Faith  VS. Works, or  Paul VS. James

This is not an easy subject. Martin Luther, a man for whom I have deep respect, struggled with the book of James and called it an "epistle of straw." He probably felt this because the Church of Rome beat him over the head with it, and he wanted to make sure everyone knew that a straw nightstick was not to be included with the sword of the gospel according to Paul. That portion of James which brings disputes is James 2:14-26. The most dangerous verse in that passage is probably verse 24 which says, "You see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." This seems to be in direct contrast to Romans 3:28, where Paul says, "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."

Luther had quite a time with the hypocrites of the church, who placed men in bondage whenever and wherever they could. Then as now, we are taught by one set of hypocrites that as long as you "have Jesus in your heart," it doesn’t matter what kind of life you lead. The other set says that you have to have Jesus in your heart, money in your hand, works out of your free will, and a lot of graces from Mary/ the church/ pope/ pastor/ psychiatrist, all of whom help you practice of good works in order to be saved, or at least closer to Jesus. We as true Christians know that having Jesus in one’s heart is a matter of faith, and without faith, we cannot please God. We also know that faith without works is dead, however.

Two sets of hypocrites: The licentious and the legalistic. Funny thing is: Many people fly from one set of hypocrisy to the other unremittingly, heaping up judgment to themselves. This compares with Ro. Chapter 2, where Jews and Gentiles alike find themselves judging matters and condemning others, all the while condemning themselves before God. They excuse themselves, and when their conscience can stand it no longer, they accuse themselves. This is where the priests and the psychologists make their money. The tortured soul seeks relief from guilt and settles for absolution by the agency of man. This is called the deeds of the law. Paul says that no one can be justified by the deeds of the law: "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." Galatians 2:16.

The Roman Catholic Church makes a lot of money off people by selling indulgences, ecclesiastical positions and anything else they can get away with. They cloak all of this behind a veil of fair speeches that appear to support love for Jesus, but we should look past the flattering voice and to the fruit of the tree. If the fruit is strife, envy, murder, sexual immorality, thievery, idolatry...then we don’t have to buy into the fair speeches of the adulterated gospel. Our flesh only too gladly falls prey to such flattery. If we give into the false gospels, we are like the foolish man who went after the adulteress in Proverbs. We end up trying to pit faith against works, instead of coming to the basic realization that we are saved by faith and judged by works.

One may find conflict between the book of James and the book of Galatians, as did Luther (I have read where in his later years he finally admitted some usefulness to James). But I say they are extremely similar and deal with the same subject: Faith in God vs false religion. It may be true that Paul is dealing with a different bunch of deceivers than James, but they both agree that correct living before God is of utmost importance. Paul deals with Judaism, James deals with ambivalence, but both are fighting against false religion. If we read in James about the law of liberty (James 1:25), then we can be assured this is exactly what Paul is talking about in Galatians 2:4, 5:1 and 13. But our minds, when hardened from sin, do not take this in readily. That’s why we must pay closer attention to the doctrine of grace through faith, or we will be easily deceived.

James says "Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves;" Paul says, "For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law will be justified" (Rom. 2:13). There is complete agreement that one must do something besides hear airwaves in order to be saved. Didn’t Jesus himself say that at the end of the Sermon on the Mount? (Matt. 7:24;27). Our capacity to deceive ourselves on this issue is immense, and that is why most people are going to destruction. We justify ourselves, but not before God (Rom. 4:2). That is why the whole issue of faith vs. works is confusing to most people. Our minds are corrupted by sin, and we feel we know what Paul or James is talking about, but our minds are unfruitful if we do not have the light. The light comes by faith in Jesus Christ, and faith in Him alone, before and apart from any works we have done. This faith is brought about by hearing the word of truth, and hearing it correctly. Only God can do this. That is why it is so important to humble ourselves before Him.

Both Paul and James knew this. James comes from a point of view that takes man on from his carnal side; Paul speaks of the Spirit. When we read James, we are reading the almost proverbial teachings of a man who knows human nature and knows how to address the failings of the flesh. We do not read in James’ epistle about the Spirit of God. This is not the issue in this letter. It is the spirit of man he addresses (James 2:26 and 4:5). In Galatians, Paul is speaking about the Spirit of God versus the works of the law. He deals with a promise to a man versus a performance from a man. But he and James come to the same conclusion: Faith without works is dead. "Do not be deceived," Paul says, "God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life" (Galatians 6:7,8). 

As a matter of fact, Paul is quite bold when he says, "Let each one examine his own work, and then he will have boasting in himself and not in regard to another" (Galatians 6:4). But men deceive themselves and boast in things that are not theirs, and envy and strife are a result, not the faith that works by love. As James says, "For what you ought to say is, ‘If the Lord will, we shall live and do this or that,’ but instead you rejoice in your [selfish] boasts. All such boasting is evil. Therefore to him who knows to do good, yet does not do it, to him it is sin." James here is talking about the arrogance of the man who has faith in himself and his abilities, who plans his future around his self-ambition.

James also says this is demonic. "But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descends not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish." (James 3:14,15). Paul agrees and says, "But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another...Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings... This is not different from Paul’s stress that a man cannot be justified by his attempts to satisfy the requirements of the Law. Paul ought to know: he was self-ambitious and had much zeal for his performance in the Law, until he met Christ.

Martin Luther and others have had a problem with James because it lacks the spiritual side of things. Usually, an apostolic epistle talks about our standing before God in Christ, of sin and righteousness and the judgment to come, so that the brethren are encouraged to take hold of eternal, mystical, truths. Then comes the practical application. In James, it is not so. He sounds more Old Testament in his delivery. He does not hardly mention our relationship to the Father through Christ, he says nothing about the Holy Spirit, and yet his epistle has pointed messages for the church. His delivery throughout the epistle is a practical application of well-known doctrine, using specific examples, by exhortation. Luther saw this as legalistic. James sounds like a series of commands, but it is a perfect blend of mystical truth with down-to-earth application. He starts by saying "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trails, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance."

When we read in James that a man is justified by works, we cannot rightly say he is talking about the works of the law. This is an important distinction. But what works, then, is James talking about? He discusses that Abraham was justified by works when he offered his only son on the altar. That is certainly not in the Law of Moses! The other example he uses is the occasion when Rahab the harlot delivered the Israelite spies out of the hands of her own people. We are not talking law here, are we? A harlot, a non-Israelite, a sinner of the Gentiles, does nothing more than help her enemies by lying to her own kindred and helping the enemy escape, and this is justification? Yes, according to James, this is justification. According to Hebrews chapter 11, this is faith.

Paul in Galatians continuously refers to the law, and the deeds of the law. But that is because he is addressing Judaism in particular, and legalism in general. Paul is not railing against the law, but he is vehement against justification by trying to keep it. This is quite unlike James’ approach, where he discusses justification as substantial evidence of faith. Paul is not thinking along this line. He is developing a doctrine of justification from the law. To the unlearned, this may seem like hair-splitting, but further investigation into the principles of justification by faith will show that these two approaches using the same words, are vastly different from one another. And yet, the two authors have the same thing in mind, as I have said before, that is, faith in God versus false religion.

James had the same problem with the church that we do today. There are many in the church who profess to know God, but they have no works. We assure them that they are saved no matter what, because they did something once, like had an emotional encounter with God in which they felt their soul’s peril, or they felt God’s love, or many other things. They did something in response. They came forward, they said the sinner’s prayer, they lifted their hand while every head was bowed and every eye was closed, etc. But their faith was not lasting, because in time of temptation they fell away, or as time passed they became hardened by giving in to various sins: by letting the cares of this present world come before the searching out of the kingdom from above. It really doesn’t matter if we say they were saved and lost their salvation, or were never really saved at all: They knew the way of righteousness, they had joy, they knew the way of peace, they knew the Way to the Father, and they rejected it. This is not faith, but disbelief. Their works show their disbelief. The proof of their disbelief is that they seek after the things of this world and not the things of God.

James sees this and approaches the subject from a human point of view, and there is nothing wrong with this. Paul did this himself (Galatians 3:15, Romans 3:5). A man may tell us he is saved, we cannot see his heart, but can we tell? We may tell others we are saved, but can they tell? For James it is important that we can tell. For Paul it is important that we can tell. Paul goes to some length pointing out the difference between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5). He tells us not to deceive ourselves about it: "If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself" Galatians 6:3. 

James says, "If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless." James does not buy into claims of faith apart from works. If a man says he has faith, James says back it up. As a matter of fact, it is better to refrain from saying you have faith, but let the works speak for you (James 2:18). Jesus, when challenged by the Pharisees about the invalidity of his own testimony, said, "If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him." John 10:37,38.

While we’re on John, let us read more about works. "Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments. John 14:11-15. The subject is faith, but the object is works.

Paul, from his viewpoint of the Spirit, says, "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." He says, "For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor no circumcision means anything, but faith working through love" (Galatians 5). Faith means something. It works through love. A meaningless faith is like the faith the demons have. They believe in God and tremble, but they are incapable of faith that saves. They can only do evil. A large number of men fall into this category, also. Paul says, "...I forewarn you just as I have warned you before, those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" Galatians 5:21.

This sort of preaching flies in the face of the modern churches who proclaim to know Jesus and yet practice their lawlessness. They pretend love and speak much of faith and love, but their works testify against them. James warns about this kind of faith and love. It is a faith without works and it is a love that is based on lust and envy. He calls it being "double-minded" and indeed, those who pretend are always double-minded. For instance, these who love darkness and deceit will tell you not to judge them when you ask them about works. In fact, they are the ones who are judging contrary to the law of God, judging the servants of God and judging the law itself. They speak evil against the brethren who preach the gospel, saying that these are unqualified because they have a beam in their own eye. They can judge very well, it seems, when it comes to noticing beams in others’ eyes while they have none in their own. It is they whom James warns: "Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge only...who are you to judge your neighbor?"

The double-minded read this and assume they are justified by their belief system that requires no works. They presume that James is saying we cannot judge whether a work really exists, or whether it is a good work. But this goes against everything else he has been saying about vain religion. He is warning these very brethren not to be hypocrites. They speak evil of the law of God. They don’t necessarily say, "We think the law of God is evil" (some do, actually), but they judge it. They use it to judge others and not themselves. They condemn the others when they don’t like something about them, and find their justification for it in the law. But then they turn around and praise Jesus with their lips, having condemned the brother who warned them: "Faith without works is dead." Bitter water and sweet from the same well? We think not (James 3:11).

There are many parallels between Galatians and James, notwithstanding a difference in approach. When Paul says, "And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary" (Galatians 6:9), this is the same as James when he says, "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial: for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him...Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord." Our faith is going through many tests, but our outcome is favorable if we continue to do good. If we give up, go into legalism a la Roman Catholicism, the Orthodox Church, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons and others, then we have fallen from grace, Christ is of no avail to us. But our good must proceed from another source, and that is what the gospel is all about: Our freedom in Christ.

We know that Luther was fighting against the teachings and dominion of the Roman Catholic Church. They had their system of laws, by which if a man do, he shall be rewarded with eternal life. Otherwise, they had power over men’s lives to torture and destroy them. If it seems at times that Luther goes a little overboard with his reaction to the smooth sophistry of the "schoolmen," as he calls the doctors of Roman Catholicism, it is because of his vehemence against evil masquerading as good. The Catholics and all her daughters are out there, still pretending great love for Christ and still enslaving men’s souls under bondage of law-keeping.

We maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works, and yet we maintain that we will be judged by our works. This seems like a conflict only to those whose hearts have been hardened by sin and are not willing to deal with it. May the book of James rattle these out of their slumber. May the book of Galatians keep them from the snare of Catholicism, Judaism, Mohammedanism, Mormonism and other forms of legalism.

In closing, it would be well to quote Martin Luther from his Commentary on Galatians: "In reading the Scriptures we must learn to put a difference between the true and the hypocritical, the moral versus the spiritual doing of law. By doing so, we will be able to understand the true meaning of those places that seem to maintain the righteousness of works. The true doing of the law is a faith and spiritual thing, which those who seek righteousness by works cannot do. Therefore, every such doer of the law is accursed. For he walks in the presumption of his own righteousness before God, while seeking to be justified by man’s free will and reason; in this doing of the law, he does it not. And this, according to Paul, is to be under the works of the law, that is to say, that hypocrites do the law, and yet in doing it, they do it not...

"It is a hard and a dangerous matter to teach that we are made righteous by faith without works, and yet to require works. Here unless the ministers of Christ are faithful and wise disposers of the mysteries of God, rightly dividing the Word of truth, faith and works are soon confounded. Both these doctrines, faith as well as works, must be diligently taught and urged, and yet so that both remain within their bounds...

"Although Paul speaks plainly enough, yet he is still misunderstood, for the schoolmen argue, ‘If love is the fulfilling of the law, it follows then that love is righteousness: therefore, if we love, we are righteous.’ These men argue from the Word to the work thusly: The law has commanded love; therefore, the work of love follows naturally. But this is a foolish a consequence, to draw an argument from precepts...

"True it is that we ought to fulfill the law, but sin hinders us. Indeed, the law prescribes and commands that we should love God with all our heart, and that we should love our neighbor as ourselves; but there is not one man to be found upon the whole earth who so loves God and his neighbor as the law requires....

"It is a great error therefore to attribute justification to love, which cannot pacify God: for love even in the faithful is imperfect and impure. But no unclean thing shall enter into the kingdom of God" (Ephesians 5:5). In the meanwhile, this confidence sustains us, that Christ, who alone committed no sin, and in whose mouth was never found any guile, overshadows us with His righteousness (1 Peter 2:22). Being covered with this cloud, we begin to love and to fulfill the law. Yet for this fulfilling we are not justified or accepted by God while we live there. But when Christ has delivered up the kingdom to God His Father, and abolished all principality, and God shall be all in all, then shall faith and hope cease, and love shall be perfect and everlasting (1 Corinthians 13). This thing the schoolmen understand not; therefore, when they hear that love is the sum of the whole law, they infer: the law justifies, but that is not the meaning of Paul.

"If we were pure from all sin, and inflamed with perfect love towards God and our neighbor, then should we indeed be righteous and holy through love, and God could require no more of us...

"But now man’s nature is so corrupt and drowned in sin that it cannot have any right sense of God. It loves not God, but hates Him. Wherefore, as John says: ‘We loved not God, but He loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins’ (1 John 4:10)...We , being redeemed and justified by this Son, begin to love...

"So Paul shows by these words: ‘Walk in the Spirit,’ how he would have that verse to be understood where he said: ‘Serve ye one another though love,’ and again: ‘Love is the fulfilling of the law.’ As if he should say: When I bid you love one another, this is what I required of you, that you walk in the Spirit. For I know that you shall not fulfil the law, because sin dwells in you as long as you live; therefore, it is impossible that you should fulfill the law. In the meanwhile, walk in the Spirit, that is, wrestle in the Spirit against the flesh...

"As if he should say, I write to you that you should love one another. If you had perfect charity, no adversity could be so great, which should be able to hurt and hinder that charity. There would be no wife, were she ever so ugly, whom her husband would not love entirely, loathing all other women, though they were ever so fair and beautiful. But this is not done, therefore it is impossible for you to be made righteous through love...

"But this must be our ground and anchor-hold, that Christ is our perfect righteousness...we must always believe and always hope; we must always take hold of Christ as the head and fountain of our righteousness...Moreover, we must labor to be outwardly righteous also, that is to say, not to consent to the flesh, which always entices us to some evil, but to resist it by the Spirit...

"For the believer assures himself by faith that his sin is forgiven him, since Christ has given Himself for it. Therefore, although he has sin in him and daily sins, yet he continues godly; but contrariwise, the unbeliever continues wicked. And this is the true wisdom and consolation of the godly, that although they have and commit sins, yet they know that for Christ’s sake they are not imputed unto them.

"This I say for the comfort of the godly. For they feel they do not love God so fervently as they should do, that they do not trust Him so heartily as they would, but rather they oftentimes doubt whether God has a care for them or not; they are impatient, and are angry with God in adversity. Hereof proceed the sorrowful complaints of the saints in the Scriptures, and especially in the Psalms...

"Paul teaches the same things Christ taught, that works and fruit sufficiently testify whether the trees be good or evil, whether men follow the guiding of the flesh or of the Spirit. As if he should say: Lest some of you might say for himself, that he understands me not now when I deal with the battle between the flesh and the Spirit, I will set before your eyes first the works of the flesh, and then also the fruit of the Spirit.

"And this Paul does because there were many hypocrites among the Galatians (as there are also at this day among us), who outwardly pretend to be godly men, and boasted much of the Spirit, but they walked not according to the Spirit, but according to the flesh. So Paul tells them that they aren’t what they boasted themselves to be. And lest they should despise this admonition, he pronounces against them this dreadful sentence, that they should not be inheritors of the kingdom of heaven...

"It is very profitable therefore for the godly to feel the uncleanness of their flesh, lest they should be puffed up with some vain opinion of the righteousness of their own works, as though they were accepted before God for the same. This feeling humbles them, that they are constrained to fly unto Christ their mercy-seat. In Him they find a sound and perfect righteousness. Thus they continue in humility because of the uncleanness which yet remains in their flesh, for which if God would judge them, they should be found guilty of eternal death. But because they lift not up themselves proudly against God, they come forth into the Presence of God, and pray that for His sake their sins may be forgiven them; God spreads over them an infinite heaven of grace, and does not impute to them their sins, for Christ’s sake."

Quotes from the English edition copyrighted by Fleming H. Revell, which grants an exception for "brief quotations in printed reviews." I’ll let the schoolmen judge what that means.

 - Chris Simonson

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