Our 2026 theme for the Baptist Women’s World Day of Prayer is “Living the Good News: Faith in Action,” drawn from James 2:17 (NIV): “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
The book of James is traditionally attributed to James, the half-brother of Jesus and leader of the Jerusalem Church. We learn James’s stories from the book of Acts and from Paul’s letters. After Peter moved on from Jerusalem to go start new churches, James rose to prominence as a leader of the Church in Jerusalem. The book was likely written between AD 44 and 49, making it one of the earliest New Testament writings, addressed to Jewish Christians scattered outside Palestine.
The book begins like a letter, and it functions as a practical guide for Christian living, blending Jewish wisdom literature with teachings from the Sermon on the Mount.
James was writing to Messianic Jews who were scattered, whose lives are being marked by suffering and hostility. There was a famine that led to poverty in the region, and these Messianic Jews were being persecuted by Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. These earliest Messianic Jews came from Jewish communities who had responded to the gospel and gave their allegiance to Jesus as their Messiah. They learned that they were no longer obligated to do the work required by Mosaic Law. Jewish leaders in Jerusalem were content if the outer act looked pure. They got their self-worth from the approval of other people. In fact, they had such a hunger for praise that they went to nearly any length to get it. But Jesus raises the bar to say that the outer act must flow from the inside – from a pure heart.
By works, James does not mean works of the law. He is not pressing for the observance of all the rules of conduct prescribed in the Old Testament and amplified in the Rabbinic tradition. As a Jewish Christian, he has no primary concern for strict rules of diet, ritual cleanliness, observance of all the religious fasts prescribed by Jewish statutes, and the regulations about the Sabbath. His concern is rather for good works, works of mercy, works of kindness, works of identification, works of peacemaking, works of love wherever human needs are found – wherever the action is. James is concerned that Christians provide those things needful for the body.
The emphasis of James on the doing of works is completely at one with God’s absolutely consistent call to sinful man. James calls his readers to come to the Lord in faith and to serve him in the work of winning hearts for Christ and transforming individuals through the power of the gospel.
The Bible makes it clear that our works don’t earn salvation. James is trying to explain that when we are saved through faith in Jesus Christ, we are naturally and without thought drawn to do good works. Scripture repeatedly commands believers to choose, pursue, practice, discipline themselves, put off, put on, obey, persevere, etc. “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” Philippians 2:12-13 (NIV)
Some people let works replace faith. They may become so deeply involved in charitable works and social service that little attention is given to the development of a growing trust in God. Often, such works are not demonstrations of faith at all but are merely humanitarian impulses. They may be wonderful pursuits, but they are not what James was discussing in his letter.
We need to remember that we are playing for an audience of one. And that is God.
Sometimes, people do good things for the wrong reasons.
I know someone who did a lot of good work for others. He was always helping others. People thought he was wonderful. Those who knew him intimately knew his helping others was defined by a pattern of grandiosity, entitlement, and the need for admiration.
Christianity emphasizes surrender to God, humility, and selfless love for others.
Genuine faith will always result in obedience to Jesus’ teachings. We see in Matthew 5:16 (NIV), “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
All our actions should be motivated by a desire to bless and care for others. It is then that we will display the real heartbeat of God’s love. There is a difference between believing that there is a God and walking with Him. The burden of James’s epistle was to show that true faith is alive and active.
Biblical faith is not detached acceptance of an orthodox creed; neither is it one-half the requirements for salvation, the other half of which is works. James shows that faith without works is not true faith at all. It is dead.
To drive this point home, James draws on two seemingly opposite figures: Abraham and Rahab. These two individuals, who come from vastly different backgrounds, offer a striking picture of what active faith looks like, reminding us that faith isn’t limited to a particular status or history.
James uses Abraham as an example of someone who had faith and then did right by obeying God. Abraham is a foundational figure in the Bible, often called the “father of faith.” God called Abraham out of his homeland and promised him descendants as numerous as the stars, making him the father of a great nation. His works paired with his faith to create benefit and blessing. Rahab also had faith and acted on that faith, so her works showed she was obedient to God. This obedient action-taking puts life into our faith just as a spirit puts life into a body, and its result is our maturation. James did not believe that Abraham was justified by works apart from faith, but that he was justified by God through the kind of faith that leads to works of obedience.
All our actions should be motivated by a desire to bless and care for others. It is then that we will display the real heartbeat of God’s love. Considering all these encouragements to live with generosity, Jesus still challenges us to be careful and honest with ourselves. “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” Matthew 6:1 (NIV)
If there is even a hint of desire for others to see how much we are giving, or whom we are giving to, that is not real faith. James challenges us to be careful and honest. “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” James 3:13-17 (NIV)
That kind of faith cannot save anyone. It is a vain and empty-headed woman who does not know that faith without works is barren. Christians may not properly divide faith and works. It is ridiculous for a woman to try to set himself up as a specialist in faith or a specialist in works. God’s gracious incoming to believers in salvation and our obedient outgoing to others in good works is a vital unity, a single continuum of Christian experience. Faith and works cannot exist apart. One without the other is a road to nowhere.
It is imperative that Christians today understand God’s call to salvation not as a call to either faith or works but as a call to both faith and works. We are not saved by faith plus works; we are saved by grace through faith – a faith that necessarily produces works.
