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results of faith

James 2:17-23 (JDV)

James 2:17 In the same way faith, if it doesn’t have results, is dead by itself.
James 2:18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have results.” Show me your faith without results, and I will show you faith by my results.
James 2:19 You believe that God is one. Good! Even the demons believe — and they shudder.
James 2:20 Senseless person! Are you willing to learn that faith without results is useless?
James 2:21 Wasn’t Abraham our father proved to be right by results in offering Isaac his son on the altar?
James 2:22 You see that faith was active together with his results, and by results, faith was made complete,
James 2:23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God’s friend.

results of faith

We can never come to God using our own works. They are insufficient to get us any closer to God. We are drawn to God by his act of grace, and the result of that grace is that we have faith in him. What James is talking about is the consequences of that new faith we are given by grace. It will always result in evidence of our transformation. Without that evidence, if we say we have faith, we just might be deceiving ourselves.

The context helps us to understand James’ point as well. He had been criticizing those Christians who refused to treat the poor among them with respect. They treated the poor as second-class citizens, or — even worse — as slaves. James tells them that such prejudice and partisanship reveal a lack of understanding. When a person has been blessed with faith, it produces a love that looks beyond the differences and celebrates brotherhood among all Christians.

Let me put the principle in a different context. What about the woman who has been called to ministry and gifted by the Holy Spirit for obedience to that calling? Do you prefer men as preachers? Do you choose to deny what the Holy Spirit is doing in that person’s life because of your preference? If so, you might be missing out on an opportunity to demonstrate your faith.

I know, many find reasons to object to a female in ministry theologically. I am aware of those arguments. But it amounts to the same kind of prejudice that James is talking about here. I was tempted at one time to adopt those theological arguments, but I came to see that they are a means of justifying male chauvinism.

The Holy Spirit has been poured out on our sons and daughters. Rejecting the ministry of a person because of her gender is demonstrating a lack of faith.