April 30, 2019
This post is a continuation of the last post about the meaning of James 2:14-26.
James 2:14-26 – Part 2
READ TIME: 1-2 MINUTES
James 2:14 has the phrase “can that faith” (or something similar, depending on which English translation you’re using). It cannot because the question expects a negative answer. We must ask two questions, “What is that faith?” and “Salvation from what?” There are indeed two kinds of faith in the book of James, but they aren’t the two types of faith some say there are: a type of faith that saves somebody from eternal damnation and a type of faith that doesn’t. These are the two types of faith in the book of James. As I mentioned in my last post, James is contrasting a productive/useful/effectual/vibrant faith with a non-productive/useless/ineffectual/non-vibrant faith. Please remember James is writing believers.
When most people hear the word “faith,” they normally think of the initial act of faith through which one is saved from eternal damnation. But actually, James uses “faith” differently. He uses it to refer to the ongoing walk of faith (progressive sanctification) which can save a person from the pathway to “death.” The sense of “death” I’m referring to is a separation of right fellowship with God. It’s a “temporal death” which results from the personal sin of a believer (see Luke 15:24; James 1:15; 5:19-20; 1 Timothy 5:6). The remedy for this death is a confession of sin and a dependence upon God. Stated in another way, this sense of “death” is the progression to psychological, spiritual, or, possibly, the physical sin unto death resulting in a negative assessment of one’s life at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
Quite often “faith” is used in the NT of an ongoing walk of faith (Romans 11:20; 14:1, 22-23; Galatians 3:11; 5:6, 25; Colossians 2:6; 2 Corinthians 5:7; 10:15; Ephesians 3:17; Philippians 1:25; 2 Thessalonians 1:3, 11; 1 Timothy 1:4-5, 19; 6:10, 12; Philemon 6; Hebrews 6:12; 10:38; and the entire chapter 11 of Hebrews).
James uses the word “faith” fifteen times (1:3, 6; 2:1, 5, 14 (2x), 17, 18 (3x), 20, 22, 24, 26; 5:15) in the sense of faith that endures testing, faith that is challenged during trials, trust in God in one’s daily walk.
If you understand what “faith” means in James’ epistle, you’ll much better understand phrases like “faith without works is dead” or “can that faith save him.” Future posts will expand on these phrases.
Source Used
Dillow, Joseph. Final Destiny: The Future Reign of The Servant Kings: Fourth Revised Edition. Grace Theology Press, chapter 28.