A great controversy exists in the Christian Church regarding the proper relationship between faith and works. The disagreement stems from an improper understanding of James 2:14-26, especially verse 17: “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 holds that salvation requires both faith and good works; 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 (or JUSTIFYING) FAITH
God gives the elect saving faith as a gift. It is not based on merit. It has been “defined 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.”[i]
Charles Hodge, in his 3rd volume of Systematic Theology, writes about saving faith in this way.
That faith which secures eternal life; which unites us to Christ as living members of his body; which makes us the sons of God; which interests us in all the benefits of redemption; which works by love, and is fruitful in good works; is founded, not on the external or the moral evidence of the truth, but on the testimony of the Spirit with and by the truth to the renewed soul.”[ii]
This quotation above is what the regenerated elect receive as a gift from God. The gift of saving faith can be described in many ways. This is one example of how one theologian explains it.
God implants saving faith in each regenerated human being. This implantation in humanity means they receive saving faith as a gift from God and, as a result, believe in Christ. God gives these humans the ability to believe in Jesus, the Messiah, or Christ, and they do.
GOOD WORKS
Good works are those behaviors and actions made for the glory of God. These works must not transgress God’s will, and they must be done for God’s glory. No matter how ‘good’ it may seem, if it is 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 morally different from the works of the unregenerate. Good works are works of believers, done in obedience to God and for His glory. Good works flow from the believer’s love of God. Therefore, the work must not only be in obedience to God’s will, but also performed for God’s glory. Good works reflect a person’s faith (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.
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 conform to God’s law (Luke 6:33). 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 all who have been justified perform good works. Good works mark 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 suggest that Christians are justified by faith and works, 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 says justification requires faith and works, while Paul says it 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?
The explanation is simple: both men write 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 speaks about 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 God’s saving faith. He uses Abraham as an example, 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 works. Good works are a necessary product of 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. If someone claims to be a believer but does not do good works, they are not a believer, because true saving faith always produces good works.
[i] Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, combined ed. (The Banner of Truth Trust, 2021), p. 522.
[ii] Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology (Hendrickson, 2016), p. 68.
