JAMES VS. PAUL? FAITH VS. WORKS?
The Bible makes it clear that we are saved by trusting in Christ and that salvation is a free gift. Gifts cannot be earned. They can only be accepted. When we turn to Jesus, we are accepting a free gift.
We bring nothing to the table but our sins. There is nothing that we can do to earn or merit anything from God. We do not deserve the air that we breathe, much less the death of His Son on the Cross for our sins. Nothing comes from us (1 Cor. 3:7; 2 Cor. 3:5; Rom. 11:36). Salvation is of the Lord (Psa. 3:8; Jonah 2:9; Isa. 43:11; Acts 4:12).
Ephesians 2:8–9 says we are saved by grace through faith and not by works. If it is by works, it cannot be by grace (Rom. 11:6). Salvation comes to us because God decided to save those who turn to His Son. It was His goodness that provided salvation.
We may not want to hear this. Some may get tired of hearing this. But it is the truth, and the truth can only help. Plus, if we do not consistently embrace the reality of what God has done for us, we will not be as appreciative as we need to strive to be.
It is good to be reminded that everything comes from God. We have rebelled against Him (Rom. 3:23), we have been unworthy servants (Lk. 17:10), and when we admit the truth, things go better. If we suppress the truth, we will walk in wickedness (Rom. 1:18). Nothing helps the mind like the cleansing truth about ourselves and about God.
So we are saved by grace, not by works. But what about this: “faith without works is dead“ (James 2:26)? Is there a contradiction here? Are James and Paul not on the same side? Do they not have their theology straight? Did one believe we are saved by grace through faith, and the other believe that we are saved by works?
No, there is absolutely no contradiction whatsoever. James does make that statement because it is true. The word “works” is not problematic. Works just means deeds or actions. So what he said could be translated “faith without good deeds is dead,” or “faith that does not lead to actions is dead,” and it would mean the same thing. Different translations will use different words, but they all mean the same thing. What we must keep in mind is not just the word itself, but the context.
In James chapter 2, James is not talking about how a person gets saved. He is talking about how saved people are to live. So he is not saying—and no apostle or prophet in the New Testament would ever say—that faith in Christ will not save you. In context, what he is saying is that Christians who claim to have faith must prove it by good works. Genuine faith, the saving kind, will always produce the fruit of good work in our lives.
Notice the example that James uses to make his point: “What good does it do, brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no works? Can that kind of ‘faith’ save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothing and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; be warm and stay fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is that? Likewise, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2:14-17).
Would anyone say that we are saved by doing good works— feeding the hungry, for example? If a lost person comes to you and asks, “What must I do to be saved?”, will you tell them, “Feed the hungry and clothe the naked?” You better not. You better tell them to put their trust in Jesus alone and what He did.
However, if a person who claims to be saved and claims to have faith in Jesus is living a life of rebellion against God and is clearly not trying to do what is right, then it would be good to say to them, “Faith not followed by actions is dead faith. You don’t really have saving faith in Jesus if your life does not demonstrate a desire to do what He wants us to do.”
James is not talking about coming to Christ and being saved. He is not talking to the alien sinner who has never put his or her faith in Christ. He is talking to believers about what real faith looks like in our lives.
Going back to Ephesians 2:8–10, notice what Paul says and how it is in complete harmony with James: “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith—and that not from yourselves, it is the God’s gift—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared beforehand for us to do” (Eph. 2:8-10).
Paul says that we are created in Christ Jesus for good works. So he actually says we are not saved BY works, but we are saved FOR works. Paul would sign his name to the statement, “faith without works is dead” and everything else James wrote. If it is true faith, it will produce a change of life.
When Paul says in several places that we are saved by faith and not by works (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; 2 Tim. 1:9), he is talking about how a person gets saved. How they move from being in a lost state to a saved state. When James says that faith without works is dead, he is talking about a “Christian” claiming to be saved and not living like a Christian. And in context, specifically, not loving others was what he was getting on to them about. They were not being compassionate toward others while claiming to have faith.
Anyone can claim to have faith, and we should remember this today. We can fool ourselves into thinking that we have faith because we mentally assent to the salvation Jesus offers, while continuing to live in sin and for ourselves. We are fooling no one but ourselves if we do that. And we are not even fooling ourselves, because deep down we all know better than that. The way to know that I have true faith is to look at whether or not my life is moving toward God or away from God.
Does this faith we claim to have cause us to want to help other people? Does it cause us to want to please God? Then it is true, saving faith.
Bryan Dewayne Dunaway
