Theology Thursday: Does James 2:24 contradict justification by faith?

Welcome to Theology Thursday! Theology is the study of God, his relation to the world, and our relation to him. I hope these newsletters help enhance your faith and deepen your love for God and his people, the church.

Today's question: 
Does James 2:24 contradict justification by faith?

Pastor Brady's thoughts:
Perhaps aside from the divinity of Jesus, the most important doctrine in the Christian protestant tradition is justification by faith. At its center is good news for weary sinners: God declares us righteous (he saves us!) not because of what we have done, but because of what Christ has done for us. We are forgiven, accepted, and welcomed into God’s family by the free gift of grace; our unearned reward for God’s unmerited favor.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. - Ephesians 2:8-9

Yet, when they get to James 2:24 in their New Testament reading, many believers stumble. Here’s that verse: You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. That’s the ESV. The NIV softens the language here somewhat, but conveys a similar idea: You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

How do we square James’s teaching with the other places in scripture that seems to insist that we are justified by faith, not works? In addition to that Ephesians passage, there’s Romans 3:28: For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. 

How can both of these things be true?

To understand James, we must first be clear about what justification is. In the Bible, justification is a legal declaration. God, the righteous judge, declares sinners to be righteous in his sight because Christ’s righteousness is credited to them. Paul explains this beautifully: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). This declaration is received by faith - by trusting in Christ, not by performing religious deeds or moral achievements.

James is not contradicting this truth; he is addressing a different problem. Paul (in Romans and Ephesians, for example) confronts people who think they can earn God’s favor by works. James confronts people who claim to have faith but show no evidence of it in their lives. When James says that a person is “justified by works,” he is not saying that works earn salvation. He is saying that genuine faith is proven - or shown to be real - by the works it produces.

Think of faith as a living thing. True faith is not mere intellectual agreement with facts about God. James reminds us that even demons “believe” that God is God, and that fact causes them to tremble (James 2:19). Saving faith involves full trust, full allegiance, and full surrender. It unites us to Christ. And because Christ is alive, faith in him cannot remain “dead” (James 2:17). Faith that doesn’t change our lives and isn’t seen lived out in our actions isn’t faith at all. In other words, real faith produces real faithfulness.
 
James illustrates this with Abraham. Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). That is justification by faith. Years later, Abraham’s faith was demonstrated when he offered Isaac on the altar (Genesis 22). James says that Abraham’s faith was “completed” by his works—not because faith was lacking, but because faith reached its visible, obedient expression. Abraham’s works did not supersede faith; they revealed it.

Pastorally, this matters deeply. Many tender consciences fear that they are not doing enough to be accepted by God. If that is you, let the beautiful truth of justification by faith bring you rest. If you are trusting in Christ - if you believe and have confessed your belief, repented of your sins, and been baptized in his name - you are already accepted. God’s verdict over your life is settled. You do not work for his love; you work from it.

At the same time, James lovingly warns us against a faith that is only words. If our profession of faith never leads to repentance, love for others, generosity, or obedience, we should pause and examine our hearts. Not to despair—but to ask whether we are truly clinging to Christ or merely to an idea of him.

In the end, Paul and James stand together, guarding the gospel from opposite errors. Paul protects us from legalism; James protects us from empty belief, from fruitless faith. Together they teach us that we are justified by faith alone—but the faith that justifies is never belief alone. It is accompanied by works, not as the root of our salvation, but as its fruit.

May this truth free you from both pride and fear, leading us to a life of grateful obedience, rooted in the grace of God and confident in the finished work of Jesus Christ.

TO KNOW GOD AND TO MAKE HIM KNOWN!
- Pastor Brady

Have a question for Theology Thursday? Send an email to office@minierchristian.org and we'll respond, or we'll include in a future Theology Thursday Buffet.