"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."- Romans 4:5
"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."- James 2:17
If you have ever had any dealings with people who do not hold to the eternal security of the believer, or dealt with a pseudo-christian sect such as a Jehovah's Witness or a Latter-day Saint, you have more than likely ran into these verses. Cults such as those previously stated use them to prove you must work in addition to the belief of the gospel, Protestant denominations and many prominent theologians use these verses to support their doctrine of Lordship Salvation, in that, A saving faith will/must be accompanied by good works. (A subject will deal with in another post.)
Atheists and skeptics attack The Bible by showing how these verses are a contradiction. Even Martin Luther struggled with the canonicity of James, calling it an "Epistle of Straw," and declaring his desire to "Toss Jimmy into the Stove". The above verse in James was probably the most irritating to him in light if the writings of Paul.
Yet, James is very much a part of the canon of Scripture, and a proper interpretation is needed to deny false teachers and atheists a proof text . When properly studied we will see that These verses deal with entirely different aspects of justification, and when the compared , the contradiction disappears, and the verses are actually very much compatible with each other
I. The Book of James
James is one of the eight catholic, or if you prefer, universal epistles, addressed to the "twelve tribes scattered abroad." It is not so much a epistle that is evangelistic, but rather an exhortation on living a godly life in the site of men and The Lord. In this letter the name of Jesus Christ only occurs twice, and the gospel and it's particulars are not mentioned at all. The references to the law are frequent, yet as you will see it is not the sacrificial law that is seen in the letter, but the moral law, A law that both Jew, and Gentile Christians are still accountable to. Written to the dispersed Jewish Christians, it shows Christianity not as some new religious concept, but a moral perfection, and completion of the of the Jewish faith.
Now keeping in mind that the letter as a whole is
not evangelistic, we can more easily deal with the fact that the words "save", "faith" and "justified" are in the text.
II. Chapter 2- Justification
After dealing with the sin of partiality, in the first half of the second chapter, James moves on to the issue of faith and works. A Casual look at the text would show that the above claims have some truth, James does teach justification by works... But is the justification before God, or someone else? If this passage has to do with justification before God, then by all means. the passage contradicts the writings of Paul, but if it is justification before man, then the words "Justified," and "saved" have meanings other than our status before God...
III. Romans 4-Justification
In Romans chapter 3. Paul goes to great lengths to show that Man , both Jew and Gentile are totally depraved and unable to come to God, (Romans 3:10) and that men are justified freely by God's grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, (Romans 3:24) apart from the deeds of the law. (Romans3:28) In Romans 4, Paul adds support to his teaching by appealing to Characters in the Old Testament. one of those Characters, Abraham is also mentioned later in the second chapter of James. With these things in mind lets move to the passages in question.
IV. The Questions
Now if you notice, both of our passages of study, open with a question. In Romans 4, the question is "What has our descendant Abraham found?" Speaking of his standing before God, Paul then makes a clear statement of justification... It is not by works. Any ground that Abraham may have for boasting will not be before God. In Ephesians 2:8-9, says that God's Grace, His Salvation, and even your ability to respond in faith, are
gifts of God, not of works lest any man should boast. Abraham had no basis to boast before God.
James on the other hand, opens up with two questions. The first is "What does it profit
if a man say he hath faith and hath not works?" Notice the phrase, "if a man say." form the very start it appears that James is referring to a man's profession of faith. He then poses a second question. Can faith save him? Notice James mentions nothing about justification before God... he is basically saying "What good is your profession of faith, if there is no evidence?"
V. The Appeals
Notice that as each passage opens with a question, they also follow the questions with an appeal.
In Romans 4, Paul immediately appeals to Scripture, in the character of Abraham, who had righteousness imputed to him on the basis of his faith.
James, on the other hand does not refer directly to scripture, but offers a scenario of a man who has the means to help someone needy, and doesn't. The question, "What does it profit?" refers to his previous statement in verse 14. His appeal is to the Emotions of the people who he is writing to, in order to elicit a response to his next statement.
Now we come to the direct statements of each apostle. Paul makes it clear that those who work do not receive payment as a gift, but it is a wage. We do not receive the salvation of God because we earn it. All of our righteousness is as filthy rags. (Isaiah 64: 6) What we receive from God is a gift. Romans 6:23 states that the
gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. it is not something we work for, and we do not work to keep it either.
James on the other hand, appealing to the intellect of the people he writes to, says that if your faith does not show evidence, it is dead. like a corpse, it does nothing. it shows no proof of life. the Greek word for dead (Nekros) literally means lifeless.
As stated earlier, this is where grievous error and contradiction abound, both inside and outside the faith. These two verses are the heart of what seems to be a glaring contradiction, yet
as we examine both passages further, we will find that, not only is there no contradiction, but the verses fit as too pieces of puzzle, forming a full picture of real Faith actually is...
Secondary Appeals
In the above verses, notice once again that Paul appeals to scripture, from the writings of David. Quoting from the Psalms, (32:1) Paul states that even in the lives of the forefathers, prior to Christ, The man after God's own heart, was not justified by his works, but by Faith. Notice the words of David. Iniquities covered, sins forgiven, and the last statement;
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin
The word impute. it means to account for... or to place into an account. the idea behind this statement, is that God does not count your sins against you. This is in contrast to the unredeemed who "Treasure up God's wrath," having EVERY sin stored up against them.
(Romans 2:4-5) Herein lies your justification before God, in that your sins are not placed to your account. and that is in addition to them being covered. God forgives you because he chooses not to see your sins, and not to count them against you... He literally declares you righteous. not on the basis of your works, but on the imputed righteousness of His Son, which is also a gift.
(Romans 5:17)
Get this now. the sins a Christian commits are not counted against them, but the righteousness of the Perfect Lord Jesus Christ is counted to them!! All as a work of Grace, none of it requiring any work on your part...
James on the other hand, once again appeals to emotion without making a direct reference to Scripture. This is done in what appears to be a form of a challenge...YOU show ME YOUR faith,
without YOUR works, and I will show THEE, MY faith by MY works.. Notice something?
Where is God mentioned in this passage? James addresses the person with a challenge to SHOW HIS FAITH, without works... and it can't be done.
James is seeking visible evidence of a man's claim to be in the faith. He then goes on to imply that if all a man has is belief in God, he is no better off, as far as his testimony is concerned, than the demons, who also believe, and show evidence for their belief in fear. (v.19)
From the passage we see that James is not saying man is justified before GOD by his works, but that works are evidence of a man's testimony of faith before his fellow man.. In other words, don't proclaim you are a Christian to others, unless you are doing the works to back it up.
One example that I recall clearly is from a preacher at a revival meeting, who said:
If you are at a restaurant, and want to leave a gospel tract for the waitress, NEVER stiff them on the tip."
God knows the heart of man, and knows who his children are. (John 10: 27, 2 Timothy 2:19) Man, who can not see what is in the heart of an individual, only sees evidence of faith, by the works of a Christian. (Matthew 7: 17) How he speaks, in particular, because his conversation is evidence of the condition of his heart. (Matthew 12:34)
Justification before God is by faith, apart from works, and justification before man, is by works in addition to faith. Paul and James were writing of two distinct things. This will be further evidenced as we examine both of the apostles view of Abraham, in the next post.
Part 2 coming soon...
A Burger King... I was introduced to the King of Kings at a Burger King... Not only was it still there, they added a indoor playground...Cool...
