθη ἡ γραφὴ ἡ λέγουσα· ἐπίστευσεν δὲ ᾿Αβραὰμ τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνηνW, καὶ φίλος Θεοῦ ἐκλήθη. |
23 and the scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed in God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God. |
23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, X Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. |
23 et suppleta est scriptura dicens credidit Abraham Deo et reputatum est illi ad iustitiam et amicus Dei appellatus est |
23 And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith: Abraham believed in God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness, and he was called the Friend of God. |
24 ὁρᾶτε τοίνυνX ὅτι ἐξ ἔργων δικαιοῦταιY ἄνθρωπος καὶ οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως μόνονZ. |
24 Y’all see that it is from works that a man is being justified and not from faith alone. |
24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. |
24 videtis quoniam ex operibus iustificatur homo et non ex fide tantum |
24 Thou seestAA, that by works a man is justified, and not by faith alone. |
25 ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ῾ΡαὰβAB ἡ πόρνη οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων ἐδικαιώθη, ὑποδεξαμένηAC τοὺς ἀγγέλουςAD καὶ ἑτέρᾳ ὁδῷ ἐκβαλοῦσαAE; |
25 And, in a similar way, wasn’t it also from works that Rahab the prostitute was justified after showing hospitality to the messengers and dispatching them by a different way? |
25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? |
25 similiter autem et Raab meretrix nonne ex operibus iustificata est suscipiens nuntios et alia via eiciens |
25
So
also Rahab, the harlot, was not she justified by
works, when she entertained
the |
26 ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸ σῶμα χωρὶς πνεύματος νεκρόν ἐστιν, οὕτω καὶ ἡ πίστις χωρὶς τῶνAF ἔργων νεκρά ἐστι. |
26 For just as the body without a spirit is dead, so also the faith without the works is dead. |
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. |
26 sicut enim corpus sine spiritu emortuum est ita et fides sine operibus mortua est |
26 X As the body without the spirit, is dead; so faith without works, is dead also. |
1This same verse is also quoted as an important point in Heb. 11:17, Romans 4:3, and Gal. 3:6.
2Gill found another extra-Biblical cf. in the Quran: "God took Abraham for his friend [חליל].'' Sura 4:125.
3The LXX uses a slightly different word (ἠγάπησα - “loved one”) than the one James used (φιλος – “friend, one who is liked”). The Hebrew word is אֹהֲבִֽי (“my loved one”), but most English versions render it “friend” anyway.
4Most commentaries did not comment on this, perhaps because there is some uncertainty as to whether this was the same Rahab that married Salmon. Vincent though so, but the Jewish Midrash says that this Rahab married Joshua.
AWhen
a translation adds words not in the Greek text, but does not
indicate it has done so by the use of italics or greyed-out text, I
put the added words in [square brackets]. When one version chooses a
wording which is different from all the other translations, I
underline it. When a version chooses a translation which, in my
opinion, either departs too far from the root meaning of the Greek
word or departs too far from the grammar form of the original text,
I use strikeout. And when a version omits a word
which is in the original text, I insert an X. I also place an X at
the end of a word if the original word is plural but the English
translation is singular. I occasionally use colors to help the
reader see correlations between the various editions and versions
when there are more than two different translations of a given word.
NAW is my translation. My original chart includes annotated copies
of the NKJV, NASB, NIV, and ESV, but I erase them from the online
edition so as not to infringe on their copyrights.
BThis Greek New Testament is the 1904 "Patriarchal" edition of the Greek Orthodox Church with notes I have added.
C1769 King James Version of the Holy Bible; public domain.
DJames Murdock, A Literal Translation from the Syriac Peshito Version, 1851, Robert Carter & Brothers, New York. Scanned and transcribed by Gary Cernava and published electronically by Janet Magierra at http://www.lightofword.org
E“Epictetus (iii. 23. 27, 28) observes that… ‘if the philosopher’s address does not drive this truth home, both speaker and speech are dead’—the point being that an ethical address, however cultured and finely phrased, is a dead thing, unless it produces a vital change in character and conduct. This illustrates the use of dead here.” ~Moffatt
FVincent, in the late 1800’s translated this phrase “in itself” and connected it with the word “dead.” “It is dead, not merely in reference to something else, but absolutely.” A generation later, Mayor’s commentary (quoted by Moo) said much the same thing, “in itself… not merely outwardly inoperative but inwardly dead.”
GApparently, this εκ (literally “out of,” and,oddly, the same as the preposition used in the second phrase, making it difficult to see any contrast being made) is the reading of the majority of Greek manuscripts, therefore it is the reading of the Modern and Patriarchal Greek Orthodox church GNTs, the Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine GNT, and the Textus Receptus (Labeled “Stevens” in e-sword with the note that it is actually taken from George Ricker Berry's edition of The Interlinear Literal Translation of the Greek New Testament which is “virtually identical to Erasmus 1516, Beza 1598, and the actual Textus Receptus: Elzevir 1633.”) On the other hand, the Westcott-Hort, Nestle-Aland, and United Bible Societies editions of the GNT all read χωρις (“without”) which makes a lot more sense. It is unusual for these critical editions to choose the easier reading, but it is the reading of all the oldest-known manuscripts. Furthermore, it is unusual for the KJV to depart from the Textus Receptus/Byzantine reading, but Scrivner’s 1894 reconstruction of the Greek text used for the KJV confirms that it did.
HΣου (“your”) is in the majority of Greek manuscripts going all the way back to one of the oldest-known and is therefore in the Textus Receptus, Robinson-Pierpont, and Patriarchal Greek Orthodox editions of the GNT, but W-H, N-A, and UBS GNTs omit it because three of the four oldest-known manuscripts omitted it, as did the Vulgate and Peshitta (Lamsa’s translation of the Peshitta adds the “your” back in, but Murdock’s translation of the Peshitta which omits “your” seems to be more consistent with the copy of the Leiden Peshitta available to me.) At any rate, the definite article in all the manuscripts could stand for the same possessive meaning, so it doesn’t necessarily mean anything different. Curiously, the ESV supported the Byzantine text here instead of lending its usual support to the critical editions.
I This is a contrast between someone who has no works but claims faith and someone who has Christian faith as well as works to prove it. (Calvin, Henry, Gill, ATR, etc.) This manner of judging does not appear to be out-of-line with other passages of scripture, such as, “The dead were judged according to their works” Rev. 20:12, cf. Matt. 25.
J The situation with this pronoun (“my”) is identical to the earlier pronoun in this verse detailed in the endnote above, except that the Peshitta supports this one, and therefore, it appears, that the NASB, NIV, and ESV left their usual support for the critical editions and threw in with the Byzantine.
K“God” has the definite article, and “one” does not, therefore it is probably not an attributive adjective (“is one God”), rather it is most likely predicative, with the subject being denoted by the article (“God is one”). The difference in word order between the Traditional and Critical GNT’s doesn’t affect the meaning.
LA.T. Robertson’s Greek Grammar noted that, whereas a neuter plural noun might normally take a singular verb, it is plural here to designate unclean spirits as a class in “a personal or collective meaning” (Hanna).
MThis
verb only occurs in two other places in the Greek Bible: Job 4:15
(describing the action of hair and flesh when a supernatural
being comes close to a human’s face) & Jer. 2:12 (describing
the feeling of heavenly beings at the sight of human apostasy), plus
two places in the Apocrypha Jdt. 16:10 (describing how the Medes and
Persians feared Judith after her act of heroism) and Dat.
7:15 (paired with
ἐτάρασσόν
to
describe how Daniel’s spirit felt after seeing a
vision).
As a noun, it also appears in 2 Ma. 3:17; Job 4:14; Wis. 6:5; 8:15;
Hos. 6:10; Amos 1:11; Jer. 5:30; 18:13; 23:14. Interestingly, Arndt
& Gingrich’s lexicon cites references to demons shuddering in
anticipation of an exorcism in the Greek
Papyri on Magic!
Vincent
added, “It means, originally, ‘to be rough on the surface; to
bristle.’ Hence, used of the fields with ears of corn; of a line
of battle bristling with shields and spears; of a silver or golden
vessel rough with embossed gold. Aeschylus, describing a crowd
holding up their hands to vote, says, ‘the air bristled with right
hands.’ Hence, of a horror which makes the hair stand on end and
contracts the surface of the skin, making ‘gooseflesh.’”
NA.T. Robertson’s Greek Grammar says that this is a “polite” “substitute for the future tense” (Hanna) and he advocated in multiple places for translating it, “Do you want to know?” It introduces the following logical argument for the thesis.
OBlass
& Debrunner noted that there is “some degree of emotion”
behind this phrase (Hanna). This Greek phrase “O man” only
occurs in 3 other places in the Bible, none of them with the extra
word “empty/vain” (Rom. 2:1, 3; 9:20=“O man”; 1 Tim. 6:11=“O
man of God”).
John Gill commented: “Syriac version renders
it, ‘O weak’, or ‘feeble man’, as he must needs be, whose
faith is dead, and boasts of such a lifeless thing; and the Ethiopic
version renders it, ‘O foolish man’, for such an one betrays his
ignorance in spiritual things, whatever conceit he has of his
knowledge and understanding: the character seems levelled against
the Gnostics, who were swelled with a vain opinion of their
knowledge, to whom the apostle addresses himself thus. The phrase,
‘vain man’, is a proper interpretation of the word ריקא,
‘Raca’, or Reka, used in Mat. 5:22.”
PHalf of the oldest-known Greek manuscripts, as well as some standard editions of the Latin Vulgate read argh (“useless”), so that is the reading of the critical editions of the GNT (W-H, N-A, UBS) and thus the reading of the ASV/NASB, NIV, RV/ESV, NET, and NLT, but the vast majority of Greek manuscripts all the way back to the earliest-known ones, as well as the Peshitta and the lectionaries, read nekra (“dead”), so that is the reading of the traditional GNTs (Modern Greek, Patriarchal, R-P, Textus Receptus) and therefore of the Geneva, KJV, and NKJV. Moo, who supported the critical editions, saw a pun in the similarities of pronunciation between ergwn and argos.
Q“idle” – thus Wycliffe’s translation “idul,” but the Douay-Rheims English translation of the Vulgate is “dead.”
RIn contrast to the question in v.14 framed with μη which expected a negative answer (“No, that faith cannot save.”), this question is framed with ουκ, which expects a positive answer (“Yes, it was out of works that Abraham was justified.”). The ουκ is repeated in v.25, expecting another positive answer (Yes, Rahab was justified by her deeds too.”)
S
cf. 1 Mac. 2:52 “Was not
Abraham
found faithful in temptation,
and it was imputed
unto him for righteousness?”
(Brenton)
“That we may not then fall into that false
reasoning which has deceived the Sophists, we must take notice of
the two-fold meaning of the word ‘justified.’ Paul means by it
‘the gratuitous imputation of righteousness before the tribunal of
God’; and James, ‘the manifestation of righteousness by the
conduct, and that before men’, as we may gather from the preceding
words, ‘Shew to me thy faith,’ etc.” ~John Calvin
A.R.
Faussett: “we are justified judicially by God (Rom. 8:33);
meritoriously, by Christ (Isa. 53:11); mediately, by faith (Rom.
5:1); evidentially, by works.”
Moo framed James’
“justification” as final justification “the ultimate
verdict of innocence pronounced over a person at the last judgment.”
TMost English versions translate this participle temporally “when.” The Aorist tense indicates that it actually happened afterwards, and not at the same time. Vincent insisted it should be translated as the “grounds” upon which Abraham was justified, and Murdock did the same in his translation “in that he...”
U Imperfect tense, referring to the past events of Gen. 15 & 22. James’ choice of preposition seems to qualify what he is saying. He is not saying that we are saved “by” (δια, ιν, παρα, or κατα) works, but rather “out of” (εκ) and “with” (συν) works. ATR commented that dative case of the ergois following this verb is more specifically “associative-instrumental case.”
V“[T]he
faith of Abram was formed and therefore perfected before he
sacrificed his son. And this work was not... the finishing, or last
work. Formerly things afterwards followed by which Abraham proved
the increase of his faith. Hence this was not the perfection of his
faith, nor did it then,
for the the first, time put on its form. James
then understood no other thing than that the integrity of his faith
then appeared, because it brought forth that remarkable fruit of
obedience.” ~J.
Calvin
John
Gill justly noted that this was “not with an absolute
‘perfection;’ for though Abraham's faith was very great, yet
there were things lacking in it, and he had his fits and times of
unbelief...”
W
cf. the Greek of Genesis 15:6 καὶ ἐπίστευσεν Αβραμ
τῷ θεῷ καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς
δικαιοσύνην – an exact quote except for the
substitution of the conjunction δε for
και, which makes no
difference in meaning.
Gill echoed
Henry and Calvin in noting how the chronological sequence disproves
the theory of Abraham’s salvation by works-righteousness: “Abraham
was justified before he wrought this work, and therefore that could
not be the cause or matter of his justification, but only an effect
and evidence of it.”
X This conjunction (“so now/therefore”) is in the majority of Greek manuscripts, and therefore in the Greek Orthodox, Majority Text, and Textus Receptus editions of the Greek New Testament (and therefore the Geneva and King James English versions), but it is not in any of the four oldest-known manuscripts or in any of the ancient Latin, Syriac, or Coptic versions, so it is omitted from the critical editions of the GNT (and therefore from all the modern English versions except the NKJV). However, it is not necessary to the meaning, for it is clear that this is a summary statement.
Y “here not ‘is made righteous,’ but ‘is shown to be righteous.’” ~ATR
Z Compare to καθ᾽ ἑαυτήν (“by itself”) in v.17
AA Lamsa’s translation of the Peshitta inserts “then” in keeping with the majority text, but Murdock omits it in keeping with the critical editions of the Greek text and the copies of the Peshitta available to me, but perhaps the “western” type that Murdock used varies from the Eastern that Lamsa translated?
AB
cf. Joshua 2, where the LXX labels her as a γυναικὸς πόρνης
who “received” (λαβοῦσα) the “men” (they are not
called αγγελοι until
Josh. 6), and “let them down”
(κατεχάλασεν) through her window and told them to head
uphill (East toward Jerusalem rather than West back across the
Jordan River where the Israelites were camped, and
where they would be expected to go).
“Why
did he prefer a harlot to all others? he designedly put together two
persons so different in their character, in order more clearly to
shew, that no one, whatever may have been his or her condition,
nation, or class in society, has ever been counted righteous without
good works.” ~Calvin
AC Zaccheus, Jason, and Martha are the only other Biblical characters mentioned as exercising this kind of hospitality in Lk. 10:38; 19:6; Acts 17:7; Jas. 2:25.
AD Although the manuscript evidence is solidly in favor of this word “messengers,” most of the lectionaries and versions (with the notable exception of the Latin ones) rendered it “spies,” as did one of the oldest-known Greek manuscripts (kataskopouV). This is not a problem, however, since they were both, and either word conveys the story. In the Joshua 2 account, the Hebrews call them νεανίσκους (“young men”) and the Jerichoites call them ανδρας (“men”), but Joshua tells them to “spy out” the land, using the cognate verb to the noun kataskopouV, and then in 6:17, Joshua calls them מלאכים – “messengers” in English, which would be ἀγγέλους in Greek, although the whole last phrase is missing in the LXX of Joshua 6:17.
AE ATR and Moulton interpreted these participles as causal (Hanna), but all the standard English versions interpreted them as temporal. The Aorist tense indicates that the “receiving” and “sending” happened before her “being justified,” but James’ point is that it was because of those works that she was justified. She wouldn’t have been made right if she had not done those actions.
AF Greek Orthodox, Textus Receptus, and Majority editions of the GNT have this definite article, and it dates all the way back to two of the oldest-known Greek manuscripts. Critical editions of the GNT do not include the “the” here because three of the oldest-known Greek manuscripts (as well as a handful of others) don’t include it. It makes no real difference in English translation, because English doesn’t use the definite article as much as Greek does (for instance, all the Greek manuscripts, whether critical or traditional, have a definite article before the word for “faith,” but no standard English version puts “the” before the word “faith” in their translation, although Vincent insisted upon it, even suggesting it was pronomial, as in, “its works”). Not even the KJV, which followed the traditional Greek text (which has a definite article here), put “the” before “works” in this verse.