Paul said that a person is justified by faith alone. And not only justified: he lives by faith, for it is said: “The just shall live by faith [not by works]” [Rom.1:17] But when you say this to believers, they usually object: “Faith without works is dead! Amen!” And by works here they always mean not sinning, evangelising, and not giving chocolates to unmarried girls. But that is only the human understanding of works. Scripture says: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding.”

When we read passages of Scripture, we need to understand what audience they are addressed to. This is very important, because it is foolish to swallow everything indiscriminately. Yes, all Scripture is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness [2 Tim.3:16]. The main thing is not to forget that it means His righteousness, not ours. But not all Scripture is addressed to us, His church. James, the brother of the Lord and the author of the Epistle of James, was an apostle to the Jews, like Peter and John [Gal.2:9], and so this epistle is addressed to the twelve tribes of Israel, not to the church as Paul’s epistles are [Jas.1:1]. Most of the Jews did not believe in the Messiah, and when it was preached to them that one can be saved only by believing in Christ, the One sent by God, they objected that they already believed in the living God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. James wrote to them that such faith cannot save them, because the demons also believe that God exists — and what good does it do them?

Faith that God is good and that He gave His beloved Son for us while we were still sinners is the true faith through which people receive the salvation given to them on the cross. That is why James gave them the examples of Abraham and Rahab. Abraham believed that God is good and would raise Isaac even if he offered him as a sacrifice [Heb.11:19]. Many years before Christ came, Abraham believed the Good News [Gal.3:8; Gen.15:5-6]. It is Abraham’s faith — not merely faith that God exists, but faith in God who justifies the ungodly — that is accounted to him for righteousness [Rom.4:5] Likewise, when the Jews, whose minds were full of works, asked Jesus: “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?“, He answered them: “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent” [Jhn.6:28-29]. In other words: “Do you want to do something to please God? Believe in His Son!”

So pressing the saying “faith without works is dead” on believers without revealing whom it was meant for is the same as regarding them as unbelievers [in Jesus] and feeding God’s children with food meant for the little dogs.