The Book of James - How Faith Works

James 2:14-26

On Sunday mornings we are in the little letter of James in the New Testament. Time and again, James is making the case for genuine faith. This week our study brings us to James 2:14-26 on ‘How Faith Works’ or how you can know if your faith is a saving faith.

Moreover, our men’s and women’s study groups are engaged in the study “Facing the Last Enemy.” This is a Ligonier study on death and the Christian. We all have questions about death, and to answer these questions we are looking at Scripture’s testimony on death and dying.

These studies came together in a way that reminded me of a story I was introduced to in Bible college. The story was rooted in ancient Babylonian and Persian folklore. “The Appointment in Samarra” is set in ancient Baghdad. Samarra, the city to which the servant flees, was once a capital city known for its extensive palaces and mosques. The story as printed here was retold in the play Sheppey by W. Somerset Maugham [1933] and included in the epigraph of John O'Hara's novel “Appointment in Samarra”. The speaker or narrator in the story is Death.

There was a merchant in Bagdad who sent his servant to market to buy provisions and in a little while the servant came back, white and trembling, and said, Master, just now when I was in the marketplace I was jostled by a woman in the crowd and when I turned I saw it was Death that jostled me.  She looked at me and made a threatening gesture, now, lend me your horse, and I will ride away from this city and avoid my fate.  I will go to Samarra and there Death will not find me.  The merchant lent him his horse, and the servant mounted it, and he dug his spurs in its flanks and as fast as the horse could gallop he went.  Then the merchant went down to the marketplace and he saw me standing in the crowd and he came to me and said, Why did you make a threating gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning?  That was not a threatening gesture, I said, it was only a start of surprise.  I was astonished to see him in Bagdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra. (accessed 5/8/2025: https://www.k-state.edu/english/baker/english320/Maugham-AS.htm)

As you can imagine, this story generated no small amount of discussion in class. Furthermore, it has remained with me over these years. Hebrews 9:27 tells us that “it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” Hence, the urgency for us to prepare for this moment that not only ushers us into eternity but brings us before the Creator of Heaven and earth and the Maker of all mankind who is Judge of all.

The good news of the gospel is that “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23b). We are told in Ephesians 2:8-9 that this gift of God is received by grace through faith” as a gift of God, “not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

The question before us this week in the book of James 2:14-26 is the question of real faith. How do you know that you really believe, that is, you have ‘saving faith’? What is the proof that your faith is genuine?

I hope you can join us this Lord’s Day as we wrestle with the issue of genuine faith, a matter of life and death, eternal life or eternal death.

In Christ,

Pastor Wayne