Faith and Works: Reconciling Paul and James

SPROUL: At the time of the Protestant Reformation, obviously the Roman Catholic community did not roll over and play dead at the feet of Luther and the Reformers. They had a response to the assertion that justification is by faith alone without any reference to works, and they found their source for that in the Scripture itself, principally in the letter from the apostle James. [00:00:00]

Here we have the explicit statement in sacred Scripture that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. You would think that that single verse would be the crushing blow to the article that Luther said was the article upon which the church stands or falls. So, how do we reconcile what Paul teaches in Romans with what James teaches here? [00:01:32]

Part of the problem is compounded by the fact that both James and Paul use the same word here for justification, ‘dikaiosune.’ It would be nice to see that they use different words and obviously had different ideas in mind. Unfortunately if we are reconciling the two, they both used the same word. [00:03:21]

One verse that you are familiar with I am sure is that when Jesus in the Gospels says that “wisdom is justified by her children,” now obviously in that particular statement the word that is used here does not mean that wisdom is reconciled to a holy God with an imputed righteousness that wisdom gains by having babies. [00:05:34]

I want to apply that same principle to this thorny question that we have of the relationship between Paul and James. To understand James in chapter 2 we have to ask the question, “What problem is he trying to solve? What question is he trying to answer?” And I think the answer to my question here begins in verse 14 of chapter 2. [00:09:05]

In our day and age, we have hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people in America who have made professions of faith, who have never demonstrated the reality of the faith they claim to possess. That is the question that James is answering. It is not the same question Paul is asking. [00:10:16]

When Luther was challenged for his doctrine of justification by faith alone and was asked about this faith, as I said before does that mean you can just believe and live however you want to? Well, Paul answers that same question, and his answer is, “God forbid,” and Luther said, “Justification is by faith alone but not by faith that is alone.” [00:11:43]

Now, if I tell you here in this room today that I have saving faith, do you know for sure just because I said it that I have it? Can anybody in here read my heart? Of course not. The only way you can evaluate the truth of my claim is to see if I manifest it in my life. [00:12:24]

The only kind of faith that saves is not a dead faith but a living faith, and if it is a living faith it will certainly be made manifest by works. So Abraham is proving, demonstrating, authenticating his claim of faith in chapter 22. Just as we claim to have faith, we have to show forth that faith by our works. [00:14:37]

“What is it that produces saving faith in Christ? Where does that faith come from?” This question, probably more than any other, is what defines the very essence of Reformed theology. If there is one phrase that captures the essence of Reformed theology, it is the little phrase “regeneration precedes faith.” [00:16:12]

The vast majority of evangelical Christians, if you ask them the question, “Which comes first, faith or rebirth?” they would say, “Faith comes first and as a result of believing in Christ, you are reborn,” where Reformed theologians say, “No.” Go back to chapter 3 of John where Jesus has the conversation with Nicodemus. [00:18:31]

When Paul gives an abbreviated list of the order of salvation in Romans 8, he talks about those who were foreknown that He also predestined, and those whom He predestined that He also called, and those whom He called He justified, and those whom He justified He glorified. [00:20:34]