What does it mean that our works perfect our faith?

[Paper mache]

James chapter 2 talks about how our works perfect our faith... I'm having a little bit of trouble understanding exactly what that means.. could someone who understands please explain in a way that a kindergartner could understand it?  

I've already seen the Abraham + Isaac and the Rahab the harlot examples, but I still don't really understand.... do our works make our faith bigger, or fuller, so to speak? Or do they just prove that we have saving faith?

[warrior12]

Works compliments our faith, or accompany our faith in the christian walk.   When you are saved, some changes took place that is in line with scripture context and as you study them, compassion for the poor, the destitute, helping one another ect, becomes more a reality than words.   You have faith on someone who did and taught to do good works and believers are to emulate those, which is a big shoes to fill, but we have that mandate to do so.   In fulfilling the works aspect of your faith, you develop more Christlike attitudes and your faith magnifies with the satisfaction of your determination to be obedient to the Lord admonitions.

Luke 17King James Version (KJV)

⁵ And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.

[Leonardo Von]

Dear sister Brittany,

 

Grace and mercy and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Our trust in Jesus Christ needs to be more and more developed (2 Thess 1.3). So the more Jesus uses us to manifest to people, the more our trust in Him increases, as we will be realizing that He and His Word are really close to us and work. And the more we witness live the manifestation of His virtue in our lives, but our faith in Him and all that He has promised to us will grow within us.

[OneLight]

We can start with understanding that Hebrews believe in circular reasoning, not linear.  Understanding this, we can conclude the following through scripture.

Ephesians 2:8-10

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

By Grace from God, even though our faith is small at salvation, we are saved

Through this salvation, we are created in Christ Jesus for good works

James 2:22

Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?

Through our good works, our faith increases, allowing us to do more good works.  This is why James claims that faith without works is dead.

[Ezra]

5 hours ago, Brittany said:

James chapter 2 talks about how our works perfect our faith... I'm having a little bit of trouble understanding exactly what that means.. could someone who understands please explain in a way that a kindergartner could understand it?

If you substitute "complete" for "perfect" (which is entirely legitimate) then it is very easy to see that those who have believed the Gospel must also be careful to maintain good works. There are two Scriptures which clarify this.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Eph 2:10).

This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. (Titus 3:8).

[Willa]

Our works are the outcome of our faith.  "The just shall live by his faith"

Rom 1:16 ESV For I am not ashamed of the Good News of Christ, because it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes; for the Jew first, and also for the Greek.  Rom 1:17  For in it is revealed God’s righteousness from faith to faith. As it is written, “But the righteous shall live by faith.”
This means that it is not a matter of faith or works---it is godly faith that produces works.

  Jas 2:14 WEB  What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can faith save him?   As I said, it is not head knowledge that saves us.  Even the demons believe.  Godly faith in adhering to, trusting in and relying on Him.  But faith to do this comes as God shows Himself to be faithful to His promises as He answers prayers and demonstrates that He is concerned with every aspect of our lives.  This produces trust as He demonstrates He is trustworthy.  

Jas 2:21 AMP Was not our forefather Abraham [shown to be] justified (made acceptable to God) by [his] works when he brought to the altar as an offering his [own] son Isaac? [Gen 22:1-14]  Jas 2:22  You see that [his] faith was cooperating with his works, and [his] faith was completed and reached its supreme expression [when he implemented it] by [good] works.  Jas 2:23  And [so] the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed in (adhered to, trusted in, and relied on) God, and this was accounted to him as righteousness (as conformity to God's will in thought and deed), and he was called God's friend. [Gen 15:6; 2Ch 20:7; Isa 41:8]

True faith trusts and relies on God.  So I don't agree with James that it was by works that he was justified.  .  Abe's faith was such that it produced works.  That is how we live by our faith.  We step out in obedience, which can be scary.  But it becomes less so because God always shows Himself to be trustworthy before He tests us.  Before Abe offered his son to God, God had first provided this son miraculously in Sara's old age and showed Himself to be trustworthy and faithful to His promises.  That is why Abe could trust Him now and obey.  So I believe that Abe's works were produced by his faith.  And by doing so his faith was matured and completed.  It became stronger.    

Over the years I pray often for help in finding lost items like my car keys.  God has proved Himself faithful over and over, growing my faith stronger. My hubby has prayed for wisdom and help with car repairs and trying to fix the plumbing.  So trusting Him in more difficult situations has become easier because our trust has grown deeper and stronger as we have put it into practice. 

Finally we have surrendered our lives to Him so that He is given permission to live in us and change us to be more like Jesus. Our faith empowers us through the Holy Spirit to allow Christ to live His life through us.  So faith is not head knowledge.  It is  now the very life of God dwelling in us, loving others as He does.  It is Jesus living in us by the Holy Spirit.  He reaches out and meets the innermost needs of others.  He feeds the hungry and has compassion on the sick just as He did in the Bible.  

Feel free to ask question if I didn't say it simply enough.  All it takes is the faith/trust of a little child.  So sometimes it involves becoming more childlike in our trust.

[missmuffet]

Question: "Why is faith without works dead?"

Answer: James says, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26). Faith without works is a dead faith because the lack of works reveals an unchanged life or a spiritually dead heart. There are many verses that say that true saving faith will result in a transformed life, that faith is demonstrated by the works we do. How we live reveals what we believe and whether the faith we profess to have is a living faith.

James 2:14–26 is sometimes taken out of context in an attempt to create a works-based system of righteousness, but that is contrary to many other passages of Scripture. James is not saying that our works make us righteous before God but that real saving faith is demonstrated by good works. Works are not the cause of salvation; works are the evidence of salvation. Faith in Christ always results in good works. The person who claims to be a Christian but lives in willful disobedience to Christ has a false or dead faith and is not saved. Paul basically says the same thing in 1 Corinthians 6:9–10. James contrasts two different types of faith—true faith that saves and false faith that is dead.

Many profess to be Christians, but their lives and priorities indicate otherwise. Jesus put it this way: “By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them. Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers’” (Matthew 7:16–23).

Notice that the message of Jesus is the same as the message of James. Obedience to God is the mark of true saving faith. James uses the examples of Abraham and Rahab to illustrate the obedience that accompanies salvation. Simply saying we believe in Jesus does not save us, nor does religious service. What saves us is the Holy Spirit’s regeneration of our hearts, and that regeneration will invariably be seen in a life of faith featuring ongoing obedience to God.

Misunderstanding the relationship of faith and works comes from not understanding what the Bible teaches about salvation. There are really two errors in regards to works and faith. The first error is “easy believism,” the teaching that, as long as a person prayed a prayer or said, “I believe in Jesus,” at some point in his life, then he is saved, no matter what. So a person who, as a child, raised his hand in a church service is considered saved, even though he has never shown any desire to walk with God since and is, in fact, living in blatant sin. This teaching, sometimes called “decisional regeneration,” is dangerous and deceptive. The idea that a profession of faith saves a person, even if he lives like the devil afterwards, assumes a new category of believer called the “carnal Christian.” This allows various ungodly lifestyles to be excused: a man may be an unrepentant adulterer, liar, or bank robber, but he’s saved; he’s just “carnal.” Yet, as we can see in James 2, an empty profession of faith—one that does not result in a life of obedience to Christ—is in reality a dead faith that cannot save.

The other error in regards to works and faith is to attempt to make works part of what justifies us before God. The mixture of works and faith to earn salvation is totally contrary to what Scripture teaches. Romans 4:5 says, “To him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.” James 2:26 says, “Faith without works is dead.” There is no conflict between these two passages. We are justified by grace through faith, and the natural result of faith in the heart is works that all can see. The works that follow salvation do not make us righteous before God; they simply flow from the regenerated heart as naturally as water flows from a spring.

Salvation is a sovereign act of God whereby an unregenerate sinner has the “washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” poured out on him (Titus 3:5), thereby causing him to be born again (John 3:3). When this happens, God gives the forgiven sinner a new heart and puts a new spirit within him (Ezekiel 36:26). God removes his sin-hardened heart of stone and fills him with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit then causes the saved person to walk in obedience to God’s Word (Ezekiel 36:26–27).

Faith without works is dead because it reveals a heart that has not been transformed by God. When we have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, our lives will demonstrate that new life. Our works will be characterized by obedience to God. Unseen faith will become seen by the production of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives (Galatians 5:22). Christians belong to Christ, the Good Shepherd. As His sheep we hear His voice and follow Him (John 10:26–30).

Faith without works is dead because faith results in a new creation, not a repetition of the same old patterns of sinful behavior. As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Faith without works is dead because it comes from a heart that has not been regenerated by God. Empty professions of faith have no power to change lives. Those who pay lip service to faith but who do not possess the Spirit will hear Christ Himself say to them, “I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers” (Matthew 7:23).

https://www.gotquestions.org/faith-without-works-dead.html

[HAZARD]

11 hours ago, Brittany said:

James chapter 2 talks about how our works perfect our faith... I'm having a little bit of trouble understanding exactly what that means.. could someone who understands please explain in a way that a kindergartner could understand it?  

I've already seen the Abraham + Isaac and the Rahab the harlot examples, but I still don't really understand.... do our works make our faith bigger, or fuller, so to speak? Or do they just prove that we have saving faith?

The whole passage emphasizes faith with works; works with faith, not faith only or works only. Even Paul did not teach justification by faith only, for he also taught works whereby Christians should demonstrate their faith. Christianity  demands of its followers good works unto all men (Matt. 5:16; 16:27; Eph. 2:10; 1 Tim. 6:18; 2 Tim. 3:17; Tit. 1:16; 2:7, 14; 3:8).

One is not justified by works (Rom 3:25-31; 4:1-6; 9:11; 11:6; Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:8-9; Tit. 3:5), but justified ones must do them to prove their Christian consecration (James 2:14-18, 20-26).

[woundeddog]

On 2/5/2017 at 8:12 AM, Brittany said:

James chapter 2 talks about how our works perfect our faith... I'm having a little bit of trouble understanding exactly what that means.

quick explanation--- when you become a Christian, you will act like a Christian- if you dont act like a Christian-- maybe you arent-- and by act I mean live a Biblically relevant life