James and Paul didn’t disagree!!!
James 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath
faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
That seems like a very important question doesn’t it, especially
since we read in Ephesians 2:8&9 that we are saved by grace through
faith. To some people it would seem that James and Paul are in disagreement
here but that is far from the case. One must first, as always, look
at the context of what they are speaking of, in order to truly understand
what is being said.
In the time of the Apostles heretics had already sprung up in the Church
spreading lies and James was in no doubt addressing a certain issue
as Paul was to the Ephesians. Paul was speaking on how to be saved,
You must place your faith in Jesus and only that can save you and he
also said in Romans Chapter 10 etc... James is speaking on how one can
identify someone that is not truly born again and at the same time exhorting
those that are born again as to how they should be acting, and on top
of that he never anywhere in the entire book of James says that once
a man is born again that he can lose it, even though some try to say
that when James said:
James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without
works is dead also.
James 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works
is dead?
James 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
That even if you have faith but you don’t work then you have
or can lose your salvation when the truth is the opposite. If you are
born again you will work and you will have works as Jesus said in Matthew:
Matthew 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Simply put, if there is no works is that person saved? Now don’t
kid yourself, many people claim to be saved who aren’t. This is
true today as it was in James’s day as well. Obviously being an
Apostle of the Lord, and filled with the Holy Spirit, James would have
felt it necessary to point this sort of thing out., as we see in:
James 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth
not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is
vain.
You see we can tell of who James is speaking about from the above verse,
not someone that is a born again child of God but someone who has a
vain religion. Someone who has professed faith but doesn’t show
any fruits from that profession, i.e.. they were never filled with the
Holy Spirit and are deceiving themselves. These are people that are
quick to tell you about their faith but when you ask them what they
have done, they can’t produce any works.
Now before I go any further I want to make something clear. I am not
speaking of religious sacraments or anything of the sort. When Paul
said in:
Galatians 2:16 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.
He was indeed speaking of sacraments and the like, these would be in
this case, the need to be circumcised and so forth. The Church Galatia
was being told that they must keep certain things of the Old Testament
law along with placing their faith in Jesus. It was then necessary for
Paul to point out that this wasn’t so. We are justified by faith.,
not buy works of the law, i.e.. the mass that the Catholics like to
claim is pertinent for one to be saved and all the other sacraments,
these would be works of law. We see that Paul said that we are not justified
by works of the law. We see in Acts Chapter 10 that Gentile believers
were given the gift of the Holy Spirit before they were baptized, this
was not this case with the Jews in Acts Chapter 2., whom Peter told
repent and be baptized and then you shall receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit. You see this would blow out of the water the teaching that some
have today that says that a man must be baptized in order to be saved,
it simply isn’t so. If this is taught it is no better than the
Roman Catholics teaching that you must keep the continual sacrament
in order to be saved. Water baptism is nothing more than a symbol to
the world and more so to the rest of the body of Christ that you have
indeed believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour. And
just because someone is baptized does not mean that they are saved,
if they didn’t do as Philip told the Ethiopian Eunuch, “If
thou believest with all thine heart”. Faith is the most important
thing, no one anywhere in the Bible ever says anything to the contrary,
despite what some man or woman might say.
James, as I have already proven, was not speaking of someone that was
Born again, i.e.. someone that had believed with all their heart, he
was speaking of someone that had a vain profession. He said that if
they walked up and said I have faith, that then he would say alright
prove it. I can prove mine can you prove yours? That is why he said
faith without works is dead being alone, not because the person had
lost their salvation but because they never had it to begin with. If
you are saved you will work, 1) Because your filled with the Holy Ghost
and He is going to drive you too, 2) Because you are going to feel the
need to do so because of what Jesus did for you in order for you to
be saved.
Once a person truly realizes the sacrifice that God made for us they
cant help but show good works, as Paul said in:
Titus 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all
iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good
works.
Notice “zealous of good works.”. Zeal is defined by Webster’s
as: eager and ardent interest in the pursuit of something. Webster’s
definition of Zealous is: filled with, characterized by, or due to zeal.
Zeal for what you ask, zeal for Christ who redeemed us, and purified
us unto Himself. That is why Paul said in:
Titus 2:7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in
doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,
8 Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary
part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
Yes our works are important they determine our reward when we get to
heaven, (see 1Corinthians chapter 3.) They do not however save us nor
can a lack of them cause us to lose our salvation as some have supposed.
James was not talking about someone who had the Holy Spirit in them,
they would be able to show good works of some kind, he was speaking
of people that all they do is talk and nothing more.
Now I know that some people are truly saved and cant really show any
good works, but if they truly are born again and Jesus is in their heart
they wont stay this way, God wont allow it. Why? Because:
Hebrews 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth
every son whom he receiveth.
and further more:
Hebrews 12: 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers,
then are ye bastards, and not sons.
God will correct His children you can rest assured of that fact, and
if a person is living in sin with no correction then they are not born
again. If someone can continually go on with nothing to show for themselves
then the chances are great that they are not a child of God.
The thing that is important to remember her is that just because a person
claims to believe in Jesus does not mean that they are born again, and
on top of that just because they show all kinds of works, that does
not necessarily mean that they are saved either. The Bible is very firm
on its teaching that we are not to mix with false teachers and those
people that are still of the world. Yes we are to witness to them and
try and lead them to Christ but we are not to be a partaker of their
evil doings. That is why we read things like, come out from among them
and light has no fellowship with darkness and how can two men walk together
except they agree.
Yes Jesus saves you by your faith in Him, but after that the rest is
up to you. Yes some people might never get their act together and one
day stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ and have nothing to show
for themselves and as Paul says in 1Corinthians chapter 3 they shall
suffer loss, but they will still be just as saved as the day they called
out the Jesus for mercy. And to top it off they will suffer from the
chastening of the Lord the whole time they are here on Earth to boot.
There can be no denying the importance of works in the life of a Christian,
that much is certain, however there can also be no denying the greater
importance of faith in Jesus. You see the question that James asked
in 2:14 was this, can vain faith save a man? The answer of course is
no it cannot. We see this backed up by the very man that people like
to say disagreed with him, Paul, in Titus:
Titus 1:16. They profess that they know God; but in works they deny
him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
You see even Paul said that a vain profession would not save you, the
fact of the matter is that Paul and James didn’t disagree, most
people simply don’t take the time to look at the context of what
is being said before they decided on what it means.
Yes we are saved by grace through faith as the Bible says in Ephesians
2:8 and yes we are justified by our works as the Bible says in James
2:24. I would like to quote doctor Strong here if I may I believe he
put it very well when discussing this apparent but not real contradiction.
“ “Justification” is primarily and gratuitously by
faith, subsequently and evidentially by works”
“With Paul, works are dead works, with James they are life works.
The works of which Paul speaks could be quite independent of faith:
those referred to by James can be wrought only where faith is real,
and they will attest its reality.”
“So with righteousness, or “Justification”: Paul is
occupied with a right relationship with God, James, with right conduct.
Paul testifies that the ungodly can be “justified” by faith,
James that only the right-doer is “justified””.
(Quotation from The New Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance
of the Bible, Red-Letter Edition. Copyright 2001 by Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
It is my humble and solemn prayer to the Lord God Almighty, my Heavenly
Father, my Lord, King and Redeemer Jesus Christ that this simple and
brief study will help someone that has been led astray to see the truth
of the Word of God, and that despite what men may say that it does not
contain errors. I pray Lord that if someone that is lost without you
would read this that it may help them to come to know You as there personal
Lord and Saviour, since only You Jesus can save a soul from hell. Lord
please bless this simple work of mine, I know it isn’t much Lord
but I pray that You would use it to Your glory and for Your purpose,
and I ask it in the name of my Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
In closing if you have any questions or comments feel free to direct
them to us, it is our goal to help my born again blood washed brothers
and sisters in way that I can. We can be reached by email at:
Lnwolf75@yahoo.com or