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?”