One of the topics James discussed in his letter was the connection between faith and works. Many people have difficulty understanding this subject. The reason is not really that it is difficult; rather, they have simply been taught differently from what the Bible teaches. James used the example of Abraham to show how we can be justified by works.
“Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,’ and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:21-24).
This is an important passage for us to understand – both for putting it into practice and also to be able to explain it to others.
Alleged Contradiction
Some want to point out an alleged contradiction between what James wrote and what the apostle Paul wrote to the saints in Rome.
- Paul wrote, “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (Romans 3:28).
- James wrote, “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24).
However, these passages do not contradict one another; instead, they complement one another.
Harmonizing These Passages
A key verse for understanding the two passages above comes from the Old Testament: “Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). This was quoted by both Paul and James in the context of the passages in which there was an alleged contradiction (Romans 4:3; James 2:23). The reason why both men quoted this verse was because they were talking about the same thing.
When Paul said we are “justified…apart from works of the Law” (Romans 3:28), he was not talking about just any works. He was referring to the Law that was given to the “Jews” that included “the sign of circumcision” (Romans 3:29; 4:9-13) – the Law of Moses. Paul did not discount or discourage all works. After all, his mission was “to bring about the obedience of faith” (Romans 1:5). He said later in the same epistle that we are to be “slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:18). Clearly, Paul believed and taught that Christians are expected to be engaged in some kind of works.
When James said we are “justified by works” (James 2:24), he was not talking about the same works that Paul was. After all, he cited the example of Abraham who was “justified by works” (James 2:21). He lived before the Law of Moses – the law containing the works that Paul was referencing (Romans 3:29; 4:9-13) – was ever given. Like Paul, James was talking about the “obedience of faith” (cf. Romans 1:5; 16:26; James 2:17-18).
Faith Alone Is Not Enough
James plainly stated that we are not justified by faith alone (James 2:24). However, many religious people believe otherwise. The following quote from the Discipline of the Methodist Church is an example of this belief: “That we are justified by faith only is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort.” In order to arrive at this conclusion, people must do two things:
- They must ignore what James clearly taught: “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24).
- They must take passages that mention faith and insert the word only or alone into them. For example, when Paul wrote, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1), they claim that Paul meant “faith only.”
We need to be concerned with all that the Bible says about faith. The psalmist wrote, “The sum of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting” (Psalm 119:160). This means we must consider what Paul wrote and what James wrote. We cannot ignore James’ statement – “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24) – because it does not fit our preferred interpretation of Paul’s statement.
James wrote, “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself” (James 2:17). In the context, he was addressing the idea of empty words – telling a brother in need to “go in peace” instead of providing the help we can give (James 2:14-16). His point was that words without accompanying actions are meaningless. Likewise, faith without accompanying works is meaningless.
At the end of this section of verses, James closed by stating, “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). We all understand the concept of death as each one of us has experienced the passing of loved ones. There is a clear difference between a living person and a dead person. The same is true with faith. Our works indicate a clear difference between a living faith and a dead faith.
In this context, James made an interesting statement about the demons: “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder” (James 2:19). Does the fact that the demons believe mean that they have been counted as righteous or “the friend of God” as Abraham was (James 2:23)? Of course, we know the answer to that – the demons are not righteous nor the friend of God despite the fact that they believe. However, not only do they believe, they also fear God (“shudder”). They know that the Lord is greater (cf. Matthew 8:28-32). Yet the demons do not obey Him; therefore, they are not justified (James 2:24).
Faith Is Perfected by Works
As James explained in his use of Abraham as an example, faith works with one’s works: “You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected” (James 2:22). The things that we do in obedience to the Lord cause our faith to be “perfected” or complete.
We show our faith by our works. There is no other way to prove that we have faith. James made this clear: “But someone may well say, ‘You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works’” (James 2:18). Anyone can claim to have faith, but it is very different to show our faith through our works. The wise man stated this principle: “Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, but who can find a trustworthy man?” (Proverbs 20:6). We can say we have faith, but without works our claims are empty.
Faith causes one to obey God as Abraham did. Abraham obeyed, even when he had to make a tremendous sacrifice. He was “justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar” (James 2:21; cf. Genesis 22:1-3). He obeyed, even when he did not understand why God gave the command. The Hebrew writer explained that he “considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead” (Hebrews 11:19), which allowed him to reconcile the concept of Isaac being the son of promise and the one who was to be sacrificed. Of course, this was not God’s plan; but Abraham had not been shown the whole picture at the time. He did not know what God would do, he simply obeyed what God had told him to do. This is the type of obedient faith we must have.
It is also important to remember that works by themselves do not justify us. When James said, “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24), he was also implying that works without faith will not help us. Our works must be rooted in faith. We are “justified by faith” (Romans 5:1). As we have already noticed, this is an obedient faith (Romans 1:5; James 2:24). We are to be “obedient from the heart” (Romans 6:17), not merely give “external service” (cf. Colossians 3:22-23) that is ultimately meaningless.
Conclusion
Abraham was “justified by works” (James 2:21) – not works that were done according to the old law (Romans 3:28-29), but works that constituted the “obedience of faith” (Romans 1:5).
What is the “obedience of faith”? We can see the answer in the book of Romans:
- We must believe in Christ – “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).
- We must repent and turn away from our sins – “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God” (Romans 6:11-13).
- We must confess our faith in Christ – “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).
- We must be baptized into Christ – “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-4).
- We must live faithfully throughout our lives – “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2).
If we will do these things, we will be “justified by works” (James 2:24) and be right before God.
Great article on Justified by works! You have a tremendous ability of getting to the real heart of an issue and addressing such in a very precise manner.
Thank you, Kent!