Hermeneutics is the study of the methodology and principles of biblical interpretation employed by theologians. The primary rule of biblical hermeneutics is that there can never be a contradiction in the Bible.
There seems to be a contradiction between Paul’s view of justification by faith alone and James’s view of justification by faith and works. However, this article attempts to clarify the beliefs of Paul and James, demonstrating that no contradiction exists between them.
ROMANS 3:21–31
One version of the Bible titles this portion of Scripture “The Righteousness of God Through Faith.”[i] Paul’s purpose in writing this passage is to tell of a new doctrine brought to the people by the triune God Himself. It is the doctrine of justification. It “is by grace (v. 24), by and through faith (vv. 22, 25, 28, 30), in Jesus Christ (vv. 24, 26),”[ii] and although the law is consistent with it (vv. 21, 31), has nothing to do with the justification of believers (vv. 21, 28). Also, this justification is for the Jew and the Gentile alike (vv. 29, 30).
Paul writes very clearly in this passage. Justification is separate from, and not part of, the law. The law is consistent with justification, but it plays no part in justification. The law cannot justify the sinner; only justification can.
In verse 21, the apostle states but now which refers to the present time (v. 26). Galatians 4:4 calls this time the fullness of time.[iii] Christians know from verse 21 that the righteousness of God, a righteousness that is separate from human beings, is from God above and is not part of the law, although the law supports justification.
It should be noted that the righteousness of God is the divine righteousness that comes from Him. The justifier is God, with His divine righteousness, and the ground for a Christian’s justification remains the merited righteousness of Christ, which is also separate from humans.
Paul has just written that, at present, God’s divine righteousness allows Him to act, apart from the law. Now, in verse 22, he writes that the people who believe in Jesus Christ are affected without distinction. And in verse 23, he tells why human beings need justification, which is for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
God explains His righteousness to readers. It is shown to us. It is outside of the law of Moses. Henry states, “he obviates the method of the judaizing Christians, who would needs join Christ and Moses together.”[iv] The law supports His righteousness, and it is the belief in Christ, achieved through faith, that God gives justification to all human beings who seek it.
The Bible tells readers that ALL humans who believe in Jesus Christ will be justified. Christians are now informed in verse 24 that, having believed in Christ Jesus, who shed His blood on the cross as payment for their sins, they are justified by God’s grace. Therefore, justification is only for genuine believers who believe in the life and works of Jesus Christ through faith.
Hendriksen has defined justification as “that gracious act of God whereby, on the basis solely of Christ’s accomplished mediatorial work, he declares the sinner just, and the latter accepts this benefit with a believing heart.”[v] So, God, who is divinely righteous, by His gracious act justifies believers who, through faith, believe in the life and works of Jesus Christ.
That portion of Scripture in verse 25 that states, whom God put forward, refers back to the decree of the eternal council among the three persons of the Trinity. Specifically, when God the Father gave the elect to the Son, who was to be surety for their justification (Eph. 1:4).
The last part of verse 25 and all of verse 26 speak to God’s righteousness by passing over former sins to justify those who believe in Christ through faith.
Then, in verse 27, Paul points out that those Christians who are justified cannot brag about their justification. The reason is that the justification comes from saving faith and belief, rather than from human work. God justifies the believer. We don’t do the justifying.
In verse 28, the apostle points out unambiguously that the justification of the sinner is separate from the law, which, of course, requires works by human beings. He unmistakably rejects works and embraces faith, which means that our justification comes from above—from God.
Paul now goes to the subject of who justification is intended for in verses 29 and 30. He asked rhetorically if He is only the God for the Jews or He is the God for the Jews and Gentiles. And He answers these questions in the affirmative. God is the God for the Jews and the Gentiles. Therefore, we can infer from this that He is the God of the Jews and Gentiles alike.
Now, in verse 31, the apostle asks another rhetorical question: Does the doctrine of justification countermand the law? In the same verse, he answers this with a firm NO! The doctrine of justification, initiated by the righteousness of God, is supported by the law, and therefore, the doctrine of justification confirms the law and does not reject it.
Paul states that the doctrine of justification is based on the righteousness of God, the divine righteousness. He teaches that justification is separate from the law but is confirmed by the law. The apostle says that justification is for all who believe in Christ, whether they are Jews or Gentiles, because God is the God of all. This is a gracious gift from God, and Jesus Christ not only lived a perfect life but also provided the satisfaction on the cross required to pay for our sins. He states that God, in His divine righteousness, has instituted the doctrine of justification for the benefit of the saints.
Romans 4 (vv. 1-5) illustrates what Paul taught in chapter 3. He cites Genesis 15:6, which states that Abraham was declared justified by God solely based on his faith.
Paul asserts that the doctrine of justification is based on faith alone.
JAMES 2:14-26
This passage is often referred to as “Faith Without Works Is Dead.”[vi] James, the half-brother of Jesus, writes about saving faith that results in belief in Christ, and the fruit that comes from it.
He appears to suggest that faith alone cannot save a Christian, but rather that faith combined with works is required for justification. But he is not saying that faith must be accompanied by works for justification. James is simply saying that the fruit of saving faith is good works.
At that time, many Christians believed that Christian liberty allowed them, once they were justified, to sin as much as they wanted to, and still go to heaven. However, Christians should not sin. The liberty or freedom that Christians have should be obedient to God’s will to glorify him, love Him with your entire being, love your neighbor as yourself, and act accordingly.
Consequently, James wrote to teach that once justified by faith alone, we should act upon that faith with the works that believers do, to show the world that we are, in fact, Christians. Paul wrote to the Galatians, “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Gal. 5:13).
And in verse 14, James asks two questions of the reader. He expects a negative answer to each question. What he is asking is, does a faith that is not followed up with good works, a saving faith? James is really asking whether good works follow true saving faith. He is not looking for mere intellectual assent in our confession of faith. What he is writing is that a person who by faith believes in Christ believes in him by doing good works that glorify God and confirm the Christians justification.
In the following two verses, verses 15 and 16, James writes that merely good Christian talk is not enough if the fellow Christian the person is talking to needs something fundamental to life. James uses the example of a Christian brother or sister who lacks adequate clothing and food. He is telling Christians that if they have saving faith, they must also, through love, provide the fundamentals of life to their neighbor. James is writing to Christians, telling them that if they genuinely have saving faith, they should be interested not only in their spiritual well-being but also in their physical well-being.
James answers the rhetorical question in the previous verse in verse 17. He says that saving faith alone, if not followed by the fruit of good works that give evidence and confirm it, is dead.
Jesus verifies this when He gives His disciples the parable of the sower. This intellectual faith, the faith that is not accompanied by good works, is like the seeds that fell on rocky ground (Matt. 13:5). The genuine saving faith is like Matthew 13:8, where the seeds fell on the good soil.
Here in verse 18, James challenges people to demonstrate their faith by their works and their works by their faith. They can’t do it. A true saving faith results in good works that are obedient to and glorify God. Truly good works that are obedient to God’s will must have a genuine saving faith in Jesus to back them up.
He continues in verse 19 by saying that when a person claims to believe in one God, they are saying nothing more than the demons say and believe, and the demons shudder when they think of it. Kistemaker writes that James believed “True faith cannot exist separately from works, and works acceptable in the sight of God cannot be performed without true faith.”[vii]
In verse 20, James calls a man’s attempt to show that faith without works is possible vain, empty, foolish, and futile. What Kistemaker writes that James is saying to the person is, “You have no basis for your argument on faith and works.”[viii] James tells the person that a Christian must first have faith and be justified, and then must do good works consistent with God’s will. To say that he can have one without the other is foolish.
Now, in verse 21, James uses verses from Genesis to prove his point. He does not use the verses that Paul used to show that God justified Abraham. This is after Abraham was justified. God, to test Abraham, told him to take his son Isaac and sacrifice him (Gen. 22:2, 9, & 10). It is in these verses that James asserts that a human being WHO HAS ALREADY BEEN JUSTIFIED BY GOD will do good works according to God’s will. So, good works are the fruit of a Christian’s justification.
It was customary for a Jew when writing about faith to use Abraham’s faith and justification in Genesis 15:6 as proof. That’s what Paul did in the book of Romans. In verses 22 and 23 of this passage, James refers to Abraham (a Jew) as already being justified. Then James writes about how God tested Abraham in Genesis 22:2, 9, &10, who had already been justified, by ordering him to sacrifice his son, Isaac. So, Abraham proved his justification by intending to perform a good work as ordered by God, namely, the killing of his son. But God sent his angel and stopped Abraham from performing the good work. Abraham’s good intentions were good enough.
James makes it clear in these verses that Abraham was justified by God earlier and that he completed his justification by agreeing to do a good work for God.
James concludes his remarks about justification and Abraham in verse 24. James tells us that the scripture in Genesis 15:6 teaches us that Abraham was justified by the grace of God alone, through Faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. He goes on to say that a justified person is counted as righteous by God. However, the person whom God has justified for their belief in Christ will also, in the future, do good works that are pleasing to God.
Then, to finish this passage, in verses 25 and 26, James writes about Rahab, a Gentile and a prostitute, who was also justified, and she did a good work for God by giving lodging to spies and subsequently sending them away safely.
Kistemaker, in his commentary, concluded his discussion of Abraham and Rahab by writing this:
Faith that is alive expresses itself in works that are performed in obedience to the Word of God. James eloquently illustrates this point with the examples from the lives of Abraham and Rahab. For him faith and works form an inseparable unit that can be compared to man’s body and soul. These two belong together and constitute a living being.[ix]
CONCLUSION
These two passages of Scripture, written by Paul and James, respectively, teach the same thing. By God’s grace alone, through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone, a person believes in Jesus Christ and is justified or counted as righteous by God. Then James teaches that, for the rest of their lives, Christians perform good works in accordance with God’s will.
THERE IS NO CONTRADICTION!
[i] Romans 3:21-31 (ESV).
[ii] Steven J. Lawson and Joel R. Beeke, “Paul and James: Are We Justified by Faith or by Faith and Works?,”
Puritan Reformed Journal 3, no. 2 (Jul. 2011): 42.
[iii] William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Exposition of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1980, 1981), 127.
[iv]Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, vol. 6, New Modern Edition (Hendrickson, 1991), 311.
[v] Hendriksen, 130.
[vi] Ja. 2;14-26.
[vii] Simon J. Kistemaker, New Testament Commentary: Exposition of the Epistle of James (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1980, 1981), 91.
[viii] Kistemaker, 95.
[ix] Kistemaker, 101.
