James has gotten a bum rap from Christians over the years going back at least as far as Martin Luther
who called it an epistle of straw. One of the main reasons is due to James' emphasis on works. So let's
clear up a point of definition before we begin. In looking at the meaning of words, just consulting a
Greek dictionary is not enough since much depends on how a word is used in its its setting. Another
way of looking at it is to let the author define his own meaning. Once you do that, most of the so-called
contradictions between James and Paul (in Galatians) regarding faith and works disappear.
James vs. Galatians
FAITH intellectual assent (2:19) In Christ, which justifies us (2:16),
enables us to live (2:20), and works
through love (5:6)
Example: Abraham (3:9)
WORKS showing compassion to the of the law (2:16, 3:2,5)
poor (2:14-17) that men rely on for salvation
Abraham offering Isaac (2:21) (3:10, 5:4)
LAW liberty (1:25) Old Testament commandments
(3:10,17)
Paul considers the source (God and our relation to Him); James concentrates on the effect.
Paul looks at God's perspective; James takes man's perspective. James is not talking about justification
(our standing before God), but about validation (proof to men and ourselves).
Faith = intellectual assent, belief (to James); faith = a working, living thing (to Paul, see Galatians 5:6)
“works” of James = Paul's fruit of the Spirit; “works” of Paul = shallow observances done so as to
deserve salvation.
Let's look at another controversial issue related to faith and works. Those who teach the importance of
believer's baptism are sometimes accused of being as bad as the Judaizers condemned by Paul in
Galatians. In looking at NT teachings on the subject, however, it is hard to deny the emphasis those
authors place on the subject. First, keep in mind here that the practice in the early church was to carry
out baptism soon after the first profession of faith so that the two events were closely aligned.
Secondly, there was a major difference between the Jewish rites of proselyte baptism and ritual
immersions and the Christian practice. In the former, each person baptized themselves (a work) while
in the latter case, one submits in faith to being baptized by someone else.
Thirdly, consider the ultimate cause of the effects resulting from baptism as well as the effects
themselves:
Scripture Effect Cause
Acts 2:38-39 forgiveness of sins, repentance, calling on God
gift of the Holy Spirit
Acts 22:16 wash away sins calling on Jesus' name
Romans 6 united with Christ in death obedience to God (v. 17)
and resurrection, free from sin
I Corinthians 6:11 sanctified, justified in the name of Lord Jesus
Galatians 3:26-29 put on Christ, through faith
become Abraham's sons
Ephesians 5:26 cleansed with the word
Colossians 2:12-14 made alive, trespasses forgiven through faith in God
Hebrews 10:22-23 hearts clean from evil conscience faith, confession of hope
I Peter 3:21 saves you appeal to God, resurrection
of Jesus Christ
Now that I have pursued that rabbit trail, let's get back to James, whose major thesis on the subject is
clearly expressed in James 2:15-16: “Faith without works is dead.” Charles Schultz came up with a
classic cartoon that illustrates this point. Snoopy is sitting outside shivering in the snow while two
Peanuts characters come by all snug in their winter clothing. One of them says, “Be of good cheer,
Snoopy” and walks on by.
Actually, this is the same as Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan which starts out with religious
leaders of the day walking by the injured man without stopping to help. A more recent cartoon pictures
this event with the priest telling the man, “I can't stop now, but on the way back I'll probably have
some great tapes on healing you can listen to.” And another cartoon shows two OT characters talking.
One of them holding a scroll says to the other, “King Josiah was most interested in your discovery of
this ancient book, Hilkiah, and suggests that we place it in the royal museum.” Read II Kings 22-23 if
you need to know the background of that one, but the obvious point is that we are to be doers of the
word, not just readers of it. And, unfortunately, many of us are not even readers of it.
The subject of the needy usually brings up the question: “Where does our responsibility end?” That is a
good question, and it is the same one that actually prompted the story of the Good Samaritan to start
with: “Who is my neighbor?” The answer Jesus seems to give is that our neighbor is anyone we happen
to come in contact with who is in need. That would usually start with our immediate biological family
and our church family. This is confirmed in NT teachings such as “He who neglects his own family is
worse than an infidel” and “Show love, especially to the brethren.”
We often pray for those about us who are in need, but that may not end our responsibility toward them.
I am reminded of Ruth 2:12 where Boaz prays that God will take Ruth under His wing. In Ruth 3:9
Boaz spreads his cloak over her. In Hebrew the same word is translated as wing or cloak. In essence,
Boaz is the means God has chosen to answer Boaz' own prayer.
However, serving other people's physical needs is obviously not the whole key to the Christian life.
James 1:27 must also be taken into account when it says, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before
God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained
by the world.”
“Religion” has gotten a bad rap from Christians as meaning man-made religions. But the rare Greek
word translated that way just means external activities, what one sees taking place in church. And that
can include prayer and praise. Remember, however, that these activities must be genuine, in the Spirit,
and come from the heart. The last phrase in this verse includes our devotional life, our inward
strengthening from God.
But the other half of our Christian life is said to be when we visit widows and orphans. This seems
alright as far as it goes, but seems to be too restrictive. What about evangelism, for example, or helping
those who do not happen to be widows and orphans? We need to understand that much of James'
Epistle resembles the Old Testament wisdom literature like Proverbs. Thus, James boils down
complicated issues to only a few, concise words that illustrate a principle, rather than limiting it.
Many churches seem to opt for one of the two duties that James outlines in 1:27. Often,
fundamentalists zero in on remaining pure and unstained from the world. They can tend to be
suspicious of anything or anyone outside their closed circle. Such isolation can indeed keep them from
evil influences but makes it very hard for them to influence those outside their congregations.
By contrast, many mainline denominations have concentrated on the Social Gospel so much, that they
have even lost touch with the biblical motive behind these actions. I actually met one very likable
young man from a more liberal denomination who told me all of the commendable ways in which he
was helping the poor. But he then confessed that he didn't at all know why he was doing it. He didn't
comprehend the connection between his service to God and obedience to Christ.
Again, we do not have to chose between these two extremes, as several biblical passages demonstrate.
You only have to look at the Ten Commandments to see that they also break down into those relating to
our relationship to God and others to our relationship to our fellow human beings. The saying: “you are
in the world, but not of the world” proclaims the same thing. Or we could quote Hebrews 10:23-25
which not only urges the readers to “hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering” but also
says, “Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds.”
The whole question of faith and works becomes a little more complicated when you try to make sense out of James 2:18-20. The New Bible Commentary states that this passage “is notoriously difficult. It is largely a question of who speaks and where the marks of quotation are to be put.” Since there was no punctuation in the original Greek, the “some one” may be a hypothetical opponent that James is arguing against or it could be someone speaking on James' behalf and arguing against a third party.
The old KJV has no quotation marks at all.
J.B. Phillips and New American Standard end the quotation at “...my faith.”
NEB, NIV and RSV end it at “...I have works.”
Some commentators even continue the quotation through verse 19.
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