What does "Faith without works is dead" mean?

Romans 3 tells us: 26 ″…and He makes sinners right in His sight when they believe in Jesus. 27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.”

“Faith without works is dead" means that being in Christ (believing the above verse) without bearing much fruit (producing works of faith) is as impossible as jumping into the sea naked without getting wet. Christ says in John 15:5-

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

The Passion Translation puts it thus: “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.”

Christ cannot lie. In union with Him, we who believe cannot but bear much fruit (works of faith that the world can see and glorify God.) But many churchgoers are yet to understand the weight and power of the Word of the Almighty.

Christ says by abiding (believing, relying on, trusting wholly) in Him, we get to bear much fruit — when the believing is right, right living will follow. But many feel that the branch needs to do certain things by straining and striving on its own besides abiding in the Vine in order to prove that it is “of the faith." Not so. In union Christ, we get to bear fruit to God. What fruit? See the fruit in Galatians 5:22-23–

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

As believers, having Christ as our righteousness and not depending on the arm of flesh (human effort) that will fail to make us godly, the same "True Vine" life that flows in Christ the True Vine flows in us, giving us life and causing us to bear much fruit. Like good fruits on a branch which are evidences of its being a part of a healthy vine, good works are evidences of our salvation in Christ, not conditions. 

Romans 11 gives us a picture of how we non-Jews who believe were "grafted" to Christ to enjoy the blessings of Abraham, with the Jews being the "natural branches":

17 "Some of the natural branches have been broken off. You are a wild olive branch. But you have been joined to the tree with the other branches. Now you enjoy the life-giving sap of the olive tree root. 18 So don’t think you are better than the other branches. Remember, you don’t give life to the root. The root gives life to you."

See the TPT: "However, some of the branches have been pruned away. And you, who were once nothing more than a wild olive branch in the desert, God has grafted in—inserting you among the remaining branches as a joint partner to share in the wonderful richness of the cultivated olive stem. 18 So don’t be so arrogant as to believe that you are superior to the natural branches. There’s no reason to boast, for the new branches don’t support the root, but you owe your life to the root that supports you!"

We non-Jews who believe were all dry branches in the desert. Of ourselves, with our own human effort, apart from Christ, no good thing can come out of us (Romans 7:18.) Our heavenly Father Himself called us to Christ and right now, this is what Christ says He is doing in the lives of all who believe in Him: John 6:43-46 (MSG) -

"Jesus said, “Don’t bicker among yourselves over Me. You’re not in charge here. The Father who sent Me is in charge. He draws people to Me—that’s the only way you’ll ever come. Only then do I do My work, putting people together, setting them on their feet, ready for the End."

He cannot lie. He who promised is faithful.

Just like a branch of a vine that does not begin to bear fruit immediately after it is grafted to the vine, we might not see ripened fruits or any visible fruits immediately after our grafting or even for a while but all the while, Christ the True Vine is nourishing and strengthening we His branches, preparing us for the much fruit that He said we will bear. His power is flowing and transforming all who rely solely on Him and by Grace, put no confidence in the flesh (human effort at doing right/producing works.)

If "much fruit" comes in when the grafted branch is not ready, the branch could become proud and break off from the fruit being too heavy for it to bear. Christ keeps us steadfast.

We see a picture of the above in the life of Abraham. After he was declared righteous by God because He believed God and was promised Isaac as his heir, he slept with Hagar in order to produce an heir (Ishmael) and lied to Abimelech in the matter of Sarah being his wife. Just to digress a little, consider what God told Abraham in Genesis 22:2-

"Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”"

But Abraham had two sons at the time! Galatians 4 tells us Ishmael was born "according to the flesh" aka by human striving. Isaac was born "according to the Spirit" and with the Spirit of the Lord, it is neither by might nor by power. God does not recognize fruit that comes through human striving. The arm of flesh will fail.

So Abraham slept with Hagar despite God's promise to him and he lied to Abimelech about Sarah to save his neck as well. Anyone bandying “Faith without works is dead" about as a reason to deploy human striving to keep the law or produce works in order to prove our faith would have called Abraham faithless. But God referred to Abraham as “a prophet" that would pray for Abimelech to live, smack in the middle of his lie to Abimelech (Genesis 20:7.)

This reference about Abraham isn't one to make lying or any sin okay. God hates sin and so do we who believe in Jesus. The reference is to highlight the lack of good in us of ourselves. See what God's word says in 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."

God's word says human effort (the arm of flesh) will fail, is powerless and cannot. But Pride in the arm of flesh (human effort at obedience) that will fail says:

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

After walking with God for so many years, Abraham went on to perform the ultimate work of faith with his willingness to sacrifice Isaac at Mt. Moriah- one of the two examples that James used where he wrote “Faith without works is dead.”

Believer, with Christ as our righteousness and strength, as He did with Abraham despite his imperfections, Christ is nourishing and strengthening us, making sure that we are ready, able and get to to bear the weight of the fruit (works of faith) that gives Him glory when the season arrives. And in Him, we will bear "much fruit." He said so.

Satan’s ministers that pretend to be of Christ like to jump in to distract and deceive believers by misinterpreting and twisting “Faith without works is dead" to mean that believers must keep the Law by human effort in order to prove that we are of Christ.

Many preach dependence on the arm of flesh (human effort at bearing fruit) with their continual twisting and misinterpretation of the verse "Faith without works is dead." But what fruit (work of faith) can a branch produce by itself? Without Christ the Vine, the branch can do nothing.

But many churchgoers are being taught to keep the law in order to produce the fruit of godliness using their will-power in order to prove that they are a part of the Vine. This way that seems right to man leads to death - this is the way to get cut off from Christ the True Vine according to Galatians 5:4-

"4 Those of you who try to be put right with God by obeying the Law have cut yourselves off from Christ. You are outside God's grace."

Believer, beware of preachers and churchgoers who twist "Faith without works is dead" to try to make you believe  that your ability to bear much fruit or any fruit at all (works of faith) is in your own hands (human effort at keeping the Law.) Many of them are agents of Satan. Beware of those who twist this verse to mean that you have to add to Christ's finished work of making you righteous in God's sight. Christ says:

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

He says so. He cannot lie.

But false teachers twist "Faith without works is dead" to mean you are not a child of God because the work of Christ in you (nourishing every dry part of the branch so that you can bear fruit aka works of faith) is invisible to the eyes of the world. Such try to make you think that you are not really a child of God because of some imperfections in your life- imperfections that Christ the Vine is transforming to perfection with His Vine-life that is flowing in you!

Believers, anyone who makes we who believe feel that we are not children of God for whatever reason at all or makes us feel the need to do things to PROVE that we are children of God with their twisting and misinterpretation of "Faith without works is dead" is simply echoing the words that Satan spoke to Jesus in the wilderness: “If you are the Son of God….”

Christ's situation in the wilderness where Satan tempted Him did not portray His glory and majesty as the Son of God. He was hungry. In the eyes of the world that did not know Him, this perfect Man certainly could not be the Son of God. But His situation when He walked the earth as Man did not change the Truth of who He is. He is the Son of God and did not need to turn stones to bread or jump of the pinnacle of the Temple to prove it. just as we who are in Him today are children of God despite our many imperfections and "wilderness" situations where Satan's messengers try to make us feel that we are not children of God.  Believer, with Christ as our righteousness, we are imperfect people of ourselves who are standing in the perfection of Christ.

Let's take our blessed brains to church, and I say this to myself as well: I was a fairly troublesome child for my mom, imperfect in many ways as were many of us while growing up. But our imperfect parents did not disown us or cast us away whenever we did wrong. They corrected us and did their best to raise us well. How much more will our perfect Father in heaven who gave His own Son to die our death transform us?

John 1:12 tells us what makes us children of God- not our obedience to the law, good works or tithe payment: “But all who did receive Him, He gave them— the ones believing in His name— the right to become children of God,”

Believing Jesus is what makes us children of God. And when you believe (abide) in Christ, you will bear much fruit: works of faith must follow. But some false doctrine preachers make you feel that you are no longer a child of God because you did or didn't do certain things that they are prescribing or because your fruit is yet to blossom. Such try to make you unsure of your status as a child of God and tell you to prove it with works of the Law, just as the devil did when he tested our Saviour in the wilderness.

Believers, like the vine and its branches that carry the fruit, good works (works of faith) are EVIDENCES of our salvation in Christ, not CONDITIONS. Our works don't make us of faith. Our faith (abiding in Christ) is what makes us able to produce works (bear much fruit) according to the birth of Isaac and not Ishmael. God works His salvation in us and these good works come about “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.” Philippians 2:13.

Don’t fret over when or how these evidences of your salvation will manifest. See yourself as a little child whose father has a long, full beard. Imagine the child worrying that he is not the child of his father because he has no beard! In time, as he grows and matures under his father's care, he will grow a long, full beard, just like his father. And it will grow without him straining or doing anything to make it grow. He was complete, beard and all inside him, on the day he was born; just as we were made complete in Christ when we became born-again. But some people try to make you feel that you are not the child of your Father in heaven because you don't have a beard at 5 years old and that you ought to grow a long, full beard and start driving on the day of your birth with their twisted misinterpretation of "Faith without works is dead."

Believer, the fruit that we GET TO bear in Christ are the "works of faith" that James was referring to when he wrote "Faith without works is dead." Being in Christ without having works of faith to show for it is as impossible as jumping into the sea naked without getting wet. Christ says:

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

"...Faith without works is dead." This is God's word and remains true forever. You cannot be "of faith" aka believing Jesus and not bear fruit (works of faith.) Our works that glorify God that the world can see are the fruits that we bear because we are one with Christ. Christ gets all the glory. This is why you will NEVER catch a true believer boasting in "dead works" such as:

"God blessed financially me because I pay my tithe regularly" or

"God healed me because I sowed a mighty seed" or

"I am now a parent because I was kind to children in orphanages" or

"I am free from satanic oppression because I fasted for 70 days."

Notice no Christ saving, providing or doing anything in these stories of salvation from earthly ills? No 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?"

It is all human effort (dependence on the arm of flesh that will fail for salvation) or a mixture of human effort at keeping the Law and Jesus Christ (Grace-personified.) This horrid mixture that is neither Law nor Grace is the "neither cold nor hot" that Christ speaks of in Revelation 3.

Believer, for we who abide in Christ, He gets all the glory for all of the wonderful works that He does in us, through us and for us. Our boast is in Christ (Grace-personified) alone and like Paul who worked harder than all the other apostles, we get to do exploits (outstanding works of faith) by Grace. See 1 Corinthians 15:10-

"But because of God’s grace I am what I am. And His grace was not wasted on me. No, I have worked harder than all the other apostles. But I didn’t do the work. God’s grace was with me."

How is God's grace wasted on a person? See this in Galatians 2:20-

"I do not get rid of the grace of God. What if a person could become right with God by obeying the law? Then Christ died for nothing!"

Trying to get right with God by keeping the Law (human effort at living a godly/righteous life) is throwing God's Grace into the trash.

Believer, the same Vine life that is flowing in Christ flows in us too. And because we continue to abide in Him (rely on Him and not look elsewhere for our righteousness and salvation,) we get to bear fruit, more fruit and then "much fruit.

Truly "Faith without works is dead." In Christ, we get to bear much fruit aka works of faith — the EVIDENCES of our salvation that the world can see and are produced only as a result of the life of Christ that is now flowing in us. Believer, we were formerly dead branches that could produce only dead works (law-keeping.) Now we have been grafted to Christ for this purpose: "that we should bear fruit to God": Romans 7:4-

"Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God."

Right believing always produces right living.