Faith in Action
Without works, faith means nothing
This is a topic on which many people will have differences of opinion. Paul describes it as follows:
8For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not of works, lest anyone should boast. – Ephesians 2:8-9
James, the half-brother of Jesus Christ, describes it this way:
14What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? – James 2:14
There is a small bit of detail in this verse. James says that type of faith cannot save man. It does not focus on faith in general that leads to salvation, but on a specific way in which this faith is lived out. There are two ways faith becomes visible in practice. It can either be dead, when we do nothing and remain passive, or it can give life, by going out and positively influencing the world and people around you.
Paul is indeed correct when he writes that we are saved by faith and not by works. Faith is the pivot for salvation. James, however, takes it further by explaining that from the faith we have already demonstrated to be saved, something must now happen that indicates the change in the person's life is a reality – how he lives out this faith.
Hebrews 11 explains this aspect very well for us. There are several examples of people who "by faith" moved into action. Each one had faith but along with it did something so that there was evidence of their faith. They were not just hearers, but doers.
Let us read further what James writes. He asks what the use (profit) of faith is if there is no practical implication. Look at the first example he gives. We often see this in our churches – a person has a physical need, and then we want to pray for that person that God will bless him, without lifting a finger to provide for that need. James calls this type of faith what it is. Dead. Useless. He uses two of the same examples of faith in action that we see in Hebrews 11:17. By faith Abraham prepared to offer his son. Even though he knew that with Isaac's death there would be no descendants, he was obedient to God's command because he had faith. God tested him, and Abraham passed the test. Rahab, someone who in the eyes of many was an undesirable figure, makes the list of the illustrious because she demonstrated faith but along with it took action (Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25).
James ends his explanation of faith in action by using the body and faith as examples: if there is no spirit in a person, he is spiritually dead. If there are no works in faith either, the faith is dead. It cannot be stated more clearly.
What is your position at the beginning of 2026? Perhaps you will continue to be a Christian believer in name only, in theory. Perhaps you will do something to serve the environment and people around you in such a way that others can see your faith, without you having to open your mouth and preach to them. That is faith in action.