Justified by Works?

Introduction

“How far, therefore, are those deceived who promise life to themselves with dead faith” - Augustine of Hippo.

Although it is true that Martin Luther called the book of James an “Epistle of Straw” at one point, he later recanted this statement. The book of James, although it seems to deny the doctrine of salvation by faith alone on first glance, not only does not deny this but rather fortifies this doctrine by showing us what kind of faith alone saves us. It is not an empty faith, not the simple mental consent that God exists or that the Bible is true, but a faith that is accompanied by works. As the reformed 17th century author Francis Turretin says, “man is justified by faith, and faith is justified by works.”

The Problem: Justified by Faith Alone or Works?

Let us tackle the problem head on as we get into our text.

The problem we face is of course in James 2:24

James 2:24 ESV

You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

This has been the ‘gotcha’ text for many Roman Catholics and other non-protestants throughout the history of the reformation up until the present day. Here it is clear, they say, that we are not justified by faith alone. How can we, as protestants who believe that we are justified by faith alone, solo fida as the reformers called it, when this text clearly says the opposite? Are we not contradicting Scripture when it comes to this text?

Others will say that this is a clear point where the Scriptures contradict themselves, and indeed for a time Martin Luther was tempted to take this position and even deny the infallibility of the book of James. For Paul says in Romans 4:4-5

Romans 4:4–5 ESV

Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,

What shall we say then? Is Paul right who says in Galatians 3:9

Galatians 3:9 ESV

So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

As opposed to works of the law, which Paul says brings about a curse. Or are we to believe James who says that one is not justified merely by faith, but also by works?

The Person Justified by Faith Alone

Let us first look at the doctrine of faith alone and what it means, so that we may properly understand how these passages do not contradict each other, nor is James contradicting the doctrine of justification by faith alone.

What does Sola Fida actually mean?

First let us answer the question, what is sola fida, or faith alone? In the passages quoted from Paul, Paul is facing Jews and in Galatians the Judiazing heresy. The Jews in Romans and the Judiazers in Galatians have a hard time understanding a gospel that includes people who are not submitted to God’s covenant law in the OT. In a law that basically said, do this and you shall live they are now faced with a Gospel that does not include circumcision, it does not include the necessity to be under the law of God, in fact it removes those under that old covenant and puts them in a new covenant in which one enters, not by circumcision, nor my keeping the law so that they may live, but is based on faith in the finished work of the Messiah.

What Paul is saying is that it is not through works of the law, whether that be the law of ones own conscience or the law written for God’s people in the OT, that someone is made righteous in God’s sight. It is through faith alone in what Christ has done.

Faith means belief and trust in Christ. It is relying on his finished work for salvation. To belong to God, one does not need to do anything other than believe. To be justified, one need only look to Christ and believe:

That he is the Christ through whom alone there is salvation.

That it is though his work alone that one is saved.

That this salvation is for me, the grace of God being applied once someone acknowledges that this work of Christ in his active obedience and his death on the cross is applied to me for justification.

It is a faith that says you belong to God and are therefore devoted to following him. We will get into this a bit more in a while, but this is a faith that is not from the outside looking in, but a faith that sees yourself as in Christ, that identifies yourself with Christ, and it is a faith that sees you as being the dwelling place of Christ through the Holy Spirit. This is clear if you keep reading Romans, especially chapter 6 and chapter 8. To believe in Christ is to believe that the Spirit dwells in you and as a result you follow his will, knowing that Christ dwells in you.

What about justification? What is it? Here we have to understand what Paul means by this word.

Justification is imputed, not forensic. what does that mean?

Forensic justification is the Roman Catholic view of justification. In this view, once one is justified, they are made intrinsically righteous, that is, they become righteous and perfect in themselves. It is seen to remove original sin and all intrinsic sin in the person and makes them pure and holy objectively.

Imputed justification is different. We see justification as being covered with the righteousness of Christ in the sight of the Father so that we are counted righteous, not because we are intrinsically righteous, but because we are covered by the righteousness of Christ. This is what imputed means.

Example of the horse manure by Martin Luther.

This is what we mean by justified by faith alone. Having that defined, let us look back at James and see what he means when he says one is not justified by faith alone, but by works as well.

Faith Justified by Works

First, let us look at the context in which James is speaking.

His audience and purpose. James appears to be talking to a church that particularly has a problem with caring for the poorer members among them. There is a preference given to the rich over the poor. The needy and orphaned are neglected, and there is a great deal of fighting that James attributes to the divided hearts these Christians have. They are worldly, and although they claim to follow Christ with their mouths, they follow the world and seek worldly gain, which explains their preference for the rich and their fighting. They were professing faith, but their works showed that their faith was largely empty. This is the problem that James wrote to address.

As we get to our passage, we have James asking what good would it be if someone has faith but not works. Specifically, what good is it if someone professes to believe in Christ, but they do not practice the love and hospitality that Christ did and expects of believers? Can that kind of faith save him?

Faith in James versus in Paul. They are not the same concept.

This brings us to the central point of difference between Paul and James. Because their contexts are so different, we must see that the faith James is talking about and the faith that Paul is talking about are not the same kind of faith. The reformed theologian Francis Turretin points out that the people being addressed are in a very different place. While Paul addresses Jews who insist that true, spiritual faith must be accompanied by works of the law in order to be saved. James is speaking to people who, perhaps having read Paul, have concluded that their profession of faith is enough to save them. This leads us to use the context and come to the conclusion that James and Paul do not mean the same thing when they use the words faith and works.

James and faith

When James speaks of faith, he is speaking of the mere profession of faith. When Paul speaks of faith, he is speaking about the true, spiritual work that the Spirit does in a believer’s heart. James’ point is not to contradict or correct Paul in his assertion that justification is by faith alone, but to specify the kind of faith that saves, namely one that makes itself known by works.

It was Christ our Lord who said,

Matthew 7:18–20 ESV

A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

A tree may be pleasant to look at, corresponding with a solid profession of faith, but if it is like the fig tree Jesus finds without figs they are cursed, for they are not fit with the kind of faith that saves. James even says this, by saying

James 2:18 ESV

But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

A fruitful tree is made known by its fruit. The fruit doesn’t make it a healthy tree, but because it is healthy it produces good fruit. On the contrary, a so-called faith that does not include the works of love, charity, and holiness is no faith at all. It is what James calls a dead faith. That is, a faith in profession alone. Think of the words of Isaiah 29:13

Isaiah 29:13 ESV

And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,

Their hearts are far from him. In other words, they have dead faith. It is not true, living faith that produces good works. This is what James means when he says one is not justified by faith alone. The Roman Catholics take this verse out of context when they use it to refute sola fida, faith alone, because the faith James is talking about is not the kind of faith we are talking about when we say we are justified by faith alone.

The works that James speaks of are also different from the works Paul is talking about. Commentator Craig Blomberg suggests that the Greek word erga translated works could be better translated action to avoid the confusion with Paul’s teaching against works of the law being what justifies someone. James is not talking about works of the law necessary to justify someone, but a faith that shows itself in action.

Two Examples

Now let us look at the two examples James gives us to prove his point that a profession of faith alone doesn’t save anybody.

Abraham

First, he brings up Abraham, which is helpful to us because Abraham is also used by Paul to prove that justification is by faith alone. However, they both bring up different parts of Abraham’s walk with God. Paul focuses on the account of Genesis 15:6

Genesis 15:6 ESV

And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

Whereas James focuses on Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac in Genesis 22. He makes this evidence for his thesis that one is not justified by a profession of faith alone, but by works.

How do we reconcile this? Was Abraham justified when he believed God in Genesis 15, or was it when he did the work of offering his son Isaac in Genesis 22? Again, we have to remember that Paul and James are not using the word justification in the same way. Paul is talking about justification by faith alone. God knew Abraham’s heart, he knew that deep inside, though imperfect, Abraham believed that God would do as he said. He had true saving faith, and this justified him.

But how do we know that Abraham’s faith was genuine? God tested Abraham’s faith in Genesis 22 by telling him to offer up his son Isaac. In this action, since Abraham believed that God would still keep his promise and raise up a nation from his son Isaac, he went ahead and carried out the action commanded by God.

Hebrews 11:17–19 ESV

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

We see that it was Abraham’s faith, confirmed by his works, that justified him. This is what James is talking about. Abraham was justified by his faith, as Genesis 15:6 says, but that faith was itself justified by his actions. It shows us that one cannot be justified simply by saying they believe God, but by a faith that acts on the promises of God.

Rahab

The second example James brings up is Rahab the prostitute. Roman Catholics have argued that Rahab couldn’t have been justified by faith since she was a prostitute, and this an unbelieving sinner. Turretin again points out that when she heard of the mighty acts God had done for the Israelites against Pharoah and all others who stood in their way, she believed this God would destroy the city. More than that, she believed that he was the right God, one more powerful than any of the Canaanite gods, and her actions showed an allegiance to the true God rather than to her culture’s false deities. So was she justified by faith or by works? Her faith justified her, but that faith was active and caused her to hide the Israelite spies. So her faith, confirmed by her works, was what justified her and led to God sparing her in the destruction of the city. She did not work her way into salvation, she believed with a faith that was accompanied by works. So James’ point stands; only an active faith can justify a sinner.

What Kind of Works Justify True Faith

So what kind of works should we be looking for that justify true faith?

“To ask a person to justify a belief is to ask an ethical question.” - John Frame

This means that, if we are to hold a faith in something and we mean to justify, or give reason for, that belief, we are at the same time asking what moral or ethical implications, what works, are necessary to justify that belief. If you believe something to be true, and you are going to defend that belief as true, you are at once making an ethical statement because believing something to be true implies a way of acting that coincides with that truth. Faith must act in a way that conforms to what is being believed.

In the case of James, people were claiming to know God and believe him, but their actions did not characterize someone who truly believe God. They were unloving, worldly, showed prejudice, fought with one another and apparently were at the point of being at each others throats literally (4:2). Someone who believes God’s promises through faith in Jesus Christ does not act like this.

Imagine if you were drowning in debt and bills you couldn’t pay. You were worried until someone comes to you and tells you, “next week I am going to pay all our bills and all your debt.” If you believed this person, you would rest easy, with each bill coming in the mail being tossed aside in the assurance that it will be paid. But if you did not believe that person, you would continue to worry and hustle to get every dollar you could. Your actions would be very different depending on whether you believed this person or not.

No what has God promised us? Freedom and forgiveness from sin. A heavenly inheritance. The love of a heavenly Father. Security in Christ. A new world and eternal life. Being part of the eternal church, the people of God, in pure, holy communion forever. If you believe this things, are you going to worry about what the rich person thinks of you? Are you going to refuse love to the brother or sister who needs it most? Will you continue to act out of the flesh that you know is dead in Christ and refuse to walk in the Spirit who is your life and Christ in you? Of course not.

So a faith that justifies is justified by the fruit it bears: love, kindness, humility, mercy, compassion, service to others, care for the poor and needy, peace and gentleness towards your fellow Christian. Only these works can justify a real faith, and only real faith saves.

Conclusion

Craig Blomberg:

James Main Idea

Those who claim to be believers but offer not the slightest aid to Christians in dire need, whom they are in a position to help, demonstrate the emptiness of their claims. True saving faith will by nature produce good works, as illustrated by examples as diverse as Abraham and Rahab

It is proper for you, dear brothers and sisters, to examine the nature of your profession by your works. There are some telling signs that your profession may not be backed up by a sincere faith.

Do you love the fellowship of believers? Does it please your heart to be with God’s people, or is church merely a religious habit that tries to justify what is actually a shallow faith without substance?

Following up with that question, do your love the believers with whom you fellowship? I know many of you do, for I experienced the generosity of many of your hearts. It reminds me that love is not in word or emotion, but in deed. Do you run to help the saints in their need? Are you eager to pray for those who are troubled or burdened in the church? Are you generous with your possessions when someone else is in need? What evidence of love for the saints is there in your life?

Are you living a holy life? Are you battling sin in the hopes of purity in heart, mind, and action? Is your heart divided by the pleasures of this world and the things of God? Do your genuinely mourn over sin and does your walk in life look like more and more holiness, not just as actions done on the outside, but corresponding to your love for and faith in God?

As we have clearly seen, James does not contradict Paul when it comes to the doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone. What he does tell us is that only genuine faith saves, and that genuine faith is always accompanied by the fruits of love, humility, holiness, and single-hearted devotion to Christ. Do you believe the Gospel? Has its truth truly reached your soul and impacted your heart? Is it real and genuine, does your life display evidence for this? Do not be discouraged if you find yourself failing, this isn’t meant to discourage you, but to push you on. Make your faith real by looking to Christ and meditating on the truths of your salvation and what it accomplishes. Know that the Spirit of Christ dwells in you, and act on that truth. Pursue the truth and its outcome in real life. As your pursue it, you will grow in godliness in all these ways. But you must pursue it, you must run after it. Take hold of a real faith and let it change your life in the power of the Spirit.