Faith and WorksHow Paul and James Agree

The Apparent Contradiction

Few pairs of verses have stirred more debate than Romans 3:28 and James 2:24. Read side by side, they can sound like two apostles arguing in opposite directions. Paul says a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. James says a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

The tension has troubled readers for centuries. In his 1522 preface to the German New Testament, Martin Luther compared James unfavorably with Romans and Galatians, famously calling it "an epistle of straw." Others have gone the opposite way, using James to argue that salvation depends on a person's ongoing performance.

Neither approach is necessary. The Bible is the Word of God, and God does not contradict Himself (Titus 1:2). When two passages seem to clash, the problem lies in how we are reading them, not in the text. Paul's instruction to Timothy points the way forward: "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).

To see how Paul and James fit together, we need to ask four questions. Who is writing? To whom? What question is each answering? And what does each mean by "faith," "works," and "justified"?

Who Wrote, and to Whom?

James, the half-brother of the Lord, became a leading figure in the Jerusalem church (Galatians 1:19; Acts 15:13). He addressed his letter "to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad" (James 1:1). He speaks of their "assembly," using the Greek word for synagogue (James 2:2), and appeals to the law and the prophets throughout.

Paul was called by the risen, glorified Christ to be "the apostle of the Gentiles" (Romans 11:13). His letters are addressed to churches made up of both Jews and Gentiles, whom he describes as one body in Christ (Ephesians 2:14-16; 3:6).

Already we can see that the two men were not writing to the same readers about the same problem. Paul was answering people who wanted to add law-keeping to the cross. James was confronting people who claimed faith while ignoring the needy brother at their door (James 2:15-16).

Same Words, Different Questions

Much of the confusion clears once we notice that Paul and James use three key words in different senses. A word's meaning comes from its context, and these two writers had very different contexts.

Put simply, Paul asks, "How is a sinner made right with God?" James asks, "What does a living faith look like?" Both questions are biblical, and both answers are true.

Abraham: One Man, Two Moments

Both Paul and James use Abraham as their main example, which might seem to sharpen the conflict. In fact, it resolves it, because they point to two different events in his life.

Paul looks at the moment Abraham was counted righteous: when he believed. James looks at the moment, many years later, when that same faith was openly displayed. James does not say Abraham became righteous in Genesis 22. He says the scripture of Genesis 15 "was fulfilled" (James 2:23). The offering of Isaac proved the reality of a faith God had already credited as righteousness.

Hebrews confirms that Abraham acted on the same trust: "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac" (Hebrews 11:17). His works were the fruit of his faith, not a substitute for it.

Rahab, Demons, and "Dead" Faith

James's second example is Rahab, who hid the Israelite spies and sent them out safely (James 2:25; Joshua 2). Hebrews 11:31 says she did it "by faith." Once again, faith came first, and her actions revealed it.

James's sharpest line is about demons: "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble" (James 2:19). Demons hold correct facts about God. Yet their "faith" is not trust, and it produces no love or obedience. James's point is that bare agreement with true statements is not the faith Scripture commends.

Notice the word "dead." James does not say such faith is weak or immature. He says it is lifeless, like a body without a spirit (James 2:26). In James 2:14, many translations bring out the force of the Greek with the question, "Can that faith save him?" He is not attacking genuine faith. He is exposing a counterfeit.

Rightly Dividing James and Paul

Right division adds one more layer that many discussions miss. Scripture itself tells us that God gave different apostles different ministries.

Paul writes that "the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter." He then records that "James, Cephas, and John" gave him the right hand of fellowship, agreeing "that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision" (Galatians 2:7-9).

This was a formal, friendly agreement. James was not Paul's rival. But it shows that James's ministry was to Israel, which fits his opening line to "the twelve tribes" (James 1:1). Years later, James still described the Jerusalem believers as many thousands of Jews "zealous of the law" (Acts 21:20).

Under the program to Israel, faith was expected to show itself in obedience to what God had commanded them. James's readers lived in that setting, and his examples come from Israel's history. Paul, by contrast, received a revelation for this present dispensation of grace (Ephesians 3:1-3), in which God justifies "him that worketh not, but believeth" (Romans 4:5).

Rightly dividing does not set James aside. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable" (2 Timothy 3:16). James's warnings against empty talk, favoritism, and a careless tongue speak powerfully to us. But for the question of how we are justified before God today, we go to Paul, the apostle Christ sent to us.

Believers who love the Bible hold different views on how far this distinction reaches. We invite every reader to be a Berean and test these things against Scripture (Acts 17:11).

Where Paul and James Agree

Different audiences and emphases do not mean disagreement. On the issues that matter most, the two apostles stand together.

Grace That Works: Good Works Today

Paul, the great apostle of grace, is not against good works. He is against good works in the wrong place. Works can never be the root of salvation, but they are meant to be its fruit.

Verses 8 and 9 rule out works as the cause of salvation. Verse 10 then shows that good works are the purpose of our new life. We are not saved by good works, but we are saved for good works.

Paul repeats this theme often:

• Christ gave Himself to purify "a peculiar people, zealous of good works" (Titus 2:14).
• Those who have believed should "be careful to maintain good works" (Titus 3:8).
• He thanked God for the Thessalonians' "work of faith, and labour of love" (1 Thessalonians 1:3).
• We "work out" our salvation because "it is God which worketh in you" (Philippians 2:12-13). We work it out, not for it.

A believer's good works do not keep him saved or make God love him more. They grow from gratitude, as the grace of God teaches us to live "soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world" (Titus 2:11-12). That is the kind of living faith both Paul and James would gladly applaud.

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