Faith vs Works: Paul vs James

Introduction

One of the most common debates that rages both inside and outside the Christian church centers around how we are saved. Some believe that we are saved by faith alone while others believe that we are saved by our works or some combination of faith and works. Typically, this debate invariably ends up coming down to what the Apostle Paul said in his letter to the Ephesians as compared to what James said in his letter. I will attempt to break down this debate here based on and historical context.

Paul

The Apostle Paul teaches that:

Paul gave this statement in the context of explaining how helpless we are to save ourselves. Our plight was hopeless, and we stood condemned. However, God in His rich mercy and insurmountable grace acted on our behalf to do through the person and work of Jesus Christ what we could not. Jesus conquered sin and death and thus allows us to be reconciled to God.

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James

The half-brother of Jesus, James, appears to claim that we are not saved by faith alone but by faith and works:

Is James saying here that a combination of faith and works saves us? Let’s consider this given the context of this entire passage and the historical context that he was addressing.

Historical Context of James

It’s commonly understood that James was writing this epistle to address daily living in general and specifically those who were teaching “cheap grace”, as Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it in his book “The Cost of Discipleship”. They were teaching that “faith alone” was equivalent to mental acknowledgement. When pressed, many of us think that this is what “faith alone” means.

Passage Context in James

We can see more clearly what James is talking about when we read these verses in context of the entire passage. James is differentiating between true followership and lukewarm Christianity that doesn’t ask anything of you. The key verse in this passage isn’t 17, it’s 18 which also connects to James 1:22:

This tells us what James is talking about. The faith that facilitates our salvation also produces good works. Jesus said that God cuts off every branch that doesn’t bear fruit. This is a natural part of what it means to follow Christ.

The Cost of Discipleship

Jesus tells us in John 3:16 that we must believe in Him, yet He also said that we must be born again in John 3:3 and that we must deny ourselves and take up our cross in Luke 9:23. He tells us to count the cost of becoming His disciple and our willingness to pay it in Luke 14:25-33. The totality of Jesus’ teaching makes clear that He didn’t mean “mental acknowledgement” when He said to believe. Even the demons acknowledge who He is ( James 2:19, Mk. 5:2, 6-8). Jesus is calling us to true relationship and to follow Him.

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Transformational Christianity (Related Post)

By looking at the totality of Scripture and allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture, we come to understand that the answer to Paul vs. James isn’t and/or…it’s and/and. We can’t work for our salvation nor can we adhere to the Law under our own power. It is a gift from God. However, our salvation WILL change us, by the power of the Holy Spirit. This change WILL produce good works according to the will of Christ (2 Cor. 5:17, Jn. 3:3, 7, Jn. 15:1-2, Lk. 9:23, Rom. 12:2).

When we are saved by grace through faith, our journey towards heaven begins (Eph. 1:13). We gain an inheritance in heaven and the will of Christ grows in us as our will decreases. This change in us causes us to begin to seek to do the will of God.

We now take on the work that Christ has given us since the foundation of the world. For starters, we are called to the great commission as empowered by God’s Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19-20, Acts 1:8). We are saved by faith through grace which necessarily causes us to do good works (bear good fruit).

Judged by our works (Matt. 7:21, Rev. 29:12)

Some have difficulty reconciling us being judged for what we do with salvation through faith. These judgement passages aren’t describing what we must do to be saved, they are describing the outcome of our sin versus our righteousness.

Our sin (what we do) puts us under God’s wrath (Jn. 3:36, Rom. 1:18). We are judged for our sin. In other words, we are judged for what we do. We must be perfectly righteous to enter the kingdom of God. Yet, we have no righteousness of our own because we all sin (Rom. 3:23), thus, we are hopeless.

Clothed in Righteousness

However, when we turn to Christ and accept Him as our Lord and Savior we are sealed by His Holy Spirit and we are clothed in His righteousness (Gal. 2:20, 2 Cor. 5:21, Rom. 3:21-22a). Therefore, when we stand before God, those who have not accepted Christ will be judge according to their sin. We who have received Christ, have been clothed in His righteousness and our sin will be seen no more (Ps. 103:12).

When we stand before God to be judged for our sinful deeds, He will see that they have been washed in the blood of Jesus by His grace through our faith in His Son, therefore only the righteousness of Christ will be seen.

Conclusion

There is no need to stress and struggle about the faith versus works debate. There is no incongruity. We are saved by true faith that will produce good works. “Faith” without works is not true faith and therefore cannot lead to your salvation. True faith brings reconciliation and relationship with God which changes us. This change moves us toward the will of God which produces good works in us and through us. Saving faith isn’t dead, it is alive in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Blessings