During the Protestant Reformation, there were five phrases that were popularized and used to describe the key teachings of protestants, and they all began with the word sola, which is Latin for “only” – solo Christo (Christ alone), sola scriptura (scripture alone), soli Deo gloria (to the glory of God alone), sola gratia (grace alone), and sola fide (faith alone).^[1]

These phrases may already seem familiar to you, especially if you have read some of Paul’s letters. Nearly everyone who has been in church for a significant amount of time knows Ephesians 2:8-9 by heart –

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9, ESV

But if you turn a few more pages in your Bible to the book of James, you’ll find a very different message-

“You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” James 2:24

So, which is it? Are we saved by grace through faith, or are we saved by our works?

In Romans, Paul writes that we are justified by faith, not by works of the law (Romans 3:28), and that a person’s faith is counted as righteousness (Romans 4:5). Both Abraham and David were justified by their faith (Romans 4:1-8, Galatians 3:6-9).

Yet, James preaches that a faith without works is dead, useless, and unable to save anyone (James 2:14, 17, 20). After all, even demons believe in God, but they are surely not saved (James 2:19). James argues that Abraham was justified by works when he offered Isaac on the altar (James 2:22), and he says that Rahab was also justified by her works when she helped the two Israelite spies (James 2:25).

It seems like these two great teachers – Paul the apostle of Christ and James the brother of Jesus – are contradicting each other. This is the great debate. Does faith alone save us? Or must we be doing good works to be saved?

Thomas Schreiner did a great job of answering these questions in an article he wrote for The Gospel Coalition a few years ago. He wrote,

“Good works can’t function as the foundation of our justification because God demands perfection, and even after we are converted we continue to sin… The best solution is to say they are the result and fruit of faith. True faith expresses it in works.”^[2]

Yes, we are saved and justified by faith. We serve a holy and righteous God, and because we are sinful creatures, we can never do enough good things to earn our salvation. But our faith should spur us on to do good works, to honor and obey God, to love others (Galatians 5:6). If it doesn’t, then we may need to ask ourselves if we have true faith in God or if we just believe that God exists.

Schreiner used an excellent illustration in his article. Imagine I told you that the room you’re sitting in would blow up in one minute. If you truly had faith in me and believed what I said to be true, then you would act on that faith and get out of the room as soon as humanly possible.^[3] The same is true with our faith in Jesus. If we truly believe that Jesus died and resurrected to free us from sin and give us new life, then we should live out our faith. As Schreiner said,

“James teaches that there is an organic relationship between genuine faith and works. If we truly trust Christ, that trust shows up in how we live.”^[4]

While it seems like Paul and James are writing contradictory truths, they are actually complementary. The audiences Paul was writing to struggled with legalism or practicing certain things to actually be saved. So, he focused more on justification by faith. On the other hand, the audience James wrote to struggled with apathy or not living out their faith in their works. So, he focused more on the importance of works. But if you read both Paul and James’ letters, you will see that both teachers believe that faith and works are important in the Christian life.^[5]

You are not saved by doing good works, and this is such an encouraging truth! There is nothing that you have to do to earn God’s favor or prove to others that you are saved, and there is nothing that you can do to disqualify yourself from salvation. If you are a Christian, you are saved by grace through faith. But this does not mean we can just keep sinning and keep living the life we were living before our salvation (Romans 6:15). When we are saved, we are redeemed and given new life. So, with this new life we have been given, we should do good works, obey God, love others, and walk in a manner worthy of our calling-

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,” Ephesians 4:1-2

^[1] “What are the five solas?,” GotQuestions.org, accessed August 16, 2020, https://www.gotquestions.org/five-solas.html.

^[2] Thomas Schreiner, “Do Paul and James Disagree on Justification by Faith Alone?,” The Gospel Coalition, last modified April 21, 2017, accessed August 17, 2020, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/do-paul-james-disagree-on-justification-by-faith-alone/.

^[3] Ibid.

^[4] Ibid.

^[5] Ibid.