Whereas faith without works is dead only in the eyes of men, not in the eyes of God.
That's not what scripture says, that's your interpretation trying to fix the issue, but I can see where you're getting it from because you say...
If that is the case, how is faith made evident according to what other parts of scripture says about the fruit of the spirit? Most people believe that the fruit of the spirit (or works)
The fruits of the spirit wouldn't classify as works.
Galatians 5:22-23: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
How is love in itself a "work"? I can
show love by works, but love in and of itself isn't a work. A fruit
grows, this is why the analogy was used and why we can know them by their fruit. If you see someone producing love, patience, or kindness, you can say that they are
displaying the fruit of the spirit. So James's point of "“You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." Is literally the
display of what you are producing. This is why you have the verse:
Luke 6:45: "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks."
So the concept is the same. If you are saved, you will produce good fruit (the list from Galatians) and it will be shown via your works. It is
PROOF of your salvation. Not that the works save you (displaying the fruit of the spirit by actions), but you are saved already and the works you do prove you are saved. You can have faith that doesn't save (faith that just believes Jesus is God, just like the demons and angels) or you can have faith that DOES save and that is shown by proof in your actions and how you conduct yourself. Paul also argued this:
Romans 6:1-4: "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father,
we too may live a new life."
How can you live a "new" life if you're still doing the same things you did in your old life? Still living in sin?
Matthew 7:18: "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit."
So someone who is living in sin, cannot bear (produce) good fruit of the spirit. Sin corrupts your heart and it corrupts your mind. This is not a law argument because otherwise you would be saying that we don't have to uphold any of Gods rules and I can just murder, steal, beat people and it's totally fine. Jesus after every person he healed, told to go and sin no more. It matters... why? Because it matters for salvation AND protection. So this isn't an argument of requiring to follow the law as salvation, it's an argument that if you are truly saved you will WANT to follow the law (the moral law 10 commandments, not the Jewish law of a million rules). The bible is so clear on sin, it's everywhere. Here are some other verses that talk about it.
1 John 3:6
- "No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him."
1 John 5:18
- "We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them."
Psalm 119:11
- "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."
Romans 6:12-14
- "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace."
James 4:17
- "If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them."
Then There are Parables:
The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Matthew 18:21-35)
The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders (Matthew 7:24-27)
The Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:16-21)