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?”