Ministry of Grace Church

and one of you should say to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," but you would not give to them the things which are needed for the body, what is the gain?

Truth to Learn

True faith in Christ is made evident by what we do, not what we say.

Behind the Words

A form of the word legō is translated here as “should say.” It is expressed in the subjunctive mood indicating an action that is possible or probable.

“Go” is from the Greek word hupagete, which is made up of hupo, meaning “under,” but used here to denote a covert or secret action, and agō, meaning “to go.” Hence, this word means “to go away secretly” or “to get out of sight.” It is expressed here in the imperative mood indicating that the person talking (you) is giving a command.

The word translated “be warmed” is thermainō, meaning “to be heated or warmed.” And, the word translated “filled” is chortadzō, meaning “to be completely filled with food” or “to be gorged with food.” Both of these words are expressed in the middle voice (action done to the subject) and the imperative mood (command).

“Would … give” is from the Greek verb didomi, meaning “to give of one’s own accord and with good will.” This word is also expressed in the subjunctive mood indicating an action that is possible or probably.

“Things which are needed” is translated from “epitēdeios,” which refers to “the things which are necessary.” This is the only place in the New Testament where this Greek word in used.

“Gain” is the word ophelos which we looked at in verse fourteen. It refers to that which is heaped up, that is, the excess or the gain.

Meaning Explained

This is a continuation of the previous verse which said:

If a brother or sister is naked and should be lacking daily food,

James is saying that sending someone away with a blessing, someone who has needs that you can fill, is not an act of faith. James is making a case in these and the following verses that if you don’t put your faith into action then its lifeless faith.

I was in Chicago one evening walking down Michigan Avenue. There I was approached by a homeless woman asking for some food money for her and her two children. In the past I had not given money to street beggars because you never know if they are in need because of laziness or because of unfortunate circumstances, and who knows what they are really going to do with the money. So, I politely declined this young woman’s request for help and, as I walked away I thought, “I’ll just pray for her that her needs will be met.” Boy, did God ever convict me of that! Though I don’t have a lot, I am rich compared to her, and yet I was unwilling to help her out just because I didn’t want to possibly be taken advantage of. James would have been ashamed of me!

Sometime later I was in Portland, Oregon, sitting in my car in a parking lot. There, a man approached my car, so I rolled down the window. He said that he was on his way to Vancouver, Washington (about 30 miles away), that he had run out of gas, and had no money to buy gas. I readily gave him enough money to get well past Vancouver. Did I know for a fact that he was out of gas? No, but I didn’t have to deal with the convicting work of the Holy Spirit for being selfish and judgmental. I think James would have been proud!

James’ point, in these few verses, is that it’s easy to talk about how spiritual we are, but a living faith is faith in action.

Application

Unless you live below the poverty line, you have more riches than 95% of the world’s population. The problem with having money is that we never think we have enough. Compared to many others, however, we have great riches. One way of demonstrating our faith is by sharing our abundance with someone who has a lot less. Let’s not just talk about our faith, let’s put it into action every chance we get.