"But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?" — James 2:20
I have a friend who is such a big fan of zombie films. He's watched almost every single movie, TV show and short film that has at least one zombie in it.
One time, I asked him a question that stumped him. "How do those people know whether they're shooting zombies or real people?" He answered, "Oh, they just know." I then asked, "What if they actually shot someone that wasn't a zombie?" He just kept quiet.
How do you know if something or someone is dead? We can't just say, "Oh, you'll just know" because then we might end up "shooting" things and people alive. Something that's dead would stop breathing, would have no heart beat, or maybe would stop growing.
It's the same way with our faith. We need to know whether our faith is dead or alive. James makes it very clear what dead faith looks like: It does not manifest in works.
In James 2:14-16, it says, "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and filled,' without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?"
What makes faith without works dead? Works are to faith what signs of life are to a human being. In the same way we know if a person is alive when we detect a heartbeat, breathing and even movement, faith was meant to manifest itself in ways that prove it's alive, and the way it does that is by works. When faith exists without works, it's like a zombie walking around pretending to be faith that "marks Christian living," but comes out unproductive.
Faith by definition is to believe and trust in something and someone to the point that it drives us to live in a way that shows it. It's important to note that belief and trust are best proven when we see that they affect the way we live, meaning they are meant to produce actions that back up our claims. When they don't, then our faith is nothing more than empty words and confessions.
When we put our faith in God, for instance, for provision and finance, but then we hoard our money as if we're afraid that God might not provide enough, our words do not back up our claims. They're dead words, and the faith we have is dead faith. Good works are the outcome of a heart that obeys, and a heart that obeys is always one that steps out in faith. But a heart that does not step out in faith will never be one to obey.
While good works cannot produce faith—and the apostle Paul makes that clear many times in scripture—faith will always produce good works. When faith does not, then that's when we can say that it's a "zombie" that has no life in it. It's dead.
How do we bring our faith to life? Ephesians 2:8 makes it clear where faith comes from, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God."
Faith can never come on our own terms. It comes simply from God. When we think that we can make over our faith with good works, we're going to be left with a really beautiful corpse.
Faith comes only from God and from hearing the message of the resurrected Christ. When we know God, His message and His promises, we will consequently put our faith and trust in Him. There's just no way you can turn down such an offer.
What does your faith look like today?
