Why is faith without works dead? | GotQuestions.org

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Today's question is, why is faith without works dead? In this video I'll answer that question from a biblical perspective.

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Then afterwards, as always, I'll share some helpful resources, so stick around until the end.

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James says, for as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also –

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James 2 verse 26. Faith without works is a dead faith because the lack of works reveals an unchanged life or a spiritually dead heart.

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There are many verses that say that true saving faith will result in a transformed life.

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That faith is demonstrated by the works we do. How we live reveals what we believe, and whether the faith we profess to have is a living faith.

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James 2 verses 14 -26 is sometimes taken out of context in an attempt to create a works -based system of righteousness, but that is contrary to many other passages of Scripture.

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James is not saying that our works make us righteous before God, but that real saving faith is demonstrated by good works.

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Works are not the cause of salvation. Works are the evidence of salvation. Faith in Christ always results in good works.

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The person who claims to be a Christian but lives in willful disobedience to Christ has a false or dead faith and is not saved.

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Paul basically says the same thing in 1 Corinthians 6 verses 9 -10. James contrasts two different types of faith—true faith that saves and false faith that is dead.

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Many profess to be Christians, but their lives and priorities indicate otherwise. Jesus put it this way, "...by

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their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?

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Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit.

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A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

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So by their fruits you will know them. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my

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Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?

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Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name? Then I will declare to them solemnly,

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I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers !" —Matthew 7, verses 16 -23.

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Notice that the message of Jesus is the same as the message of James. Obedience to God is the mark of true saving faith.

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James uses the examples of Abraham and Rahab to illustrate the obedience that accompanies salvation.

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Simply saying we believe in Jesus does not save us, nor does religious service. What saves us is the

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Holy Spirit's regeneration of our hearts, and that regeneration will invariably be seen in a life of faith featuring ongoing obedience to God.

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Misunderstanding the relationship of faith and works comes from not understanding what the

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Bible teaches about salvation. There are really two errors in regards to works and faith.

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The first error is easy -believism, the teaching that as long as a person prayed a prayer or said,

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I believe in Jesus at some point in his life, then he is saved, no matter what. So, a person who as a child raised his hand in a church service is considered saved, even though he has never shown any desire to walk with God since and is, in fact, living in blatant sin.

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This teaching, sometimes called decisional regeneration, is dangerous and deceptive.

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The idea that a profession of faith saves a person even if he lives like the devil afterwards assumes a new category of believer called the carnal

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Christian. This allows various ungodly lifestyles to be excused. A man may be an unrepentant adulterer, liar, or bank robber, but if he is saved, he is just carnal.

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Yet, as we can see in James 2, an empty profession of faith, one that does not result in a life of obedience to Christ, is in reality a dead faith that cannot save.

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The other error in regards to works and faith is to attempt to make works part of what justifies us before God.

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The mixture of works and faith to earn salvation is totally contrary to what Scripture teaches.

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Romans 4, verse 5 says, "...to him who does not work but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness."

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James 2, verse 26 says, "...faith without works is dead." There is no conflict between these two passages.

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We are justified by grace. Through faith, and the natural result of faith in the heart is works that all can see.

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The works that follow salvation do not make us righteous before God, they simply flow from the regenerated heart as naturally as water flows from a spring.

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Salvation is a sovereign act of God, whereby an unregenerate sinner has the washing of regeneration and renewing of the

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Holy Spirit poured out on him, Titus 3, verse 5, thereby causing him to be born again.

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When this happens, God gives the forgiven sinner a new heart and puts a new spirit within him.

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God removes his sin -hardened heart of stone and fills him with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit then causes the saved person to walk in obedience to God's Word.

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Faith without works is dead because it reveals a heart that has not been transformed by God.

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When we have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, our lives will demonstrate that new life.

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Our works will be characterized by obedience to God. Unseen faith will become seen by the production of the fruit of the spear in our lives.

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Christians belong to Christ, the Good Shepherd. As His sheep, we hear His voice and follow

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Him. Faith without works is dead because faith results in a new creation, not a repetition of the same old patterns of sinful behavior.

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As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17, If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

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Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. Faith without works is dead because it comes from a heart that has not been regenerated by God.

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Empty professions of faith have no power to change lives. Those who pay lip service to faith but who do not possess the

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Spirit will hear Christ Himself say to them, I never knew you. Depart from Me, you evildoers!

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Matthew 7, verse 23. Want to learn more? Subscribe so you don't miss the next video! Visit GotQuestions .org

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for more great content. And check out the details section below this video, there you'll find one book I recommend, along with links to several related questions.

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