‘As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.’ James 2:26

Here, James, the brother of Jesus, states that if a person has not been saved by the atoning work of Christ on the cross, they are spiritually dead. This means he is headed for eternal damnation in hell, completely separated from God and His Glory. Equally, proclaimed faith means nothing at all if you do not use that faith to give Glory to God through doing deeds and acts for others. Anyone can say they have faith in God. However, that means nothing if it is not accompanied by doing good things for those in need. Some people have physical needs as they are poor and without necessities. Yet, all people start out life in spiritual deadness until they receive Christ as Savior and Lord. Some people have Christ and have physical needs such as food, shelter, medicine, and such things. James is saying that when we turn our hearts away from these people, it comes into question whether or not we have a solid Christian faith. James writes: ‘faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.’ James 2:17 

Christianity is action in motion! If you take away the action, you take away the life of Christianity, and the person is rendered ineffective. The Christian life is not stagnant or dormant. It is active by spreading the Gospel truth to all and helping those in dire need. If someone says they have faith in Christ by does nothing to show it, then they are proving that they are spiritually dead. James goes on to say: ‘But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder.’ James 2:18-19  What James is saying is that even though someone claims they believe in God and does nothing to show that faith does not mean that they possess saving faith in God. The devil and his demons believe that they believe in God. They know Him very well. Well enough to shudder and to be terrified of Him. Similarly, a person who claims to be a builder and yet has never built any structure is not really a builder at all. He simply claims the title. That is the point James is trying to make and address here. 

Consider the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. They walked around looking as if they were pious, and yet they were spiritually dead inside. They just wanted to see how ‘holy’ they were. But without Christ as Savior, all ‘holy’ is unholy. Read what Jesus said about them in the Gospel According to Matthew: ‘The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law are experts in the Law of Moses. So obey everything they teach you, but don’t do as they do. After all, they say one thing and do something else. They pile heavy burdens on people’s shoulders and won’t lift a finger to help. Everything they do is just to show off in front of others. They even make a big show of wearing Scripture verses on their foreheads and arms, and they wear big tassels[a] for everyone to see. They love the best seats at banquets and the front seats in the synagogues. And when they are in the market, they like to have people greet them as their teachers.’ Matt. 23:2-7 CEV (This version is in the vernacular of contemporary society.) These people are spiritually dead, even if they appear to be doing good works for others. So many people today think that they are saved because they state that they believe in God. These Pharisees believed in God. Demons still believe in God. Yet, there is no saving faith among them, even if they appear to be doing good works for others. 

Seek and obtain true faith, and through that faith in God do good works to help others. They will then see Christ in you, without words, but by those deeds, and proclaim Glory to God.