What Is Saving Faith? Do James and Paul Disagree?
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“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).
“You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone” (James 2:24).
We are told in no uncertain terms in the Bible that if we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, and that whosoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life. Faith is clearly a line of demarcation between those who have eternal life and those who don’t. But what is it supposed to look like?
Is faith a one-time occurrence, something we “do” and then go on with our lives? Or is it more than that? Can we have genuine, saving faith and be devoid of any other outward signs of conversion? We will see that the verses above are not contradicting each other, but that when we examine the whole counsel of God, they are harmonious parts of a single message.
What Does Paul Say about Faith?
In the book of Romans Paul makes a case for our justification being by faith, as opposed to works. As usual, knowing the context of a verse is key to understanding its real meaning. In this case it is important to remember that Paul didn’t write in chapters and verses, but rather a letter, in its entirety. We must examine the whole flow of ideas throughout the letter in order to understand his meaning.
In chapters 1 and 2 the case is made for the universal guilt of mankind, and the second half of chapter 3 reveals the good news that God has provided a propitiation for our sins, both Jews and Gentiles alike. In chapter 4 he backs up the claim with the example of Abraham having righteousness imputed to him through faith, not works. The whole lead-up to the verse above is Paul laying out how man’s works have never been a consideration of God’s when it comes to bestowing his grace upon anyone, and that this gift of salvation in Christ is further evidence of our inability to make claims upon God’s grace.
Paul knew full well the Pharisaical practices of his day, where outward appearances replace genuine worship and empty prayers replace heartfelt repentance. This section of his letter to the Romans is both a repudiation of the Jewish belief of law-observance as a means of justification before God, and the Gentile practices of appeasing various gods through rituals and ceremonies. He is declaring to his readers that our works impart no duty upon God, make no demand of his mercy, and bear no influence on his gracious election. Our justification is by faith, and faith alone.
What Does James Say about Faith?
James is writing his letter “to the twelve tribes” of Israel, likely converted Jews who have followed after Christ. In chapter 1, James exhorts his readers to be “doers of the word,” and not hearers only. At the Counsel of Jerusalem (Acts 15:2-31) the apostles, including James, reach an accord instructing newly-converted Gentiles not to worry about the matters of the law, such as circumcision, but rather to refrain from “blood, and things strangled” and avoid idols and fornication. James shows an understanding that there are no works necessary for salvation, but seems to indicate that the reception of God’s grace warrants an appropriate response from believers.
In James 1:18-19 he makes the mandate for an outward change in the believer that is dependent upon our new life in God. Because we are begotten of God, we are to be a “kind of firstfruits” of his creatures. It is only after this reasoning that James goes on to exhort his readers to live godly lives, as John the Baptist would have said, “produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8).
Chapter 1 finishes with the admonition that should we behold ourselves in the perfect law of liberty and continue in sin, we have deceived our own hearts, and our religion is in vain. The vanity stems from the understanding that religion without faith is nothing but works, which can only amount to filthy rags in the eyes of God (Isaiah 64:6). In Chapter 2 James gives further instructions on how Christians should deal with one another, and then begins to outline the traits of true faith.
If a brother or sister is naked and has no food, can faith save him? James drives home the point that without any action to back it up, faith is of no use to anyone. In verses 17 and 20 he makes it plain: faith without works is dead. We must, according to James, have a living faith, accompanied by works that testify to its presence.
Is this really much different than Paul? Perhaps the confusion comes from the next verses, where we’re told that Abraham is justified by works, and not faith only. Now this sounds like a direct contradiction to Paul. Let’s back up a couple verses and see exactly what’s being said here:
“Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone” (James 2:21-24).
In Genesis 15 Abraham is counted righteous when he believes the promise of God to make of him a great nation. It is significant that only two verses later Abraham asks God “Whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?” Basically, give me a sign. This is not the most profound level of faith. Nonetheless, it is faith; but it is seven chapters later before Abraham is commanded to kill his son Isaac. James is demonstrating that Abraham’s fledgling faith in chapter 15 is finally made perfect in chapter 22 by his unflinching obedience to God.
Furthermore, James says the scripture was fulfilled in Abraham’s attempted sacrifice, meaning the acknowledgement of Abraham’s righteousness in chapter 15 is actually prophetic, not didactic.
Finding Harmony in these Scriptures
When we compare these passages in their entirety, we see there is not so much a different approach to justification for Paul and James, but rather a different emphasis on the nature of our new life in Christ. Paul is focusing on debunking the prevailing beliefs that any kind of works can justify us before God. James, on the other hand, is determined to exhort his readers that works of righteousness will most surely follow on the heels of conversion, and “faith” without these accompanying changes is a dead faith.
Both men clearly see the reality of conversion, of our having been born again by the Spirit of God, as a work of grace alone, that results in a changed heart and a genuine desire to please our Father. Paul makes this position clear in the next chapter, when he says:
“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:1-2).
No believer, according to Paul, would ever have a desire to continue in sin. Likewise, James made his case for a changed life in the believer based on our new birth when he says:
“He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:18-19).
It is because we are born again that we begin to live for God, not in order to be born again.
The faith we are called to have in Christ is more than a dead faith, but a living faith that testifies to our new life, having been begotten of God. Just as we must search for signs like a pulse, or breathing, to determine physical life, so we must examine ourselves by the light of Scripture for signs of our spiritual life. Our new life as children of God will exhibit signs of life that we can point to, not as the cause of our justification, but the effect of it.
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