You could say that if our faith does not have some effect on our lives in terms of both love for God and love for others, then something is deficient in our faith. James put it rather more bluntly, "faith without works is dead"
Every single word, phrase, sentence, and paragraph written in God's Word, the Holy Bible, is important. However, if a matter is very important, God has it repeated. If it is very, very important, God has it repeated twice. Such is the case with the doctrine of the necessity of Christian works and faith, here written by God through His apostle James in chapter two of James' epistle.
Clearly then, it is very, very important that we understand that faith without works is dead. But along comes another apostle—Paul, in his letter to God's church at Ephesus—and just look at what he has to say: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Some compare these two passages and declare, "The Bible contradicts itself, so how can it be the inspired Word of God?" They then use this and other perceived contradictions as excuses to discard completely the whole written Word of God. Others take the "path of least resistance." Adopting Paul's words, but completely ignoring God's instruction through James, they claim, "All you need is grace and faith. Works are not necessary!"
Is there a contradiction? Do we or do we not need works? And just what are "works" anyway?
We need to answer these questions because they are vital to our salvation. True, spiritual understanding of Ephesians 2:8-9 and James 2:14-26 reveals that the Bible does not contradict itself on this subject of faith and works—nor anywhere else, for that matter.
A Summary of "Salvation, Faith and Good Works",
extracted by John Wesley from "Book of Homilies" [1/7](Keep in mind, this is a summary of Wesley's condensation of a work originally 36 pages in length. Paragraph numbers correspond to the source)
Of The Salvation Of Mankind.
1. All persons are sinners and therefore can do nothing to make themselves righteous in God's eyes. Yet, everyone seeks this justification from God. It comes to us only by God's mercy and through the worth of Christ. God's Son was the fulfillment of the law; and, his sacrificial love and death convinced God that human beings could be acceptable in his sight.
2. Christ's sacrifice washes away the sins of both a baptized infant and a backsliding baptized adult who repents. This washing away of sin is the justifications St. Paul speaks of when saying, "yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ." [Gal 2.16].
3. God's mercy delivers us from the demand that we do the impossible (justifying ourselves) and God's justice is shown in the giving of his own Son who did what had been impossible. Our redemption is a mystery, tempering mercy and justice.
5. Three elements make up our justification:
(a) God's mercy and grace;
(b) Christ's satisfying God's justice by dying on the cross, completely fulfilling the law; and
(c) our faith in both the mercy and justice of God. Faith in the merits of Christ enables us to believe in God's justice.7. Faith does not exclude the necessity of good works; but good works in no way produce justification.
8. Paul says to the Ephesians, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God---not the result of works, so that no one may boast." [2.8-9].
10. Be clear that justification is something God does, not something we do (and, as a consequence of our "doing" then" receiving" from God). We do not "earn" justification by believing. No amount of faith, hope or love within us results in our justification. We can only completely trust in God's mercy, and in the sacrifice Christ made for us on the Cross. Faith comes as a gift, and justification follows faith.
11. As John the Baptist rightly pointed to the approaching Jesus and said, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world." [John 1.29]. (continued)
12. It is true the ancient church leaders speak thus, "Only faith justifieth us." And even Paul said "Faith without works justifieth us." [Gal 2.16] Yet our original sin so corrupts us that we can do nothing to achieve justification. We simply humble ourselves before God and give glory to our Saviour, Christ.
14. "The right and true Christian faith is not only to believe that Holy Scripture and the articles of our faith are true, but also to have a sure trust and confidence to be saved from everlasting damnation by Christ, whereof doth follow a loving heart to obey his commandments." (128)
16. "These (are) the fruits of true faith; to do good, as much as lieth in us, to every man and above all things and in all things to advance the glory of God, to whom be praise and honour, world without end." (129)
Of True Christian faith.
1. Scripture tells of two kinds of faith. The first is dead faith which James [2.19] says is epitomized by the devils who "believe and tremble" and yet do nothing well. "And such a faith (as this) have wicked Christians who (profess they know God but in works deny him]." [129]
2. This faith consists of believing God exists and that his Word contains the truth---but this is not properly called faith. One can believe in this fashion and still live the life of an ungodly man.
3. There is another kind of faith spoken of by Paul in Gal 5.6: a faith which "worketh by love." In addition to assenting to the articles of faith, this condition is "a true trust and confidence of the mercy of God through our Lord Jesus Christ and a steadfast hope of all good things at God's hand." This is called by Paul "the full assurance of faith." [Heb 10.22]; a confidence [that though we should] fall from him by sin, yet if we return to him by true repentance, he will forgive our offences for his Son's sake and make us inheritors of his everlasting Kingdom." (130)
5. Three things can be said of this lively faith. First, it cannot be hid, but will break out and show itself in good works.
9. Secondly without true faith no good works can be done "for the branch cannot bear fruit of itself," says our Saviour, "except it abide in the vine. . . He that abided in me and I in him, he bringeth forth much fruit. For without me you can do nothing." [John 15.4-5] Without faith no work is good before God.
12. The third thing to be noted of true faith is what [manner of] good works it does bring forth. First, hear Christ say that keeping the commandments of God are the true works of faith. [Mt. 19.16-19]
13. Therefore one should read the Scriptures to ascertain what God's commandments are, and with all one's strength to endeavour to follow those commands. Some of the more notable of these commandments are to "give yourselves wholly to God, to love him in prosperity and adversity and dread to offend him evermore. Then for his sake, love all men, friends and foes, because they (are) his (creatures) and image, and redeemed by Christ as you are. . . . Obey all your superiors and governors. Serve your masters faithfully and diligently, disobey not your fathers and mothers but honour, help, and please them to your power. Oppress not, kill not, beat not, neither slander nor hate any person. . . . Take no person's goods nor covet your neighbour's goods, but (be content with your own) and bestow (them) charitably, as need requireth. Flee all idolatry, witchcraft, perjury; commit no manner of adultery, fornication or other (unchastely) in will or deed. . . . . And you shall not fail to come to that everlasting life where you shall live in glory and joy with God for ever." (133)
Ephesians 2:8-9
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.Romans 3:28
For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.Romans 4:2
If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about - but not before God.James 2:24
You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.This is best understood by looking at James 2:24 in the context of James 2:14-26:
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder.
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor 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 justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
James is contrasting intellectual faith (which even the demons have) with "living" faith. A person with living faith is affected by it, and does good works; hence Abraham's faith could be seen through his actions. What he's essentially saying in v. 24 is that faith which results in good works is the kind of faith that saves, whereas purely intellectual faith does not.
Paul's argument, on the other hand, is that works themselves don't save us, not even obedience to the Law of the Old Testament.
An article by Peter Davids in Hard Sayings of the Bible explains that James and Paul are dealing with two different meanings of the word "justify." James uses it to mean how someone is shown to be righteous - it's seen through their deeds. Paul talks about how the unrighteous are made righteous, or justified.
Q: James 2:14-26 seems to contradict the teaching of justification by faith that is taught elsewhere in the Bible (such as Romans 3:28). Can you explain the seeming contradiction?
A: You are absolutely correct! James 2 does "seem" to contradict what Paul teaches. Both James and Paul (in Romans 4) start with Abraham, yet seem to arrive at completely different conclusions about how we are made right. Paul says we are justified by faith alone and James seems to say we are justified by faith and works (2:21,24)!
However, the contradiction is really only a verbal one (logic calls this a "verbal fallacy"). James and Paul are both using the same words: faith and justification, but with different meanings.
"Faith" in James means "mental assent; an intellectual belief in the existence of God." You can see this in verses 14, 17, 19. The faith that James talks about is a faith that even the demons can have! James was the leader of the Messianic church in Jerusalem and so he uses terms in the same way the non-Messianic Jews in Jerusalem do. The Pharisees and rabbis in Jerusalem spoke of the assertion of monotheism and the mere intellectual assent to orthodox teaching as "having faith." Does this kind of faith save people? NO! And Paul would have agreed. Intellectual faith does NOT save anyone.
The kind of "faith", Paul talks about is "absolute trust; total dependence on God; being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised" (Romans 4:5,18,21). This is more than just intellectual faith! The difference between James "faith" and Paul's use of the word is the difference between believing a parachute could save you if you jumped out of a plane (James) and actually jumping out of a plane and pulling the ripcord (Paul).
"Justified" is the other word that is being used differently. Paul is talking about being justified in God's sight (Romans 5:1). James is talking about being justified before men (James 2:18). "Don't tell me that you have faith, show me!" James says.
James gives the example of Abraham's offering of Isaac (Genesis 22). He says this action by Abraham was proof before men of Abraham's righteousness: "Was not Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?" (James 2:21). But James is quick to add that Abraham was made righteous before God some 30 years prior to this event: "Abraham believed God and his faith was credited to him as righteousness" (James 2:23; Genesis 15:6).
There is no contradiction between Paul and James when you realize that the one is talking about justification before God and one is talking about justification before men.
If we desire the kingdom of Heaven we must have great care and diligence and willingness in practising the commandments of God. In order to be saved, it is not sufficient to believe in the true God and to be Orthodox Christians. We must also fight "the good fight", live "worth of the vocation we are called", that is to say perform Christian acts since we are baptised Christians and we are honoured with the name of Christ.
Let us not think that we shall be saved by faith alone. Faith without works do not benefit in anything. Of course the Lord said "he that believes and is baptised shall be saved; but he that believes not shall be damned", but He also said this "not every one that says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven". If one would be saved by faith alone then everybody will easily secure salvation. Because "the devils also believe and tremble. As the body with out the soul is motionless and lifeless so faith without works is dead. Let us hear St. James the brother of God, who very lucidly stresses "what does it profit, my brethren, though a man says he has faith, and has no works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, depart in peace, be warmed and filled; not withstanding you give them not those things which are needful to the body; what does it profit? Even so faith, if it has not works, is dead, being alone". After these it is obvious that we must have works together with faith.
For this reason whoever believes in God and his providence, shares out his money to the poor, hoping that he will receive "a hundredfold wage" and will inherit everlasting life. Whoever believes, struggles to be humble, repents for his sins, he is meek and peaceful, hates injustice and loves justice, because he remembers the verse from the Psalms "he who loves injustice hates his own soul".
He, who believes, endures without grumbling every temptation in order to be crowned with the crown of the incorruptible glory. He is prudent and does not molest himself. He, who truly believes, is not lazy and negligent of prayer, does not condemn anybody and does not follow the "broad road", but the "narrow and sorrowful road". He does not love the world, neither parents, nor brothers and sisters nor wife and children, more than the Lord. Those, who believe, love the Lord and hate evil acts. They do not bear a grudge against his brother and do not return evil for evil. They do good to those who treat them badly, they bless those who curse them and they bear patiently those that persecute them.
Those, who believe do not practise hypocrisy, flattering or person favouritism, because in all their activities they are straight, honest and sincere. They have no pride and are not magnanimous for the sake of praises and flattering that others give them. They detest the world of sin, following the exhortation of Apostle Paul "no man that war entangles himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who has chosen him to be a soldier. And if a man also strives for mysteries, yet he is not crowned, except he strives lawfully".
Those, who believe, never lie, they are not greedy, they do not have Holy Communion without having confession, they do not condemn others. In brief, they follow care fully and steadfastly the way of the commandments of Christ and they have faith in Him, not in words but "in deeds and truth". Do you now see how, those who believe live? So how can we consider somebody as faithful if he is poor in works?
If we truly believe, let us fight sin and abandon every evil that we have been doing so far. Let us struggle with willingness in order to be ready to stand before the Lord on the fearful day of Judgement. Let us wake up from the sleep of negligence. Let us correct our thoughts and let us drive away the evil thoughts. Let us try to fulfill the commandments of God, in order to be crowned by Him and to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.
Ephesians 2:8-10
Is there any contradiction between the opinions of Paul and James on this matter?
Simply, no! Paul, in Ephesians 2:8 says that faith is required and, as we have seen, in verse 10, says that good works are also required. James, in the second chapter of his epistle, says that faith and works are inseparable:
Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (verse 17) But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? (verse 20) For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (verse 26)
In his Bible Handbook, Henry H. Halley states that:
Paul's doctrine of Justification by Faith, and James' doctrine of Justification by Works, are supplementary, not contradictory. Neither was opposing the teaching of the other—they were devoted friends and co-workers. James fully endorsed Paul's work (Acts 15:13-29; 21:17-26).
Paul preached Faith as the basis of justification before God, but insisted that it must issue in the right kind of Life. James was writing to those who had accepted the doctrine of Justification by Faith but were not Living Right, telling them that such Faith was No Faith at all. (p. 659, capitalization as in original)
The Revised Standard Version translates James 2:20 in a very interesting and appropriate way: "Do you want to be shown, you shallow man, that faith apart from works is barren?" It is barren that is so intriguing. In the Bible, several women—for example, Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Hannah, and Elizabeth—could not have children. In the physical realm, a fertile male and a fertile female are both required conditions for reproduction for most forms of life. Spiritually, active faith and active works are both required conditions to reproduce godly, spiritual life in us. In both cases, life, whether spiritual or physical, is a gift of God, the Creator and Life-giver. If either condition is absent or inactive, barrenness or lack of new life results.
Another meaning of barren common in English is that of a land without vegetation, a desolate place. The Greek word James uses is argos (instead of nekra, "dead," as in verses 17 and 26), meaning "lazy," "unproductive," "unprofitable," "idle," "ineffective." Its literal meaning is "no work" [a (negative) + ergon (work)]! The word picture that develops is of an area of land that receives plenty of sunshine but too little rain, and hence, it is barren, desolate. Such a land cannot be worked because it will not produce anything profitable. In the same way, a person having only faith will produce nothing profitable; he needs a steady "rain" of work to grow and mature.
So there is no contradiction. Faith is required. Works are required. Works toward God are to do His will and His work and, yes, to obey His laws. Works toward our neighbours are to serve them and to do good for them. Doing them promotes growth of godly character and provides a shining example of true Christian living.
Faith without works is dead. Faith with works is life—eternal life!
J. Plunkett
We are told by Paul in his letter to the Ephesians:
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” -Ephesians 2:8,9 (all quotations will be taken from the KJV)
But we are also told by James:
“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?” -James 2:14
Here, as with many apparent contradictions in the Bible, the difficulty disappears when we critically examine the possible meanings of the terms (words) used. Once we know the different possible meanings of those terms, we can examine their usage, in Scriptural context, to determine which of the possible definitions was originally intended.
In the question of whether salvation comes by works or faith, we first need to get a clear understanding of what the term “faith” (and its synonym “belief”) really means. Looking up “faith” and “belief” in an unabridged dictionary, such as Webster’s, reveals that they both have about a half dozen possible definitions. Further, except for the modern legal usage of the term “faith,” the two words are virtually interchangeable.
Although the words, themselves, are interchangeable, their definitions are not. The first thing we need to do is get a clear understanding of what differences exist between the different definitions so we will not confuse them with each other. There are two different definitions which we need to understand particularly well.
First, the terms “faith” and “belief” can be used to mean: “To hold to be true, unwaveringly.” A non-biblical example of this kind of belief can be found in the story of Peter Pan. In order to save Tinkerbell, children hearing the story must convince themselves that fairies exist and shout, “I believe in fairies.” This sort of belief has been suggested as a model for what is required for salvation in the Biblical sense. For our discussion we will refer to this definition of belief as, “definition one.”
The other definition of “faith” and “belief” that we must consider is: “To trust in or rely on.” A non-biblical example of this definition would be “belief” in the U.S. Dollar. In this example, the question of whether or not Dollars exist is not an issue; a person’s level of trust in the Dollar is what matters. A person who “believes” in the Dollar, in this sense, will probably not be selling his Dollars to buy Swiss Francs or Japanese Yen. This sort of belief has also been suggested as a model for what is required for salvation. Here we will refer to this as “definition two.”
Now that we have a clear understanding of the differences between these two definitions for “faith” or “belief,” we are ready to examine the Scriptures. When we apply these two possible definitions to individual verses, the surrounding context can tell us which definition is correct. We will start with John 3:16. Correct understanding of this verse is very important because the verse is foundational to Christianity.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. “ -John 3:16
As we learn from the first three verses of John, chapter three, the speaker is Jesus and he is addressing a man named Nicodemus who came to Him at night. When Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must “believe” in the Son of God, the question of whether or not Jesus exists is never an issue. Nicodemus is standing right in front of Jesus and can verify that for himself. Instead, Jesus is telling Nicodemus that he must trust what Jesus is saying about Himself. What is important is whether or not Nicodemus will rely on Jesus – not whether he believes Jesus exists. Belief in the sense of "definition two," not "definition one," is what Jesus requests here.
Next we will examine a verse from James: “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” –James 2:19
Here we are reminded that the question of God’s existence is not an issue to the devils. Their “belief ,“ in this sense, is unwavering. Here James is telling us that the kind of “faith” specified by "definition one," although good, is no more than what the devils possess. It is not enough to usher in salvation. This is why James says:
“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?” –James 2:14
We can see from context that James is using "definition one" for his meaning for the term “faith.” This kind of “faith” cannot save anyone. James provides some more information in verse 18:
“Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” –James 2:18
Here James reminds us that the kind of “faith” which is required for salvation will produce actions. Returning to our non-biblical example, a man who is selling his Dollars to buy gold, proves, by his actions, that he does not “believe” (definition two) in U.S. Dollars as much as he believes in gold. James’ argument is that a man’s actions will tell us where his trust (belief - definition two) really resides. The kind of faith which the devils possess (definition one) can stand alone, apart from works, but the other kind cannot.
Finally, let’s examine Paul’s statement about faith in his letter to the Ephesians:
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” –Ephesians 2:8,9
Let’s suppose that I intend to give you a Dollar; I hold it out and offer it to you. Because you believe the Dollar has value, you reach out your arm and take it, making it yours. Your physical action of acceptance shows that you believe the Dollar has value; but that action is not enough work that you could claim to have earned the Dollar. It is still my gift to you. What Paul is telling us is that no matter how much work our faith (definition two) causes us to do, it will never be enough to earn the gift of salvation. That is still a gift that we can never claim to have earned.
In conclusion, are we saved by works? Certainly not. The works, which our faith (definition two) demands, could never pay for salvation. Are we saved by faith? Faith (definition one) will not save us; but faith (definition two) is the means God has chosen for delivering his free gift.
Summary
There are two different meanings for the terms "faith" and "belief."
1. The sense implied by "belief in fairies" where the individual has never seen a fairy and must decide whether or not they exist.
2. The sense implied by "belief in the Dollar" where the question of existence is considered settled, but the question of trust remains.
In John 3:16, where Jesus addresses the need for "belief," the question of existence is settled because Jesus is standing physically in front of his audience Nicodemus. This leaves the question of "trust" for Nicodemus to consider. What James, chapter two, is getting at is that settling the question of existence is insufficient to save a man. Even the devils have this kind of faith - and tremble (verse 19). Correctly settling the question of "trust" is also necessary for salvation.
Does the Bible Contradict Itself?
It is a fundamental Christian belief that we are justified by faith. Justification means that God declares a sinner to be righteous. He does this by crediting, by reckoning the righteousness of Jesus to the sinner. This is done by faith. That is, when the sinner puts his faith in the sacrifice of Jesus and trusts in Him and not himself for righteousness, then God justifies him. "And Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness," (Rom. 4:3). But, if the Bible teaches that we are justified by faith, does it also teach we are justified by works as James seems to say? Do we have a contradiction? The answer is no.
Context is Everything
It is erroneous to take a verse, read it without its context, and then attempt to develop a teaching from that verse alone. Therefore, let's take a look at the context of James 2:24 which says that a man is justified by works. James chapter 2 has 26 verses: Verses 1-7 instruct us to not show favouritism. Verses 8- 13 are comments on the Law. Verses 14-26 are about the relationship between faith and works.
For simplicity, I've summarized each verse and arranged the section in an outline style.
14 - What use is it if someone says he has faith but no works?
15 - If you see someone in need
16 - and you don't give him what he needs, but say, ‘Go in peace, be warmed.' What use is that?
17 - therefore faith with no works is dead
18 - therefore, someone says "I will show you my faith by my works."
19 - you believe in God? Good. The demons do too.
20 - faith without works is useless.
21 - Abraham was justified by works when he offered Isaac
22 - faith was working with his works.
23 - Scripture says, "And Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness"
24 - you see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone.
25 - Rahab, was justified by works
26 - faith without works is deadJames begins this section by using the example of someone who says he has faith, verses 14. He then immediately gives an example of what true and false faiths are. He begins with the negative and demonstrates what an empty faith is (verses 15-17). Then he shows that that type of faith isn't much different from the faith of demons (verse 19). Finally, he gives examples of living faith by showing Abraham and Rahab as examples of people who demonstrated their faith by their deeds.
James is examining two kinds of faith: one that leads to godly works and one that does not. One is true, and the other is false. One is dead, the other alive; hence, "Faith without works is dead," (James 2:20).
This is why in the middle of his section on faith and works, he says in verse 19, "You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder." James says this because the demons believe in God, that is, they have faith, but the faith they have is useless. It does not result in appropriate works. Their faith is only a mental acknowledgment of God's existence.
Ascentia and Fiducia
Two words are worth introducing here: ascentia and fiducia. Ascentia is the mental ascent, the mental acknowledgment of something's existence. The demons acknowledge and believe that God exists. Fiducia is more than mental acknowledgment. It involves a trust in something, a giving over to it, a complete believing and acceptance of something. This is the kind of faith that a Christian has in Christ. A Christian, therefore, has fiducia; that is, he has real faith and trust in Christ, not simply an acknowledgment that He lived on earth at one time. Another way to put this is that there are many people in the world who believed that Jesus lived: ascentia. But they do not believe that He is their savoir, the one to be looked to and trusted for the forgiveness of their sins.
Ascentia does not lead to works. Fiducia does. Ascentia is not of the heart. Fiducia is.
What is James Saying?
James is simply saying that if you ‘say' you are a Christian, then there had better be some appropriate works manifested or your faith is false. This sentiment is echoed in 1 John 2:4 which says, "If you say you have come to know Him, yet you do not keep His commandments, then the truth is not in you and you are a liar."
Apparently, there were people who were saying they were Christians, but were not manifesting any of the fruit of Christianity. Can this faith justify? Can the dead ‘faith' that someone has which produces no change in a person and no good works before men and God be a faith that justifies? Absolutely not. It is not merely enough to say you believe in Jesus. You must actually believe and trust in Him. If you actually do, then you will demonstrate that faith by a changed and godly life. If not, then your profession is of no more value than the same profession of demons: "We believe Jesus lived."
Notice that James actually quotes the same verse that Paul uses to support the teaching of justification by faith in Rom. 4:3. James 2:23 says, "and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘and Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.'" If James was trying to teach a contradictory doctrine of faith and works than the other New Testament writers, then he would not have used Abraham as an example.
Therefore, we are justified by faith. That is, we are made righteous in the eyes of God by faith as is amply demonstrated by Romans. However, that faith, if it is true, will result in deeds appropriate to salvation. After all, didn't God say in Eph. 2:8-10, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
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