Faith Without Works is Dead

by Scott Price

"....Faith without works is dead...." James 2:26

    Many people, when they talk about faith without works being dead, are referring to a legalistic view of those works. There is a part of faith that does work that the religious world ignores or hates when they recognize it. This work I speak of shows action, in that it is a verb. The first evidence of God-given faith is that faith does work. The first work in faith (faith being a noun) is belief. Belief contains, not only mental assent but a trust, leaning on, counting on, hoping in, being assured by, etc, who Christ is and what Christ has done.

    If a person claims to have faith but does not trust that the work of salvation is complete and that he can lose his salvation then his faith is dead. His faith is not working because it is in an improper object. In other words their faith, whether they really know it or not, is in themselves. This is unacceptable to God and is NOT the faith that God gives. Those that have a true faith are assured that salvation is gain and maintained by the imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ which is the only ground of justification.

    If faith is in a decision, "freewill", a "sinner's prayer", "accepting Jesus", in faith itself, or any thing else BESIDES the merit of Christ in His obedience and death, then their faith does NOT have approved work or fruit backing it. True faith has true repentance accompanying it, that sheds itself of all self righteous attempts at acceptance before a holy and just God.

    The accomplished work of Christ demands our justification and NOBODY can lay ANYTHING to the charge of God's elect. This is the true sense of Christ Jesus being our Sabbath. We rest in Him and cease from all our self righteous work that we thought gained God's favor and took away His wrath.

    Doubt is not an option either. Doubt is not a work of humility that God promotes but a work of Satan that has it's roots in self righteousness. Faith will work in the action of resting in the full satisfaction and imputation that Christ performed and assured only in that alone. Faith without works is dead.