Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Epistle, James 2:1-10, 14-18

James 2:1-10, 14-18

James is tricky. Judgment is tricky. Heaven’s sake, being a Christian is tricky. To those of us who claim legacy from the Reformation, especially the Lutheran stripe of it, James can be troublesome. But the book need not be. If Jesus made anything clear, He made the connection between works (loving the neighbor) and faith clear. “Without Me you can do nothing,” says Jesus. Now, obviously that does not mean I should check in with Jesus before brushing teeth or cleaning the car. What it does mean, and John’s entire gospel bears this out, is that the life of Jesus is what animates any work deemed “good,” or spiritually fruitful.

James says that our faith is shown through our works. Not validated, but rather displayed. You see, God looks on the heart and sees the faith that dwells there. Even faith as a mustard seed. But the eyes of men cannot see faith in the heart. True faith produces fruitful works that anyone can see. But those works are attached to and preceded by saving faith. True “love of neighbor” works, that is. To say “I can prove I am a Christian by how good or less bad I am,” is not the gospel. It’s the Law. I am saved by grace through a faith gifted to me. That faith holds to the promises of Christ wherein I need His death and resurrection precisely because my works are never the measure of my fitness for eternal life. Neither works to obtain God’s favor nor works following salvation that somehow prove I’ve finally arrived. God does not grade on good intentions. Nor does He give allowance for them. Perfection (cf. Matthew 5:48) is His only measure. And I simply cannot attain that standard. God be praised for the gospel of Jesus Christ.