"He went forward when he was a boy. He was never very religious after that, but 'once saved, always saved' so we know he is with Jesus."
Every pastor has heard some form of this testimony when he visits with a family after a loved one has died. Someone answered a call to trust Christ many years ago and "believed" in Jesus. There was no evidence of the reality of that in the person's life, but we are saved by faith, not works, right? So, even though the person never gave evidence of any real fruit we can hope that he was saved by faith even though that faith produced no works.
Those who say such things believe they are relying on the theology of Paul, but they are really relying on a twisting of Paul's theology - one that would horrify the Apostle. Some have seen a divergence between Paul's teaching of salvation by grace through faith alone and what James says in James 2:17. Paul would given a loud amen to what James said.
So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.James says in verse 21 that Abraham was justified by works when Paul maintained that Abraham was justified by faith, apart from works. That confuses many. Was James arguing against Paul's message? Does his teaching contradict the gospel proclaimed by Paul?
No. They are approaching the same truth from different directions. Paul says many of the same things in Romans 6 and 7. Every biblical truth has to be held in balance with another biblical truth - as the Trinity balances God's unity with his existence in three distinct and co-equal persons. Jesus is both man and God. God's sovereignty and human responsibility. The Bible is all about "truths in tension."
Remember the old story of the blind men who all touched an elephant? One grabbed the tail, another the trunk, another a leg, another a tusk, and another simply placed his hand on the elephant's side. They were all touching the same elephant, but they gave very different descriptions of the creature.
Paul was holding on to the truth of salvation by the grace of God, through faith alone. No one is able, by the works of the Law to earn a place in heaven. But Paul did not denigrate good works, he just maintained their proper place. After saying that we are saved "by grace through faith" in Ephesians 2:8-9, he says that we were "created in Christ Jesus to do good works." We are saved by grace to do good works.
That is exactly what James is saying here. He is not maintaining that anyone can perfectly keep the law and earn a place in glory. He is emphasizing that true faith produces good works. His thought is clear in verse 18.
Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.Faith, real faith, faith that is a gift from God and saves us, also produces in us a radical life change that is reflected in the way we live. Someone who professes faith in Christ but is not changed by Christ has every reason to doubt the genuineness of his or her conversion. Faith that does not produce new works is dead. There is without a doubt a difference in language and expression between Paul and James. But at the root they are saying the same thing - if my faith does not produce fruit in the way I live my life then it is not real. Salvation changes us. Grace is all-consuming.
Salvation by faith does not excuse us from living for Christ, from doing good works; no, it empowers us to live lives that glorify God, that are pure and holy, that serve others in Christ's name.
Father, may my life reflect the kind of works that are appropriate for one who has been saved by Christ.
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