James continues to tease out the relationship between faith and works to show that the two go hand in hand together. Having used a practical example, he now uses logic by setting up a hypothetical debating partner.
A look at the text (Read James 2:18-26)
The hypothetical interlocutor suggests that it is possible for one believer to have faith and another to have works. James responds by saying that it is through his works that he is able to show that he has faith (v18).[1] To emphasise his point, he observes that intellectual assent to the existence of God falls woefully short. Even Satan’s army of demons can recognise this. You don’t ned faith to know that there is a God. You need faith to live in a right relationship with Him (2:19).
Rhetorically, James asks if his interlocutor really needs proof that faith and deeds go together (2:20) before going on to offer two pieces of evidence. First, he uses Abraham, his willingness to offer Isaac as a sacrifice was considered righteous (2:21). James argues that this is evidence of faith and works working together. Abraham puts his trust in God into action (2:22). Note, that his actions fulfil what God has already declared about Abraham. He has had his faith credited as righteousness but now his obedience proves the reality of his faith. He has the legal status of righteousness and there are relational consequences. Abraham is known as a friend of God (2:23). So a person is considered righteous not just by their faith but by the evidence of that in their actions (2:24).
James’ second example is of Rahab the prostitute. Abraham was considered godly and was not only part of God’s covenant people, he was the founder of that people and recipient of the covenant. Raham by contrast had an ungodly backstory and was outside of God’s people but brought into the people through her faith. Again, it is her faith in action that matters, she steps out in faith by protecting the spies sent to Jericho (2:25). Faith and works together is embodied. You need both body and spirit for life and can’t separate the two. So too with faith and works (2:26).
Digging Deeper
It seems unlikely that someone would believe that they could positively have works without faith, so it seems that the force of the hypothetical interlocutor’s rhetoric is to attempt to show that it is possible to have faith without works. In other words, some people might argue that you can start out in faith with a simply affirmation of Jesus as saviour, the other things can follow later. Godly living then becomes an optional extra. James is absolutely clear that this is not possible. Faith and works must be there, together, interlinked from the beginning.
A look at ourselves
One contemporary equivalent of this kind of thinking has been the attempt to distinguish believers from disciples. Some people have suggested that you can become a Christian by putting your trust in Jesus and that this is enough. However, they then encourage a second stage to faith, a higher life, whether through personal effort or spiritual experience which leads to greater holiness and obedience. You start by knowing Jesus as saviour but move on to submitting to him as Lord. It is very clear that there is no place for such thinking in James’ theology. Faith in Christ should result in radical life change.
[1] David notes that commentators have struggled with the text here with uncertainties about where the quotation should begin and end. At first glance, it doesn’t seem that the interlocutor is disagreeing with James because they are claiming to have works. So, some have suggested that James introduces the third party as someone agreeing with him, however that would be syntactically and stylistically novel. So others have suggested that we’ve lost the interlocutor’s speech and only have James’ response but there is no evidence for this. The most likely option therefore is that the conversation partner is speaking more hupothetically, the sense being “one has faith and another has works and it is okay to separate the two. Davids, The Epistle of James, 123-125.
Faithroots 