How James, Paul, and Jesus Agree on Justification

James teaches that a living faith shows itself in good works (James 2:17–18). And he claims, “a person is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24; also 2:21, 26).

He does not contradict Paul’s doctrine of justification here. Rather, James echoes his brother Jesus, who said: “by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matt 12:37).

Both James and Paul agree: a lively faith produces good works.

In this article, then, I aim to explain how they both agree with each other. But before I do that, I will first suggest that James echoes Jesus and so does not aim to contradict Paul. Taken together, these two arguments demonstrate how James and Paul agree on justification.

James Echoes Jesus on Justification

James might be one of the earliest letters in the NT. So it does not make sense to imagine that he is responding to Paul’s letters, although he knew of Paul’s teaching (Gal 2:9). James also vindicated Paul’s gospel in Acts 15. So it would seem strange that this letter would make its way into the canon if it contradicted Paul.

The simplest explanation is the one most obvious to readers of James. James is the most Jesus-y book in the NT, in which nearly every verse has a parallel in the words of Jesus. So when James speaks of a person being justified by works, he learns this from his big brother, Jesus. (If you are Catholic, you may insert the word “cousin” here.) James listens to Jesus.

In particular, Jesus teaches that justification at the last day involves our words and deeds.

Jesus

James

“I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak; for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matt 12:36–37).

“I was thirsty and you gave me drink … truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me … as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me … and these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matt 25:35, 40, 45–46).

… person is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24; also 21 and 26).

“So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. 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, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 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. … was not also 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. (James 2:12–18, 25–26).

Both Jesus and James speak of mercy toward the poor. Both teach that our works (including our words) are the things that God judges. In their contexts, Matthew and James both refer to the final judgment. Additionally, James uses the word “justify” in its common biblical sense of “showing” or “demonstrating.” Jesus uses it in the same sense when he says our words “justify” or “condemn.”

What both emphasize is that at the final judgment, God will judge us according to our works. And these works particularly point to our words and works of mercy, which flow from faith.

Paul Agrees with Jesus and James

Paul agrees with these words. For example:

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Cor 5:10).

“He will render to each one according to his works. To those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life … but for those who are self-seeking … there will be wrath and fury” (Rom 2:6–8).

Nothing here contradicts what Jesus and James teach about being justified by words and works at the last judgment. Paul’s criterion is works, even though he knows only those united to Christ by faith will pass that judgment. In other words, Paul speaks of a judgment according to works since he says God repays according to our deeds. Similarly, speaking of judgment according to works, James says, “a person is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24; see also 2:12–13).

But What About “Faith Apart from Works”?

Paul also teaches that God justifies the ungodly by faith apart from works (Rom 3–4). He writes: “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” (Eph 2:8–9). If any works were involved in this justification, we could boast. So Paul excludes any preceding works as the cause of our justification. God’s mercy in Christ alone is the cause.

When Paul speaks of justification in Romans 3–4, he speaks of the righteousness that is in Christ but not in us, but which God reckons ours by faith. Christ demonstrated his perfect righteousness through his works, and God imputes this righteousness to us by faith. This righteousness alone is the meritorious cause of our justification before God. It is not our own but comes by faith (Phil 3:9). And it is found in Christ, not in us, but becomes ours by faith as we unite to Christ (2 Cor 5:21).

James, however, speaks of the righteousness that appears in us after we believe, which we often call holiness or sanctification. “I will show you my faith by my works” (James 2:18). This showing or demonstration of already existing faith is what “justify” means in James’s context. Our works reveal that our faith is alive. Zombies will not inherit the kingdom of God. God is the God of the living, not the dead.

Faith Is the Alone Instrument, but Never Alone

The Westminster Confession expresses this relation between faith and works well:

“Faith… is the alone instrument of justification; yet it is not alone in the person justified, but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces… and worketh by love” (WCF 11.2).

James, Jesus, and Paul are united in this: a lively or living faith necessarily brings forth good works. Paul says immediately after our justification by grace through faith that “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:10). We are made new in Christ for good works. That is what we are for.

Faith is the alone instrument of our justification, but that faith never remains alone within us. The good works that spring forth from a living faith show or demonstrate or justify our lively faith. They do not cause or merit our salvation; they show that it is really true in us.

Conclusion

God justifies us by faith in Christ. God imputes his righteousness to us, and we are justified by faith before God. This God given faith lives; and this faith shows itself in its mercy to the poor (James 2:13) or its love (Gal 5:6). And in this sense, a lively faith demonstrates (justifies) us.

This lively faith is never alone but is justified by works. In the language of James, “a person is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24). Or in the idiom of Paul, “He will render to each one according to his works” (Rom 2:7). Or in the words of Jesus, “by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matt 12:37). Each refers to a lively faith that demonstrates itself alive by good works, works of person that at the final judgment, God will either justify or condemn.

As the Puritan author Thomas Goodwin wrote: “[God] will justify his own acts of justification, of this man and not of that; and he will justify the faith of him he had justified (which is James’s main scope), or, if you will, the person himself, as he professed himself to have had faith. And this is as evidently James’s scope, as the other is Paul’s” (Works 7:181).