Faith Works and James Two (Part 3)

My last two posts have focused on the doctrine of justification by faith alone in Christ alone. I’ve noted that some see a contradiction between the teaching of Paul on this point and what James said in the second chapter of his epistle. In my previous post I demonstrated that there is a contradiction here only if we force the doctrine of justification before God to be the issue that James was writing about. Indeed, if James was writing about the way a sinner is justified before God, then his teaching dose contradict the teaching of Paul. But, as I noted, the resolution to this apparent contradiction is to be found in the way that James used three key words (works, justified, and faith) as opposed to the way that Paul used those same words. I defined each of the three words in the way that each writer used them. When the words “works” “justified” and “faith” are given there proper meanings (the meaning intended by the authors) in context there is no contradiction between Paul and James.

Now, having dealt in general terms with the issue of the compatibility of the teaching of Paul and the teaching of James, in this post I want to begin to look specifically at James 2:14-26. In doing this we will see how the definitions to those three words work in the context of the passage. But more importantly we will hear what James, and God, intended for us to hear in this passage.
James began this passage by asking what good is it for someone to say he has faith?

(James 2:14 NASB) What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him?

The NIV says, "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith…? James is clearly talking about a said faith or a claimed faith rather than genuine faith. This verse defines the way James most commonly used the word “faith” throughout this passage. By faith James meant a merely intellectual and said faith which is dead and has no power to produce righteousness or good works.

James asked, “What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works?” By “works” James meant non-meritorious acts done after and resulting from salvation. James is asked “What use is it,” or “What good is it” to claim to have faith if you have no works to demonstrate that your faith is genuine. This is very much like what John the Baptist told the Pharisees and Sadducees who came to him to be baptized.

(Matthew 3:7-10 NASB) But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? "Therefore bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father'; for I say to you, that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. "And the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

John the Baptist told the Pharisees and the Sadducees that if they had true repentance there would be fruit in their lives to demonstrate it. James said if your claimed faith is genuine faith your life will demonstrate it by good works. Likewise, the absents of good works demonstrates that the claimed faith is a farce.

Next, James asked, “Can that faith save him?” To this we must ask, what faith? If James was talking about genuine faith is the person and work of Jesus Christ then the answer would have to be yes! That faith saves. But the passage demands a no answer. We answer no because James is not talking about genuine faith in Jesus. What faith is he talking about? When, at the end of verse fourteen, James asked, “Can that faith save him?” he was talking about the same kind of faith that he defined at the beginning of verse fourteen. Kenneth S. Wuest, in his 'An Expanded Translation' of the New Testament, said it this way, "The aforementioned faith [namely, that faith which does not result in good works] is not able to save him, is it?"

The answer to the question is clear, that sort of faith, a said faith that does not result in good works, cannot save anyone's soul. We must examine our faith. Is it merely a said faith? Or is it the kind of faith that saves? The kind of faith that saves is the same kind of faith that results in good works.

James then used a parable to illustrate the uselessness of a said faith that does not produce good works.

(James 2:15-16 NASB) If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily good, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?

There are two ways to look at verses fifteen and sixteen. First, we could see this parable as an example of a said faith without works. Someone may claim to have faith, but what good is that claimed faith if it does not lead them to help people in need? This does provide us with a real world application for the principle being taught. Our faith, if it is genuine will lead us to help others.

But the second way of looking at this text is more accurate. It is more appropriate to see this parable as an illustration of the deadness of words without actions.

In the same way that merely saying be warmed and filled is of no help for someone who is naked and hungry, so merely saying “I have faith” without a resulting holy life and good works is useless. This is what we see in the conclusion to the parable:

(James 2:17 NASB) Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.

The point of this parable is that merely saying, 'I have faith,' without a resulting holy life and good works is as useless as saying, "be warmed and filled," to someone in need if I do not help in a tangible way.

Saying you have faith does not mean that you really do. Saying you have faith does not save you. Having genuine faith alone in the Person and work of Jesus Christ alone saves. But the kind of faith that save always results in good works.

Faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is never alone!

Now tell me, Doth this Offend You?

Faith Works and James Two (Part 2)

In my last post I began a discussion of the doctrine of justification by faith alone, and how it relates to the teaching, in James chapter two, that “faith without works is dead.” In that post I defined the doctrine of justification by faith alone.

Paul the Apostle clearly teaches that sinners are justified before God by faith alone in the Person and work of Jesus Christ alone; without works.

(Romans 4:5, 6 NASB) But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing upon the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works:

But James said:

(James 2:24 NASB) You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone.

Here’s the question. Is Paul right and James wrong? Or is James right and Paul wrong?

Evangelical Christians believe the Bible is the inerrant Word of God. We believe that both Paul and James are inspired writers. Therefore, we believe, both must be correct. But if Paul says, “God reckons righteousness apart from works,” and James says, "a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone," can they both be correct? Christians have struggled with the teaching of James for centuries, and the cults have taken advantage of this apparent contradiction to lead many astray.

Some would say that the words of Paul and the words of James form an obvious contradiction. Do Paul and James contradict one another? Let’s find out.

The law of non-contradiction states: If two statements cannot be both true at the same time and in the same way, and if both statements cannot be false at the same time and in the same way, the two statements form a contradiction. In other words, a proposition and its opposite cannot be both true at the same time and in the same respect.

Paul said, “But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness,” (Romans 4:5 NASB). James said, "You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone," (James 2:24 NASB)

From these two verses we can form two statements to compare.

Paul: Apart from works a man is justified by faith alone.
James: By works a man is justified and not by faith alone.

Now, if both Paul and James mean the same thing in the same way by each of the words “works,” “justified,” and “faith,” then they certainly do contradict one another. In other words, if Paul and James are taking about the same thing, then what each one is saying about that thing is in direct opposition to what the other is saying about it.

Hopefully we are beginning to see the importance of this issue. If we conclude that James is talking about the way a sinner is justified before God then his conclusion is the opposite of Paul’s conclusion on that very point. If that is the case then one or the other must be wrong. And if God inspired the Bible then God made a mistake. If God made a mistake then He is not God. This is a very important issue indeed.

But God is God. He did not make a mistake. Neither Paul nor James is wrong because they are not talking about the same thing at all. The issues they were dealing with are related, but they are not identical. They used the same words, “works” “justified” “faith,” but they used these words differently. The resolution to this problem must be found in understanding what each of these words mean in the context as they are used by each writer.

Let’s consider the word “works.” When Paul used the word “works” he was talking about meritorious acts which are done prior to and for the purpose of obtaining salvation. But when James used the word “works” he was talking about non-meritorious acts which are done after and resulting from salvation. Paul at times also used the word “works” in this way.

(Ephesians 2:10 NASB) For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Paul’s opposition is not to the kind of works that James was promoting; non-meritorious acts which are done after and resulting from salvation. Paul is opposed to meritorious works added to the work of Christ. James, on the other hand is not promoting a works based salvation, rather he is opposing a “salvation” that does not result in good works.

Now let’s consider the word “justified.” When Paul used the word “justified” he was talking about the declaration of God that a sinner is righteous before God because the perfect righteousness of Christ has been imputed to his account. But when James used the word “justified” he was talking about evidence to support a sinner’s claim to have genuine faith. For James the question is can you justify your claim that you have faith?

In Paul we have the sinner justified (declared righteous) before God by faith alone. In James we have the sinner's claim to have faith justified (evidenced) before men by works.

When Paul used the word “faith” he was talking about a sinner's trust in and reliance on the Person and work of Jesus Christ for justification before God. This, of necessity, produces the fruit of holiness and good works. But when James used the word “faith” he was talking about a mere intellectual and said faith which is dead and has no power to produce righteousness.

For Paul, genuine faith alone placed in the true and living God through Jesus Christ is both necessary and sufficient to bring a sinner into a right relationship with God. The necessary result of this relationship is a holy life and good works.

For James mere intellectual said faith that does not result in a holy life and good works is insufficient to produce a right relationship with God.

With these definitions in mind let's reconsider our sample statements from Paul and James.

Paul: Apart from works (meritorious acts added to the work of Christ) a man is justified (declared by God to be righteous) by faith (trust in the Person and work of Christ) alone.

James: By works (acts done after and resulting from salvation) a man is justified (shown to be truthful in his claim to have genuine saving faith) and not by faith (mere intellectual and said faith) alone.

When the words “works” “justified” and “faith” are given there proper meanings (the meaning intended by the authors) in context there is no contradiction between Paul and James.

Having laid this foundation, in the next few posts, I will show how these definitions work throughout the key text in James two.

Now tell me, “Doth this Offend You?”

Faith Works and James Two (Part 1)

Often, when the doctrine of justification by faith alone is taught, someone will say, "But, faith without works is dead." This, of course, is a quotation from the Epistle of James. James goes on to say, "You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone." (James 2:24 NASB). Is James teaching here that sinner’s are justified before God by the good works they do? If he is then, it would seem, he is in direct contradiction to the teaching of the Apostle Paul throughout the New Testament. For example:

(Romans 4:4-8 NASB) Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing upon the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works: "BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED. "BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT."

Do Paul and James contradict each other? I plan to spend a number of posts answering that question. Today I will lay the foundation by defining the doctrine of justification by faith alone.

Justification is a once for all time declaration of God that the one believing in Jesus is righteous. The believer has come into a right relationship with God.

But a right relationship with God must be based on righteousness and because all men are sinners we have no righteousness. Where does this righteousness come from?

Though the sinner has no righteousness of his own, God imputes to him righteousness. It is not a righteousness based on works or human effort. It is a righteousness foreign to the sinner. In other words, God declares sinners to be righteous even though we are not righteous. It is God’s declaration of righteousness which forms the basis for a sinner’s right relationship with Him.

God demands righteousness. But the righteousness God demands, God supplies as a free gift of His grace. God accomplishes this “...through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;" (Romans 3:24 NASB). God punished Jesus on the cross for our sin. Jesus paid it all. Christ's death eliminated the believer’s sin debt. But even with our sin debt paid we have no positive righteousness with which to merit God's favor. Because the believer remains a sinner he is unable to accrue any righteous merit by his sin tainted good works. If all that Christ did was to die to pay our sin debt, we would still be left without a righteous standing upon which to base a right relationship with God.

Jesus lived a perfect sinless life of obedience to God the Father. The righteous life of Jesus is the source of the righteousness that God freely imputes to our account. All our sin was laid to the account of Jesus. God imputed to Jesus the sin of the world. God declared Christ to be a sinner even though He is righteous. In the same way, when a sinner puts his trust for eternal life in the Person and finished work of Jesus Christ, God imputes to his account the merits of Christ’s righteous life. God declares the sinner to be righteous even though he is a sinner. The sinner enjoys a right relationship with God based on the righteous merits of Jesus.

The obedience of Christ was both active and passive. During His life, Christ actively kept the law of God perfectly. In His death Christ passively paid the penalty for the violation of God’s law. The evidence that Christ’s righteous life and sacrificial death was sufficient for the justification of sinners is His resurrection from the dead. “He who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.” (Romans 4:25 NASB).

Because Christ has paid the penalty for sin God’s righteous judgment has been satisfied. God remains just in that He has not failed to judge sin. And having judged the believer’s sin God now imputes to the believer the righteous life of Christ. He declares the sinner to be righteous. “...He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:26 NASB)

Finally, I want to note a few passages that demonstrate that the sinner’s justification before God is not by works:

(Romans 3:20-24 NASB) because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

(Romans 3:28 NASB)For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.

(Romans 4:2-5 NASB) For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about; but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? "AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS." Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness,

Now tell me, “Doth this Offend You?”

How “Doth this Offend You?” Works

First, I want to say a few things about me. I’m married with anywhere from 1 to 6 children depending on how you count them.

My occupation is in law enforcement (and that’s all I have to say about that).

I’m involved in Christian ministry. I direct the Sunday morning children’s ministry program at my local church. I’m a disciple maker in an evangelism and discipleship training program with my local church. And I teach an adult Bible study at my home twice a month.

This blog will primarily focus on the Bible and theology. I write thing that interest me. If you read it and enjoy it, learn from it, or have any other reaction to it that will be secondary to my purpose. My purpose is to write whatever I want to write.

I will post twice a week (Tuesday and Friday) as my schedule allows.

The content will include my comments on current theological trends, excerpts from Bible studies I teach, and quotes from others I believe are worth quoting.

If you do happen to read this blog, let me know in the comments section. You can just tell me that you are reading, you can tell me that you like what you are reading, or you can tell me you don’t like what you are reading.

I also see this as a learning process for me. If I am in error in anyway that can be shown from the Bible please correct me.

You can comment on anything I write, but please tell me “Doth this Offend You?”

COMING SOON

Doth this Offend You? will begin soon.