The gutsy Reformer Martin Luther was no fan of the book that James the brother of Jesus wrote, calling it “an epistle of straw” in his 1522 preface to the New Testament. And yet in his translation of the Bible the book of James remained.
“Faith,” Luther wrote, “is a living, restless thing. It cannot be inoperative. We are not saved by works; but if there be no works, there must be something amiss with faith.”
“For as the body apart from the spirit is dead,” James says in his book, “so also faith apart from works is dead.” The first part of the verse seems easy enough to understand: if a human body has no spirit, no breath, it remains a body, but it is no longer alive. Works, in the same way, are a part of faith like breathing is a part of life.
James shows us what faith is in the example of Abraham. Abraham believed God, and because he believed God he trusted him. This is faith: believing God and trusting what he says to be true. Abraham proved his faith (trust) in God by preparing to sacrifice his son Isaac. Since God promised that through Isaac future generations would come, Abraham trusted that God would either provide an escape or bring Isaac back to life after he was dead.
James shows us that merely saying you believe is not enough. “You believe in God – good for you!” James says, before he adds, “but demons believe too, so what good is belief by itself?” Faith that is just lip service to God is not the faith that saves us. Saying you trust God but never taking any action that proves that trust is like calling a dead body alive.
Faith that never shows itself in works is useless, like a body without breath. It’s the kind of faith that will die, decompose, and result in nothing. But here’s some good news from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. He tells them that we are God’s “workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” If you are a child of God, he has things for you to do! Will you show that you trust him by doing the things he has prepared for you?
Works are a part of faith like breathing is a part of life.
Start breathing.
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We are not saved by faith any more than by works. We are saved by the operation of God’s grace. It is through faith, by grace, and without works, faith is dead. Dead faith is not effective, thus there can be no saving faith without works. This is one of the key things, as a former protestant evangelical, now a Catholic, that was key change in my understanding. Luther got it wrong. I have a CD for you to listen to if you’re interested.
Warren P.
Hiya Michael,
the interconnectedness of it all…it makes it less and less a simple doctrinal statement…Faith Alone is attractive…because it’s simple. God is rarely so simple as we’d like to make Him…
Warren,
I think you re-worded much of what Michael was trying to say here. He’s still a protestant, but he sympathizes with many of these issues…and that’s a good place to start discussion, don’t you think?
best
eric wyatt
Michael definitely understands the interconnectedness. Nevertheless, there remains (as a former evangelical myself) a difference between my “discussions” with my dear friends, who remain evangelicals, and those who are “coming from somewhere else”. I’m coming from where Michael was at. I totally understand and appreciate the depth of his statements, and I agree with him. I was merely disagreeing with Luther, who I think reacted to what was a horrible situation in the Church (he was right to raise a stink over the practices) with a misguided doctrine (which then leads to problems). I believe that “Evangelicals” are mostly on a slow journey back to rediscovering the orthodox catholic Christian faith. Not necessary roman catholic, but definitely leaving behind, a lot of the polemics and flawed theology, and engaging in a search for the real, and the true. This is surely a movement of the Holy Spirit. Discussion is great. Fine. Love it. Let’s have more. But a movement of the Holy Spirit among Christians and a leaving behind of what was really toxic about “sola fide”, is something to really rejoice over. To then try to work Luther back into that, and try to wave the “sola fide” flag while at the same time giving it deprecated status, is a state of momentary confusion, I hope, that the evangelical churches will finally, at long last, drop completely.
Warren
Warren,
You and I come from the same point of view regarding the issue, for sure. But, as you and I know from personal experience, the movement isn’t all at once most of the time. It can be a long time coming, and full of fits and starts, eh?
The beauty of the Catholic tradition is that it is so full of the subtle complexities of God that there are lifetimes worth of study, thought, meditation, prayer, and discussion, all without ever exhausting all of the topics, but at the same time, there is a blessed simplicity in clinging to the creedal profession of faith. What a wonderful and blessed gift we’ve been given.
Best always,
Eric W.
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