Faith Without Works: A Definition

By John Niemelä [1]

John Niemelä received a B.A. (University of Minnesota), and earned the Th.M. and Ph.D. degrees in New Testament Literature and Exegesis from Dallas Theological Seminary. John is Professor of Hebrew and Greek at Chafer Theological Seminary. His email address is languages@chafer.edu.

Introduction

Since Martin Luther’s time, the second chapter of James has been a source of more theological firestorms than almost any other chapter or book of the Bible. Evangelicals have generally recognized the need to avoid saying that faith plus works yields eternal justification before God. Nevertheless, most efforts to reconcile the seeming contradiction between the writings of Paul and James have introduced an inconsistent and conflicting theology into the book of James.

Numerous passages from Paul indicate that works have nothing to do with eternal justification: Compare the following Scriptures from Paul and James.

The apostle Paul writes:

Romans 3:20, 28: Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin…. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. 

Galatians 2:16: … knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. 

Ephesians 2:8–9: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

However, the apostle James writes:

James 2:21–22: Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 

James 2:14 and 2:24: What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? … You see then that a man is justified by works, and not only by faith only. [2]

From the above evidence a superficial case might be made that James contradicts Paul. And yet, the efforts of many theologians to avoid a seeming contradiction between these two apostles have created a far more devastating quagmire.

A Fresh Perspective

Sorting out this confusion requires taking a fresh look at James. In order to avoid many of the presuppositions common to most commentaries, it is necessary to start at the beginning and answer four fundamental questions:

1. How should one outline this book?
2. To whom was it written?
3. What is the message of salvation in James?
4. What does faith without works mean?

How Should One Outline James?

When commentators fail to provide a coherent outline, do they not become the blind leading the blind into a scholarly bewilderment? The following citations illustrate this point. Joseph Mayor asserts a conclusion, despite admitting that he sees no coherent logical outline to the Epistle of James.

Though the letter flows on from point to point without pretending to strict logical sequence, yet it is easy to distinguish certain leading principles on which the whole depends…. Faith, love, wisdom, religion—all alike are spurious if they fail to produce the fruit of good works. [3]

Thus, Mayor’s outline is merely a pretense for his theology and not a serious attempt at understanding James’ own outline.

Martin Dibelius finds no logical plan and substitutes vague notions of “paraenetic literature.”

A second, often noted characteristic of Ja[me]s is the lack of continuity. This, too, is explained by the literary character of paraenesis [a form characterized by exhortation]. Often enough a continuity of thought cannot be demonstrated in the above-mentioned paraenetic literature of varied origins: chapters in the book of Tobit; Pseudo-Isocrates; Ad Demonicum; the paraenetic sections of Paul’s letters; and the “Two Ways.” Ja[me]s is no different. [4]

According to Dibelius, “Paul, too, in the paraenetic sections of his letters is more interested in transmission than originality.” [5]

Likewise, Simon J. Kistemaker makes no real contribution. He notes that commentaries have difficulty outlining James. He also foregoes an outline and merely attached a chapter title to each of the five chapters of the book.

Outlines of the Epistle of James are plentiful and varied. The epistle, however, presents numerous themes that are interwoven and often repeated. For this reason, commentators differ on the exact divisions of the text. [6]

Not unlike viewing a string of pearls, most expositors see James as lacking an extended linear development of thought with little or no clear relationship between paragraphs. Surely even a string of pearls must be held together! Among contemporary exegetes Zane Hodges stands alone in making sense of the whole book of James. He utilizes recent work by rhetorical critics (specialists in ancient Greek rhetoricians) to surface a coherent outline for the Epistle of James. He summarizes:

Its basic elements are as follows: a preface, or prologue (1:2–18), followed by a thematic statement (1:19–20); a body, called by the Greek rhetoricians the kephalaia, or “headings” (1:21–5:6); and an epilogue (5:7–20). The outline below seeks to clarify this structure. 

With this ground plan in mind, the thematic material in 1:19–20 permits us to see the purpose of James….[7]

In other words, focusing on internal evidences within the epistle, rather than theological impositions, enables one to discover the coherent and logical outline that James intended.

Greek rhetoricians used thematic statements near the end of their prologues to indicate their overall outline. Various New Testament epistles also evidence similar structure. Thus, it should not be surprising that James would use this rhetorical device also. The thematic statement (James 1:19) gives the three headings of the book. Let every man be:

Swift to Hear	Slow to Speak	Slow to Wrath
1:21–2:26	3:1–18	4:1–5:6

Furthermore, the fact that James 1:19–20 is a symmetrical statement (that believers have often committed to memory) suggests that James wanted to call attention to it. Preachers through the ages have worked diligently to produce memorable outlines. For example, is not Ephesians often portrayed as the Believer’s Wealth and Walk? On the other hand, the church has ignored James’ three kephalaia (headings) to its own detriment. As a result, expositors have often imposed their own outline onto James.

Does James 2:14–26 belong to the Swift to Hear section (1:21–2:26)? If so, then divorcing the concepts of faith and salvation in 2:14–26 from 1:21–2:26 would have devastating consequences for any sound exegesis of the book as a whole.

To Whom Did James Write?

James 1:1 indicates that his audience was Jewish and scattered abroad: James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings. While offering important information, this passage by itself does not answer the vital question of whether or not James is addressing born-again believers in Christ. To answer this question definitively the oft-repeated phrases my beloved brethren and my brethren require contextual definition.

The phrase my beloved brethren appears three times, James 1:16, 1:19, and 2:5. The first two usages frame verse eighteen, which in turn serves to define my beloved brethren.

16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren 

…. 18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear…

James 1:18 speaks of regeneration, using a term commonly associated with procreation, brought forth. The “you” implied in the use of the second person plural imperative in both 1:16 and 1:19 is a subset of us or we in verse 1:18. [8] The vocative my beloved brethren specifically defines the implied uses of “you” in each verse. [9] In these three verses, James’ use of pronouns, the imperative mood, and vocatives indicates that both we and us include “you”: In other words,

we (“you and I”) are beloved brethren, because God, our Father brought us (“you and me”) forth by the word of truth. James does not call the readers beloved brethren because they are fellow Jews, but because they are regenerate brethren in the Lord.

The third usage of the phrase my beloved brethren occurs in the midst of an exhortation against partiality, James 2:1–13. James begins his exhortation:

My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality (James 2:1). The vocative my brethren occurs twelve times throughout the epistle. [10] This usage in James 2:1 is followed in the same context with the vocative my beloved brethren in 2:5: Listen, my beloved brethren 

: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? Clearly, the phrase my brethren is an equivalent to my beloved brethren not only within this specific exhortation, but also within the Epistle of James as a whole.

Putting these evidences together reveals a complete picture: Those that James addresses in his epistle are born-again Jews scattered abroad, who like James share the same Father. The apostle James not only wrote to eternally secure believers, but his certainty that they possess the greatest of God’s good and perfect gifts (1:17), regeneration by God (1:18) underlies his exhortations to apply the doctrine that they (in fact) do believe. [11]

What Is the Message of Salvation in James?

The inferential markers, So then and Therefore, which begin verses 1:19 and 1:21 (respectively), demonstrate a continuation of the which verse 1:16 initiated.

16 [You] do not be deceived, my beloved brethren 

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. 

19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 

21 Therefore [you brethren] lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and [you brethren] receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

In the face of such continuity, it should be without controversy that James addresses regenerate believers with the commands in verse 21. If so, why does James urge receiving the implanted word which is able to save (their) souls? The passage becomes even more theologically challenging, because neither did James say “receive the implanted word which saved your souls”, nor “receive the implanted word which is able to save the souls of unbelievers”. Instead he tells regenerate believers that they need salvation. Obviously his brethren, (or beloved brethren) did not become unregenerate since verse 18: Could the salvation referred to in James 1:21–2:26 be the deliverance born-again believers experience through ongoing obedience to God’s Word? Indeed, every time the word save appears in James, “deliver” would be an excellent rendering.

Many passages in the Bible use a figure of speech called metonymy of the cause (through that figure, soul stands for the whole person). [12] By analogy, when someone says, “All hands on deck!” the speaker wants bodies attached to the hands. Save your souls stands for saving the lives of wandering believers. [13] In this passage, the meaning is to save the person’s life from physical death (ultimately, even from the sin unto death). Two lines of evidence demonstrate this.

First, James 1:15 portrays a family tree that highlights four distinct moments in time for dealing with sin in the believer’s life: [14] Then, when desire [feminine] has conceived, it gives birth to sin [feminine]; and sin [feminine], when it is full-grown, brings forth death [masculine]. Dealing with sin can occur at any of four points, but one should not postpone confession and repentance,

• Best time: …when desire has conceived, (prevention)
• Next best time: …it gives birth to sin (immediate correction)
• Third best time: ... sin when it is full-grown (lengthy carnality)
• Time when God must deal with sin: ...brings forth death (death)

The following chart depicts a three-generation family tree, henceforth known as the Genealogy of Death.



James warns that sin has deadly consequences. Believers must not take it lightly, but instead must use the Word to prevent sin. Confession and repentance are appropriate when believers sin. We must not procrastinate, waiting for God to deal with it.

The second line of evidence, James 5:19–20, is actually a practical illustration of 1:15: Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. According to James 1:18, brethren are those who God has regenerated by the word of truth. Thus, James 5:19 addresses believers.

The next pertinent phrase is anyone among you wanders from the truth. Can an unbeliever wander away from that which he has never believed? In the context anyone must be a believer, one of the brethren to whom James has now referred to three times as my beloved brethren and twelve times as my brethren.

The next phrase, and someone turns him back, decisively identifies the anyone of this verse as a fellow believer. Can an unbeliever be turned back to that which he has never believed? The very absurdity of such a proposition is easily envisioned in geographic terms: Unless a person has been in China, how can he wander away from it? Likewise, can a person be turned back to China, if he has never set foot in China? A person can neither wander away from nor turn back to China, if he has never been to China. James speaks of wandering from the truth and being returned to it. Remember that James 1:18 says that God brought believers forth (regeneration) by the word of truth. Indeed, James 5:19 speaks of an anyone who left the truth that regenerated him, and is now turned back by a someone. Within the immediate context both anyone and someone remain undefined except for their relationship to each other as regenerate brethren because they are children of God. Equally clear, the believer called anyone has wandered to the far country, far away from God, prior to someone turns him back. In light of the Genealogy of Death established in James 1:15, sin is maturing in the anyone, but not to the point that God has dealt with his sin through physical death, for indeed someone turns him back.

Verse 19 tells his fellow believer (someone) who has turned him (anyone) back to the truth that he has saved a life (soul) from sin unto death (death) and has covered or prevented a multitude of sins. Mature believers should have such a restorative ministry for fellow believers who stray from the truth (Galatians 6:1). It does not please God for James 1:15 to run its course. Left unchecked, sin will reach childbearing age in believers who wander in sin and carnality. Its offspring is the sin unto death.

James 1:21 challenges regenerate believers to address the sin issue in their lives (putting aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness) in commanding them to humbly receive the implanted word. Believers need to submit to its commands, its corrections, and its challenges, because it is God’s Word. It alone can deliver the brethren’s lives from sin and from physical death as discipline. As an absolute puppet-master Satan would like nothing better than to walk brethren down a spiral leading to the sin unto death. God’s Word is the lifesaver for believers. As certain as eternal life is to all who believe in Christ, so too is the lifesaving Word to the born-again believer. However, this phase-two deliverance [15] does not come by faith alone in Christ alone. If James’ epistle rings true, the Word’s phase-two life saving work is not automatic. It requires not only hearing, but doing. Both believing doctrine and applying it are necessary. In James’ words, it requires faith and works. In that sense, it differs from phase-one salvation through faith alone in Christ alone.

What Does Faith without Works Mean?

Surprisingly, two widely divergent views are conceivable regarding the relationship between faith and works in James. From these two views, it is possible to synthesize two distinct models. Kistemaker expresses the most popular view: “A faith that is void of deeds is not genuine and is therefore completely different from faith that is committed to Christ.” [16] The logic yields what will henceforth be called the Subtraction Model. It conceives of without as implying subtraction. That is, it regards faith without works as referring to something less than faith.

The Subtraction Model



For Kistemaker, faith without works is less than faith. He would understand James to use the word faith to describe something that does not really qualify as faith. Therefore logically, although wheels are essential for the operation of a bicycle, a cycle without a frame is not really a bicycle. Advocates of this approach might well contend, “What is the profit in having a frameless bicycle? What is the profit of a type of faith that does not save?” Those who suppose that James 2:14–26 speaks of faith in Christ to receive eternal life imagine that this model is a logical construct explaining the relationship between faith and works.

However, why would James switch the meaning of salvation in the midst of his Swift to Hear Section (1:21–2:26) to mean salvation unto eternal life as opposed to salvation (i.e., deliverance) from the deadly power of sin, even the sin unto death in the life of the brethren? Although many commentators embrace the subtraction model as a logical construct, it is grievously wrong!

Many commentators mistake phase-two salvation (sparing one’s physical life) for phase-one salvation (receiving eternal life). The following commentator errs by confusing phase-one and phase-two salvation.

It should be pointed out that James was not arguing for two [phase-one] salvation requirements: faith plus works. He was not saying that some people had only arrived at the halfway point and now needed to add appropriate work to their faith [in order to receive eternal life]. Neither was he contradicting Paul, as though Paul taught salvation by faith, and James taught salvation by works [emphasis mine]. [17]

Wait a moment! The book of James is addressed to brethren, those who are already regenerated by God through the word of truth (James 1:18). Regeneration results from faith alone in Christ alone by grace alone. James reminded those regenerate people that they needed to be saved from the deadly power of sin (James 1:21). The deliverance from the deadly power of sin in a Christian’s life comes by believing and applying God’s Word to life.

Regarding the relationship between faith and works in James, Peter Davids sums up the Subtraction Model perspective: “Works is not an ‘added extra’ to faith, but an essential expression of it….” [18] He misses the point: The salvation of which James writes is phase-two deliverance from the deadly power of sin, even the sin unto death. The brethren needing this deliverance are already regenerate believers! Current deliverance comes by believing and applying God's word, not by faith alone in Christ alone for eternal life. In this light, how would one correctly express the relationship between faith and works?

If James addresses his epistle to born-again believers (and he does), what kind of model accurately expresses the truth that eternally secure believers need to have faith-plus-works for phase-two deliverance from the death-dealing power of sin? James does not say that faith minus works is not faith. Neither does he distinguish between genuine and spurious categories of faith: Instead he exhorts all believers to add works to their phase-two faith in God’s Word (e.g. they need to apply what they believe). This approach requires an Addition Model.

The Addition Model



Just like the entire Epistle of James, the Addition Model only applies to born-again believers (people possessing Christ’s perfect assurance of eternal life). [19] Just like a bicycle without a rider is still a bicycle, faith without works is still faith. The apostle James urges his brethren (who have perfect assurance of their destiny) to get on the bicycle of faith and ride it so that they may experience an ongoing deliverance from sins deadly power! A parked faith goes nowhere in regard to spiritual victory.

Does the Addition Model of phase-two deliverance fit the passage? Yes, it does! James warns these believers that they must apply the word (which they believe) to receive any phase-two deliverance from the deadly power of sin in their lives. Should not pastors and teachers, as communicators of God’s word, urge the brethren to get serious about learning and using God’s Word in their lives? Absolutely! Only by taking in and applying the Word could the beloved brethren (believers) be delivered from a wholesale experience of divine discipline, even including the sin unto death. Likewise, pastors and teachers, as ones who know the joy of using God’s Word first hand, ought to take every opportunity to encourage the flock to enjoy the good hand of God, rather than His rod. This magnificent message of James 1:21–2:26 is consistent with the gospel of grace.

Conclusion

Untangling the knot of misunderstanding that so often encompasses James requires answering some fundamental questions: How should one outline James? To whom did James write? What is the message of salvation in James? What does faith without works mean? Fortunately, James used a literary device standard to the rhetoric of his day, whereby a thematic statement near a prologue’s end gives a book’s overall outline.

In the same way as the apostle Paul addressed his epistles to born-again believers, James also exhorted eternally secure believers (my beloved brethren and my brethren). The basis of the exhortation is that our Lord’s promises (e.g., John 5:24) give perfect assurance of eternal life. The word salvation in James deals exclusively with the phase-two deliverance of the believer.

Lastly, the Addition Model best reflects the meaning of faith without works. The grace of God shines throughout His epistle, because James knew that his beloved brethren (redeemed saints in the Lord) were regenerated by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Contrary to the Puritan or Reformed theology of many popular teachers, James urged his regenerate brethren to use the Word in order to save their lives from the deadly power of sin. The book of James is a lifesaver, not a ball-and-chain type of litmus test for ascertaining whether or not one has believed the gospel with the right kind of faith. Is the absence of a rider the test of the genuineness of a bicycle? No! Neither does the absence of works prove that faith is not genuine. What the absence of works proves is that one is heading toward death.

James taught that eternal life is a free gift. After all, when he spoke about regeneration (James 1:18), he presented it as the greatest of God’s good and perfect gifts (James 1:17). [20] James did not refer to regeneration as a good deal, but as a gift. The new birth (phase-one salvation) is a gift through faith alone in Christ alone. However, phase-two salvation (deliverance from the deadly power of sin) is not a gift. Modern theologians tend to engage in double-speak, saying that one receives eternal life through a working-faith without works. James would condemn such an interpretation of double-mindedness (James 1:8).

—End—

Notes

1. This paper was originally presented before the National Teaching Pastors’ Conference, Kansas City, MO, May 15–18, 2000. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version (NKJV), 1982.
2. The NKJV properly renders it as only, rather than alone. However, it needs to move only from the adjectival position into the adverbial position (as above). See CTS Journal 7 (January-March 2001) forthcoming.
3. Joseph B. Mayor, The Epistle of St. James: The Greek Text with Introduction, Notes, Comments and Further Studies in the Epistle of St. James, 3d ed., Classic Commentary Library (N.p.: Macmillan, 1913; reprint, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1954), cxxxi.
4. Martin Dibelius, James, rev. Heinrich Greeven, trans. Michael A. Williams, ed. Helmut Koester, Hermeneia, ed. Helmut Koester (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1975), 5.
5. Ibid.
6. Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of the Epistle of James and the Epistles of John, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1986), 21.
7. Zane C. Hodges, The Epistle of James: Proven Character through Testing, Grace New Testament Commentary, ed. Arthur L. Farstad and Robert N. Wilkin (Irving, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 1994), 15–16.
8. Even replacing the inferential conjunction with the Critical Text’s frozen imperative, verse 19 still has an inferential force. The first person plural we means “you and I”, while the first person plural us means “you and me.”
9. Do not be deceived means you, my beloved brethren, do not be deceived. Likewise, Let every man be swift to hear means Let every one of you, my beloved brethren (believers), be swift to hear.
10. James 1:2; 2:1, 14; 3:1, 10, 12; 4:11; 5:7, 9, 10, 12, and 19.
11. In case anyone needs more proof, consider James 4:5, which contains a strong rebuke to believers who are not applying the word. It would seem that they have no works, but the Spirit indwells them. The problems that James describes are problems that apply to his beloved brethren, people with the indwelling Spirit of God. Again, the various theological models of James need to come to grips with the text, rather than superimposing their theology onto the book.
12. This in no way denies that man is a trichotomous being, since those passages (e.g., 1 Thessalonians 5:23), which separate man into parts, require such an interpretation. Usually, however, soul in the Bible means life.
13. Hodges, James, 41–42, lists a number of pertinent illustrative passages.
14. Unfortunately, many have missed this, because they fail to treat brings forth as a procreative term, as in James 1:18. Both 1:15 and 1:18 use this same Greek word which the New King James translates as bring forth with the same allusion to procreation in each.
15. Salvation has three phases: phase-one salvation refers to deliverance from eternal condemnation (e.g., Acts 16:31), phase-two speaks of temporal deliverance (e.g., Acts 27:31), phase-three refers to deliverance into the presence of God through death or the rapture (e.g., 1 Thessalonians 1:10).
16. Kistemaker, James and John, 90.
17. Homer A. Kent, Jr., Faith that Works: Studies in the Epistle of James, New Testament Studies (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1986), 90.
18. Peter H. Davids, The Epistle of James: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982), 121.
19. Based upon James 1:17–18, the Reformed doctrine of final perseverance is a categorical denial of the very basis for James’ exhortation, the perfect assurance of eternal life given to believers by our Lord. Scripture teaches eternal security, not final perseverance.
20. Page 8 of this article expresses the relationship between James 1:17 and 18. Verse 17 states the underlying principle, while verse 18 gives regeneration as the supreme illustration of a good and perfect gift from God. Just as physical birth is an unmerited gift, regeneration is an even greater gift of pure grace.