James 2:20 – But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

It’s pretty commonly understood in Christianity that performing “good works” apart from faith in Christ, is “dead” as far as eternal salvation is concerned. Salvation cannot be obtained by adherence to the Mosaic law, or any other level of good deeds or behavior, it is only through faith in Christ that salvation is granted unto mankind and obtained. That is the essence of Eph 2:8-9 – For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

But what seems to be much less understood, and even rejected in many Christian circles, is the other side of the coin, that Faith apart from works is also “dead” and just as unable to save. Works, apart from faith in Christ are “dead works”, but so also Faith, apart from the resulting fruit of good works is “dead faith”. The Apostle James went into great detail in his epistle to make sure believers understood that fact and would not be duped by false teachers who would eventually come along and try to introduce any notion that a person can claim to have eternal salvation, yet not exhibit the fruit of good works that are a natural result of saving faith. He even calls men vain and foolish who would entertain such a notion: But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? (Jam 2:20). The NASB version puts it this way: But are you willing to acknowledge, you foolish person, that faith without works is useless? James 2:14 states: What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can that faith save him? The obvious answer is No, it cannot. He finishes driving this point home by concluding with this: For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (Jam 2:26).

Some argue that this plain reading from James chapter 2 must be wrong, that there must be some alternate explanation, because to state that works *must* result from our faith appears contradictory to the point of Eph 2:8-9 and introduces a “works based” salvation. But that is not the case, Eph 2:8-9 is simply stating that salvation is not “based on” the performance of good deeds or works of the law, but only by faith in Christ. But if that faith is real, genuine and effective unto salvation, it becomes the key that unlocks the door and by which we enter. But that is not all that happens when we are saved, a divine transaction then takes place. Christ inhabits us, transforms us, and makes us a new creation. 2 Cor 5:17 – Therefore if *any man* be in Christ, he is a *new* creature: old things are passed away; behold, *all things* are become new. If that is not the case for someone who claims to believe, if there is not a true transformation of the life, then it is likely that that transaction never actually occurred and they are still outside of the faith, possessing nothing more than mere mental assent or agreement with Christ as savior, but not faith. Real, saving faith will *always* result in a changed life and that changed life will naturally produce the fruit and evidence of good works. Those “good works” are not the basis of salvation, but the fruit of it. The very next verse after Eph 2:8-9, verse 10 confirms this necessity: For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

James is not the only one who made this point about saving faith and the necessity of fruit as a result. Jesus himself made this point clear in John chapter 15: Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit (Jn 15:2). I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned (Jn 15:5-6).

The fruit of a transformed life is not optional, but mandatory for anyone claiming Christianity and possessing eternal salvation. This has always been the common understanding and teaching of our forebears in faith throughout most of the Church age until very recently, beware of any false teaching and teachers that would attempt to explain this away and introduce a counterfeit narrative to these vital truths.