14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can such faith save him?

15 If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food.

16 And one of you says to them, “Go in peace, stay warm and be well fed,” but you do not give them what the body needs, what good is it?

17 In the same way faith, if it does not have works is dead by itself.

Faith and works are a very important part of the book of James. Charles Swindoll says it’s “the main thesis of this book.”[1]

Works alone don’t save, but faith, true faith, produces righteous living and loving. Anyone can say they believe in Jesus, but that does not guarantee salvation. James 2:19 says, “You believe that God is one. Good! Even demons believe – and they shudder.” True faith changes that person. It is demonstrated in the way they live.

If someone claims to be saved and believe in God, but they live selfishly, hatefully, and you can’t tell a difference between them and a non-believer, they may have a fake faith. There are those who think they can just say they believe and that’s it. No!

Let’s look at John 3:16. This verse is the one many hold to who say they believe in Jesus. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”

This seems pretty simple. Many will say, “Yes, I believe that,” and think they are saved with no sign of change in their heart and life.

“Believe” in this context is defined as, “to have a faith directed unto, believing or in faith to give oneself up to.”[2] This speaks of surrender. Believe, here, does not mean a simple head knowledge. It means surrendering your life, devoting yourself to Jesus. When we do that, our lives change and we have true faith.

I have believed in Jesus, seemingly, all my life. He was a big part of my mom’s life and she shared Him with us all the time. In my senior year of high school, I began dating a guy who went to church whenever the doors were open. I was one who didn’t go to church, but I believed in Jesus. When I went to a youth group meeting with him and saw all these teenagers devoted and seeking God, I wanted it. I felt like I didn’t have that kind of commitment.

I went to a friend in my choir class who I knew was a devout Christian. I told her my struggles and she invited me to her home that night, to talk with her mom. Sitting on the twin beds in her room, I shared my story with her and her mom. Her mom then suggested that I “recommit” my life to Jesus.

Together we prayed and I surrendered my heart and declared my love for Him. I was never more serious. April 11, 1983, with Phyllis and Allison Kibiger, I rededicated my life to Jesus and everything changed. My hunger for His Word became insatiable. I began to see this life with a different perspective. I wanted to please Him. I wanted to know Him. I wanted Him to know me.

That is true faith.

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[1] Swindoll,  Living Insights

[2] Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, BLB