Faith and Works: Do James and Paul Disagree?

I love Twitter because I receive so many links to so much good content relating to film, theatre, books, movies, Batman, theology (yes, I follow accounts dedicated to all of these subjects). The bad part is that sometimes I go down the rabbit hole to a really cool place, comment, leave, and then forget how to go back. Case in point: I'd meant to repost this comment from a blog post entitled "Faith and Works: Do James and Paul Disagree?" by R.W. Johnson, but lost the link.

Fortunately I subscribed to the article for further comments, and recently got an email alert. I encourage you to read the full post, but the gist of it is that Mr. Johnson tried to settle the seeming dichotomy between Paul's "salvation by faith alone" stance and the emphasis James places on works. He believes that the two men were speaking of two different justifications, one before God and one before man:

What we have to note is that if we do not have two different audiences to be justified in front of then there would be a contradiction between James and Paul. Paul says Faith + Nothing = Justification, while James says, Faith + Works = Justification. There is no way around this unless the audiences we are justified before are different.

I'm always ready to see someone tackle supposed contradictions in Scripture. However, I had a few different ideas than Johnson and left the following comment.

I just finished Romans and James back to back in my devotional reading. Your take on the apparent contradiction has merit, but I’m not convinced audience alone is the deciding factor. I’m not sure justification really comes into play when we’re talking about other men. That sounds more like reputation, and I think James is going deeper than that.

The full context of this verse is often missed, in which James wrote: “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it…. Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” James recognizes that none of us are capable of such perfection, and indeed reaffirms the need for mercy before the awful judgement the law brings. He then speaks about faith and works, and I would posit that this apparent contradiction or dichotomy is exactly what James is targeting.

Faith without service to God and others implies a salvation that is not completely transformative, one that only changes a specific status without reference to one’s inner heart. James believes (and rightly, I think) that such a thing doesn’t exist. It is as dead as the fig tree Jesus cursed or the seed that fell amongst rocks and thistles in the parable of the sower.

Works in the full context of James is not merely a means of self-justification or personal fulfillment: it is total surrender to the will of God. Remember, just before this passage James spoke against those who show favoritism to the rich, and condemns such behavior as having no part in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus himself said, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

To use two living examples: the rich young ruler was a person obsessed with works, but unwilling to go the extra mile of service Jesus required, thus showing his apparent faith to be lacking. He had not surrendered himself totally to God and was unwilling to do so because of the high personal cost. Zacchaeus, on the other hand, joyfully received the salvation offered by Christ, which in turn prompted him to give up his greed and offer mercy and restitution to others. As James said, “his faith and his actions were working together.”

Rather than write in opposition to any of these ideas, Paul himself echoes them in Romans 11-12. First he speaks against false pride in one’s position with God (as does James), and warns believers: “Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.” Then he gives an entire chapter of commands regarding service to God and others, ending with the phrase “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Paul does not believe faith and works inhabit independent spheres any more than Jesus did: rather, when we are saved by faith, we become a new creation, and therefore should desire to do what is right.