Faith Produces Works
WARM-UP
What is something you like to do for others? Tell us about it.
Tell us about a time you did something because you believed in a person, cause, or project.
Was there ever a time you didn’t want to help someone even if you could? What happened?
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WORD
17 Even so faith, if it does not have works, is dead, being by itself.
18 But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without the deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. JAS 2:17-18
Through our faith in Christ, we receive salvation. However, James reminded the Jewish Christians that salvation is just the starting point of a life of faith in Christ. Faith, if it does not have works, is dead. James also said, I will show you my faith by my deeds. There are two contrasts of faith and works that James presented.
And he shall be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wilt [even his “externals” are of significance—the discussion of law scholars is meaningful and requires study]—
and whatever he does prospers. PSA 1:3
Rashi’s Commentary
Planted—Heb. שתול, plonte in Old French (plante).
And whose leaf does not wither—Even the least of it is useful. And discussion by the students of the wise is useful and worthy of study.
Does not wilt—Heb. יבול, an expression of wilting, fleistre in Old French.
14 . . . planted [shall they be] in the house of the Lord,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
Rashi’s Commentary
Planted—The righteous will be planted in the house of the Lord.
15 They will still grow in [their] old age,
they will be fat and fresh,
Rashi’s Commentary
Will . . . grow—Heb. ישגה, will grow.
Fat—Heb. דשנים, They will be fat and fresh, and then they will declare that the Lord is upright.
16 to declare that the Lord is upright
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him. PSA 92:14-16
So, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. MAT 7:17
2 If I have the gift of prophecy and fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so that I could move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. . . . 13 And now remain faith, hope, love, these three. But the greatest of these is love. 1CO 13:2-3, 13
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but only faith working through love. GAL 5:6
. . ..constantly bearing in mind before our God and Father your work of faith, labor of love, and endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 1TH 1:3
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But the goal of our command is love from a pure heart and from a good conscience and from a sincere faith. 1TI 1:5
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who earnestly seek him. . . . 31 By faith the prostitute Rahab did not perish along with those who were disobedient, because she had welcomed the spies in peace. HEB 11:6, 31
For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead also. JAS 2:26
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good life that his deeds are done in the humility of wisdom. JAS 3:13
1 Faith that does not result in deeds is useless.
Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith without deeds is useless? JAS 2:20
James described how their ancestor Abraham demonstrated his faith in God by offering his son Isaac up as a living sacrifice. His faith did not stop at believing in God or in praying to him. Without action, his faith would have been useless to his walk with God. What does Rom 12:1 say about living by faith?
Now do not be stiff-necked, as your ancestors were; but submit to the Lord and enter his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve the Lord your God, that his burning anger may turn away from you. 2CH 30:8
He who tills his land will have plenty of food,
but he who pursues empty things is devoid of sense. PRO 12:11
Rashi’s Commentary
He who tills his land will have plenty of food—To be understood according to its apparent meaning, but according to its allegorical meaning, this means he who constantly reviews his studies lest they be forgotten.
He who goes with wise men will become wise,
but the companion of fools will be broken. PRO 13:20
Rashi’s Commentary
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He who goes with wise men will become wise, but the companion of fools—Who joins fools to be his friends.
Will be broken—Heb. ירוע, will be shattered.
Much food [comes to the world through] the plowing of the poor [i.e., much law is produced by the disciples (“the poor”), whose teachers (“the rich”) “plow” them with pilpul (dialectic)],
but there are [those of them] who perish for lack of judgment [i.e., for improper deportment]. PRO 13:23
Rashi’s Commentary
But there are [those of them] who perish—And many of them perish from the world because they have no judgment, for they do not behave properly; and concerning the grain, some grain suffers because of its owner, who does not separate its tithes and its gifts for the poor as is proper. Our Sages explained in tractate Hagigah (4b) “But there are [those of them] who perish without justice,” concerning the messenger of the angel of death, who changes one name for another and causes the death of one whose time has not come. But, if it this explanation is so, the end of the verse has nothing to do with its beginning.
Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty,
but much produce comes by the strength of an ox [where there are no law scholars, there is no proper instruction]. PRO 14:4
Rashi’s Commentary
Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty—Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, for not even straw is found in the house.
Empty—Heb. בר, clean and empty. This means that without law scholars, there is no proper instruction.
In all toil there is profit,
but mere talk [i.e., vain talk] is only for loss. PRO 14:23
Rashi’s Commentary
In all toil—In all toil of work, there is a profit, but in words of vanity, there is only loss.
10 Tell the righteous it will be well with them,
for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds.
Rashi’s Commentary
Tell the righteous it will be well with them—Say to the righteous man that he did well.
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11 Woe to the wicked who does evil!
It will go badly with him!
For what he deserves will be done to him. ISA 3:10-11
Rashi’s Commentary
Woe to the wicked who does evil—For he is bad to himself and to others; he brings about harm to himself and to others. This is found in Tanchuma (Emor 5). This verse refers back to: Say to the righteous that it will be well with them and woe is to the wicked who does evil.
Then Nebuchadnezzar cried out and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants that trusted in him, and have defied the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies in order not to serve or worship any god except their own God.” DAN 3:28
Rashi’s Commentary
Nebuchadnezzar cried out—As translated, Nebuchadnezzar cried out.
That trusted in him—As translated, that trusted in him.
Defied the king’s command—They defied the king’s command by not fulfilling it.
And yielded up their bodies—Lit. delivered their bodies.
Except their own God—As translated, except their own God.
29 Or is he the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since there is one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we uphold the law. ROM 3:29-31
13 And do not offer the members of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but offer yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. . . . 16 Do you not know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey—whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? . . . 19 I am speaking in human terms because of your human limitations. For just as you presented your members as slaves of impurity and of lawlessness, resulting to further lawlessness, so now offer your members as slaves of righteousness leading to holiness. ROM 6:13, 16, 19
Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. ROM 12:1
2 Our faith is evidenced by our works.
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was working together with his actions, and faith was made complete by his works. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. JAS 2:21-24
Abraham obeyed God because of his faith in him. His faith was seen in his works, and it was credited to him as righteousness. For this to happen, our faith and works must go together. When was the last time you acted on your faith in God?
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And he believed in the Lord [not asking a sign for this as he did for the inheritance of the land (8)], and he credited it [his not asking for a sign] to him as righteousness. GEN 15:6
Rashi’s Commentary
And he believed in the Lord—He did not ask him for a sign regarding this; but in respect to the promise that he would possess the land he asked for a sign, inquiring of God, “How can I know?” (Gen 15:8)
And he credited it to him as righteousness—The Holy One, blessed be he, credited it to Abraham as a merit, because of the faith with which he believed in him. Another explanation of “How can I know?” is: he did not, by these words, ask for a sign, but he said to him, “Tell me by what merit they (my descendants) will remain in it (the land).” God answered him, through the merit of the sacrifices (Taanit 27b).
But he said, “O Lord God, how can I know that I will inherit it?” GEN 15:8
30 Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,
and so the plague was checked.
31 And it was credited to him as righteousness
to all generations forever. PSA 106:30-31
39 They answered and said to him, “Abraham is our father.”
Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the deeds of Abraham.” . . . 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be? JOH 8:39, 53
10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. . . . 13 Greater love has no one than this: than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. JOH 15:10, 13-15
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had embraced the promises was offering up his only begotten son, 18 it was he to whom it was said, “Through Isaac will your offspring be reckoned.” 19 He reasoned that God was able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type. HEB 11:17-19
APPLICATION
Talk about the moment you put your faith in Jesus Christ. How has it changed the way you see other people?
Ask God to show you a family member or friend who does not yet know him. How can you step out in faith and serve them this week?
Do you currently pray for, give to, or participate in an organization that serves others? How can you become more actively involved in these starting today?
PRAYER
Thank God for his love and compassion that offers us salvation through faith. Thank him for inviting us to a life of faith with him.
Ask God for opportunities to demonstrate your faith in him through works. Pray that he will open doors for you to serve others this week.
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Pray for God to show you a way you can actively serve others on a regular basis. Pray that your life of faith will be a way for others to meet God through your faith.
This work, "Gospel Demonstrated: Faith Produces Works" is a derivative of "Gospel Demonstrated: Victory Series" © 2018 by VICTORY® All rights reserved
"The Rashi Chumash" and "The Rashi Ketuvim" by Rabbi Shraga Silverstein is licensed under CC BY 3.0
