Faith Without Works is Dead
by
Philip du Nard
Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Rom 3:28
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10
See ye then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. James 2:24
Reconciling the teaching of James on justification with the teaching of Paul on the same subject is not my purpose here. Many others have done that over the course of the centuries. The reader is encouraged to study this topic for themselves with readily available resources to show themselves approved of God.
Rather, what I would call attention to is that not all works emanating from a pre-existent faith call for the same type of action.
Certainly, after Noah was “warned of God of things not seen as yet...” Heb 11:7, his faith, that is, his belief that God would do what He said He would do would have been to no avail if he had not acted on that faith (works) by preparing “an ark to the saving of his house.” And Abraham’s faith that God would make Him a great nation required acting on that faith by leaving His home country (works) in obedience to what God commanded. There are countless other examples in this faith chapter of the Bible and throughout the Scriptures.
But sometimes the action born of faith involves waiting and patience and what is sometimes perceived as inaction by an unbelieving world.
In Exodus 14 where we find the Israelites with the Red Sea in front and Pharoah’s menacing army behind, Moses said unto them, “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord...The Lord shall fight for you and ye shall hold your peace.” vs 13-14.
But suppose some patriotic Israelite retorted, “Yes, God will help us. But we have to do our part. We have to find some weapons to fight back with or make some boats as a survival tactic to get across the sea or it’s all over for our nation, God notwithstanding.” One might try to pass this off as adding works to one’s faith but this kind of work would have been the result of no faith in light of the express command to stand still.
Similarly, in II Kings 6:24ff, Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel was under siege by the Syrians resulting in famine conditions in the city. His messenger to Elisha the prophet relayed the king’s frustration in verse 33: “Behold, this evil is of the Lord, what should I wait for the Lord any longer?’ Evidently the admonition from Elisha had been to wait and the king was through with waiting. But Elijah promised deliverance on the morrow and when a bureaucrat expressed skepticism (lack of faith) Elisha informed him that he would see the deliverance but not “eat of it” or reap the benefit of it. In this instance, the work emanating from faith would have been to patiently wait for God’s promised deliverance. To do otherwise would be disobedience.
Suppose a school child was instructed to wait after school to be picked up by his father. Suppose that child took matters into his own hands and decided that he’d better do his part (works) by starting to walk home and his father could pick him up along the way. He probably would end up getting a lecture from his father on following instructions.
When the Israelites were in the wilderness and they murmured against God, the Lord sent fiery serpents among them and people were bitten and many died. Numbers 21:4-6. The people confessed their sin and asked Moses to pray for them. Moses did and obeyed God in setting up a serpent of brass on a pole. Every one who was bitten and looked upon the serpent would live. To look upon the serpent to be healed is a work, a rather simple act of faith that people might scoff at as amounting to anything but it was, nonetheless, a work demonstrating faith. Similarly, when the Jews asked Jesus, “What shall we do ,that we might work the works of God?” Jesus responded, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”John 6:28-29.
This is too simple and foolish for people who are bent on finding a boat to get across the Red Sea or seeking to establish their own righteousness.
May the Lord give us the wisdom to know when to act on faith rather than wait in idleness and inaction and when to wait on the Lord rather than act in carnal desperation.
by
Philip du Nard
Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Rom 3:28
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10
See ye then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. James 2:24
Reconciling the teaching of James on justification with the teaching of Paul on the same subject is not my purpose here. Many others have done that over the course of the centuries. The reader is encouraged to study this topic for themselves with readily available resources to show themselves approved of God.
Rather, what I would call attention to is that not all works emanating from a pre-existent faith call for the same type of action.
Certainly, after Noah was “warned of God of things not seen as yet...” Heb 11:7, his faith, that is, his belief that God would do what He said He would do would have been to no avail if he had not acted on that faith (works) by preparing “an ark to the saving of his house.” And Abraham’s faith that God would make Him a great nation required acting on that faith by leaving His home country (works) in obedience to what God commanded. There are countless other examples in this faith chapter of the Bible and throughout the Scriptures.
But sometimes the action born of faith involves waiting and patience and what is sometimes perceived as inaction by an unbelieving world.
In Exodus 14 where we find the Israelites with the Red Sea in front and Pharoah’s menacing army behind, Moses said unto them, “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord...The Lord shall fight for you and ye shall hold your peace.” vs 13-14.
But suppose some patriotic Israelite retorted, “Yes, God will help us. But we have to do our part. We have to find some weapons to fight back with or make some boats as a survival tactic to get across the sea or it’s all over for our nation, God notwithstanding.” One might try to pass this off as adding works to one’s faith but this kind of work would have been the result of no faith in light of the express command to stand still.
Similarly, in II Kings 6:24ff, Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel was under siege by the Syrians resulting in famine conditions in the city. His messenger to Elisha the prophet relayed the king’s frustration in verse 33: “Behold, this evil is of the Lord, what should I wait for the Lord any longer?’ Evidently the admonition from Elisha had been to wait and the king was through with waiting. But Elijah promised deliverance on the morrow and when a bureaucrat expressed skepticism (lack of faith) Elisha informed him that he would see the deliverance but not “eat of it” or reap the benefit of it. In this instance, the work emanating from faith would have been to patiently wait for God’s promised deliverance. To do otherwise would be disobedience.
Suppose a school child was instructed to wait after school to be picked up by his father. Suppose that child took matters into his own hands and decided that he’d better do his part (works) by starting to walk home and his father could pick him up along the way. He probably would end up getting a lecture from his father on following instructions.
When the Israelites were in the wilderness and they murmured against God, the Lord sent fiery serpents among them and people were bitten and many died. Numbers 21:4-6. The people confessed their sin and asked Moses to pray for them. Moses did and obeyed God in setting up a serpent of brass on a pole. Every one who was bitten and looked upon the serpent would live. To look upon the serpent to be healed is a work, a rather simple act of faith that people might scoff at as amounting to anything but it was, nonetheless, a work demonstrating faith. Similarly, when the Jews asked Jesus, “What shall we do ,that we might work the works of God?” Jesus responded, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”John 6:28-29.
This is too simple and foolish for people who are bent on finding a boat to get across the Red Sea or seeking to establish their own righteousness.
May the Lord give us the wisdom to know when to act on faith rather than wait in idleness and inaction and when to wait on the Lord rather than act in carnal desperation.