SERMON TITLE: Saving Faith
SCRIPTURE: James 2:14-26 (ESV)
SPEAKER: Chandler Turpin
DATE: 04/12/2026
Sermon Discussion Guide
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Good morning Gateway Church! Whether you’re at our County Road 9 Campus or at our North Main Campus, I’m so thankful to be in God’s Word with you today. If we haven’t met yet, my name’s Chandler Turpin and I’m a Pastoral Resident here at Gateway Church. I’m joined by my wife Elisabeth, and our two daughters, Eliana and Annalise. And if you couldn’t tell by my accent – I’m not from around here. But don’t worry, there is a manuscript you can follow along with on your Gateway Church app.
I hope everyone enjoyed our Easter series, but this week we’re going to get back on track, continuing in our series on the Book of James. Last time we heard from James, Pastor Josh did a sermon on Prejudice and Love — and just for a refresher on where we were — we were in James Chapter 2 verses 1-13. This week we’re James chapter two — beginning in verse 14. There we read…
James 2:14–26 ESV
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 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? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
In today’s sermon, we’ll have two main points — faith that fails without works, — and true faith that proves itself through obedience. We’ll walk through James' claim that “faith without works is dead,” and talk about how true faith — a saving faith — has to be rooted in obedience to the Lord. This will lead us to our conclusion, that genuine faith is always accompanied by good works.
Now for our first point, faith that fails without works, we’ll take a look again at James chapter 2 – verses 14 through 19.
James 2:14–19 ESV
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 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? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
In the book of James — we’re reminded that true faith isn’t merely about belief but also about action. Imagine a man — in a raging river — pleading for help while refusing to reach for the lifeline thrown to him. His faith in his own ability to swim won't save him — it's the action of grabbing the rope that does. Just like that lifeline — God offers us his grace — but we must respond with faith that moves us to act.
Now — the first sentence here in our text sets the tone for James' audience — specifically the first part — “What good is it?” The King James Version replaces good with profit. You might ask, what can you profit from faith without works? You can feel James’ emotion through these words as if he’s been witnessing the treatment of the poor first hand — using words of blessing — in place of faith in action.
James is giving us an illustration here of what genuine faith — doesn’t look like. Now I need to make a clarification here — when James says “brother or sister,” he is speaking specifically to brothers and sisters in the faith — or fellow Christians. It’s not that we aren’t called to help those outside the faith — but James is speaking in reference to those that walk alongside us in faith.
And whether you’re a Christian — or not — we probably both can see the point that James is making here. We should at least have some idea of what’s right and wrong. Feels wrong to just tell someone who’s cold to “go be warm” — right? You don’t have to be a Christian to understand James is pointing out to us a huge moral failure — and is even saying that those people probably aren’t true believers.
But there’s good news — both for believers and unbelievers. For believers, you have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit working inside of you. It doesn’t mean that we aren’t capable of choosing to do the wrong thing. We are still capable of sin. But the Holy Spirit is your guide to your life — and will cause you — to carry out the good works you are called to do.
And for the unbeliever — there is hope in Jesus Christ. The good news is that Jesus has already paid the price for our sins. We are called to lay down those sins at his feet — to repent from — or to turn away from sin. Jesus went to the cross in our place — to pay the price for our sin — so that we could be saved. And with the Spirit with you — you are forever changed — and according to James and the example Jesus set — good works will follow.
Now, here’s a real life example we can make from James’ illustration. You’re hanging out after church — fellowshipping and catching up with other members — and someone brings up the fact that they’ve just recently lost their job. Not only have they lost their job — but now they’ve depleted their savings — they’re running out of food — they have 5 kids at home who need shoes — their car needs tires — and now the power is about to be cut off. You hear all of this — knowing that you have a job — funds available beyond your own need — plenty of food — clothes for the kids — and on and on — but your response is — wow John, I can’t believe you’re going through that. We’ll pray for you.
This is exactly the kind of — “faith” — James is talking about. A faith that’s rooted in selfishness and pride. One of my favorite illustrations of dead faith is the body in a coffin. The body is clean, well manicured — has on its best suit — makeup — looks ready for a traditional Sunday morning — but — no matter how well a body is prepared and kept — unless it has breath in its lungs — it’s dead. Friends — unless your faith is accompanied by good works — that faith is dead.
By the way — let me say one thing — sometimes you may not have anything to offer but prayer — and that’s okay! — Pray! But I’d challenge you to “actually” pray. Don’t just offer up empty words of condolence — or say that you’ll pray. You see — we could often ask members of the church — how can I be praying for you? However, if we say we’ll pray but fail to do so, that’s the type of empty faith James speaks of. Praying is action! So pray!
For a while — when I was newer to the faith — when people would approach me about an issue in their life and ask me to pray for them — I’d gladly accept. And instead of writing it down or confirming with that person that I would indeed pray for them — I’d just ask — can I pray for you now? When I tell you that this catches people off guard — that’s an understatement. Now out of respect for people I don’t do this much anymore unless someone specifically asks — or I feel led by the Holy Spirit to pray for that person right then. The point here is this — pray! James commands us to pray later in Chapter 5…
James 5:16 ESV
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
Let’s not forget what he says in the last sentence — that “the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
Now let’s turn back to our text for today in verse 18 and 19…
James 2:18–19 ESV
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
James uses the example here of a challenger stating that “You have faith and I have works.” and James responds with an incredible example of how simply believing in something intellectually — meaning that you believe it literally exists and acknowledge it — doesn’t save you. He says “Even the demons believe—and shudder!” Friends — even the demons believe and know God is one.
The difference here is that true believers know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Not just Lord, not just Savior — Lord and Savior.
Anyone can claim faith — but genuine faith always leaves evidence. True faith submits itself to truth — not just agreeing with it. We can all agree that we believe in Jesus — that he was real and that he existed — but until you have submitted to the authority of Jesus as Lord — then you have no faith at all. All you have is belief — which by itself doesn’t save.
If you feel like this is you — that you’ve been going through the motions — and haven’t been active in your faith — I have good news. There’s still time. We live in a broken and fallen world — and because of that there have never been more opportunities for you to carry out your faith through good works.
As we move on to our next point – we see that James is leading us somewhere with his claim that faith fails without works. Let’s jump over to our next point to see exactly where.
For our next point – we will look at how true faith – proves itself through obedience. Let's look at the last part of our text found in James Chapter 2 verses 20 through 26…
James 2:20–26 ESV
20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
James here is using two prominent examples from the Old Testament to drive his point home — that faith without works is dead. Abraham — recognized to be the founding father of the Jewish people found in the book of Genesis — is James’ first example here — followed by Rahab — a prostitute in the city of Jericho. Obviously there’s a big difference between a founding father and a prostitute — so why would James choose these two people for his point? Let's take a look and see.
Now the specific verse James points to here when he mentions “being counted to him as righteousness” is located in Genesis Chapter 15 verse 6…
Genesis 15:6 ESV
6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
But for those of you who may be unfamiliar with the rest of the story, let's read from Genesis Chapter 22…
Genesis 22:1-18 NLT
1 Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.” 2 “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” 3 The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.” 6 So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, 7 Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” 8 “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together. 9 When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. 11 At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” 12 “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” 13 Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” 15 Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. 16 “This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that 17 I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. 18 And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”
In the last part of our text — James first uses Abraham as an example for his argument that faith apart from works is useless. Abraham was justified by his works — when he offered up his son Issac on the altar — because Abraham was willing to be — radically obedient to God. Keep in mind — Abraham had been promised a son who would be the foundation of Abraham's future line. This was his “only son” — as stated in Genesis Chapter 22 verse 2.
Abraham had so much trust in God that he put his only son Isaac on the altar as a sacrifice to him. The story of Abraham and Isaac is such a great example of what true genuine faith looks like. When we’re obedient to God, we’re actively carrying out the works that he’s calling us to do.
What does that kind of trust look like in your life? Is it trusting God with your tithes and offerings — knowing that he’ll provide for all of your needs?
Is it putting yourself out there to volunteer at a homeless shelter, or a soup kitchen?
Is it serving the church here as a volunteer?
Is it simply stopping, and instead of telling the person to “go in peace, be warmed and filled” — that you actually do something about it — providing food, clothing, shelter.
I’ll let you in on one of the ways I try to live this out. I’ve never really shared this until now—
When I am out in public – I always carry a little extra cash. You see what has happened in the past is that I ignored the person on the street asking for help. I would avoid eye contact – because that’s the trick of course – just avoid eye contact.
Can I just tell you that something changed after I accepted Jesus as the Lord of my life? I started getting what felt like literally punches to the gut when I would pass these people by.
Now some of you may not know but I moved here from North Carolina – from a place where it’s very common to see beggars at red lights and on sidewalks.
What the Lord was trying to tell me is that I was missing a huge opportunity to be obedient. Let’s read from Matthew Chapter 5 verse 42...
Matthew 5:42 ESV
42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
I was missing my chance to be obedient to the Lord – by refusing to acknowledge these people. So today – I carry cash to give away to people in need. And you know what? – I’m fully aware that they might not use it for what they say they need it for – and I’m at peace with that. I pray that the Holy Spirit would draw them to God – and the rest is up to him.
Let's go back to our text here and look at our next example from the Old Testament…
James 2:25 ESV
25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
The story of Rahab illustrates how faith — demonstrated through concrete action — destroys social status and cultural barriers, making her a model of genuine conversion and trust in God. Let’s read her story from the book of Joshua, Chapter 2 starting in verse 1…
Joshua 2:1–11 NLT
1 Then Joshua secretly sent out two spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia Grove. He instructed them, “Scout out the land on the other side of the Jordan River, especially around Jericho.” So the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night. 2 But someone told the king of Jericho, “Some Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” 3 So the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab: “Bring out the men who have come into your house, for they have come here to spy out the whole land.” 4 Rahab had hidden the two men, but she replied, “Yes, the men were here earlier, but I didn’t know where they were from. 5 They left the town at dusk, as the gates were about to close. I don’t know where they went. If you hurry, you can probably catch up with them.” 6 (Actually, she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them beneath bundles of flax she had laid out.) 7 So the king’s men went looking for the spies along the road leading to the shallow crossings of the Jordan River. And as soon as the king’s men had left, the gate of Jericho was shut. 8 Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof to talk with them. 9 “I know the Lord has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. 10 For we have heard how the Lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed. 11 No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.
The story of Rahab can be viewed as a direct contrast to the example James gave us in our text earlier. Let's take a look back at chapter 2 verses 15 and 16…
James 2:15–16 ESV
15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 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?
Rahab didn’t just give the men some words of encouragement — or tell them to seek shelter somewhere else. Rahab knew that she’d be persecuted if the king of Jericho found out about what she had done — yet she did it anyway — because her faith was stronger than her fear of persecution — which is the kind of faith that saves — and this faith is demonstrated by her works on behalf of the men sent by Joshua — and on behalf of the Lord.
It’s likely that James uses the two examples of Abraham and Rahab purposefully — to emphasize a point. That point is this — whether you’re a “friend of God,” — as Abraham is called in our text — or you’re someone who has lived a life — up until this moment — of sin and destruction, like Rahab may have since she was called a prostitute — there’s hope for us all — once we find genuine faith — a faith that’s always accompanied by good works. A kind of faith that must produce fruit.
Now there may be someone here today that has lost all hope. They’ve come today to give God one more try. They’ve lived a life of sin — and think — why bother? God would never save someone like me.
Friend — there’s hope in our story today. I believe God intentionally chose the story of Rahab the prostitute to show you that he can use anyone for his glory. Trust in him — for he alone can provide the grace you are seeking.
This means that no matter where you are in life — and how deeply you’re entrenched in sin — there’s hope. That hope comes from Jesus — and the work that the Holy Spirit does inside of you. Jesus loves you – and gave all for you. And in order to be more like him – to imitate Christ – we have work to do in our faith. True faith is the act of us carrying out good works in his name through obedience to Christ.
I’d like to close by talking about the most important piece of our message — or any message we preach here at Gateway — and that’s Jesus. James’ commands here in this passage reflect how Jesus carried out his ministry — so why would we not take James seriously? Let's take a look at an example from scripture on how Jesus used works in his ministry.
Here’s one example from Mark chapter 1 verses 40 through 45…
Mark 1:40–45 ESV
40 And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43 And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” 45 But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.
To truly appreciate what Jesus has done here — we must understand what touching the person afflicted with leprosy meant in those times. Jesus would’ve been considered unclean and would’ve had to go through a cleansing process. Also — according to the times here — Jesus should’ve rebuked the leper for not remaining outside the city as required by the law — and for not announcing himself unclean as he approached Jesus.
Jesus instead sees the faith that the man has, and heals him. It's important to understand that Jesus could’ve simply just spoken the words and the leper would’ve been healed. But instead Jesus chose to set the example — an example of love for one another — grace for your brothers and sisters in faith.
Friends – Jesus didn’t say to us – “go in peace, keep warm, be well fed, and I hope that somehow you figure out how to save yourselves.” Instead he calls us to be his hands and feet, to go out into the world and care for his people.
We’re called to act out our faith — especially to those brothers and sisters in Christ. That’s why James is addressing his audience as brothers and sisters — he’s addressing those who are brothers and sisters in the faith.
Yes, we’re called to Go — Yes we’re called to evangelize — Yes we’re called to pray for the lost — but if you don’t have enough faith to bear fruit for your brothers and sisters in Christ — James would say — that you have no faith at all.
Genuine faith is a faith accompanied by good works. Faith without works is no faith at all. Let’s pray.
Father, thank you for your grace that saves us. Father we know that it’s only by your grace that we may receive salvation, and that with that salvation comes fruit that we are to bear in our lives.
Let us all be encouraged by your Word — to have a faith with good works — so that others may see us carrying out works like you would Jesus. Help us to be more like you in all that we do — so that one day we may hear those sweet words — “well done, my good and faithful servant.”
Father, I pray for those today who don’t yet know you. I pray that you would draw them near to you so that they would encounter your greatness and love. That they would be filled with the Holy Spirit — who leads our lives — who helps us to produce the fruit required by a saving faith. Amen
Christ was the perfect example of faith and good works – therefore may you go and imitate Christ – producing fruit in his name. Amen. You are sent.
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