James: Faith Without Works is Dead

Meal & Conversation

Open the night with a quick prayer over your time together. As your Group shares a meal, use one or both of these questions to check in with everyone:

1. What’s one thing you’re looking forward to the most this week?
2. What’s one thing you’re least looking forward to this week?

Overview of Teaching

Throughout the Bible we read that our salvation comes from our faith in God alone. The apostle Paul reminds us that we’re saved, declared righteous, brought near to God, and adopted into the family of God all by our faith, not by our works. It’s often people’s faith that Jesus commends, and at times, the disciples even ask God to increase their faith. All of this begs the question, what exactly is faith? In chapter 2 of his letter, James gives us an answer. Contrary to what most of us might think, faith isn’t the same as belief. According to James, just believing the right doctrines about God isn’t faith at all. Instead, faith is described throughout the Bible as whole-hearted loyalty and trust. Faith starts with our minds and beliefs but moves to our lifestyles and habits. And for James, the most important element of faith is our lives. We demonstrate the trust we have in the good news of Jesus and his Kingdom when our faith moves us to good works of love for God and for our neighbors.

Discussion

Read James 2:14-26 and Ephesians 2:4-10, then discuss the following questions:

1. What stands out to you from these passages?
2. Prior to Sunday’s teaching, how would you define “faith”?
3. How do you understand what it means to be “saved by grace through faith” from Ephesians 2:8-9? What do you think this means in light of what James says in James 2?
4. Do you often notice a disparity between what you believe and how you live? Put another way, if the apostle James had full access to your life, where do you think he might encourage you to put your faith into practice?

Practice

While we continue practicing simplicity as a church community, we also want to make sure that our practicing isn’t an effort to get something from God that God has already freely given us. According to the gospel, we’re already declared righteous, adopted into God’s family, and forgiven of our past, present, and future sins.

Spend time this week reflecting on the following questions from Sunday.

1. What is my trust really in? Think about how your daily habits reflect what you’re putting your faith in on a daily basis.
2. Who in my life needs to see my faith put into practice? Our faith never ends with us. Consider who in your life needs to see your good works as a result of your discipleship to Jesus. Who in your life needs your forgiveness? Who needs your selfless service? Who needs your spiritual leadership and guidance?

Pray

As you end your night, spend some time praying for and encouraging one another.