Great controversy exists in the Christian Church regarding the proper relation between faith and works. The disagreement arises from the improper understanding of James 2:14-26, especially verse 17 of this passage, which states, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
Some biblical commentators see confirmation of ‘works righteousness’ in this passage. Works righteousness is the view that one’s salvation requires good works and faith; faith alone is inadequate. This view adds human merit to God’s grace in the plan of salvation.
Others believe that only saving faith is required for God’s justification and adoption of the sinner. The ‘faith alone’ proponents assert that faith alone is necessary for salvation and that this faith produces good works in the believer’s life. In other words, good works are the fruit of the Christian faith, not a requirement for salvation.
SAVING FAITH
Saving faith is the instrument of the believer’s justification. Saving faith is a gracious gift from God. One scholar defines saving faith “as a certain conviction, wrought in the heart by the Holy Spirit, as to the truth of the gospel, and a hearty reliance (trust) on the promises of God in Christ.”[1]
Faith consists of three elements. The intellectual element is the sure knowledge of the truth in the Word of God. The emotional element consists of a deep conviction of the truth and reality of Christ and the Gospel message as revealed in God’s Word, along with a hunger and thirst for the gospel. The third element is the volitional, which makes the knowledge and desire for the gospel a matter of the believer’s will.
The object of faith, generally speaking, is the plenary revelation of God contained in the Word of God. However, there is a more specific object. This special object of faith is Jesus Christ and the promises in the Gospel that lead through Him to salvation.
The ground of faith lies in God’s faithfulness to the promises made in the Gospel. Since believers only know of these promises through the Word of God, some say the Word is the ultimate ground of the Christian faith.
In sum, saving faith is not just knowledge, consent, and desire for God’s revealed gospel of Christ but also incorporates the first two elements into the will so that the believer’s soul is directed toward active obedience to God in practice. This is why good works are the fruit arising from saving faith.
GOOD WORKS
Good works are those behaviors and actions made for the glory of God. These works must not transgress God’s will, and the purpose of the work must be for God’s glory. No matter how ‘good’ it may seem if done for any other purpose, it is not good work. One may do something kind or helpful to another, but it is not good work if done for prideful or selfish purposes.
Good works are not perfect works that inherently receive divine approval. They are works that are morally different from works of the unregenerate. Good works are works of believers effectuated in obedience to God and for the glory of God. Good works are because of the believer’s love of God. Therefore, not only must the nature of the work be in obedience to the will of God, but it must also be performed for the glory of God. Good works reflect the faith of the person (Matt. 7:17, 18; 12:33). We must remember that good works are not done for the good of man but for the glory of God.
It is important to understand that good works do not merit justification and salvation. The Bible speaks of good works coming from the regenerate person who believes in Christ through faith (John15:5). Good works are the fruits of faith (Jam. 2:14). They are required of the faithful (Rom. 7:4). Believers should do good works as an expression of gratitude (1 Cor. 6:20), as assurance of one’s faith (2 Pet. 1:5-10), and ultimately to glorify God (John 15:8; 1 Cor. 10:31).
Though we are concerned with good works in the theological sense, unregenerate persons can perform good works in a general sense that outwardly conforms to God’s law (Luke 6:33). These sorts of works may be laudable and may gain God’s approval. However, these good works do not arise from one’s God-given faith that results in belief in Christ and justification by God.
Nevertheless, good works are not required for justification and salvation, but good works are performed by all who have been justified. Good works are the marks of someone who has already become a believer in Christ.
THE ‘APPARENT’ CONTRADICTION
James wrote, “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24). This seems to state that Christians are justified by faith and works and not by either alone.
On the other hand, the apostle Paul writes, “And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness” (Rom. 4:5).
In the previous verses, James states that justification requires faith and works, while Paul says that justification requires only faith. So, which is it?
A proper understanding of these two verses reveals that both are correct. These two writers are not contradicting one another. We know this because the Bible is infallible and inerrant in its original manuscript and, therefore, cannot contain contradictions.
Okay, there is no contradiction. But how can this ‘apparent’ contradiction be explained?
It is quite a simple explanation when you consider that both men are writing about two aspects of the same thing. Paul writes about the passive aspect of faith, while James writes about the active aspect.
Paul is writing to the Christian church in Rome, which he has never personally visited. He is speaking of what justifies a person. He is writing about the internal change in the soul of someone who believes in Christ. Paul tells the Romans that one can be justified only through saving faith from God. He uses Abraham as the example by quoting Genesis 15:6 “And he [Abraham] believed the Lord, and he [God] counted it to him as righteousness.” This verse clarifies that faith alone justifies (‘counted…as righteousness’) a person.
James is writing about the external acts of believers. He is telling his readers how they should manifest their faith. He tells them that doing good works for God’s glory is the only way a believer can display their faith to the world. He is not teaching that Christians can only be justified (‘deemed righteous’) if they do good works. His point is that all who are justified (past tense!) will do good work. Their good works are a necessary product of their faith.
In James 2:14-26, the author teaches that after a person becomes a believer in Christ, they will naturally do good works that come from their faith. And if a person claiming to be a believer does not do good works, they are not a believer because true saving faith always produces good works.
[1] Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (The Banner of Truth Trust, 2012), 522.
