Trust Fall: Faith That Moves

James 2:14–26
We live in a culture where belief is often enough
“I believe in love.”
“I believe in justice.”
“I believe in God.”

There’s a whole lot of belief going on!

But James, the half-brother of Jesus, pushes deeper. And that’s important, because James didn’t even believe Jesus was the Messiah at first.

• John 7:5 says, “For even his own brothers did not believe in Him.”
• Mark 3:21 tells us that His family thought He was “out of His mind.”

So when James writes about faith, he knows exactly what it takes for someone like him, someone skeptical, someone slow to believe, to finally trust. And when he writes, he doesn’t hold anything back. He comes straight at us with a piercing question:
 “What good is belief if it doesn’t show up in what you do?”

In other words: If your faith doesn’t move you, it might be dead.

• More words than works.
• More outward than inward.

James 2:14-26
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. 25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

True faith produces visible action that reflects the heart of God.
Faith is a trust fall. The first thing you have to do is let go of comfort and lean toward someone. And in the same way, real faith leans toward people. That’s where it begins…

1. Trust Fall Faith Is Compassionate
Faith isn’t passive, it moves toward people in need. It doesn’t just say, “I’ll pray for you.” It says, “Here’s how I’ll help you.”

James 2:15–16

If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?

Action speaks louder than words.

• It’s seeing someone shivering in the cold and saying, “Get warm,” while your closet is full of coats.
• It’s seeing a yard knee-deep in grass and saying, “That grass needs mowing,” while your mower sits full of gas.
• It’s saying, “They need Jesus,” while the Word of God is living inside you, but you never share it.
  
  

 1 John 3:17–18 says, “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity… let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”

James is saying: Get out and go. Do something.
The Good Samaritan didn’t just feel compassion—he acted (Luke 10:33–37).
 Compassion is the first movement of faith.
But it’s not the only one. James takes us deeper.

James 2:18–19

“But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!”

James is blunt: even demons believe. Faith that moves must go beyond belief—it must act courageously.
We see courageous faith all through Scripture:

• Daniel: faith in the lions’ den.
• Esther: faith in God’s timing and protection.
• The Centurion: a faith that amazed Jesus (Matthew 8:5–13).
• The woman with the issue of blood: faith for healing.

Each displayed courageous trust beyond comfort.

Charles Blondin, the famous tightrope walker, crossed Niagara Falls multiple times in 1859. He waked 160 feet above the falls back and forth between Canada and the United States, in a sack, on stilts, on a bicycle, blindfolded, even with a stove to cook an omelet. His most famous act: walking backward across the tightrope to Canada and returning pushing a wheelbarrow.

After proving himself, Blondin asked the crowd: “Do you believe I can carry a person across in this wheelbarrow?” They cheered and shouted and screamed, “Yes!”
Then he asked: “Who will get in?”
No one moved.
They believed… but not enough to trust.

Isn’t that us sometimes? We say, “I believe in Jesus.” But when it’s time to get in the wheelbarrow, we hesitate.

 It’s one thing to say we believe in God. It’s another to act courageously in that belief.

That’s exactly what Abraham did.
James 2:21–23

“Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 

Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God.”

You have to realize, Abraham was over 90 years old and had been childless for decades. To be told at that point that he would father a biological son, and that his descendants would one day number in the millions, was a stretch beyond human reason. Yet the Bible says Abraham believed God’s revelation. That’s why, when God asked him to place Isaac on the altar, Abraham obeyed, trusting that God Himself would provide the sacrifice in the end.

Genesis 22:5
"Then Abraham said to the young men, "Stay here with the donkey. The boy (Isaac) and I will go over there to worship; then we will come back to you . . .

Abraham believed God’s promise even when it didn’t make sense. His courageous faith impacted generations, eventually leading to the Messiah Himself.

What am I doing that shows future generations “faith that moves”? What's your story?

And James points us to Rahab as well, a woman who wasn’t perfect, but had bold faith that risked everything. Sometimes faith means risking your reputation, your comfort, or your security. That’s the kind of trust fall that shows the world what real belief looks like.

James 2:26

“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

Faith that moves becomes contagious, it inspires and transforms others.

• Contagious salvation saves and moves us: “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
• Contagious good works set the example: “In everything set them an example by doing what is good” (Titus 2:7).
• Contagious care looks out for others: “Look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4).

Bob Goff puts it this way:
“Don’t ask yourself, ‘How am I doing?’ It’s better to ask: ‘How are the people around me doing?’”

Faith isn’t just something you confess, it’s something you express.

• Abraham climbed a mountain.
• Rahab opened her home.
• Jesus carried a cross.

If your faith feels stuck, check for salvation. If the answer is yes, maybe it’s time to put your faith back in motion and let it become contagious again.

Memory Verse:
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.