James 2:1-5, 8-10, 14-18

In his epistle, St. James writes:

"What good is it...if you say you have faith but do not have works?  Can faith save you?...[F]aith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. (2:14,17)"

And as Lutherans we respond and say: "Whoa, now!  Wait a minute there!"  That doesn't sound like what we have been taught; I thought we were saved by faith.  After all, in his letter to the Galatians, St. Paul writes:

"[W]e know that a person is justified not by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ...because no one will be justified by the works of the law. (3:16)"

Upon first hearing St. Paul and St. James, they seem to contradict each other: Paul arguing fervently that it is faith alone which saves us; James arguing just as fervently that faith is not enough—it must be completed with good works.  They seem irreconcilable.  However, when we look a little more carefully at what these two apostles are teaching, it soon becomes clear that they are not contradicting one another; rather, they are addressing different audiences, and they are using the word "faith" to mean different things.

As Lutherans, we tend to be more grounded in Paul's way of thinking.  And when St. Paul speaks of "faith," he is talking about a living relationship.  When he speaks of faith, he isn't merely referring to knowledge or intellectual acceptance; For St. Paul, faith is much more than that.  Faith is a way of life.  He writes about "faith working through love (Gal5:6)."  So for him, there is no dichotomy, there is no separation or opposition between faith and good works.  Because good works are always part of faith; Good works flow naturally indeed even necessarily from faith.

In his Preface to the Book of Romans, Martin Luther wrote:

"[F]aith is a living, busy, active, mighty thing, so that it is impossible for it not to be constantly doing what is good.  Likewise, faith does not ask if good works are to be done, but before one can ask, faith has already done them and is constantly active...It is therefore as impossible to separate works from faith as it is to separate heat and light from fire."

And that is certainly St. Paul's understanding as well.  But in contrast to that sort of "Pauline" or "Lutheran" understanding of faith, St. James means something different altogether, when he uses that word.  For it is clear that when James speaks of "faith," he is referring only to intellectual understanding or acceptance.  James is writing to people who have distorted and mutilated the Gospel by saying that faith and good works have no connection.  James wrote his letter to people who must have been saying:

"Yes, we believe in Jesus; now don't bother us any further by telling us how we are supposed to live.  Yes, we believe in Jesus, but don't try and tell us that our faith should make a difference in our lives."

It is to people like that then, that St. James is saying, "What good is your faith?"  It's just an empty shell; there is no substance to it.

St. Paul on the other hand, would probably tell them that they don't really have faith.  Because true faith is always bearing the fruit of good works.  But they betray their lack of faith by their attitude that it doesn't matter how they live.  True faith cannot help but be active in love.  True faith involves your entire being--your entire life.

Now we need to be clear and emphasize again and again, that it's not that good works save you; it's just that there is no such thing as faith which doesn't show itself in how one lives one's life.

This inseparable connection between faith and works is clearly pointed out in our Gospel lesson from St. Mark this morning.  For as soon as Peter has made his confession of faith, as soon as he has stated his belief that Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus then immediately speaks of the cross and he declares to those around him what it means for them to be his disciples.  To confess Jesus, to have faith in him, means that you will be his follower, his disciple.  It means that you will take up your cross and go wherever he leads.  It means you will seek to do all that Jesus would have you do.

Faith inevitably, necessarily, manifests itself in how you live your life.  Faith drives you to good works.

This summer in Atlanta (the 1994 National Lutheran Youth Gathering), Tony Campolo told us a true story.  He was on a train one day in London, and across the compartment from him there were two men in their late thirties.  About ten minutes out of the train station, one of the men began to have a seizure.  He was trembling and shaking, he fell on the floor and his eyes rolled back.  Tony didn't know what to do, and he was frightened because he thought the man was going to die.

But the man's friend picked him up.  He set him down on the seat. He wiped the beads of perspiration from his brow, and he took ff his coat and put it around him like a blanket.  The man continued to tremble for a few more minutes, and then it was over—as quickly as it began.

And then the other fellow spoke to Tony.  He said,

"Forgive him and me.  I had no idea this was going to happen. We were in Vietnam together.  I'm American; he's English.  We were both wounded.  He had half of his chest blown away by a hand grenade.  And there was shrapnel all through his chest.  I lost my leg."—and he pulled up his trousers and showed his artificial limb.

And then he continued: "We knew we were going to die because the helicopter sent to rescue us had been blown out of the sky.  We laid there—I don't know how long—and then my friend reached down and grabbed hold of my shirt.  I don't know how he got up, mister, because the minute he got up he screamed in pain because the metal in his chest tore his flesh.  And grabbing my shirt he pulled me, and he pulled me, and he pulled me.  I don't know how long it was.  It was hours, maybe even days.

Twice the Viet Cong came upon us and they didn't kill us because we were too pathetic looking: me without my leg—my friend here with his chest torn apart.  Mister—he got me out of there.  He saved my life.

A year ago I found out that he had this condition.  So I closed down my apartment; I sold my car; I sold my furniture; and I came over here to be with him.  Because someone has to be with him all the time.  We never know when he's going to have something like this happen to him.  He has these seizures and we don't know when they're going to hit him.  I'm sorry it happened here—with you—but that's the way it is—I'm sorry.”

And Tony said, "That's okay.  I'm glad to know.  What you're doing for him is wonderful."

And the fellow responded, "Hey, don't be impressed."

Tony said, "I am impressed."

He said, "Don't be--you're not reading me mister.  After what he did for me, there isn't anything I wouldn't do for him."

This man couldn't respond in any other way.  His response to his friend was automatic.  He couldn't stop himself from reaching out in love and compassion, to this other fellow who had saved his life.

And that is a picture for us of the connection between faith and good works.  Because when you see what Jesus has done for you, when you're confronted with the reality that on the cross he died for you, that he has saved you, to such an incredible thing as that, faith can only respond: "Jesus, after what you've done for me, there isn't anything I wouldn't do for you."  Take me Lord; I'm yours.  Use me to do whatever you want me to do.  Take control of my life; Make me into the kind of person you want me to be.  Let me serve wherever you want me to serve.  Take my resources—whatever they are—and use them to your glory.

That is surely what a life of faith is all about.  That's what it is to be a disciple of Christ—to take up your cross and follow him.  For to truly believe means to lay down everything—your entire being—all that you have, and all that you are—at Christ's disposal.

A life of faith will necessarily manifest itself in how you handle your money.  Faith will drive you to place your financial resources at Christ's disposal.

A life of faith will necessarily manifest itself in how you handle your time.  Faith will drive you to place your time at Christ's disposal.

A life of faith will necessarily manifest itself in how you treat your neighbors—especially those who are less fortunate.  Faith will drive you to deeds of mercy and compassion.

It cannot be otherwise.  For it is the very nature of faith to manifest itself in tangible actions of worship, love and devotion.

Just behind my back yard I have some raspberry plants, and I really love raspberries, so I try to take good care of them.  It's important for me to give them plenty of water, so they don't just dry up in the hot summer months.  It's important that I make sure they don't become overwhelmed with weeds, lest they get choked off.  And it's important that there aren't too many grasshoppers around, otherwise they would simply eat all the leaves off the plants and they would die.  There are lots of things I need to do to try and care for them.

But as far as the plants themselves go, they only know to do one thing.  In the summer months they grow, and when it gets to be this time of year, they produce big, plump, juicy raspberries.  That's what raspberry plants do--they produce fruit.

And so it is with faith.  The only thing faith knows to do is grow and produce fruit.  The only thing faith knows to do is to respond in thanksgiving for all that Christ has done for us.  The only thing faith knows to do is show itself in good works--in acts of love and devotion to God and to his children.

In his hymn When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, Isaac Watts expresses the intense feeling of gratitude that a Christian experiences when they are confronted with Christ's death on the cross.  In the fourth stanza he writes:

Love so amazing, so divine,

Demands my soul, my life, my all.

May such faith as that, live in each one of you.

Peter C. Jacobson is the pastor at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kansas