Read James 2:14-17
We have set the foundation for this series by reaffirming the importance of the body as a good gift of God in creation. This positive, biblical view can reorient us to the wonder of the whole human person, one made as body and soul. When we discuss matters of faith and spirituality, the body does not belong in the background. We must bring it to the front as the Bible does. No one does this better than James, who points to the needs of the body to show what real faith looks like. Real faith is not merely believing or even wishful thinking about those around us. Real faith is embodied faith - living, active, full of love, and always ready for mission.
1. Dead Faith
James discusses a dichotomy in this passage, but it's not about faith and works. Instead, he contrasts two kinds of faith: living faith and dead faith. There are some who claim to have faith in Jesus, but their lives don’t really look all that different. It’s easy to claim something, but what good is it if that claim doesn’t hold any real weight? Faith without works is just words and ideas that exist only in theory and never bear any fruit. If that’s all we have, then James says this faith can’t save us (v. 14) because it is like a dead body (v.17). It lacks vitality and function, just like a body without a spirit (v.26). James is not merely telling his readers to do “works,” but to revisit the very faith they claim to have. Real faith can’t possibly be disembodied.
2. Real Faith
What kind of embodied action does James mean by “works” that are the sign of real faith? He shares a simple story in v. 15-16 that answers the question: Real faith cares for the bodily needs of others. One way the response can be read in this story is in the middle/passive, which translates to telling the person to take care of themselves - “Warm yourself and fill yourself.” Another way it can be read is as a prayer, “May you be warmed and filled.” Either way, the response is the same. You can do it, or God will do it, but I won’t do anything about it. Encouraging others and praying for them are certainly good, but James tells us this response is not complete if not accompanied by embodied action.
3. Getting Real Faith
We have to be careful. James is not saying that if you meet the needs of others, then that will produce genuine faith in you. The opposite is true. Real faith produces good works that benefit others, spiritually and physically, like good soil produces good produce. You can’t put good produce into the soil to make it healthy. This faith requires belief in the gospel and understanding the bodily cost of love exemplified by Jesus Christ. Jesus did not come as an invisible soul, impervious to the bodily cost of love. Jesus did not only say to us, “Go in peace, be warm, and be well fed.” He left the riches and comfort of his eternal glory to become poor. He gave up everything. He took on a human body for our full salvation, body and soul.
4. Where Real Faith Leads
When we recognize that Jesus bore the bodily cost of love for us, it empowers us to bear the bodily cost of love for others. Real, embodied faith leads to embodied mission. Embodied faith says, “Go in peace, be warm, and be well fed,” because I will make it my mission to help you. One way that we can engage in this honorable service is to seek out other members of the body of Christ and join with them in this mission. In the same way that faith without works is dead, so one part of the body detached from the rest is also dead. We are called to give those who lack what the body needs by sharing our bodily needs and inviting them into the body of Christ, the church.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
What about the sermon most impacted you or left you with questions?
James compares faith without works to a dead body. How does this image challenge us about our personal claim to faith? How does this image challenge us with respect to the credibility of our faith to non-Christians?
In what ways do you tend to prioritize spiritual words, claims, and theories over physical needs, actions, and service?
How do we overcome obstacles such as busyness, comfort, or avoiding inconvenience to engage more fully in caring for others?
What is wrong with the idea of thinking James is really just telling us to do more good works to be better Christians? How do we become people who produce good works?
How does the bodily cost of love of Jesus in the Gospel meet our own spiritual and physical needs? How does it motivate us to take up the bodily cost of love for others? What roles do discernment and prayer play in this process?
What would it look like for you and your family/community group to live out an embodied mission in your community in one new way this year? Have you already started? How can you support Trinity or request help from Trinity to help you in this endeavor?