"If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved." (Rom 10:9-10 NIV)
When we look at the confession that saves In Romans 10:9-10 we see that it is conditional on two things: (1) the confessors’ declaration that Jesus is Lord, and (2) heartfelt belief that God raised Jesus from the dead as an historical event. What James does in his epistle, often held up (wrongly!) as a counter to Paul, is flesh this confession out. When you declare Jesus as Lord, you proclaim your intention of obedience to Jesus. This strongly suggests that in our hearts, when we confess His name, we have a willingness to do what He asks us to do—perhaps to the point of death (Matthew 10:36; Luke 9:23). Then we must believe in our heart that the resurrection really happened, not only as an historical event, but as an event that affects the believer (2 Corinthians 4:14).
James provides the illustration of one who is hungry approaching us for a solution. Do we just tell them to be warm and filled and send them on their way? No that would be absurd. If we are truly justified, we will do all we can to make them warm and full of food. Isn’t this what the Law teaches (Leviticus 19:18) and which Jesus says is second only after love for God, in fulfilling all the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31, Galatians 5:14)? If we say we have faith but there is no action that follows, then we are no different from a dead person incapable of movement.
What saves a man? Is it the result of work (i.e. obedience to the Law of Moses) or is it, as James is saying, the result of faith. This is not a disagreement with Paul. The key here is that work is the action of genuine faith. This faith is not a belief that something is factually true. The demons believe that Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection is factually true. The faith that Paul refers to is a trust that Jesus’ work on the cross benefits them and they react with love and devotion. Faith unaccompanied by works of devotion is effectively like an unemployed worker—it is unproductive even lazy and, therefore, ultimately useless.
Pray: Dear Lord, Keep reminding us that if we really believe in what Jesus did for us we will react in joy and gratitude and do something for our Lord.