Faith without works is dead: Good works are EVIDENCES of our salvation in Christ, not CONDITIONS.

Believers, consider John 15-

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples."

See the TPT: “I am the sprouting vine and you’re my branches. As you live in union with me as your source, fruitfulness will stream from within you—but when you live separated from me you are powerless. 6 If a person is separated from me, he is discarded; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire to be burned. 7 But if you live in life-union with me and if my words live powerfully within you—then you can ask whatever you desire and it will be done. 8 When your lives bear abundant fruit, you demonstrate that you are my mature disciples who glorify my Father!"

The fruit that we bear in Christ is a demonstration that we are Christ's mature disciples who glorify our heavenly Father. But how do we bear fruit? By the branch striving to bear fruit by itself? Certainly not! Of ourselves, we are powerless. The fruit we bear in Christ are works of faith- the EVIDENCE that we are "of faith" aka branches of Christ receiving the power to bear fruit from Christ our Source. The branch cannot bear fruit by its own striving.

The same Vine-life that is flowing in Christ nourishes and strengthens we formerly dead branches who now believe in Jesus Christ. The same Vine-life of Christ is what causes us to bear much fruit. Without the Vine, we can't produce fruit (works of faith.)

Of our own human effort, we are as helpless as dead branches in the desert. But in Christ, like branches of the Vine that we are, we GET TO bear much fruit. This is how come "Faith without works is dead." Being a branch of the Vine (having faith in Christ) without bearing fruit is impossible. Christ said in Him, we bear "much fruit."

Believer, you who have Christ as your righteousness and strength, by God's grace, don't let any false doctrine preacher put you who are a branch of Christ under pressure to start doing things to produce fruit by your own human effort (arm of flesh that will fail) with their misinterpretation of "Faith without works is dead" to mean "You must strive by your own human effort at keeping the law to prove your faith." Our fruit (works of faith) in Christ comes without human striving. When James wrote this verse, he was saying the same thing that Christ is saying in John 15:5-

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit;"

Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ without bearing much fruit is as impossible as jumping into the sea naked without getting wet. You simply cannot but bear fruit when you abide (believe) in Jesus. He said so.

But despite this word of Christ who cannot lie, the unbelieving ask:

"Just like that?"

Yes, just like that, unless such want to contradict what Christ says in John 15:5. Yes, "Just like that." The same way a branch that is grafted to a vine will end up producing fruit according to the kind of the Vine. Yes, "Just like that." The same way a child born by Yoruba-speaking parents but is adopted and raised by a master of Hausa will grow up to become a master of Hausa just by virtue of abiding with the Hausa Master.

But many are twisting "Faith without works is dead" to mean the branch must bear fruit by its own will-power. God's word says human effort (the arm of flesh) will fail, is powerless and cannot as we see in experience of Paul who knew the Law like the back of his hand: Romans 7:18-

"For I know that nothing good lives within the flesh of my fallen humanity. The longings to do what is right are within me, but will-power is not enough to accomplish it."

But Pride in the arm of flesh (human effort at obedience and producing fruit/works) that will fail says:

"No, I can. God must be wrong. I still have some good in me. Faith without works is dead so I can and must do works to prove that I have faith. I can keep the law and resist temptation to commit sin by my own will-power.”

Believer, of ourselves, nothing good lives within the flesh of our fallen humanity. Christ is the good in all who believe in Him. This is why you will never find a believer boasting in the flesh (human effort at bearing fruit) e.g.

"God blessed be financially because I paid my tithe" or "I was able to conceive because I visited orphanages and sowed a mighty seed" or "I was delivered from oppression because I did the recommended 100 days dry fasting."

Notice no Christ saving or providing in this equation? It is all about what MAN does to get from God and not what Christ has done; nothing about God giving us all things FREELY with Christ as it is written in Romans 8:32 - "He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"

God does not recognize such human-effort driven works of the law that man can boast in. His gifts to believers in Christ are freely given with Christ. Remember what God said to Abraham in Genesis 22:2-

2 "Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”"

But Abraham had two sons at the time! God does not recognize Ishmael as a fruit of Abraham because he was borne of human striving ("according to the flesh.") See this in Galatians 4. Abraham was still virile and Hagar of childbearing age. Isaac on the other hand was born "according to the Spirit"; Sarah and Abraham were beyond childbearing with dead reproductive parts. There was no human effort involved - with the Spirit of the Lord, it is neither by might nor power.

The branch bears much fruit because it is attached to the Vine. In Christ, we bear much fruit (do works of faith that the world can see and glorify God) BECAUSE we believe in Jesus. Without Him, we can do nothing. Good works are EVIDENCES of our salvation. They are not CONDITIONS. Faith without works is dead BECAUSE being in Christ without bearing much fruit is simply impossible.

But false doctrine preachers are twisting and misinterpreting "Faith without works is dead" to mean that the branch has to bear fruit by itself first in order to PROVE that it is a part of the Vine, usually by doing what the Law commands in order to maintain a godly lifestyle. Such contradict the word of Christ which tells us that the way for the branch to bear fruit to the glory of God is to abide (believe, rely on, totally trust) in Christ.

Believer, beware of such false preachers. Their aim is to keep you separated from Christ. Remember Jesus said: "Separated, you can’t produce a thing." Galatians 5:4 tells us how a person gets cut off from Christ the Vine-

"For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace."

But these false preachers say committing sin is what makes one fall from Grace. This is akin to saying that a person with disease (sin) has to heal himself before he can qualify to receive the medicine (Grace) that will make him well. Without Grace, sin has dominion. Grace that these false preachers are trying to cut people off from is a Person. His name is Jesus Christ and He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin: See Titus 2:14-

"He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

Just as a grafted branch does not begin to produce fruit immediately but is being nourished and strengthened by the Vine in preparation for the much fruit that it will bear, Christ is transforming many in preparation for the works of faith (much fruit) that they will produce, yet not us producing but Christ in us. But false teachers try to say that a five-year-old is not a child of his father because he does not have a full beard like his father. When the season arrives, he will grow a full beard, just like his father.

Believer, Christ says to us: "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." John 15:5.

When your believing is right, right living will follow. You will bear much fruit (works of faith.) Christ says so.