The resounding point in James 2 is that authentic Christian faith is a dynamic reality—that it “works.”   If we claim to have faith in Jesus but there’s no meaningful expression of that faith in our actions, the claim is hollow.   “Faith without works is dead” (vv 17, 26)—lifeless, meaningless.  In other words, “faith” that does not lead to changed living is not true Christian faith.   The heart that says “I believe Jesus died for me so now I can just live as I please because I’m forgiven and heaven’s a done deal” is a heart that lacks genuine faith in Christ:  it is the heart of an unbeliever.  

That’s because real faith involves trust in and a readiness to follow in the steps of the One we trust, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Faith involves not only knowing truth but loving the God of truth.  Of course, Christians don’t practice their faith perfectly—James is aware of that error too (3:2; cf. 1 John 1:8, 10).  But still, true faith simply cannot be bottled up in the brain:  it must get out and get activated with hands and feet and words—it must “work.”

The folly of “faith without works” is driven home in James 2:19:  “You believe that God is one; you do well.  Even the demons believe—and shudder!”  Merely affirming truth about God doesn’t constitute biblical faith.  If we say we “believe” the Bible is true and there is just one God, and if we affirm the doctrine of the incar­nation and the deity of Christ and his sin-bearing work on the cross (etc.), that kind of mental assent, vital as it is, does not save. 

Satan and his demonic legions acknowledge correct information about God—his oneness, even his awesome majesty (note that they “shudder”).  But “believing” a set of facts is not enough, and that’s because simply accepting the facts is not what it means to have faith.   Authentic Christian faith involves trust, admir­ation, devotion; genuine faith necessarily engages the mind and arouses the heart and stimulates the will.  Faith is not content just to sit back and tip its hat to a list of truth claims.  Faith goes to work.

What about you?  Is there evidence that you have faith in Jesus?