Not Saved by Works!

Does James chapter 2 refute justification by faith alone? The purpose of this video is to address the issue of justification by faith alone

And I'm not going to do a huge survey of all the verses and all of the argumentation that usually goes along in discussions like These rather I want to focus in on the portion of scripture that is usually touted by Roman Catholics who suggest that James chapter 2 is a kind of knockout punch to the reform doctrine of justification by faith alone

I don't think that it is We will often hear by Roman Catholics Something to this effect the

Bible does not teach that we are justified by faith alone instead the only place in Scripture where the words faith alone appear is in James 2 24 and it reads the following You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone

Many Catholics will also be quick to point out that Martin Luther the Protestant Reformer believed that the book of James disagreed with his

Precious doctrine of justification by faith alone, and so he rejected the book of James However, regardless of what

Martin Luther believed about the book of James This really is irrelevant. The real point is whether the Bible itself teaches the doctrine and I'm quite confident that it does so How do we deal with James chapter 2 and what appears to be a quite explicit statement that one is justified by works and not by faith alone

Well, I think context is is key and we need to recognize that the biblical word justified or justification is is used in Multiple places throughout

Scripture and they are not always used in the same sense all the time So whenever the word is used we need to allow the context of those passages to define how that term is being understood

Now that's why it's not enough to merely read out loud James 2 24 and say see James is not teaching justification by faith alone

Let us look at the context of James 2 and we'll begin back in verse 14 and here's what it says

What good is it my brothers if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him if a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food?

And one of you says to them go in peace and be warmed and filled without giving them the things needed for the body What good is that?

So also faith by itself if it does not have works is dead But someone will say

I have works show me your faith apart from your works and I will show you my faith By my works you believe

God is one you do. Well, even the demons believe and shudder Do you want to be shown you foolish person that faith apart from works is useless was not

Abraham our father Justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar you see that faith was active along with his works and faith was completed by his works and the scripture was fulfilled that says

Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness and he was called a friend of God You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone that's our key phrase and in the same way was not

Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out By another way for as the body apart from the spirit is dead.

So also faith apart from works is dead now The reformed position wholeheartedly affirms that faith without works is in fact dead

We would not dare deny that since that's what the passage that's what the text clearly says However, we need to understand what's going on here

Catholics tend to have a problem with the distinction that reformed interpreters make between justification as understood horizontally and justification as understood vertically now

Vertical justification is the idea that we're justified before God by faith Right that vertical and faith alone

Our works are not the basis upon which were justified before God right that vertical this vertical

Justification is what Paul talks about in much of his letters and discussions on this very topic for instance

Romans chapter 4 verse 5 says but to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly

His faith is reckoned to him as righteousness This clearly refers to the vertical aspect of justification since Paul says but to the one who does not work

But believes in him who justifies the ungodly who justifies the ungodly Well God does so the vertical element there is clearly seen however in James 2

It's clear from the context that justification is being spoken of in that horizontal sense

That is to say James is speaking of how we are justified before men How do we know this well verse 18

But someone will say you have faith and I have works show me your faith

Apart from your works and I will show you my faith by my works This is clearly speaking in terms of men before other men

This makes perfect sense since James Really is concerned more about practical issues and focusing on how believers are to live and relate to others

You see Paul on the other hand has a primary focus on justification in the legal sense That's to say he dealt mainly with the question of how one is made right before God Now if I can borrow from Martin Luther the

Protestant reformer, you know keeping his views on the book of James aside I think at least he got this right when he said we are saved by faith alone, but saving faith is never alone

I'm saved by the grace of God through faith, which is itself a gift of God Philippians 129 and My works are the evidence of a changed or regenerated heart

They're not the prerequisite for gaining salvation or maintaining salvation good works are the fruit of Regeneration not the root of it praise be to God that in saving me

I am saved by works the work of Christ not mine Now, I know more can be said here and I know there are other counterpoints to be made, but I hope this at least

Clarifies some things up for folks that are having difficulty understanding the reformed position.