Who is correct—James (James 2:24)—or Paul (Romans 3:28; Galatians 2:16)? Or, is there a real controversy at all. Is it possible for the two to be in agreement, or would such a thing be forced upon the text? The main thing to keep in mind is that Jesus claimed Scripture cannot be forced to contradict itself (John 10:35). That is, we must read the Scriptures in such a manner that they do not contradict. But, how is it possible for James and Paul to agree, since neither seems to leave any room for the other to be correct?
The Greek word used by both James and Paul for justified is dikaioo (G1344). According to Thayer’s Greek Definitions, dikaioo means:
- to render righteous or such as he ought to be
- to show, exhibit, evince, one to be righteous, such as he is and wishes himself to be considered
- to declare, pronounce, one is to be just, righteous, or such as he ought to be
It seems that Paul and James used to same Greek word but each emphasized a different perspective—Paul the legal point of view and James the evidence that supports the legal perspective. In other words “this pudding is the best” (Paul), and “proof of it is in the taste” (James). Paul could say the believer is justified by faith alone, without works, meaning it is our trust alone that gains favor with God. We cannot bribe him through works to get him to accept us or do anything for us. Nevertheless, according to James, our trust in God is proved by our willingness to be like him—to do those things that he does (cp. Genesis 1:27; John 13:15). In other words, merely saying we trust God isn’t actually trust unless it produces results—like the seed. So, real trust does justify, but to be real it must produce fruit (works) or else it is dead, like a lifeless seed that is no longer able to produce a living plant.
James asks the question: “Wasn’t Abraham justified by works when he offered up Isaac” (James 2:21-22)? In other words, the apple seed I planted awhile back is proved alive by the seedling rising up out of the ground. So, the Scripture claimed Abraham was righteous, because he believed God (Genesis 15:6). Abraham was 75 years old when he left Haran for the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:4-5). He was 86 years old when Hagar bore his firstborn son, Ishmael. So, when the Lord originally promised to make him a great nation 11 years passed before Abraham had his first child. So, Abraham believed God wouldn’t lie to him (Genesis 15:6). Yet, not only did Abraham believe God, when there was no evidence for such trust except God’s word, but he believed him, when he was told to disinherit his first born son in favor of Isaac (Genesis 21:10-14). Finally, Abraham was told to sacrifice his son Isaac, in whom his seed would be called, and he obeyed (Genesis 22:1-5; cp. 21:12), believing God would raise Isaac from the dead in order to keep his promise (Hebrews 11:17-19). So, Abraham proved he had living faith through is willingness to sacrifice Isaac.
We are told that Abraham was God’s friend (2Chronicles 10:7; Isaiah 41:8), but the Old Covenant Scriptures don’t show where or how this developed. However, James tells us: “Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness…” (Genesis 15:6), “…and he was called the friend of God” (James 2:23). Thus, he implies that it was because he believed God that he was called God’s friend. A friend believes his friend under all circumstances, even when there is no evidence except his friend’s word (Genesis 15:6). A friend will do anything for the friend he trusts, even when doing so hurts himself and challenges the very foundation of their friendship (Genesis 22:1-5), so a friend is a friend, not only in word, but also in deed (James 2:24).
Likewise, Rahab proved her faith in risking her own life to protect those who came to her (James 2:25). She wasn’t near to God, like Abraham. In fact, she had no inheritance in the land the Lord had given Abraham’s descendants. Yet, she trusted in the Lord’s integrity. She not only protected his people from harm, but advised them how to avoid trouble. Why did she do such a thing, when her own life was at risk, if she was found out? It was because she saw how the Lord took Israel out of bondage from the most powerful nation in that part of the world. And not only so, but he fed them in the wilderness for nearly 40 years, and saved them from the plots and violence of their enemies round about. She trusted God would protect her, and she proved her trust with works, risking her own life on the name of that God. She was a gentile, afar off from the promises, but she protected the Jewish spies / leaders, who were sent by Moses to know the land. It seems to me that James is arguing now that the Jewish believers needed to repay their debt to Rahab by standing with their believing gentile leaders who were being attacked by the Jewish leadership from Jerusalem.
Just as a man’s body without his spirit is dead, so is faith without works (James 2:26). James isn’t speaking, here, of the vegetable life of the body, but rather the life that is aware of its surroundings and is capable of acting upon them (1Corinthians 2:11). Faith in God is an awareness of him, trusting in that awareness to the point that we are willing to risk all we understand about our world, for what our faith tells us is true. James is telling his readers that that they already know what good behavior is, and, if their faith is a living faith, they will do what they know should be done. Otherwise, whatever they call what they believe is dead, unable to produce any results in their lives.
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