James 2:14
“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him?”
“Τί τὸ ὄφελος, ἀδελφοί μου, ἐὰν πίστιν λέγῃ τις ἔχειν, ἔργα δὲ μὴ ἔχῃ; μὴ δύναται ἡ πίστις σῶσαι αὐτόν.”
“Ti to ophelos, adelphoi mou, ean pistin lege tis echein, erga de me eche? Me dunatai e pistis sosai auton?”
The reformer Martin Luther never felt good about the Epistle of James and this section is one of the primary reasons for his discomfort. In fact, in his 1522 edition of the New Testament he called it “an epistle full of straw” and actually put it in the appendix of the Bible!
Martin preferred the writings of Paul that states “a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of law”. The theme of faith-alone was his primary focus. One can understand why he felt the way he did, especially when this section was used against him in a debate by his Roman Catholic opponent, Johann Maier (Specifically James 2:17 – Faith without works is dead). However, Martin went too far when he put the book of James in the appendix!
This is a scripture that shows us how important it is to read a verse in context of the chapter as well as the book. We cannot look at only one verse and create a doctrine based on it. We must look at the verse in context of the chapter and the rest of the book, while taking into account who wrote it and who it was written to (and also keeping in mind the circumstances that it was written in...)
Before we go on, it would be a good idea to read James 2:14-26. If you read it carefully you should immediately notice what James is talking about.
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- James 2:14-26 (NKJV)
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You will notice that in this section (James 2:14-26) James’ major theme is faith, not salvation. Paul focuses on salvation, but James tells us what real “saving faith” is.
The Big Debate:
Martin was a key figure in a debate between the Catholic Church and the Reformers.
The Catholic Church believed that one is justified through faith and works. This means that one must have faith and perform works in order to be saved. This means that a person cannot be saved on his deathbed because he does not have the ability to go and do good works…
The Reformers believed that one is saved through faith alone, as we believe today
The intended audience:
To understand the difference between Paul and James’ teaching we must understand the intended audience:
Paul wrote his letters to people who believed that they could be saved through their own obedience to the law. Therefore, Paul focused on the “salvation through faith” theme. Paul explained that we cannot possibly uphold the law and remain sinless. We are all sinners and have fallen short of God’s requirements.
New-Age poses a question that many Christians seem to be unable to answer: Why would a loving God punish people? Why does God not just let everyone into Heaven? This is exactly what Paul addresses:
It is not that God wants to be nasty; it is just that He is so perfect, so righteous and so unimaginably glorious that an impure spirit cannot stand in His presence… Just as darkness cannot be in the presence of light. It is simply impossible. However, since God loves us so much, He gave His only son so that we do not have to die! God is giving us the opportunity to shed the darkness and become part of the light – which means that we can enter His presence! This opportunity is through the sacrifice of Jesus, who faced our world, yet remained sinless. To obtain the grace of Christ we must have faith; our deeds cannot earn us anything other than a one-way journey to the lake of fire!
Paul targets those who trust in their own good works to save them, rather than in God.
James addresses a different issue. He confronts the freeloaders. Those who claim that they have no need for good works because they have faith!
These people were present in the time of James, just as they are present now. Where are these people? They are everywhere and they are easy to spot if you know what to look for.
There are millions of people who claim to be Christian; however, people around them don’t even know that they are “Christian”! These people are sometimes referred to as “Sunday Christians” – they are Christians on Sunday and will go to church, but the rest of the week they are completely conformed to the world.
James says it very well in verse 19: “Even the demons believe – and tremble!” Even Satan believes in Jesus, but that does not mean he is going to heaven on the Day of Judgment! A basic form of “believing” is not good enough, even Satan believes…
The evidence of Faith:
Paul preached that Works without Faith is dead.
James taught that Faith without Works is dead.
Keeping in mind that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, we know that there are no contradictions. Therefore, both these statements are true.
As we have seen before: Paul talks about salvation – which can only be obtained through faith. James is not contesting this belief at all. James is merely pointing out that if one claims to be a new creation in Christ through faith, then our actions should reflect that! Paul agrees with James in Ephesians 2:10 (For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.)
Faith and works are not enemies. Works are the outward display of our inward faith. We cannot have true faith in Christ inside without showing evidence thereof outside! Works are the result of the faith within us. Faith is the cause and Works are the effect. Faith leads to salvation, Works lead to faithfulness. James believed it, and so did Paul.
