Episode 18: St. James vs. St. Paul on Justification

Augsburg Confession IV

Our churches teach that people cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works. People are freely justified for Christ’s sake, through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor and that their sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake. By His death, Christ made satisfaction for our sins. God counts this faith for righteousness in His sight (Romans 3 and 4).
Romans 3:21-28
- 21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
  27 Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
Romans 4:4-8
- Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
According to Paul, a sinner is clearly justified before God apart from works through faith alone.
- Galatians 2:16
  - yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
- Galatians 3:10-14
  - For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
- Philippians 3:8-9
  - For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith
Does James disagree with Paul on Justification?
- James 2:14-26 (especially verse 24)
  - 14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 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? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
    18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
  - “From James 2:24, they cite, ‘You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.’ No other passage is supposed to be more contrary to our belief. But the reply is easy and plain. If the adversaries do not attach their own opinions about the merits of works, the words of James have in them nothing that is unhelpful to us.” Ap. V (III). 123.

What Paul writes in Romans 3 and 4 and Galatians 2 and 3 appears to disagree with what St. James writes in James 2. How can we deal with this apparent contradiction?
- To solve this problem, we have several options.
  - Admit that Paul and James disagree. Some have determined along with some in the ancient church that James is not authentic, so it cannot be used against Paul. Paul’s letters belong to the classification of homologoumena, which are the books of the New Testament which had unanimous support among the early church. James falls under the classification of antilegomena, because, as Eusebius writes, “since few of the ancients quote it,” and he included it among the disputed books.
  - This is why Martin Luther called James “an epistle of straw.” However, He still found it useful. Luther writes concerning the Epistle of James:
    - Though this epistle of St. James was rejected by the ancients, I praise it and consider it a good book, because it sets up no doctrines of men but vigorously promulgates the law of God. However, to state my own opinion about it, though without prejudice to anyone, I do not regard it as the writing of an apostle; and my reasons follow.
      In the first place it is flatly against St. Paul and all the rest of Scripture in ascribing justification to works [2:24]. It says that Abraham was justified by his works when he offered his son Isaac [2:21]; though in Romans 4:2-22 St. Paul teaches to the contrary that Abraham was justified apart from works, by his faith alone, before he had offered his son, and proves it by Moses in Genesis 15:6. Now although this epistle might be helped and an interpretation devised for this justification by works, it cannot be defended in its application to works [Jas. 2:23] of Moses’ statement in Genesis 15:6. For Moses is speaking here only of Abraham’s faith, and not of his works, as St. Paul demonstrates in Romans 4. This fault, therefore, proves that this epistle is not the work of any apostle. AE 35:395-96.
    - Luther gives a couple more reasons for rejecting James as apostolic, and which you can read in AE 35:396-97, and concludes, “Therefore I cannot include him among the chief books, though I would not thereby prevent anyone from including or extolling him as he pleases, for there are otherwise many good sayings in him.” AE:35:397.
  - - The second option is to do as the Roman Catholics have done and interpret Paul in light of James. To do this, they will interpret the words “law” and “works” differently to say that Paul meant only the ceremonial law of the Jews or the ceremonial works of the Jews, which no Christians today believe Christians are obligated to keep (see Colossians 2:16-17).
      - The weakness in this argument is that Paul clearly speaks not simply of the ceremonial law of the Jews, but of the moral law. See Romans 3:9-20
        9 What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 in their paths are ruin and misery, 17 and the way of peace they have not known.”18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. (especially verse 20)
        And Romans 7:7-17. 7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. 13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
        It is untenable that when Paul says that a person is justified apart from works of the Law that he only means ceremonial laws of the Jews and does not refer to all works.
  - Do as the Lutherans have done (despite Luther Himself not doing it) and interpret James in light of Paul. They do this by clarifying that James uses the word faith and justification in a different way than Paul does. To do this, we need to answer a few questions.
    - What does Paul mean by faith in Romans 3:21-28 and Galatians 2:16 and 3:10-14?
      - Paul means faith that holds onto and trusts the promise that God is reconciled to you and forgives you for Christ’s sake. This faith can only come about through rebirth by the Holy Spirit.
    - What does James mean by faith that does not justify without works in James 2:19, 24 and 26?
      - James is speaking of an historical faith, one that only holds to knowledge, but does not trust truly trust the promise. James is making a distinction between historical knowledge and true saving faith.
      - “He made a distinction between dead and living faith. He says that faith that does not bring forth good works is dead. He also says that a living faith brings forth good works. Furthermore, we have shown already several times what we mean by faith. For we do not mean passive knowledge, such as devils have. Instead, we mean faith that resists the terrors of conscience and encourages and comforts terrified hearts.” Apology of the Augsburg Confession. Article V (III). Love and Fulfilling the Law, 128 [249].
    - What does Paul mean by justify? Read Romans 4:2-8.
      - By justify, Paul means to be declared righteous and innocent before God’s judgment throne, to be reconciled with God and to truly have peace with Him (Romans 5:1). To be justified means that you will be saved.
    - What does James mean by justify in James 2:24?
      - James is not speaking of being justified before the judgment seat of God, whereby, a person is accounted righteous before God by his works. Rather, James uses justify to mean vindication, that a person’s justifying faith is outwardly proved by his good works.
      - “Here ‘to be justified’ does not mean that a righteous person is made from a wicked person. It means to be pronounced righteous in a judicial sense, as in Romans 2:13, ‘For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.’ These words ‘doers of the law who will be justified’ contain nothing contrary to our doctrine. We, too, believe about James’s words, ‘A person is justified by works and not by faith alone’ (2:24) because people are certainly pronounced righteous having faith and good works. As we have said, the saints’ good works are righteous and please God because of faith. For James praises only works produced by faith, as he testifies when he says of Abraham, ‘Faith was completed by his works’ (2:22). ‘Doers of the law who will be justified, ‘namely, those who believe God from the heart are pronounced righteous. Afterward, they have good fruit, which please Him because of faith. So they are the fulfillment of the Law. These things, simply put, contain nothing incorrect. However, they are distorted by the adversaries, who attach to them godless opinions made in their mind. For it does not follow that (a) works earn the forgiveness of sins, (b) works regenerate hearts, (c) works are an atoning sacrifice, (d) works please without Christ as the Atoning Sacrifice, and (e) works do not need Christ as the Atoning Sacrifice. James says nothing about these things. Yet, the adversaries shamelessly conclude such things from James’s words.” Ap. V (III) 131 [252]-132 [253]
      - Examination of the Council of Trent vol. 1:539: “It is clear that James is disputing about the demonstrations or manifestation of faith against the idle opinion of an empty faith and justification, for he says: ‘If a man says he has faith, let him show his faith by his works.’ And he takes the example of Abraham, which the angel himself interprets of the proof or manifestation, when he says: ‘Now I know that you fear the Lord.’ James, therefore, is speaking of this, that the obedience and good works of Abraham declared and furnished proof that He had truly been justified by faith. For to James ‘to be justified’ means to be declared righteous through external testimonies.”
- Many will object to the attempt to reconcile Paul and James by saying that they are using the same words in different ways, but this is common in all languages. Words do not always have the same meaning and must be understood in their context. James himself uses several words with different meanings.
  - In James 1:13, James says, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempts (πειράζει) no one.” Yet, in John 6:6, John records the exact same word in Greek (πειράζω) to say, “Jesus said this to test πειράζων him, for He Himself knew what He was about to do.” It is the same word in Greek, but in different contexts it can mean to test, which God does to strengthen our faith, or it can mean to tempt, which Satan, the world, and our sinful flesh do to destroy our faith.
  - In James 1, James uses the word faith with a different meaning than he does in chapter 2. In verse 6, he says, “But let him ask in faith, without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord…” With these words, James describes saving faith, which not only has knowledge, but steadfast trust to receive what one believes. Yet, in chapter 2, he describes a dead faith, which only has knowledge, a faith which even the demons have! (vs 19). James certainly is using the word faith in more than one way in this short letter. It is certainly possible that James and Paul could use the word faith in two different ways in completely different letters.
- Melanchthon makes several other good points regarding James and justification.
  - He quotes St. Paul in 1 Tim. 1:5, “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”
  - He points out that James speaks of works that follow faith.
  - He points out that James does not teach that a person is regenerated by works, but rather explicitly says that one is born again of the Word: “James said a little earlier that regeneration happens through the Gospel. For he says in James 1:18, ‘Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.’ When James says that we have been reborn by the Gospel, he teaches that we have been born again and justified through faith. For the promise about Christ is grasped only through faith when we set it against the terrors of sin and of death. James does not, therefore, think that we are born again through our works.” Ap. V (III): 126.
- Chemnitz also clarifies in the Solid Declaration Article II:41: “This should not be understood as though justification and renewal were separated from each other in such a way that a genuine faith sometimes could exist and continue for a time together with evil intention.”
- It is equally important to point out as Chemnitz does in SD II:43, “For faith makes righteous only because, as a means and instrument, it lays hold of, and accepts, God’s grace and Christ’s merit in the Gospel promise.”
  - This is an important distinction. Faith produces good works. These good works justify us in the sense that they prove the existence of saving faith and justification before God. But we are never justified before God on account of our works, because our works are insufficient to make atonement for our sins and satisfy God’s wrath. Only Christ can do this. Faith justifies only by clinging to Christ Jesus, His atonement, and forgiveness for His sake.
- Conclusion:
  - Paul and James do not disagree. It is untenable to try to make Paul say what the Roman Catholics assert James says, because Paul agrees with the rest of Scripture that sinners are saved by faith alone apart from their works (John 3:16; Genesis 15:6; Psalm 103; etc.). It makes much more sense to interpret James, not only in light of Paul, but in light of the rest of Scripture. In this way, and in reading James in context, we see that James affirms that a person is saved by the power of God’s Word according to His will (James 1:18). James uses faith in chapter 2 differently than saving faith. Likewise, he uses justified not as being declared righteous and innocent of all sin before God for salvation before His judgment throne, but as a proof of the justifying faith that exists in the person’s heart.
    - There is no better summary of James’s position on justification by faith and works than what Chemnitz writes in the Examination, as quoted earlier: Examination of the Council of Trent vol. 1:539: “It is clear that James is disputing about the demonstrations or manifestation of faith against the idle opinion of an empty faith and justification, for he says: ‘If a man says he has faith, let him show his faith by his works.’ And he takes the example of Abraham, which the angel himself interprets of the proof or manifestation, when he says: ‘Now I know that you fear the Lord.’ James, therefore, is speaking of this, that the obedience and good works of Abraham declared and furnished proof that He had truly been justified by faith. For to James ‘to be justified’ means to be declared righteous through external testimonies.”

Episode 18: St. James vs. St. Paul on Justification

August 22, 2024 James Preus

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