Saved By Works or Faith?
by Jim Deyling
Depending on what circles you travel through, you may hear a lot about so-called contradictions in the Bible. Since we as Christians believe the Bible to be the inerrant Word of God as originally given, it’s important that we examine these things in order understand them ourselves and so that we can explain them to others if they’re a stumbling block to their faith.
Here’s the truth about most of the contradictions that people point out – once you look up the verses you see that the claim of contradiction makes no sense. They’re generally pretty easy to dismiss.
Some, however, require a little more background and study, and thankfully there’s fruit that comes from digging deeper.
Today I want to take a look at the question, “Are we saved by faith alone or by works?”
The Verses
God saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted to us in Christ Jesus from all eternity.
- 2 Timothy 1:9
You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.
- James 2:24
I’ll throw one more into the mix:
For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.
- Romans 3:28
So what does this mean? Are we saved by faith alone or are we saved by works and faith?
Ground Rules
Whenever you’re analyzing a text, it’s important that you look at:
1.) Who’s writing it, because they’re bound to have a certain style, voice, and some habits that will be helpful to understand.
2.) The context. What is the larger argument being made? What was said before and after the passage in question?
3.) Making sure you’re not bringing your own bias to the table, that you’re drawing just from the evidence itself.
With that in mind, let’s examine these verses.
2 Timothy and Romans were both written by Paul, who, though he is concerned with many other topics as well, often writes to the Gentiles and spends a lot of time talking about salvation. Paul says in Ephesians 3:8 that he was given grace so that he should preach the gospel among the gentiles.
James was written by James. In the first verse, he addresses his letter “To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad.” His letter primarily concerns Jewish people living in hypocrisy, showing partiality, and revealing their sin that they didn’t know they had. He talks about what kind of religion is useful and what kind of religion is worthless.
So, with that in mind, do Paul and James disagree with each other or not? One says we are justified by faith alone, the other says we are justified by works and not by faith alone.
Definitions
“Justified” has more than one definition. According to Merriam Webster, it means:
1. To prove or show to be just, right, or reasonable
2. To judge, regard, or treat as righteous and worthy of salvation
With this in mind, as we dig into the context of Romans 3, 2 Timothy 1, and others of Paul’s writings, it becomes pretty clear that he’s teaching that man can be saved only by faith. Our works are not sufficient to save us, not even partway. Even faith itself is a gift from God and not of ourselves (Ephesians 2:8). Paul is using definition #2 of “justified.”
As we dig into the context of James, we can see that he’s talking about the difference between real faith and fake faith, living faith and dead faith. How do you know which kind you have? By whether or not there is fruit. Living faith acts, dead faith does not. James is simply saying that if you say you are a Christian, then the presence of some appropriate works manifested in your life will prove whether you’re telling the truth or not. In James 2:19 he says, “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.” This all is echoed by what John says in 1 John 2:4 which says that if someone says he knows God but don’t keep His commandments, he “is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” James is using definition #1 of “justified.”
After all, in the very same chapter where James writes, “A man is justified by works and not by faith alone,” he says, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.” It would be ignoring the rest of the Book of James to pretend that he is teaching that works gain us salvation.
The Verdict
James and Paul aren’t contradicting each other because they’re discussing two different topics. Paul is explaining how we are saved, and James is explaining the proof of being saved. This should remind us to examine our own lives in the fear of the Lord, taking comfort that salvation is a gift of grace given to us through faith alone, and also an encouragement to let our faith turn into action, which demonstrates that it was real in the first place.
