What Scripture says
Paul and James seem to say opposite things:
- Paul: “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (Romans 3:28, ESV). “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works” (Ephesians 2:8–9).
- James: “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24). “Faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:26).
Both use Abraham as their example. Paul quotes Genesis 15:6, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” (Romans 4:3). James also quotes it, but points to Abraham offering Isaac (Genesis 22) as the moment his faith was “completed by his works” (James 2:21–23).
What the evidence says
Context
Different questions
Paul and James are answering different questions, against different opponents:
| Question | Paul | James |
|---|---|---|
| The problem | People thinking they could earn God’s acceptance by keeping the law | People claiming to have faith but living unchanged lives |
| “Works” means | Works of the law, such as circumcision and food laws, as a basis for standing with God | Acts of love and obedience, such as helping the poor |
| “Faith” means | Trust in Christ | Mere agreement, which “even the demons” have (James 2:19) |
| “Justified” means | Declared righteous by God | Shown or proved to be righteous |
| Abraham’s example | Genesis 15: declared righteous by believing | Genesis 22: his faith shown in action, decades later |
They agree
Paul insists that genuine faith produces good works:
- We are saved by grace through faith, “created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Ephesians 2:10).
- What counts is “faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6).
- Paul warns that those who live in sin “will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19–21).
James agrees that salvation begins with God’s gift: “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth” (James 1:18). He isn’t teaching that works earn salvation; he’s attacking a faith that never shows itself in action: “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?” (James 2:15–16).
As the Reformers put it, we are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.
History
Luther and James
Martin Luther, who championed justification by faith alone, struggled with James. In his 1522 preface to the New Testament, he called it “an epistle of straw” compared with books like Romans and Galatians, because it says little about Christ and the gospel. But he didn’t remove it from the Bible, and elsewhere he praised it as a good book because it emphasizes God’s law. Later Lutherans and other Protestants accepted that James and Paul agree.
Catholic and Protestant views
The question of faith and works divided Catholics and Protestants in the Reformation. Catholic teaching, set out at the Council of Trent (1547), holds that justification involves both God’s grace and a person’s cooperation, and includes inner renewal. Protestants teach justification is God’s declaration that a person is righteous, received by faith alone. Both agree that grace is necessary and that genuine faith produces good works. In 1999, the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation signed a Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification stating a shared basic understanding, though differences remain.
Where they meet
Paul and James don’t contradict each other. Paul teaches that we are saved by faith, not works. James teaches that real faith shows itself in works. They answer different questions.
What’s still open
The exact meaning of Paul’s “works of the law” (see the New Perspective on Paul).
Bottom line
No. Paul says we’re saved by faith, not works; James says real faith shows itself in works. They are answering different questions. This is rated Settled.