Faith Apart from Works is Dead

Faith by itself is dead. Faith apart from works is useless. Faith apart from works is dead. So says James in the passage before us this week. Whilst the passage is unique in that it has drawn much attention and debate over the centuries, the message it contains is not unique at all– not to James, and not within the Letter of James. The gift of saving faith is always accompanied by works of faith– faith, "working through love" as Paul puts it in Galatians 5:6 for example; and being "doers of the word, not hearers only," as James puts it in James 1:22. Far from being a doctrinal disaster, this is simply the power and work of the 'implanted word' bearing God's intended fruit in our lives as it matures within us– as God gives the growth.