Faith and Works

Have you ever tried to cut a piece of paper in two with a pair of scissors?  If like me, no matter how sharp and expensive the scissors, the result is never two equal halves and instead of a perfect straight edge it looks as if a machete has been used for the task.  Then one day I discovered the guillotine!  At last I could cut the paper straight.

The apostle Paul instructs Timothy to rightly divide the word of truth or to make a straight cut (2 Tim 2v15).  One subject within ‘Christendom’ which has caused enormous suffering and death, particularly during the Protestant reformation, is none other than ‘faith and works’ and how they relate to salvation.  The only way to effectively deal with this subject is to cut the Word straight.  Was the Roman Catholic Church in darkness over this issue?  Did the Protestant reformers cut the Word of God straight and bring us to the light?  This blog will answer these questions.

On this day, 1^st January, many people will make New Year resolutions, calling themselves to action or works.  Perhaps it will be physical, to exercise more so as to lose those extra pounds gained over the Christmas period or perhaps spiritual, to start a Bible reading plan or commit to praying more.  No matter the New Year resolution it requires not only faith in the benefit of what you are doing but discipline and work to bring to fruition.  From a Christian perspective then how do faith and works interact?

The key biblical texts often cited regarding this issue are the words of Paul and the words of James:

Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.

Romans 3v28

You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.  

James 2v24

Paul says a man is justified by faith while James says a man is justified by works.  Is this a contradiction?  Let us examine what the reformers said and what modern theologian Wayne Grudem explains regarding these two verses.

John Calvin said, “It is faith alone that justifies but the faith that justifies is never alone¹.” At first reading this appears very clever to incorporate faith and works whilst emphasizing faith alone but James specifically says a man is ‘justified by works’ and not by faith only. 

Let us turn to Grudem for his explanation.  He sets out the differences between justification and sanctification² and states that justification is a one off event that occurs ‘at the beginning of our Christian lives.’

Justification	Sanctification
Legal standing	Internal condition
Once for all time	Continuous throughout life
Entirely God’s work	We cooperate
Perfect in this life	Not perfect in this life
The same for all Christians	Greater in some than in others

Grudem³ offers a solution in support of Calvin and the other reformers.  In doing so he changes the definition of justified, in James 2v24, from ‘judged or declared righteous’ (right before God) to ‘shown to be righteous’.  Put simply, the works show that we have previously been made righteous by faith. He argues James is using the word justified in a different sense from the way Paul uses it in Romans 3v28.  This is where it becomes challenging for a numbers man like myself.  Can a word change meaning depending on context and sentence structure?  Yes, it can.  A few weeks ago we were playing charades with our kids.  It was Abby’s turn.  On all fours she proceeded to go from one side of the room to the other.  We all guessed she was imitating some kind of animal but had no idea what she was doing.  The answer: a ‘zebra crossing’.  Without knowing the context a ‘zebra crossing’ could be a real zebra animal crossing a real road or equally well it could be the black and white lines on a road where pedestrians cross.  The sentence can determine the meaning of a word.  Therefore according to Grudem, James is really saying man is shown to be righteous by works. i.e. the works Abraham performed by offering up Isaac showed that he was justified by faith in the past referring to Genesis 15 when he believed or had faith in God apart from works. 

There is however a problem with this solution:

Grudem’s change of meaning of the word justified is not necessarily wrong but consistency of application within the same sentence in the verse must surely be maintained.  For consistency, faith must show a man to be previously righteous as well as works, as faith appears later in the same sentence.  Replacing ‘justified’ with ‘shown to be righteous’ James 2v24 would now read:

You see then that a man is shown to be righteous by works, and not shown to be righteous by faith only.

Is man righteous before he has faith?  There is no verse of Scripture to evidence such a statement and this would be in contradiction to what Paul has taught – man is declared righteous before God by faith, faith does not show a man has been previously declared righteous.  By changing the meaning of the word justification one apparent contradiction is removed but another is created.  Grudem’s explanation is wholly inconsistent and does not adequately explain faith and works.  Calvin’s explanation that justification is by faith alone remains in contradiction to the words of James – man is justified by works and therefore man cannot be justified by faith alone.  One must conclude that both Calvin and Grudem’s explanations are not the true biblical interpretation.

If these are not adequate explanations, and there are no contradictions in the Bible, what is the solution regarding faith and works? 

The framework.  We all operate in different frameworks every day.  There is a legal framework which governs what is lawful to do and what is unlawful to do.  In my previous world of employment there are accounting standards which govern the treatment of financial transactions.  There are frameworks within our homes.  What our kids can and cannot do.  Frameworks are useful if they are right and true and can deal with all the scenarios which arise.  However, if a framework cannot deal with a particular scenario one needs to question the usefulness of the framework and whether it should be abandoned or updated.  When it comes to faith and works, both Paul and James’s statements cannot fit in the framework proposed by Grudem. i.e. justification cannot be adequately explained by a legal standing once for all time (see above table for justification and sanctification).

The solution then is to change the framework when explaining the two verses on justification.  How do we do that?  Rather than justification being once for all time at initial faith, we allow the framework to have a past and future justification, i.e. 2 justifications.  Two separate declarations of a right legal standing before God, one by faith and one by works done in/by faith.

The overwhelming number of verses which use the word justification, mainly by Paul, are relating to ‘justification by faith’.  In contrast there are only a couple of verses by James where the phrase ‘justification by works’ is used.  If there are 2 justifications, as I am suggesting, why does Paul not speak of justification by works?

When we break down the phrase ‘justification by works’ we actually find Paul does indeed speak of justification by works.  However, he does not use this exact phrase.

James	Paul	Ref
Judging/declaring right or wrong before God	Judgement Seat of Christ for believers	Romans 14v10, 2 Corinthians 5v10
By works	Works are tried in fire	1 Corinthians 3v12-13
Positive or negative outcome	Believer – reward or suffer loss	1 Corinthians 3v14-15

From the table above you can see that Paul does speak of a judgement or declaration after death of being right or wrong before God based on our works with positive and negative consequences. 

The 2 justifications, justification by faith and justification by works, have 2 different outcomes.  Justification by faith relates to eternal life whereas justification by works relates to inheriting or not inheriting the kingdom of heavens, obtaining the prize and receiving the reward.  The 2 outcomes will be the focus of my next blogs.

So where do Roman Catholicism and Protestantism stand on the subject of faith and works?

Roman Catholicism says:

Justification is by faith and works leading to salvation in heaven via purgatory (unless you are a saint where you would go straight to heaven).

Protestantism says:

Justification is by faith alone leading to salvation in heaven. Sola Fide (Faith alone).

As an example, one local church states:  The justification of the sinner is by God’s grace alone through faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ alone.

As we are discussing legal terms in a courtroom setting I must, “tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me God.”

Roman Catholicism and the majority of Protestantism are not biblical views when we consider the subject of faith and works. Sadly, the non-biblical views regarding faith and works which have been held, debated and fought for have brought death to many on both sides of the argument who have gone before.  They have used a machete on the Word of God and unfortunately have not cut it straight.  A man is justified by faith and a man is justified by works.  There are 2 justifications with 2 different outcomes.  The framework needs to change and be subservient to the biblical writers rather than trying to interpret or re-interpret the biblical texts to conform to an unbiblical framework.

Faith begins, continues and is at the end of a Christian’s life/walk.  Works only begin after initial faith, as works without faith do not please God.  Works make faith perfect and therefore faith can be imperfect without works.

Before the jury gives their verdict and the judge sentences me to the guillotine, hanging or burning at the stake, please allow me a few final words: 

Have a blessed New Year with faith working through love (Galatians 5v6).

Simplicity in Christ: There are 2 justifications, justification by faith and justification by works with 2 different outcomes.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®.  Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

¹ Antidote to the Council of Trent (1547), John Calvin, Canon 11

² Systematic Theology An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, Wayne Grudem, p746 and p747

³ Systematic Theology An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, Wayne Grudem, p731 and p732