Jesus Is The Lamb
Is salvation by faith alone, or by faith plus works? Am I saved just by believing in Jesus, or do I have to believe in Jesus and do certain things?
“Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.” (Romans 3:28)
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1)
“Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” (Galatians 3:24)
“You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.” (James 2:24)
Compare Romans 3:28, 5:1 and Galatians 3:24 above, with James 2:24. Some see a difference between Paul (salvation is by faith alone) and James (salvation is by faith plus works).
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8 – 9)
“Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” (James 2:17 – 18 )
Here again we note in the scriptures that Paul dogmatically argues that justification is by faith alone, (Ephesians 2:8 – 9), while James appears to be saying that justification is by faith plus works.
This apparent problem is answered by examining James’ words in their correct context. James is refuting the belief that a person can have faith without producing any good works (James 2:17-18). James is emphasizing the point that genuine faith in Christ will produce a changed life and good works. James is not saying that justification is by faith plus works, but rather that a person who is truly justified by faith will have good works in his/her life. If a person claims to be a believer, but has no good works in his/her life, then he/she likely does not have genuine faith in Christ (James 2:14, 17, 20, 26).
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22 – 23)
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)
Note that Paul says the same thing in his writings. The good fruit believers should have in their lives is listed in Galatians 5:22- 23. Immediately after telling us that we are saved by faith, not works (Ephesians 2:8-9), Paul informs us that we were created to do good works (Ephesians 2:10). Paul expects just as much of a changed life as James does: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). James and Paul do not disagree in their teaching regarding salvation. They approach the same subject from different perspectives. Paul simply emphasized that justification is by faith alone while James put emphasis on the fact that genuine faith in Christ produces good works.
EXCERPT: https://www.gotquestions.org/salvation-faith-alone.html
“What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.” (Romans 4:1 – 8 )
“Just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.” (Galatians 3:6 – 9)
Theologically speaking, Abraham’s life is a living example of the doctrine of sola fide, justification by faith alone. Twice the Apostle Paul uses Abraham as an example of this crucial doctrine. In Romans, the entire fourth chapter is devoted to illustrating justification by faith through the life of Abraham. A similar argument is made in the book of Galatians, where Paul shows from Abraham’s life that the Gentiles are heirs with the Jews to the blessings of Abraham through faith (Galatians 3:6-9, 14, 16, 18, 29). This goes back to Genesis 15:6, “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Abraham’s faith in the promises of God was sufficient for God to declare him righteous in His sight, thereby proving the principle of Romans 3:28. Abraham did nothing to earn justification. His trust in God was enough.
“But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?” (James 2:20 – 22)
James also uses the life of Abraham as an illustration, but to show that faith without works is dead (James 2:20 – 22). The example he uses is the story of Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah. Mere assent to the truths of the gospel is not enough to save. Faith must result in good works of obedience that show a living faith. The faith that was enough to justify Abraham and count him as righteous in God’s eyes (Genesis 15) was the very same faith that moved him into action as he obeyed God’s command to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Abraham was justified by his faith, and his faith was proved by his works.
Faith is a spiritual hand that receives the gift of salvation that God has given. It is trust placed in the giver, who has done all the work to make the gift ready to be received. The only thing that remains is to take it or leave it. Those who take it, place their trust in the giver, and by that act they are declared righteous. Abraham believed that if He trusted God, and sacrificed his son, God would be able to raise him again from the dead, (Hebrews 11:19), and so he went forward, telling his servants as they went on, “WE will come back to you.” (Genesis 22:5) Paul carefully teaches that Abraham was declared righteous on account of his faith, and not by any work. (Romans 4:1 – 8 )
EXCERPT: https://www.gotquestions.org/life-Abraham.html
James makes the case that genuine faith in God will lead to the believer obeying God. Having a false faith, one which is only intellectual, or pretended, results in a person not doing what God has called us to do. Having an actual, trusting, saving faith results in that believer proving that faith by his or her works.
“What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (James 2:14 – 26)
James makes the case that how one acts, their “works”, are a sign of the kind of “faith” they possess. So called “faith” which doesn’t lead a person to participate in good works is not a saving faith; it is a dead thing. It is pointless and meaningless to believe, or “wish”, a poverty-stricken person to be well, if such an opinion leads to no action. In exactly the same way, James insists that it is not enough to mentally agree about certain facts of God. If what a person believes about God does not lead them to act accordingly, then their “faith” is not saving faith. It is merely opinion. James never says that faith is not essential for salvation. He also never claims works are required to obtain or keep salvation. He is, however, crystal clear that truly saving faith cannot be separated from the evidence of good works.
James’s words actually complement Paul’s teaching that we are saved through faith by God’s grace. Both James and Paul agree that those who are saved through faith inevitably end up doing good works. The two, faith and works, cannot be separated. Only faith saves, a point James never questions. However, saving faith is the kind of trust which results in good works. Those who lack works prove that they lack saving faith.
James cited the example of Abraham’s obedience to God, even when commanded to sacrifice his only son Isaac. He trusted God all the way through the moment where God said “stop,” in Genesis 22. James asserted in verse 21 that Abraham was justified by his actions. Based on context, James is referring to a different kind of “justification” than Paul uses in passages such as Romans chapter 4. According to James, Abraham’s faith saved him, but his actions, his works, demonstrated his faith in God. In this verse, James makes that all the more clear: Abraham’s obedience was the evidence of this faith that he already had, and by which he had already been declared righteous.
In fact, his obedience completed, or was made “perfect” by his faith. The Greek word is eteleiōthē, which literally means, “to carry through to the end,” or “to complete.” As James has been saying, the natural result of saving faith is good works. Works don’t cause saving faith, but saving faith causes good works. Those with saving faith in God will act on that belief.
EXCERPT: https://www.bibleref.com/James/2/James-2-22.html
So we see by means of comparison that Paul and James were truly “on the same page”, while looking at justification from “two sides of the same coin”; two parts of the same tree of justification. Paul was talking root, while James was talking fruit! And both are true . . . A faith that is authentic and genuine from the root, is a faith that will always produce fruit.
Simply put, James reveals what a person physically sees. No one can SEE a person’s salvation. They SEE the fruits of his works that start because of the changed heart due to Holy Spirit’s indwelling power. So, we see someone’s FAITH by their WORKS! The root, (faith / justification / salvation) is unseen, but the fruit, (good works), will be visible when the root is there.
For another excellent article on this topic, also see: “Salvation and the Book of James” by Don Gerrity at https://www.facebook.com/…/a.24198…/1157656277623317/…
About The Author
