FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD

James 2:14-18

One basic belief of Christians is that the Bible contains no contradictions when it teaches a truth that is essential to salvation. In today's second reading, we encounter an apparent contradiction regarding a truth that is relevant to salvation, one that is so central to the Christian faith that it brought a major split in the Church and still continues to divide us. One reason for the split of Protestantism from Catholicism is Martin Luther's interpretation of Romans 3:28, "For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law." Luther understood this as meaning that we are saved by "faith alone." Luther was so convinced of the importance of this viewpoint that he included the word "alone" in his translation of Romans 3:28, even though it is not in the original Greek text. In today's second reading, James tells us that "faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead" (James 2:17). How do we reconcile this apparent contradiction between Paul's teaching that we are justified by faith apart from good works and that of James that faith without works is dead?

To reconcile this tension, we need to ask ourselves three key questions. (1) What isjustification? (2) What are works? (3) What does the Bible as a whole teach on the subject of salvation by faith?

What is justification? Justification is the act of God in which sinners who confess their faith in Jesus Christ are declared innocent, as if they had never sinned. Justification is a free gift of God's grace, based entirely on the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ. Justification happens at the moment when one submits in faith to Jesus Christ. In the early church, this change of heart (repentance and believing the gospel) was marked by the penitent receiving baptism and the gift of the Holy Spirit. "Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).

Justification is not salvation. Whereas justification happens at the beginning of the Christian life, salvation happens at the end of it, when the believer is finally admitted into God's eternal presence after judgment. For us, Christians in the world, justification is already in the past, but salvation is yet in the future. This is the consistent picture we get from the very letters of Paul. Paul speaks of salvation as a future event. For example:

Now that we have been justified by his blood, we will be saved through him from the wrath of God (Romans 5:9)
For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers (Romans 13:11).
Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12)

One problem that Luther had, and many Christians today still have, is that of confusing justification with salvation. If we keep the two events apart, we see that God who justified us by faith alone does not save us by faith alone. The justified person must bear fruit of good works, fruit befitting repentance or risk damnation on judgment day (see Matthew 7:16-23; John 15:1-2)

What are works? Another source of confusion on the issue of faith and works is that there are two kinds of works mentioned in the New Testament letters usually attributed to Paul. There are works of the law (erga nomou), mentioned in Romans and Galatians, which are believed to be written by Paul himself in his lifetime, and there are good works(erga agatha), mentioned only in Ephesians, which is believed to be written by Paul's disciple after Paul's death. What is the difference between works of the law and good works?

Works of the law are actions that are neither morally good or bad in themselves, which one does simply to observe a law. Such actions include keeping the Sabbath, circumcision, and avoiding certain meats. Good works, on the other hand, are works that are good in themselves in that other people benefit from them, such as, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and visiting the sick. What Paul condemns as irrelevant to justification or eventual salvation is works of the law, not good works. Good works are necessary for authentic Christian living since, as James tells us, faith without good works is dead (James 2:17).

Finally, what does the Bible as a whole say on the issue of faith and good works determining a person's salvation? The entire Bible, from the Old Testament to John the Baptist, from the Gospels to Paul's authentic letters, and from Hebrews to Revelation all are in support of James' emphasis on the necessity of faith and good works for salvation. The preview of the Last Judgment given to us in Matthew 25 shows that it is based on good works. (Matthew 25:34-36, 40)

Today, James reminds us that faith without works is dead. Let us pray for the conviction, the courage and the means to translate our faith into deeds since, as Jesus warns us in Matthew 7:21, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven."