Lesson 11: Faith that works
 James 2:18-26 
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?
22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works;
23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.
24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

 Our verses today continue the teaching that faith, to be real, must be active. It is not enough to simply be able to say that God is “one” or real or existing. As Verse 19 reminds us, even the demons believe God is real and is who He says He is; but the demons do not have a living faith in God that allows Him to lead their lives. Their belief is simply a knowledge of the mind.


The example of living and active faith in our verses is a story of Abraham’s life, told in Genesis 22. In Genesis 15 we read the first time God promised Abraham a son to be born of Sarah. In Romans 4:17-22 we read a few more details of this promise to Abraham. He looked at the circumstances around him, and he acknowledged that the circumstances appeared to be such that God’s promise could never be kept – his and Sarah’s bodies were too old to have children. But he did not question if God could keep His promise! He attached his hope to God rather than to the circumstances.

 Our verses again remind us of Rahab and the choices she made because she chose to believe God rather than the things she had known all her life. Someday we may also be called to choose between life and death – and life here on earth may be offered to us if we deny God. If we wait until that moment to make our action-decision, it may be too late. The time to make this decision is now so you have time to learn from God how this faith in Him can strengthen you even when you know you are weak. Only then can we stand strong in that faith when great testing comes, just like it came to Abraham in Verse 21 above, and there seems to be no way out. Let God strengthen your faith by making the choice to believe Him with all you have and are.

Memorize: 1 Timothy 6:12 - Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.